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Review "Fagin" - Latest from Reedees Miniatures

Discussion in 'Reviews , Video Reviews and Open Book' started by Nap, Feb 28, 2012.

  1. Nap Moderator

    Country:
    England
    Hi Guys ,

    Well this was a pleasant surprise to receive from Steve (aka 1969 on PF) , who is the brains behind Reedees Miniatures (the last release I reviewed was the WW1 Bavarian(y) ) ......

    It should perhaps be retitled "Gotta pick a pocket or two" as it depicts one of the main characters in Charles Dicken's famous novel Oliver Twist ..who is it well of course its the one and only Mr Fagin .

    Fagin appears as an antagonist , referred to in the preface of the novel as a "receiver of stolen goods", but referred to more frequently within the actual story as the "merry old gentleman" or simply the "Jew".

    Born in London, Fagin is described as "disgusting" to look at. He is the leader of a group of children, including the Artful Dodger , who he teaches to make a livings by pickpocketing and other criminal activities in exchange for a roof over their heads.

    A distinguishing trait is his constant—and thoroughly insincere—use of the phrase "my dear" when addressing others. At the time of the novel, he is said to have already made criminals out of "scores" of children who grow up to live—or die—committing the same crimes as adults. .

    Whilst portrayed as relatively humorous, he is nonetheless a self-confessed miser who, despite the amount he has acquired over the years from the work of others, does very little to improve the squalid lives of the children he takes in, allowing them to smoke pipes and drink gin "with the air of middle-aged men". In the second chapter of his appearance, it is shown, albeit when talking to himself, that he cares less about those children who are eventually hanged for their crimes and more about the fact that they do not "peach" on him and the other children. beating

    Near the end of the book, Fagin is hanged following capture, in a chapter that portrays him as being pitiful in his anguish, waiting for the moment he will be led to the scaffold which is being prepared outside and becoming so mad not one guard wants to wait with him, meaning there are two there.

    The character has been played by many on the stage and in films , among these include Sir Alec Guiness , Sir Ben Kingsley , Rowan Atkinson and Ron Moody , the character has been depicted in comic books also .

    He epitomises all that is bad in the Victorian underworld and streetlife , living off the misfortunes of others and using them to his own means ............what a fascinating character he is .

    Continued in next post:

    Nap

    Attached Files:

  2. Nap Moderator

    Country:
    England
    Lets have a look at the model now :

    Its an unusual subject and a complete departure from anything that has previously released ..I asked Steve why Fagin ..."well thats easy" he replied ..."its fun and different" ...and that is exactly what it is .

    The model was received well packed for the hustle and bustle of the Post Office in a white cardboard box with the parts sandwiched between 2 pieces of foam , on the cover we have a colour picture of Fagin .

    Subject: Fagin

    Reference: RM-BU-03

    Scale: 1/9th

    Material: Resin (cast in a light gray)

    No of Pieces: 7

    Sculptedby: Steve Readdie

    Box Art by: Steve Readdie


    Whats in the box , well 7 pieces consisting of the torso, the head, the left arm , the right arm(holding a small chest) , the hat , the chest lid and the hasp for the chest.

    Continued in next post:

    Nap

    Attached Files:

  3. Nap Moderator

    Country:
    England
    Looking now at the largest of the pieces ...the torso

    Steve has sculpted Mr Fagin wearing a well worn and most definately stolen coat , torn and dishevelled , full of creases ..very much an ex gentleman's coat which has certainly seen better days , he has under it a waist coat and a collarless shirt .

    Sculpting is full of folds and creases , all of which will be brought out by the painting , great casting as well , there are great locating lugs for the arms ....these result in an almost total lack for any glue ..the fit is spot on .

    I like the way the tears and rips have been depicted , this is going to be fun to paint for sure .

    As with the Bavarian the back is hollowed out ..a trade mark perhaps , but if ts not your preference then a simple job to fill in , there are 3 casting remnants on the underside to easily sand off....I might be tempted to paint the coat a maroon colour but of course the choice is yours .

    Continued in next post:

    Nap

    Attached Files:

  4. Nap Moderator

    Country:
    England
    We shall now look at the arms , this time individually as they deserve a separate post IMO...starting with the left:

    This is sculpted bent at the elbow with the hand holding a gentlemans watch...perhaps a hunter type ...the sculpting is great , again Steve has achieved the dishevelled look , folds are well done and defined ..painting is going to be so easy with all the care take in the sculpting .....WELL DONE Steve.

    His hand is wearing a wollen glove cut off at the mid fingers ...well it makes pickpocketting easier !!!! ...the glove is again a real nice piece of sculpting , fingers are bony and skinny , with nice details on all of them .

    The watch he holds is a real masterpiece , its not open but is full of fine details on the surfaces , the watch chain is curled in the palm ..safe from quick fingered types !!!

    There is a small casting plug to remove from the top rear and elbow of the arm together with a tiny casting line ..all so easily done with sanding pads ., fit into the shoulder is near perfect , just a swipe of filler needed.

    Continued in next post:

    Nap

    Attached Files:

  5. Nap Moderator

    Country:
    England
    hubby 019.jpg Lets move on to the right arm now :

    This is again bent at the elbow but this time he is holding a small chest full of jewels there is no way that is going to be removed , as with the other arm its great sculpting and has been done so it really is holding on tightly to the chest , again there are tears and rips , wonderful stuff , the hand is again gloved with fingers poking through , tears and rips are again evident on the glove and at the coat sleeve

    The treasure chest is a cracking piece of work , full of gold and chains , rubies , rings ...let your mind and painting go wild ..you are going to really enjoy this one .

