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Review "I have the Cuckoo" from Stormtroopers

Discussion in 'Reviews , Video Reviews and Open Book' started by Nap, Sep 15, 2014.

  1. Nap Moderator

    Country:
    England
    Hi to one and all ,

    The time is looming Euro is just a couple of days away so its time to share what you can see in the way of a new goodies this time we will look at a release from Stormtroopers ......

    I refer of course to the bust from them depicting Sgt Masterson with the eagle of the French 8th Regt .

    Eagle 001.jpg

    Lets have a bit of background before we look in detail at the resin!!!

    During the Napoleonic Wars, regiments of the Imperial French army carried as their standard a gilded eagle upon a staff. The eagle was a sign of prestige, and men would fight like devils for it. It is not surprising then that the eagle was one of the most sought after prizes on the battlefield. The first eagles were captured by the Russians and Prussians during the Austerlitz campaign, but in this post, I will delve into the first British capture of an eagle, that of Ensign Edward Keogh and Sergeant Patrick Masterson of the 87th Regiment (Royal Irish Fusiliers) at the Battle of Barrosa in 1811.
    The capture of this eagle occurred due to the British repulsing a French attack upon Barrosa ridge. As the column of 3000 men advanced, it suffered horrendous casualties of up to 50% due to British and Portuguese musket and artillery fire. Eventually, two regiments, the British 87th, and the Portuguese 20th, charged the broken column, over running the French 8th regiment, which had been attempting to deploy into line. A vicious bayonet fight ensued. Ensign Keogh was the first to grab the eagle from its bearer, though he was immediately shot and killed by ferocious French defenders. The eagle was then grabbed by Sergeant Masterson, who killed the eagle's bearer, managing to escape with the eagle safely. He was later gazetted as an Ensign, eventually reaching the rank of Captain.
    4.jpg 5.jpg 3.jpg 7.jpg 8.jpg 9.jpg 10.gif 6.jpg
    1.jpg 2.jpg

    As expected books are readily available here are just a couple well worth looking at :
    15.jpeg 11.jpg 12.jpg 13.jpg 14.jpeg
    Continued in next post:

    Nap
    Mike S., Jazz, Ventress and 1 other person like this.
  2. Nap Moderator

    Country:
    England
    Lets now delve into the box:


    Here are the full details of this release:

    Title: "I have the Cuckoo: Sgt Masterson Barrosa, Spain 1811

    Reference: PPST21

    SCALE: 1/10th

    Material: Gray Resin

    No of pieces: 15 Resin, 2 brass rods, piece of lead strip , plus 2 inserts

    Sculptor: Carl Reid

    Box Art: N/A


    As with previous releases in the pedastal range the contents were held in a secure box , inside we find the pieces held in bags with this again being put in a bubble wrap bag , in the bottom of the box we also see 2 brass rods ,one for the eagle and one for the spontoon , as well as a piece of lead sheeting for the straps.
    Eagle 001.jpg Eagle 004.jpg
    We are also given 2 inserts one with painting instructions and the other with picture references .
    Eagle 002.jpg Eagle 003.jpg
    The Resin parts consist of the torso,2 arms, a head with shako, the backpack , the haversack, a waterbottle, the spontoon head , 2 spontoon base pieces , a sash, the left hand , the captured colour, the eagle and finally the base.
    Eagle 005.jpg Eagle 006.jpg
    Lets begin the main piece the torso , prep needed was removal of small casting plugs from underneath the base area , and one from the right lower shoulder in the arm area , this piece is well sculpted in a full pose right shoulder raised , the lacework on the chest is well formed and very cleanly cast , the equiptment straps are being worn , nice one Carl , they are pulling into his body , at his waist we see the sash , distinctive of the rank , in a central colour of the facing colour .
    Eagle 007.jpg Eagle 008.jpg Eagle 009.jpg Eagle 010.jpg Eagle 011.jpg Eagle 012.jpg Eagle 007.jpg
    The arms need small casting plugs removed , again we see great clothing folds , the cuff details are spot on , on his arms we see his rank badges , seams are well formed , with the epaulette tuft being cast onto the right arm . once the plugs are removed the fit is really good , a minimal swipe of filler was needed .

