AVE Miniatures 54mm Zouave and Hetera Figures.

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Martin Philpott

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Joined
Mar 17, 2015
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200
AVE Miniatures 54mm Zouave and Hetera Figures.



Catalogue Ref: Zouave and Hetera.

Sculptor: Vitaly Sevalnev.

Price: €18 the pair or €10 each.

Availability: Direct from AVE – www.ave-miniatures.com/

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Introduction.
AVE Miniatures are an up and coming name in the world of resin miniatures, they show a promising future. Based in Tula Russia the company is the vision of Andrey Arhipov who is the owner/operator, his aim is simple, to produce resin miniatures in a number of scales that cover a highly diverse and unusual subject choice.

The figures I have for review today are certainly unusual subjects, I had heard of neither prior to seeing these figures and consequently the research of each was fascinating to say the least. I have broken the figures down into separate articles in the hope it will make the review easier to follow. Each is available to purchase separately or they can be purchased slightly better as the pair.

I always find it beneficial to provide a background to a subject therefore I have included a history for each of these figures. The Zouave history is intensive and filled with notable historic accounts and is justifiably long, the Hetera history is not so long but again makes for interesting and sometimes scandalous reading! You have been warned. Please feel free to skip these sections and make your way directly to the actual figures.

History of the Zouave.
Zouave was the title given to certain light infantry regiments in the French Army, normally serving in French North Africa between 1831 and 1962. The name was also adopted during the 19th century by units in other armies, such as volunteer regiments raised for service in the American Civil War and Brazilian free black volunteers in the Paraguayan War. The distinctive appearance of such units was given by the Zouave uniform, which included short open-fronted jackets, baggy trousers (serouel), and often sashes and oriental head gear.

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The Zouave’s of the French Army were first raised in Algeria in 1831, initially recruited solely from the Zouaoua a tribe of Berbers located in the mountains of the Jurjura Range. The Zouave’s saw extensive service during the French conquest of Algeria. Recruited through voluntary enlistment or transfer from other regiments of men with at least two years’ service, the Zouave’s quickly achieved the status of an elite amongst the French Army of Africa.

By 1852, the French Army included three regiments of Zouave’s . Each of the three line regiments of Zouave’s was allocated to a different province of Algeria, where their depots and peace-time garrisons were located. The Crimean War was the first service which the regiments saw outside Algeria. They subsequently served in the Franco-Austrian War of 1859, the Mexican Intervention (1864–66) and the Franco-Prussian War (1870).

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After 1871 the Zouave’s lost their status as an élite corps solely made up of long-service volunteers; they became a force mainly composed of conscripts from the French settlers in Algeria and Tunisia, undertaking their compulsory military service. The Zouave regiments did however retain significant numbers of long-service volunteers who contributed to the high morale and steadiness of these units.
Two Zouave battalions served in Tonkin during the closing weeks of the Sino-French War (August 1884 to April 1885). One of these battalions was roughly handled on 23 March 1885 in the Battle of Phu Lam Tao. A third Zouave battalion joined the Tonkin Expeditionary Corps shortly after the end of the war, and took part in operations against Vietnamese insurgents.

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Zouave battalions subsequently saw active service in China during the Boxer Rising (1900–01) and in Morocco (1908-14).[5] From the very beginning of World War I Zouave regiments and detached battalions saw extensive service on the Western Front. Others served in Macedonia, Tonkin, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco. Twelve Zouave battalions were recruited from prisoners-of-war and from deserters from German Alsace and Lorraine who had volunteered to join the French Army.
The four Zouave regiments of the French Army wore their traditional colourful dress during the early months of the First World War. The development of the machine gun, rapid-fire artillery and improved small-arms obliged them to adopt a plain khaki uniform from 1915 on. From 1927 to 1939 the “oriental dress” of red fez (“chichi”), blue sash, braided blue jackets with waistcoats and voluminous red trousers was reintroduced as off-duty dress for re-enlisted NCOs and other long-service regulars in the Zouave regiments. It was also worn by colour guards and other detachments on ceremonial occasions.

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The Zouave’s played a major role in the 1914-18 War with their numbers being expanded to nine regiments de marche. These units retained much of their traditional panache, especially in attack. They became however less conspicuous in World War II, seeing service mainly during the opening stages of the war in the Battle of France (1940) and in the course of the liberation of France (1944).
As predominantly conscript units the Zouave’s did not serve in Indochina between 1945 and 1954. They were, however, employed extensively during the Algerian War, before being finally disbanded in 1962 following Algerian independence.

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The traditions of the Zouave regiments were maintained until 2006 by the French Army’s Commando Training School (CEC), which occasionally paraded colour parties and other detachments in Zouave dress. With the closure of the CEC school that year and the putting into store of the flag of the former 9th Zouave’s in 2010, any direct link between the former Zouave’s and active units of the modern French Army ceased. While other branches of the old Armée d’Afrique have either survived or been re-established as representative units in recent years (notably the Foreign Legion, France does not have any plans to recreate one of its most distinctive and best known military corps.

The Zouave Figure.
Cast in a mid-grey coloured resin the figure consists of five individual pieces, namely the main body, head, left and right arm, along with the wooden perching stool. Flash and seam lines are minimalist , here is some of the cleanest casts I have seen. Any clean up required will be very straightforward and before you know it those brushes will be laying down the paint.

Head.

