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Review French Camel Trooper from RP Models

Discussion in 'Reviews , Video Reviews and Open Book' started by Nap, Mar 3, 2017.

  1. Nap Moderator

    Country:
    England
    Hi everybody

    This is not some much a review more of a "whats in the box" which I think is only right as I was as many know been involved in this and other projects with RP Models run by my good friend Hugo Pereira acting both as a researcher and working on the releases in other ways .
    0a.jpg
    I would like to say that I have no financial interest in the company whatsoever

    RP was born from Hugo's desire to give the modeller something different and action packed with accuracy and quality being the keywords .

    One of Hugo's remits for the company is that he will only ever cast a certain amount in limited runs so when its gone its gone !! ..traders include SK Miniatures and El Greco Miniatures in UK , many others are worldwide.

    In addition to this importantly it was Hugo's total desire to listen and act on information and advice from the people that matter ...YOU the customer....the response from PF is the perfect example of this IMO and I know Hugo so appreciates the responses and information, the same response has been on Social Media.

    Here's the link for the threads on PF

    The initial idea for the "Napoleon War" series

    http://www.planetfigure.com/threads/need-help.79204/

    Lots of response!!

    After initial work on figure

    http://www.planetfigure.com/threads/french-dromedary-regiment.80051/

    Even more responses !!!!

    00a.jpg

    I will be showing you the parts and making observations as a modeller during this open box article

    Here are some references you might find useful

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    and now some books to have a look at and get the feel of the Egyptian Campaign

    000000000a.jpg 00000000a.jpg 0000000a.jpeg 000000a.jpg 0000a.png 00000a.jpg

    Continued in next post

    Nap
    marco55, MrBMB, swralph and 6 others like this.
  2. Nap Moderator

    Country:
    England
    On to the actual release details

    Title: French Dromedaire Regiment ( Napoleon's War Series)

    Reference: RPM-75-03-0001

    Scale: 75mm

    Material: Gray Resin

    No of parts: 19

    Sculptor: 3D

    Casting YS Castings ( Yiannis )

    Box Art: N/A

    The first thing to say is the number of parts are not 13 as on box but 19 these consist of 3 parts of camel, the centre piece with saddle , cloak ,torso, head , plume, 2 arms ( one with lance ) , 2 pieces of the reins , sabretache/sword, 2 pistols, small pouch, 2 storage containers , musket , no base is included , a authenticity certificate is included sign by Hugo .
    camel 001.jpg
    The pieces were in a good strong box, no box art and vac packed and for me at least a little difficult to get out !! saying that however very good protection . The lance was slightly warped..but careful warming will straighten that out easily enough.
    camel 002.jpg
    Perhaps a small instruction sheet might have been included as there are a lot of parts .

    One thing also to note is the clever way all the parts are engineered ....very cleverly to say the least , parts fit easily into place

    Prep

    Slight sanding on the parts ( under riders feet and upper body) and fitting together , the camel's gait is as seen in live animal but will certainly need pinning well as 3 of the feet are lifted above ground level

    I will look at the camel and saddle in this part

    Camel

    Consisting of 3 pieces the front body and 2 legs , the rear, legs and lower centre body , neck/head part , putting this together presents no real issues but you need to fit the saddle part before the front legs!!!
    camel 003.jpg
    Dry fitting showed no visible need for filler and the parts certainly look very accurate in casting so all credit to Yiannis and Hugo for this

    The muscle work is very good indeed and accurate this was something that Hugo looked passionately at and we saw a lot of camels together!!!! , the gait of the beast is very good as seen in reality , the body is turned slightly to the left with the tail at the rear away from the body in relation to the movement of the animal

    Very good work on the actual exposed feet with the pads on the lower parts , the distinctive camel toe is clearly worked

    camel 004.jpg camel 005.jpg camel 006.jpg camel 007.jpg camel 008.jpg camel 009.jpg

    The neck is a great piece of 3D work the muscles are all there , the neck pulling over to the left , the lower part of the neck slightly creased , really good skin textures are all over the animal .

    The head of the camel is one with attitude mouth slightly open teeth showing .....I reckon this fellow gave his rider trouble!!!!
    camel 010.jpg camel 011.jpg camel 012.jpg

    Saddle/Central Piece

    I must admit when this was being developed I was a little concerned how the camel was going to be cast but this has been very well thought out the central section fits very accurately between the 2 parts with legs and no filler needed from what I can see

    The saddle is covered with various hangings the main one behind the legs of the rider having some nicely detailed surface work on it , on both sides we have a hanging bag perhaps full of food or maybe booty robbed from a tomb in the valley of the kings.

