Hi to one and all

Welcome to another review from me , this one is from the quite prolific company from Russia called Altores Studio.

The release was announced late last year here on PF and in social media

http://www.planetfigure.com/threads/altores-studio.81265/

The subject depicted is a soldier from the Russian Civil war but with a twist as we have 2 options in the release.

Option 1 A Red Army soldier from the Civil war

Option 2 A sculpt based on a Russian film hero ...Comrade Sukhov

The film character featured in the 1970 film starring the late actor Anatoly Kuznetsov in the film entitled White Sun of the Desert

he is also featured in artwork

One of the noticeable things was the large watch on his wrist as in this sculpture

References are available for the Civil War and uniforms and other conflicts the Russian army was involved in during this period . . of course in all languages including Russian




Details of the release:

Title: Red Army , The civil war in Russian 1918-1922

Reference: F-54-023

Scale: 1/32nd

No of pieces: 16

Sculptor Maxin Voronin

Box Art: Alexander Kataurov


General comments

2 options as stated use the square base and kettle with the hand with watch to depict Comrade Sukhov , or use the round base and remaining parts for the Red Army version .

You could also leave off the blanket roll if you wish .

The head with the main figure is the one for the film , as he has a beard growth on his face .

You will have to remove the cast on head if you wish to use the other .


Parts consist of the following , main figure with head , a separate head , 2 arms , a hand with large watch , cap , rolled blanket , backpack , 2 pouches , a shovel in cover , holster, fighting knife , small kettle , 2 bases.

Parts are in a good box , with the top having a colour picture of the painted figure , the text is in the familiar yellow writing of Altores Studio.

Prep
Main Figure....Slight sanding inbetween legs and fine casting lines in centre at sides and fit to selected base

Arms...Remove from former and fit in place

Head...Select which one and remove and fit as appropriate

Equipment items ....Remove from formers and fit as needed .

Note: You are advised to fit the rolled blanket before the arms!!!

As you can see very little work is needed ..the hardest part will be to choose which version !!!


Continued in next post
Nap

Now to the resin itself

Main Figure

This is in a standing pose and with his gymnastiorka ( shirt ) could easily be used for a WW1 figure and indeed the figure offers many other possibilities for conversion.

The shirt itself is nicely shaped , collar slightly down on one side , the pocket flaps are there , with the neck opening going to halfway down the front , fold and creases are good , I like the way the back folds up together with the belt at his waist having nice clean buckle work , there are cutouts and a hanging strap ( for the knife) and the various other items .

The arms are not in place but there are good locating holes on either side of the torso .

On the rear there is the top of the back pack pulled together tightly

Around his shoulders there are the straps of the backpack ( this type was often seen in WW2 as well ) , the work on the straps looks good with nice work on the surface lines .

The trousers are slightly bloused out at the hips leading down to the knees which I am happy to see that it looks like the knees are there as the material is proud .

Moving down the puttees are nicely sculpted , tight and clear definition all the way to the ankle boots, these are themselves well represented , with the laces sitting naturally after being tied up .

The fit of the feet to the chosen base is really good , no gaps and no filler needed.

The face is that of the film character , rough looking and with a moustache and a beard growth at the sides , features are good , good feature work and the eyebrows are strongly done , the top of the head is ready to take the soft cap.

There is what looks like a neck scarf under the chin or it could have been excess resin but I have left it on for you to decide.

If you want to use the other head as this was a part of the film being buried like this ....I wouldn't put it on tge base as in picture but ......use the head after the cast version is cut off and drilled out and then replaced , as there is a separate head anyway I think it would have been preferable to cast both heads separately and just have a open neck area to fit what you wanted easier.







Arms

These are a good sculpt the right is held slightly up and has the hand in place , nice work on the fingers here , the left hangs down with no hand in place ready to take either the rifle ior the watch hand.

Fit to the torso is easy by means of a small plug fitting well to the cutout in the body.



Remaining Resin parts

These are quite a few to choose from , all are nicely done and fit is easy and simple ..but beware some are small ..that carpet monster lurks !!!

The rifle is a good representation with the left hand holding it horizontally mid weapon , magazine and front sight details are good with the hand gripping the weapon very well engineered , again we see good work on the fingers, the hand has the shirt cuff sculpted on with the fit to the arm wrist simple to effect.

The shovel is the correct shape for the Model 1894 and is in a cover , there is a depression on it ready to fit the small kettle .



The holster is the shape for the Nagan revolver, well designed and showing the retaining strap in place , the knife is one of many versions seen in use and is in a scabbard , the ammunition pouch also has a retaining strap .
the watch hand is a nice bit of work , the band is wrapped round the wrist over a piece of material , the face of the watch is blank so thos efine brushes come in play!!!, finger work of the hand is on par with the rest , and agin fit is easy ..this makes for an interesting touch for the figure.



The blanket roll can be either left on or off and is another nice touch , it is held together by a strap , fit to the torso is accurate and looks very good.

The backpack is full of items and shows good folds etc , fit is as before easy , if you use this on its own a small amount of filler will be needed where the blanket would sit ..but very easy to do.



The Kettle is a nice idea as these were seen in use in many a camp and carried by soldiers , often being brought from home.

In this picture we also see the soft cap (there is a star on the front)

The cap has a nicely done shape , the tops being hanging over with the peak itself having a defined lining , the star is well sculpted and cast , fit of the cap to the film chaarcters head is spot on , however you could also fit to the other head by simple cutting and filling as needed.

The head is of a younger man , closely shorn hair , looking straight ahead , mouth shut together , nice furrowed forehead , quite large ears with the eyes not being the same shape , the left as you look being larger .



Bases

A choice of 2 here one square and the other circular , both have cut outs for the feet these fit accurately whichever one you choose , both bases have a textured surface with tge square one having a place to put the extra head if you wish .


Final Thought

A nice addition , and one which has good options and conversion potential to other figures and periods , a few things to deal with but nothing major , an interesting subject and with good cleanly cast details on it .

Again Altores have a good subject matter ...they go from strength to strength


Finally lets have some more painted pictures ...enjoy




Thanks to for the review piece and to you all for looking in

For more details on this and other releases and there are many to enjoy go to :

www.altores.com

e mail: altores@mail.ru

or follow on FB as well and follow them for all the news

or contact via a message on this forum .

Happy painting

Nap

Hi Bob

You know what I didn't even notice that my apologies to all ! ....I wouldn't put it on like that but use the head as in my review but it's something in the film itself

Nap