    The arm recesses are very cleanly produced making fit of the arms very accurate, the uniform creases are in relation to the body position...smoothly achieved .
    Eagle 013.jpg Eagle 014.jpg Eagle 015.jpg
    The left hand that holds the spontoon pole (dryfit this before any chosen adhesive is used) , the hand is again typical Carl Reid nicely detailed and cast , a tiny plug was removed from the hand , I would suggest you fit the pole first then position the hand to the cuff and secure...be patient it will be worth it.
    Eagle 030.jpg Eagle 031.jpg
    Now to what I consider the one thing that will make or break a figure in particular a bust ...the face........Carl has in one word produced a "gem" so full of character , mouth wide open , you can almost hear him shouting "I have the cuckoo"...great features are everywhere from the ears , the eyes , the hair (great side whiskers) , teeth are finely worked with his tongue showing .
    Eagle 016.jpg Eagle 017.jpg Eagle 018.jpg Eagle 019.jpg
    On his head we have the stovepipe shako pushed back on his head , , lovely work on the shako plate packed full of details , cockade and plume are the cherry on this cake .......
    Eagle 021.jpg
    Prep was easy with just small casting plugs to remove from the top and lower area of the shako , the plume and one from the underside of the neck , once done fit is fine ..no filler on the review was needed .


    Continued in next post:

    Nap
    Jazz and Ben-nl like this.
  3. smudger1960 PlanetFigure Supporter

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    I hope stu's got a big van and plenty of these as I think this is going to be a top seller
    Ben-nl likes this.
  4. polyphemus Well-Known Member

    I received this a few days ago. Superb as Kev says. The only change I would make would be to replace the brass rods with brass tubing which makes it easier to securely attach the appropriate parts; eg drill a fine hole underneath the head of the spontoon and insert a fine piece of pin or metal rod, this then slides into the tube. No criticism of Stu's product, this is something I do with all figures which include standards, lances etc.

    Geoff
    kilsh and napoleonpeart like this.
  5. Nap Moderator

    Country:
    England
    Hi to all ,

    As we have so many parts to look at its a 3 posting on the review , this final one is going to be looking at the remaining parts in the box....

    The backpack now , prep needed was just 2 casting plugs from the blanket .the pack is with the necessary soldiers items with the side straps straining to hold everything in !!!!, lovely work on the straps , on top we have the blanket roll with the retaining straps on both being well sculpted with the buckle holes being well defined , on the back we have perfect form that fits into the back of the torso .

    Note on the left side of the pack we have a cut out that the brass rod for the spontoon fits neatly into ...well thought out by all concerned .
    Eagle 020.jpg Eagle 022.jpg Eagle 023.jpg
    The haversack is also bulging at the bottom , good surface folds , the button on the flap straining , there is a larger casting remnant to remove from under ...easy with the dremel and razor saw., fit into the torso is tidy , slight bit of filler needed where it meets he torso.

    Eagle 024.jpg Eagle 025.jpg
    The water bottle is the round wooden type with a casting plug to remove from the back , once done fit is good (use the lead sheeting to make straps , the wood effect is nicely done, another nice piece of resin.
    Eagle 026.jpg Eagle 027.jpg
    His sash now , well detailed particularly the tassels , , remove the casting plug from the top and fit into the torso ...easily done with only a minimal swipe of filler required.
    Eagle 028.jpg
    Now to the spontoon pieces , the head is a nice sculpt and well cast retaining its distinctive features , careful removal of tiny excess plugs is needed from top and bottom, I suggest to pin this as well as the base pieces (Stu provides 2 of these), it would be easier if you replaced the solid brass rods with hollow tubing to make fit easier of the top and bottom pieces.
    Eagle 029.jpg
    On to the colour he has captured , this is a beautiful piece of sculpting skill , with Sgt Masterson's right hand gripping it tightly , the folds on the colour are wonderful Eagle 036.jpg Eagle 037.jpg ...... but what is particularly great to see is the surface details...amazing work on the lettering .
    Eagle 041.jpg Eagle 038.jpg Eagle 039.jpg Eagle 040.jpg
    Casting plugs are needed to be removed from the facing edge ...a total of 5 all carefully placed to avoid any lettering damage ...well thought out both of you for this .