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Excellent in every aspect. The hair is superb with stunning depth of detail in every lock. The beard and moustache also very convincing.
The ears, mouth, nose and eyes perfectly proportioned and some wonderful definition in the neck. Little if anything in the way of clean up required, just careful removal from the casting block.

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Main Body.

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Beautiful casting has enabled all of this glorious detail to flow through with the dress uniform looking superb.
The braiding on the jacket is excellent and there is a campaign medal also being worn. The Serouel baggy trousers show great detail in how the material is gathered and the sash around the waist looks sublime.

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Again little or no clean up required, these really are beautifully clean castings.

Left and Right Arms.
These are some lovely touches and attention to detail in the jacket sleeves that cover the arms. I particularly like the way the cuffs have been sculpted with that open and slightly kinked appearance, very natural.
Detail on the hands and fingers is superb, on the right hand a cup is being held which adds some interest. The braiding on the jacket is excellent as is the ruffled and creased look on the sleeves.

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The wonderful detailing of the hand and fingers can clearly be seen in the photo above. Again too the material of the jacket is superb.

Wooden Stool.
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A nice simple accessories is included by way of this wooden stool. The grain of the wood certainly shows through and provides the perfect match for our Zouave figure to perch upon.

Photo.

Below I have included a photos of the assembled figure taken from the AVE Miniatures website.

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Continued on next page....
 
History of the Hetera.
In ancient Greece, Hetera were courtesans—educated, sophisticated female companions. Although most of them engaged in sexual relations with their patrons, Hetera were not simple prostitutes.

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In ancient Greek society, Hetera were independent and sometimes influential women who wore distinctive dresses and had to pay taxes. Mostly ex-slaves from other cities, these courtesans were renowned for their achievements in dance and music, as well as for their physical and intellectual talents.

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Unlike most other women in Greek society at the time, Hetera were educated. Τhey were also the only women who actively took part in the symposia, where their opinion was welcomed and respected by men. Hetera were the only class of women in ancient Greece with access to and independent control over considerable amounts of money. They should not be confused with pornai of the time, who sold sex by the act and worked on the streets or out of brothels.

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Ancient Greek Hetera have been compared to the earlier Babylonian nadītu, the Japanese oiran, and the Korean kisaeng. The hetaira business had implications in fashion and taste beyond the realm of prostitution. As sex and sexuality in Greek culture evolved, courtesans were inclined to follow suit to stay fashionable and to keep up with business.

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The reverse is also true—as certain aspects of hetaira culture became popular, they would diffuse into everyday Greek life and fashion as well. For example, Athenian women seemed to have imitated the styles of prostitutes. This included the removal of pubic hair, applying makeup, and adopting their style of dress.

The Hetera Figure.
Cast in a mid-grey coloured resin the figure consists of six individual pieces, namely the main body, left and right arm, two earing’s along with the hair. Flash and seam lines are almost non-existent, his is without a doubt some of the cleanest casts I have ever seen. Any clean up required will be very straightforward and you will soon be concentrating your efforts on the painting.

Main Body.

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The sculpting and casting is of the highest quality and order. Every exquisite detail beautifully highlighted and feature rich in definition. The face shows wonderful character as we see the figure immerse herself in dance.

All of the features we would expect such as the nose, mouth, eyes and ears look splendid.
The actual dance pose looks extremely well captured and elegant. There is a small lug on top of the head, this is perfectly situated to accept the separate hair piece and the fit is absolutely precise. The figure is attached to a rather large casting block at the feet, care will need to be taken in the removal of the block so as not to harm the delightfully sculpted feet.

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The costume is sensational showing the beautiful and natural ruffled look of the delicate and fine material. There is also plenty of flesh on show for you to bring out those lovely skin tones in the face, neck, back and ample chest area!

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Worn around the neck is a delicate necklace that I would presume to be pearls, amazingly tiny detail that accompanies the minute separately cast earing’s, you really will need great care removing those and placing them correctly on the figure.

Arms.
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Detail is abundant in both arms, they have a very natural flowing appearance posed above the head. The hands are very delicate showing fine finger detail. Each arm has bangles moulded on and these look beautiful. The fit to the body is perfect as was the case when carried out a dry test fitting.

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Hair.

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This looks wonderful and continues with the quality we have previously seen. Lots of great detail that is swamped in some fabulous definition that should look wonderful painted. The fit to the head is very precise and looks perfect with the earing’s in situ.

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In the photo above are the two tiny earing’s, be very careful, they could all to easily be gifted to the carpet monster !!

Photo.

Below I have included a photo of the assembled figure taken from the AVE Miniatures website.

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Synopsis for both figures.
As mentioned at the start of the review I had no idea of these Zouave and Hetera figures or there background and history, I’m very glad to say that has changed with the introduction of this delightful dual release from AVE Miniatures. They make for a very interesting and absorbing subject change and I’m confident they will hold appeal to quite a number of figure painters. Quality shines through in every area and for the exceptional price you are getting a pair of very high quality figures.

This is my second review for AVE Miniatures and I have been extremely impressed with both offerings. Keep an eye on these guys, I reckon there is plenty more to come and if the quality continues in the vain we have seen so far then we are in for some real treats. I am more than happy to award this release a very highly recommended. My sincere thanks to AVE Miniatures for these review samples and the opportunity given. To find out more about the company and more items from their range please be sure to check out their website and Facebook pages, I have included links to both below.

Martin Philpott.

AVE Media Sites:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/ave.miniatures

Website: www.ave-miniatures.com/
 
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