    On top of the hangings there is a sheepskin cover as worn by hussars ( the camel units used a mix of both cavalry and infantry items ) , good texture and strap definition with cutouts for a pistol on each side at the front , in the centre on each side just below the sheepskin there is a cutout to take the water containers ( one each side)

    The piece also includes the lower part of the rider ...a real clever bit of decision there from the team at RP , no worry about gaps the position is knees slightly bent wearing boots and the long uniform coat .
    the work on the boots are very pleasing as well as seeing the fact the stirrups are also cast on , together with the spurs ...all well cast .

    The waist has the barrel sash around it with cords , all showing sharp details

    There is a good locating piece to fit the upper body to.

    camel 013.jpg camel 017.jpg camel 014.jpg camel 015.jpg camel 016.jpg camel 018.jpg camel 021.jpg 00a.jpg

    Continued in next post

    Nap
  3. Ventress Well-Known Member

    Country:
    England
    Quality review as always, pity he's not a Grenadier Guard in the Sudan! (Just saying)
    anstontyke and napoleonpeart like this.
  4. Nap Moderator

    Country:
    England
    Now to the figure pieces in this part

    Upper Torso

    Nicely sculpted and well defined wearing a hussar type dolman, the torso is slightly leaning to his left in realation to the mount , the folds of the uniform are good with the sleeves being the upper halves only ready to receive the lower arms .

    camel 028.jpg
    Straps are well defined if perhaps not in the "correct" position in respect the musket one in particular ..but soldiers everywhere adapt to suit themselves so I don't feel anyone can say it wasn't ever worn like that .

    The neck area is upright and has a good clean area to take the head by means of a cut out.


    camel 022.jpg camel 023.jpg camel 024.jpg camel 025.jpg camel 026.jpg camel 027.jpg

    Head/Plume

    Wearing a shako with cords and flounders , good surface work , the star boss on each side is clearly cast with the chinstrap having the scales on as well , sculpted tightly to the face sides , the peak is in place which might slightly be a little awkward in painting the eyes


    Facial features are of a shouting man , mouth wide open tongue showing ...just about th put his lance through an enemy no doubt , , the hair has good texture on it as well .

    The rosette is on the shako at the front but no other decoration , on the top there is a hole ready for the plume

    camel 035.jpg camel 034.jpg camel 032.jpg camel 031.jpg camel 030.jpg camel 029.jpg

    Cape

    A full cape blowing around with gusto , again we see texture and excellent folds are sculpted after much research into the cloaks behaviour , suffice to say all adding to the action pose of the figure .

    camel 036.jpg

    Fit could not be simpler , cast with a cut out to fit nicely over the collar and sitting well onto the torso upper

    camel 037.jpg
    A nice challenge to paint this as they were normally white!!

    Arms/Lance/Reins

    Arms are in position with the left holding the reins the right holding the lance slightly to the rear ready to thrust forward .
    The folds on both arms are good with the cuff details being hussar in style and trefoil, knots , not overly worked in definition , the hands come out of arm ends that you ca see up making them look very natural in look, hand details are good with the lance being gripped solidly .
    The lance itself has the end with a ball below the point ( to stop it going too far in the enemy ), no pennon is included as these were often removed if used at all .

    The reins themselves consist of 2 pieces the longer having one on each side of the camels head , a little over scale IMO but sandable if you so wish , the smaller part is the loop which fits on the top of the hand .

    camel 038.jpg camel 041.jpg camel 048.jpg

    Weapons/Sabretache

    The sabretache is a little over scale nicely detailed with the pre napoleonic insignia on it , nice edging around with the 3 straps being cast on as well , buckle work is there , in place the piece looks a lot better than when away due to the fact that the sword straps are also cast alongside the others , must admit is a good bit of thinking and casting though .

