Hi to all on PF ,

Now as you might know I am a bust modelling fanatic with a fine gray army but I had to bring to your attention a 75mm figure from S2K , its not a new release but a lovely figure of a very brave and charasmatic leader ...."Windy" Gale .

Lets have a little bit of history about the subject first :

Born in 1896 Richard Gale (later General Sir Richard Nelson "Windy" Gale GCB, KBE, DSO, MC ), he tried to join the army in 1914 but failed due to not being up to the physical standards , he eventually gained entry to Sandhurst , being commissioned as a 2nd Lt late 1915 , joining the Worcestershire Regt , he applied to do a machine gun course finding that on arrival he had infact joined the Machine Gun Corps , in this unit he served with much bravery and in the Spring Offensive of 1918 was awarded the Military Cross for his actions.
After WW1 he held various ranks and was promoted to Lt Col at the beginning of WW2 , during this conflict he went on to command the 1st Bn the Parachute Regt and the 6th Airborne Division during the Normandy Invasion .
After the end of WW2 he continued to serve eventually becoming Deputy Supreme Allied Commmander Europe , he was ADC to the Queen (1954–7), Colonel of the Worcestershire Regiment (1950–61), and Colonel-Commandant of the Parachute Regt from 1956-67. He finally retired in 1960 and died in hospital in 1982.

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Looking at the model itself now :

Scale: 75mm

Material: Cream coloured Plastic (as per Dragon model figures)

Reference : S2KF701


As with the busts rececntly reviewed it comes in a strong cardboard box with a colour image on the front , inside there is a small painting guide and another 2 colour images of the finished figure (views of both front and rear..nice idea and a good starting point for a reference) .

The parts are packed in plastic bags to prevent any loss , and consists of a total of 6 pieces , the full torso , the head in beret , the left arm and a separate hand (holding a cigarette) and finally the binoculars that hang round his neck , there is also a small base .

Sculpting is finely done , capturing the facial details and stance extremely well , there are casting plugs to remove , these are easily done and should cause no problems .

He wears the cord jodphurs so often seen in contemporay pictures , together with a smock , of a individual style , similar to the Denison smock and of course he wears the famous maroon beret of the Airborne Division .

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Lets have alook at the model in more detail now :

Firstly the Torso :

A one piece sculpt which is nicely done and in keeping with general Gales pose , and bearing , his right hand is in his trouser pocket with the left arm needing the hand put together .
I like the way the smock has been done all very natural looking , the pockets have been sculpted as though they are full a nice touch .

There are the remains of the casting plugs to remove from the base of the boots , easily done using a razor saw. , after this is done , no more prep is required apart from a wipe of filler after fitting the left arm and hand . I suggest that you pin the model to the base you choose , wether it is the small one or more likely your own groundwork .

The head is sculpted wearing the maroon beret , as said facial details are really well done with the sculptor obtaining a very good likeness to "Windy" as seen in pictures . The binos look accurate and as the references .

The base , head and bino's all also have casting plugs to remove , quickly done with snips and sanding pads or wet and dry .

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Onto my final thoughts now :

Conclusion:
Sovereign 2000 have produced an extremely accurate model of a brave man , both sculpting and casting are well done with minimal prep required .
The subject gives the opportunity to paint the para camoflauge and will produce a very distinctive model ...a tribute both to the Airborne General and his troops he commanded .

You can get yourself this figure from S2K by contacting them via their website www.sovereign2000.uk.com

or direct to the owner Marc Day by e mail at day.m@btinternet.com ,shipping is FREE if you are in the UK and order direct from S2K.

You can also get it (like other S2K products) at a cost of £16.70 plus shipping from Historex Agents at www.historex-agents.com TEL : 01304 206720


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