Its great to be able to show you a new “Boy on the Block” and even better to find that it is the result of a lot of very hard work and dedication of a member of Planet Figure with the guiding hand of another member .

In the words of Martin Luther King “ I have a dream” and this one was that of MICK BEWSHEAR ( Mick 3272 on PF) in association with Ian Burton , he of Ellie’s Miniatures fame (www.elliesminiatures.com )


What is the name of the new venture :

The vision Mick has is to produce a series of 12 busts of the Irish Regiments in the Victorian period so there is a very strong theme will running though the series all aiming to pay tribute to the period of Military history and the Irish Regiments valued contribution to the military might of the Empire of Queen Victoria .

This has been a long road for Mick and I for one say WELL DONE , its never going to be easy and there have been many ups and downs along the way .

The release depicts a member of the 6th Inniskilling Dragoons in the Boer War
And was announced here and in social media

http://www.planetfigure.com/threads...nniskilling-dragoons-1901-south-africa.95492/

The release

Depicting a SNCO from the Regiment during the Boer War (note this is the finished piece still before casting ..hence the screw !!)


Lets have a bit of history on the Regiment itself during the Boer War :

The regiment arrived in South Africa in the beginning of December 1899 and and with the 2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys) they formed the 1st Cavalry Brigade, but the brigade did not actually operate together until the rush to Kimberley.

The value of the services of the cavalry between 11th February and 13th March was recognised by Lord Roberts in his despatches, and the work of the 1st Brigade on the night of 12th March in seizing very strong positions commanding Bloemfontein was specially touched on.

In the despatch of 31st March 1900 Brigadier General Porter and 2 other officers and 6 non-commissioned officers and men were mentioned by Lord Roberts for good work up to the occupation of Bloemfontein.

A further eight officers and 6 non-commissioned officers and men were mentioned in Lord Roberts' despatch of 4th September 1901.


During the later phases of the war the Regt had 1 officer and 9 non-commissioned officers and men mentioned by Lord Kitchener in despatches, and in the final despatch the names of 4 officers and 5 non-commissioned officers and men were added.

The regiment, fighting as mounted infantry rather than cavalry, had a number of sharp encounters with the Boers and played a full part in providing reconnaissance, outposts, escorts and dispatch riders.

A young officer, Lieutenant Lawrence Oates, first made his name for bravery at this time. He was recommended for a VC for his actions. In 1912 he took part in Scott’s ill fated expedition to the South Pole. He gave his life in a vain attempt to save the lives of his companions. The regiment still celebrates his memory.

Note initially the first rank had lances ..these were not kept!!



Continued in next post

Nap

Onwards we go

Books are available all making interesting reading , here are afew


Lets have some details of the release


Title: Sergeant 6th Inniskilling Dragoons 1901 , South Africa

Reference: MM1

Scale: 1/9th

No of pieces: 7 plus information sheet

Material: Lt Gray Resin

Concept for piece; Michael ( Mick ) Bewshear

Sculptor: Pavol Ovecka (Offo on PF)

Box Art: None available at time of review

Casting: In house

I had great pleasure in purchasing this from Ellie’s website who are the outlet for Mick’s Mick’s , purchase was easy to complete and the shipping was quick and efficient .

The resin is held in a good box with a slip over cover ,on which we see a picture of the unpainted built up model .
On opening parts were held in a seal lock plastic bag and were well wrapped in bubble poly sheets , also inside we are given a information sheet with a brief history and a painting guide

Parts consist of the main torso , 2 arms , the right hand , helmet ,water bottle and a weapon ( with cast on hand) , no base is included.

Prep

Torso…Sand back 3 round casting points on underneath and remove excess resin from under haversack ( see pictures)

Arms…Remove excess resin from upper arms to fit to torso and slight sanding of excess on left lower arm and casting line at inside

Hand….Cut of small post , remove flashing between thumb and fingers and fit

Helmet…Remove casting block from back underside

Weapon…Sand away small casting remnant from under stock and fine line on fingers and magazine

Water bottle Nothing ..just fit and add strap ends

There you have it …quite simple

General Comments:

This is a large piece of resin sculpted to the edge of the lower uniform jacket

Pose is a casual one with him holding the weapon in his left hand

The sculpting offers great opportunity for conversion to other units at the time

This is almost crying out to be a full figure as well

Resin quality is very good indeed

Casting is very good overall

Prep is minimal

The bandolier shows no rounds but there are many pictures that show this as the round was actually slightly smaller , but adding these should present no problem or maybe our Sgt has just been in a fire fight , and been promoted as a result of leadership and has yet to replenish

Looking at the references I have of the bandolier the actual buckle is facing the wrong way and should be facing to the rear ,for most modellers it would be possible to rework this but it's a shame .

The actual pouches are missing a couple of securing buttons but again easy to add or they could be just not secured down by .