    A small casting plug neds removing but as with the others not a problem and very easily done, fit again is near perfect , both to the body and the shoulder but also underneath ...again I raise my hat off to Steve ..well I would if someone hadn't stolen it ..eh Mr Fagin;)

    Continued in next post:

    Nap

    Attached Files:

  6. Nap Moderator

    Country:
    England
    Lets have a look now at the head and face ...if we dare look this "trusted and honest"man in the face !!!!

    The features are a masterpiece he has a wrinkled and weatherbeaten face , , furrowed brow , beady eyes and slightly upturned mouth , spots on his cheek and a wonderful nose in keeping with his image , hairstyle is what I would call "ragged and wild" , long and straggly with a matted beard ...I LOVE IT .

    There is a bit of sanding to do on the top took me about 20 seconds !!! , fit into the neck area is again spot on and this just brings the bust even more to life .

    Lets let the pictures write the text ..enjoy

    Continued in next post:

    Nap

    hubby 008.jpg

    Attached Files:

  7. Nap Moderator

    Country:
    England
    Lets now look at the final 3 pieces , the hat ,the chest lid and the hasp , firstly the hat :

    This is as seen in the stage shows , a large and totally shapeless wide brimmed item of headwear, , its torn of course and battaered about , this has never seen a millinary shop , produced with no sense of fashion for sure .

    The brim is a nice depth and thinness in scale, underneath we have a casting remnant to sand away ...easy , the crown fits really well onto the head ..and seems to make the look of a sinister and sneaky man, the shadow it would cast keeping his face in the dark ..a good chance to paint to allow for this .

    The chest list is a nice piece also , good chance to get some woodgrain effect done , the edges are bound in iron with strong rivets , on top we have a heavy duty ring ....the hinges fit great into the actual area's on the chest itself .....and to finish it of what does every treasure chest need ..........

    A secure hasp and thats what we have a simple sculpt but very nicely done ...finishing the look off to a tee .

    Continued in next post:

    Nap

    Attached Files:

  8. chippy Well-Known Member

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    I was lucky enough to see this at Crewe Model Show on Sunday , it's a painters dream from the face to to the jewel box , there's gold chains rubys and other valuble items bursting out of the box and the watch in his left hand is so well done it will be a joy to paint all those gruby worn cloths and hat .
    chippy
  9. Nap Moderator

    Country:
    England
    Hi to one and all ,

    My final thoughts on this one ...well as you might have guessed I really enjoyed the review ...but not as much as I shall enjoy painting the veritable Mr Fagin , sculpting is 1st class , minimal prep is needed .

    Subject matter is a really good choice ..hopefully there will be somemore ..perhaps Bill Sykes and his dog .....this will be a real FUN piece to work on and paint , giving the modeller who is more used to a military uniform sto let his brushes go wild ...so will I recommend it .....

    YOU BET ...its pure FUN and ENJOYMENT

    customLogo.png


    Available from Steve via his website at a reasonable £30 plus £ 2.50 shipping.

    https://sites.google.com/site/reedeesminiatures/home

    or by e mail to : reedeesminiatures@hotmail.co.uk

    2 Brookdale Road, Leicester, Leicestershire, LE3 6PU, England, U.K

    Thanks to Steve for the review model

    Nap

    Fagin%20panorama.jpg

    Attached Files:

  10. Dr Force A Fixture

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Steve is becoming a very well respected artist and every time I see a knew production it just seems to get better and better. 10/10 for the review Kevin, probably the best I have read on PF, thanks for the efforts.
    kansas kid likes this.
  11. housecarl Moderator

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    I got one of these off Steve at the weekend, and it's a cracker.
    Thanks for the review excellent Kev,(y)
    Carl.
  12. Nap Moderator

    Country:
    England
    Hi Guys ,
    I guess you like the bust then ............(y)

    Nap
  13. T-34/85 PlanetFigure Supporter

    Country:
    United-States
    I sent my order in and its on its way. Great review:) This will be fun to paint. I have a great respect for Steve's work. This will be the third piece from Reedee's miniatures that I have and no problems at all (y)
  14. Figurenfreund66 Well-Known Member

    Country:
    Germany
    Hi Kevin

    would you please make either less ideas, less review or beautiful figures?
    You're ruining me! Thanks for the review of this great bust.


    best regards
    Hendryk
  15. mil-mart A Fixture

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Kev a great review and very much deserved. Steve's produced a cracker with this one and I'm looking forward to seeing the next one in this range.

    Cheers Ken
  16. kansas kid Well-Known Member

    Country:
    United-States
    Hi Kevin:

    And thanks mate for the most detailed review I've seen in quite
    some time. What a great subject matter. Such a creative idea,
    and there is so much eye candy with the character of the face
    and head as well as the box of Fagin's treasure! As Chippy sez
    it should be a lot of fun to paint. I can't wait to see what will
    be next from Reedee Miniatures. There are so many great
    characters/rascals from English Literature; especially that
    came from the genius of Charles Dickens.

    Cheerio but be back soon. . . . The Miami Jayhawk
  17. Jimbo A Fixture

    Country:
    England
    Kev you are fast becoming Mr Review!. Great review mate, as always.
    Steve, a very nice bust one that I've added to my list, great face & pose well done.
    Cheers
    Jimbo
  18. 1969 A Fixture

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Kev many thanks for doing the review and I enjoyed reading through it.

    Thank you all for your comments on the bust.

    All the best

    Steve
  19. pmfs A Fixture

    Country:
    Portugal
    Excellent review Kevin and sculpt work by Steve.(y)

    Cheers,
    Pedro.
  20. Jazz A Fixture

    Country:
    England
    A very different piece from your usual kits Kev. Very nice though. I like it.

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