    Now we have the "Cuckoo" , prep needed was just the removal of small casting plugs all easily done, the 8th's eagle has the laurel wreath around its neck ...I think the pictures show the sheer skill in sculpting on this part the base it stands on has the number 8 well defined ., the feathers are all well detailed .
    Eagle 032.jpg
    Eagle 033.jpg
    Eagle 034.jpg Eagle 035.jpg
    The base is a small pedastal type as in the picture in the first part , if you choose to use this ..pin it .

    Final thoughts:

    This is without doubt going to be very popular so get and see Stu at Euro or if you can't get yourself down to his website :

    www.stormtrooperminiatures.co.uk

    The piece offers such a lot in our hobby , great sculpt well cast and thought out , a bit of a challenge in fitting the spontoon , painting will be such a delight especially with the face , the shako plate , the colour, the equiptment ....it will be a really enjoyable process .

    It will make a great companion piece to the ACW Irish colour bearer ...go on treat yourself get both!!

    ENJOY your modelling ..I guarantee you will when you have this on the bench.(y)

    Thanks for looking in

    Nap
    Jazz, Tommi, swralph and 5 others like this.
  6. swralph A Fixture

    Another great review Nap.There are just so many kits being released,I don't no what to buy.Your review's certainly help me make a choice.
  7. stu A Fixture

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Kewl Review Nap !!(y)

    Glad you liked it and many thanks

    Stuart
  8. Ventress Well-Known Member

    Country:
    England
    Brilliant, as always, nice reference material. Thanks!
  9. smudger1960 PlanetFigure Supporter

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    It looks stunning
  10. megroot A Fixture

    Country:
    Netherlands
    This is a winner on my list.
    Thanks for the revieuw.

    marc
  11. Tubby-Nuts2 A Fixture

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
  12. kilsh Well-Known Member

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    First stop for me in Saturday was Stu to pick one of these up, I'm sure he must have sold out over the 2 days. There were lots of new releases on offer at Euro but frankly nothing to match this. Aside from the concept and quality the size makes it a real 'wow' piece. With a simple base it's about 35cm tall!

    Even by Carls standards it's very special and full marks to Stu for commissioning it.

    I'm saving it for Christmas.

    Neil
    napoleonpeart likes this.
  13. MalcC A Fixture

    Country:
    England
    Picked mine off Stu at Euro, what a stunning piece.
    Excellent Sculpting, Excellent casting.

    Malc
    napoleonpeart likes this.
  14. ACCOUNT_DELETED A Fixture

    Country:
    Canada
    Too bad it's innaccurate as everyone knows that this eagle was taken by one Lt. Richard Sharpe, who I believe bore a striking resemblance To an actor named Sean Bean. Great review, great kit.

    Colin
    MCPWilk and napoleonpeart like this.
  15. MCPWilk A Fixture

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    I saw this at Euro and was sorely tempted.

    Mike
  16. ometz Well-Known Member

    Country:
    United-States
    Another spectacular piece. . . and there's more of them coming from Stormtroopers. Wow.
  17. Waterman Active Member

    I saw this at Euro, but didn't get round to buying it,and next I knew everything was packed up,but maybe by then they were all sold out anyway. Always spoilt for choice on Stormtroopers Stand, but this one really did stand out as being rather special. Superbly sculpted and cast, and just crying out for the paint brushes to bring it to life. I am going to have to spoil myself I know.
    napoleonpeart likes this.

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