Hello to all ,

We have seen Altores Studio grow in 2017 , building on its reputation of different subjects some not seen before ( at least by your reviewer!!! ) so its good to be able to get a look at this release from a little while ago .

The subject

The main reference fro the sculpt

The Roman empire was very much a military might wherever it went and no matter what period of its history , empire, or republican , they used all types of effective weapons but one of the simplest and effective surely must be the slingshot.



The sling was cheap to produce and very dangerous to the enemy , Rome used them well in particular at the Battle Of Dirrakhia on or about the 10th July 48 BC near Dyrrachium which was in modern day Albania.

These troop types were lightly armed sometimes only a dagger , fast moving , with ranges recorded over 0ver 30m with perhaps one of the most famous auxillary types used by the Romans were from the Balearic state.

Sometimes wearing light clothing sometimes mailed vests , Lornica Hamata , a fascinating item that has come to light and described by the writer Plutarch is the use of woven ( basket style) helmet protection , it is believed that vines were used woven to the same effect





Books on Rome and the armours etc are easily available here are a few from my shelves

Continued in next post

Nap

Lets open the box.......

Details of the release

Title: Roman Republican , Legionary ,Dirrakhia 48 Year BC

Reference: TBA

Scale: 1/30th

Material: Gray Resin

No of pieces: 7

Sculptor: Sergey Valgar

Box Art: N/A


So with the unopened box offering an interesting figure the top was lifted with anticipation.....as with all of the releases it was items in bags , all safe and sound.

The top had a picture of the unpainted version of the built figure, together with the yellow text we know Altores for .

Parts consist of the full figure, 2 arms , Helmet plume, stone bag with sword, sling and of course a base.



Prep

Main figure...Nothing to speak of apart from a very fine casting line at back of legs

Arms ...Remove casting posts and fit to torso ...no filler needed when dry fit tested

Bag/Sword...Remove 2 casting posts and sand , small casting line on back of sword handle

Plume...Sharpen edges slightly and fit to helmet

Sling...Remove slight flashing from inside and fit into place.

Base...Casting plug to cut/sand away

All easy to do as you can imagine

Looking at the parts now :

Main Figure

Consisting of the complete figure less arms with the head included looking to the left slightly , feet slightly parted standing ..perhaps he is looking for the enemy ?

Our man wears a helmet with cheek protection covering most of the sides of the face , these are nicely edged and show good undercuts and also "frame" the face nicely .

At the neck he has a scarf which served to not only keep him a bit warmer but mainly as a protection against the chaffing of armour.

The helmet has the protective covering this is well shown all the way round and certainly adds a nice bit of interest to the sculpt., on the top we have a locating hole for the plume.

He wears a mailed shirt and this is where the Altores sculptors do well in my opinion ... a good rendition of the links , shoulders are covered with mail and the leather edging is good , these are held together by the securing brace , styled slightly as per the reference

The facial features are easy to access for painting , eyes nicely defined for the scale, mouth closed , he certainly has a veteran look about him.

Over his left shoulder he has the straps for the bag with good detail at the buckle area, this belt hangs over the sectioned belt he has around the waist ....again nicely detailed with he end hanging naturally.

The lower clothing has nice natural folds which brings us nicely down to the legs , bare , nice details on the knee and calf muscles , at his feet we have the leather sandals , lovely work on the strapping and well cast with no loss of detail.

Arms

East to fit with the left hanging down at the side the right has the arm slightly raised holding the sling when in place, both arms have good folds natural in positioning with some mail at the tops of the arms which joins well with that of the torso , the hands are also well sculpted with good finger separation.



Bag/Sword

This is a "string" bag as such and holds the ammunition used in the slings , I like the work on the cods that make the bag , painting will be easy as the details can be brought out by drybrushing with ease.

We also have a sword , the gladius , with the often seen style handle , nicely shaped with the scabbard seen at the lower part of the bag.

Fit to the figure could not be easier .....a round of resin fits well into the cut out on the figure



Sling

This is a credit to not only the sculptor but the caster , minimal flashing with the ammunition sitting well into the "envelope " , the weight of this allows the piece to hang naturally as it did in the real thing ,again nicely detailed work .

Fit will be a little delicate but with care and patience a good result is assured .




Plume

Sitting on top the helmet this looks well worn and ragged , and hangs down suitably , with the atrocious weather of rain and heavy campaigning results like this was often seen no doubt.

Nice surface work on this I like the way it separates at the middle , flopping down at the ends ...a nice touch and in keeping with the reference.



Fit is easy I would try and pin it as well .

Base

Altores continue to give us textured bases , stoney , simple but very much suitable , the positioning of the feet are helped by clear see areas that are plain allowing fit to be accurate.



On the underside we have the sculptors signature initials




Final Thoughts

Altores have made a big impact on the figure scene and continue to do so with this interesting release , a natural pose , well detailed figure , not too complicated in the painting so ideal for all skill levels .


I will be sharing the other Roman release soon so if Ancients are your thing keep watching !!! ..if its not then why not go out your comfort zone ..you will enjoy it !!

From a personal modelling preference I hope we see a bust from the Roman armies !!!

Recommended to all


For details on this and more from them :

E-mail: altoress@mail.ru

Website: Currently not available but here are their European suppliers

https://www.elgrecominiatures.co.uk/collections/altores-studio

http://www.perenciomodels.it/joomla/manufacturers/altores-studio

https://www.wendysminiatures.nl/c-3821866/altores-studio/

https://www.zinnfigur.com/

They are also a member of FaceBook and the forum here on PF

Thanks to for the review piece

And to you all for looking in

Happy Modelling

Nap

Just to finish this review off some pictures from various angles of the unpainted figure

ENJOY

Nap