    The sword is mameluke in style with a good shape , a little sanding is needed but it looks fine in position on the figure

    camel 039.jpg camel 040.jpg

    The pistols are both in holsters with the securing straps no fancy details except securing straps which are sharply shown , locating is simple as they have a recess on each side of the sheepskin on the central piece.

    camel 043.jpg

    The musket would have normally been infantry type , its in the stock bucket with a retaining strap halfway up , fit is easy if on the wrong side for some modellers ie not regulation on the right. the weapon has good mechanism details and is fitted with the bayonet as seen in references , this is a little small I feel but you could replace it easy enough.

    camel 042.jpg

    Pouches/Plume and Containers

    Now we have the 2 most valuable items in the desert ..water or maybe wine (!!) containers , one is a gourd shape with acord around it , the other is a jar in a rather nice basketwork container , nice work on the surface texture on this , both pieces fit snugly to the cutouts on the animal sides
    camel 046.jpg

    The plume is showing movement which adds to the figure action , the surface work on the plume is really good with locating a matter of fitting to the hole in the shako ...simple !!

    The pouch is a good size and with the flap being defined there is a rolled up fatigue cap with 2 g straps , again easy to fit , i would recommend painting before fit .

    camel 045.jpg


    Final Thoughts

    Am I pleased with the result , yes , couple of things I would work on when on the bench which I have stated but this was a great project to work on with RP we all learnt a lot as the process developed and most importantly we got input and acted on any comments or suggestions made by modellers especially the members here on PF and as Hugo has said its a team effort and all are part of the RP team no matter how you contribute.

    2017 will I have no doubt be a good year for Hugo and the RP team with really interesting releases and projects

    Don't forget 5% of all sales of all RP products will be going to a military related museum or charity

    For more details contact:

    www.rpmodels.pt ( being worked on !!)

    sales@rpmodels.pt

    www.facebook.com/RPmodels

    or you can contact Hugo via this site

    Thank you for looking in on this "open box" write up hope you found it of use and interest

    Nap
  5. mortier A Fixture

    Country:
    Germany
    Very great reviev again,thank you
    anstontyke and napoleonpeart like this.
  6. JonH Active Member

    Lovely imaginative bit of sculpting. Great subject too and thanks for the review.
    Pennies are being saved.
    Jon
    napoleonpeart and anstontyke like this.
  7. CBDesign Active Member

    Country:
    Germany
    Thank you Nap..
    Best regards,
    Chris
    napoleonpeart likes this.
  8. Nap Moderator

    Country:
    England
    Hi Guys

    Thanks for looking in glad you liked it

    Happy modelling

    Nap
  9. jai A Fixture

    Country:
    Italy
    Hence my opinion with some books that you can read online titles. http://www.planetfigure.com/threads/french-dromedaire-regiment.81659/

    the rifle with bayonet was to Regulation the bayonet the longest and I'll just make additions to the weapon

    I started work ... remade bust, changed head (is the same cloned and larger) will refer sword and take away sabretache ... I'll have to redo a leg .... has been broken by a baby ... but all this I do not know When it will end

    sorry for my english
    napoleonpeart likes this.
  10. Zastrow.cuirassier PlanetFigure Supporter

    Country:
    France
    That's a review !
    napoleonpeart likes this.
  11. Hugo Pereira A Fixture

    Country:
    Portugal
    Hello my GOOD FRIEND Kevin

    Congratulations for the review... Its Amazing...

    My friend everyone knows you do the reviews with big precision, and we are friends and you help me a lot... But a review is a review, and you have to tell what you see... And another thing, if I dont have trust in my pieces, I never ask a friend and RPmodels adviser to do the reviews... NEVER... I know what we are doing... I know what we want to do... I know teh quality of our pieces... And I know everyone is involved with RP... Its a big responsability... Believe me...

    Thank you so much.
    Big ugg and take care
    Hugo
    napoleonpeart likes this.
  12. alamac Well-Known Member

    Country:
    Australia
    Great review Nap ,
    i have this kit sitting on my bench at the moment it is a beautiful sculpt and superbly engineered.
    Congratulations to all involved.
    Cheers
    Al
    napoleonpeart likes this.
  13. swralph A Fixture

    Always a pleasure to read your (not so much a review as whats in the box):).
    Thanks Nap:).
    napoleonpeart likes this.
  14. MrBMB A Fixture

    Nice Nap!
    I will be picking this one up.
    Now if they can do the same type of thing with a Stormtrooper and Dewback in 1/16 I would be very happy
    napoleonpeart likes this.
  15. Steve Brodie PlanetFigure Supporter

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Whilst waiting to get 'bader' into the spray area at the weekend, put the body together on this one, i did find however quite a few gaps that will need filling, not a complaint, as some CA and baking soda should sort them out.
    Nap likes this.

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