Torso

This is a large piece of resin and Offo has done himself proud working well to Mick’s brief of producing a figure that is in the field , the uniform is not parade standard and hangs loosely on the body , the results of not too many rations during his time in country

The head is slightly domed with sculptors mark on the top , the character that has been sculpted is really very good indeed , this fellow looks tired and is a seasoned campaigner , bags under his eyes , face slightly sunken back at the cheeks , the face looks aged which is good to see , a well grown moustache , this and the hair is nicely textured

The facial features are very good , great definition on the eyes , nose and ears al brought out well by the quality casting…this is a painters face for sure and I hope to see box art sometime soon

The jacket has the stand and fall collar with the jacket being buttoned up , good definition on the edges and its nice to see the distinctive angled seams running to the pockets , as befits the man the material is slightly loose on the body , soft folds , not pulling if he was better fed .

The work on the seams of the pockets and the actual jacket edge and at the rear of the uniform are very good , I like this sort of details despite being a plain jacket things like this add a lot of interest to a piece . , the clarity of the pockets and the button shape ( these were a brass) are all very good,

The model is finished at the lower edge of the jacket which is a nice idea .

The equipment is the 1882 Bandolier and haversack with the water bottle being the 1888 issue

Across his body we have 3 straps , the haversack , the water bottle running across his right shoulder under the epaulette with the bandolier sitting over the one on the left .

Straps are well defined with the haversack strap having stitching running up the middle together with adjustment holes for the buckle , this buckle is sharply worked , leading down to the haversack a good shape again with stitching work evident at the flap edges.

The water bottle strap again has a good look about it and has a bit of wear and tear on it , the buckle is again good , the end being held down ( I will probably lift up the end slightly )


The bandolier is a very good representation of the 50 round version which had 4 pouches with 10 rounds in and 2 with 5 in this allowed the item to sit well onto he soldier ( the smaller ones are at the lower part where it hangs , good work on the actual pouches ,, there were many versions of these and were often seen in use by the actual Boers themselves .


Above is the 1840 guidon of the Regiment

Continued in next post

Nap

Now to the remaining pieces of the sculpt

Arms

These are positioned being held to the body casually sitting on the torso middle , both show good folds and work on the cuffs ( these being shaped correctly ) , fit is simple with minimal filler needed

On the Right upper arm we have the rank stripes of a Sgt and above that the distinctive Regimental badge of a castle , this is what makes this piece a 6th , the work on the castle badge ( which was a silvered metal ) is very good indeed , sharp and well defined , if you wanted to remove this and with a couple of other minor conversion depending on the unit you have a wealth of potential .

Below the badge there are the 3 chevrons of his rank , well styled with the stripes being textured and thankfully there is stitching around the edge meaning it looks like it is actually being worn, they were yellow on a red backing.

Hand

This is the right one being separate , good work on the fingers , and the nails , the hand sits nicely towards the body when in place .

Helmet

This is the Foreign service helmet with a cover on it , this being a distinctive shape which has been achieved well by the sculptor , the cover is well shown with folds and again we see some wear and tear on the material , there is the chin strap held up at the front ,

The actual cover was in 4 parts these are showing good join seams leading to the air vent at the top .
Note: No patch or badge is included as this was a good aiming mark for the enemy so was hastily removed.!!

Weapon

This is the Lee Enfileld Carbine and is a excellent sculpt and the work has been enhanced by the casting quality , really good work on the overall shape and the mechanism itself , the front sight is folded down.
With the weapon showing defined metal work as well as the locating area in the stock for the strap ( no strap has been included )
.
The hand is cast on and again Offo has done well as it looks like he is actually holding the carbine , he holds this with the stock lowered, all being cradled naturally

Water Bottle

This is the 1888 Mk 1 pattern , this was modified in 1889 and 1893 and 1895 and was one of many styles that was in use during this period..
The sculpt is a good shape , with the strap cast on at the lower edges , there is also the stitching that joined the cover together , you will have to put the end straps on but that should present no real concerns to anyone.

Final Thoughts

Well as a 1st release its a very good one so WELL DONE to all concerned , sculpting is very good , bags of character and well cast , so much potential both as a bust conversion and of course there is the legs that could easily be put on as well .

This is a passion for Mick and I say lets support him we have a good subject , not often seen and in a good scale as well for the details , I look forward to seeing the next release

I have no hesitation in recommending this to one and all


Lets have a few more pictures from the initial release info



To purchase this go to the Mick’s Mick’s logo on Eliie’s Miniatures website

www.elliesminiatures.com

Thanks to Ian for supporting Mick in this venture and for him for seeing this through .

Of course also to you all for looking in

Happy bench time to one and all


Nap

Hi Guys

Thanks for the comments

It's a good sculpt and a good start for Mick's Mick's a couple of areas to look at but I try to be constructive and honest in the reviews I do ( mainly the bandolier )

Bob ...like you say a large choice of stuff in this period

Mike...sure legs will apoear here from someone ..as a separate thread !

Jimbo ...up to you , for me I will have some with and some without and of course you could always add a Slouch hat on rather than the helmet!

Thanks for looking in

Nap

Cheers Bob

Thanks for posting the plate from the book I put in the references which shows the buckle facing towards the rear with a good view of the makeup of the rear of the pouches as well .

Of interest is the waistbelt strap in at 2d ....the purpose being to keep the belt close and in one position ...you could easily add this buckled up if you wished

I would heartily recommend this book , it's a gem and packed with so much information on all types of equipment .

Nap

Hi there

Glad you found the review helpful , you can get the book on Amazon , just search his name

Hope this helps

Nap