Hi to all on PF and the modelling community ,

I was happy to receive a new release I purchased from Herr Puchala the owner of UP Miniaturen recently and what a nice surprise it was .

The Kaiser married twice and fathered a total of 7 children , 1 girl (Victoria Luise this has been released as a bust already by UP) and 6 boys , one of who was Prince Oskar and this is the subject of this review and is one of a couple of releases that I will be reviewing on PF (the next has lots of medals ...but you will have a wait a little )

So lets all sit down and have a litle bit of history ...now be quiet at the back , take notes .I shall be setting questions later for homework !!!!

Prince Oskar was born on 27th July at Potsdam was the fifth son of Wilhelm II and Augusta Viktoria .

Educated as was the normal for a royal prince in the military tradition Prinz Oskar was a cadet at Plön, in his mother’s native Schleswig-Holstein.

He made the news in 1902 when he fractured his collar bone after a fall from the horizontal bars!!!!

During the early months of the First World War, he commanded Grenadierregiment "Konig Wilhelm I." (2. Westpreussisches) Nr. 7 in the field as its colonel. Future fighter ace Richthofen witnessed the August 22, 1914, attack on Virton, Belgium, and wrote of Prinz Oskar’s bravery and his inspirational leadership at the front of his regiment as they went into combat. For this action, Oskar earned the Iron Cross, Second Class.

A month later, at Verdun, Oskar again led his men in a successful assault into heavy combat, and was awarded the Iron Cross, First Class. After this action, he also collapsed and had to be removed from the field.

Awarded the wound badge for his injuries, he spent much of the fall of 1914 recovering from what was reported to be a heart condition. He eventually returned to duty and served on the Eastern Front, where he was again awarded the wound badge.

The Johanniterorden (The Order of St John) was a favorite of the Hohenzollerns, historically, and of Prinz Oskar’s immediate family in specific. Hisfather and uncle were members, and his brother, Eitel Frederich served as its Master of Knights (Herrenmeister), from 1907 to 1926. Prinz Oskar served as the thirty-fifth Master of Knights from Eitel Friedrich's resignation in 1926 until his death in 1958.

Married on 31 July 1914 to Countess Ina-Marie Helene Adele Elise von Bassewitz , they had 4 children (3 boys (one of who was killed in WW2 - Oskar Wilhelm Karl Hans Kuno) and 1 girl.

During his life he received many decoration and commisions in Regts these being :

Regimental Commissions

Garderegiment zu Fuß (1st Regiment of Foot Guards), Leutnant from 1898, Hauptman (captain) through 1914

Grenadierregiment "Konig Wilhelm I." (2. Westpreussisches) Nr. 7, à la suite before 1908, Oberst (colonel) during World War I

Gardegrenadierlandwehrregiment (3rd Reserve Regiment of Grenadier Guards), à la suite before 1908

Chivalric Orders

Master of the Knights, (German Order of St. John), 1926–1958

Knight, Oder of the Black Eagle, 1898

Knight Grand Cross with Crown,Order of the Red Eagle, 1898

Knight, First Class Prussian Crown Order, 1898

Knight Grand Commander, Royal House Order of Hohenzollern Knight First Class with Crown

Mecklenburg Order of the Wendish Crown Knight First Class

Order of the Netherlands Lion

Knight First Class (with diamonds), Osminieh Order, Ottoman Empire

Military Decorations:

Iron Cross Second Class, August 22, 1914,for actions at Virton.

Iron Cross First Class, September 24, 1914, for actions at Verdun

Wound Badge September 1914 (Virton) and February 7, 1916 (Russian Front).


As it became more evident in the 1930's that there would be no restoration of the monarchy through the Nazis, the family began to fall out of favour with Hitler with Oskar and 2 brothers being particularly anti Nazism.

Prince Oskar died in Munich on 27 January 1958 (aged 69)


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Nap

Lets have the model now :

On opening the box we have :


Subject title: Prinz Oskar von Preussen 1917

Scale: 1/10th

Parts: 4

Material : Resin

Sculpted by : Ulrich Puchala

Box Art by : Marielyne Neurohr

Research by : Filipe Figueiredo (our very own Filipe on PF)

Reference: Nr 0027

The model was received packed in a strong blue box , with the parts secured in a plastic bag to avoid any damage , surrounded by foam chippings .

The front had a picture of a unpainted version but a painted version by Marielyne Neurohr has been done (here is the link http://www.planetfigure.com/forums/showpost.php?p=449799&postcount=1)

Consisting of 4 parts , the torso , the head , the pickelhaube helmet and the base itself , all parts are cast in the now familiar light grey resin .

Also included is a information sheet full of colour references so even if you have no books whatsoever you will be able to paint this and of course others from UP .



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Nap

Lets start with the Torso now :

Sculpted with Oskar wearing the uniform of the Grenadier Regt Nr 7 , the left arm is positioned bent at the elbow , the right being cut off at an angle above the elbow.

Looking now at the sculpting itself ..this is as with others nicely done with the folds looking really natural , particularly the folds where the arm bends at the elbow ...an area hard to get right IMO .

The cuff and collar area have really nice details of the lace , all which will benefit careful painting, the collar being a fold down with the shirt showing slightly above , this is also the same at the cuff .

Epaulette detail and the decorations he wears are also crisp and well done with the latter being a total of 5 decorations in addition to a medal bar as well .

He is cast as if he is holding his helmet (more later)

There was a casting line to deal with underneath the torso (this went under the arm as well) and along the pillar stem ...using wet and dry solved this easily.

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Looking now at the sculpt that could make or break the end result ..the face :

This has been closely modelled on the picture and the likeness is really good , from the hairstyle with parting to the small goatee type beard , there was a small casting remnant to remove on the top of the hair at the back ...again wet amd dry sufficed . , the features of the face are soft but it looks like the subject , this will of course be enhanced by painting .

Under the neck is a plug that fits securely into a recess in the neck area of the torso ....no filler was neededon the review model.

If you want to be totally true to the hairstyle as in the picture a little putty is needed ..but not really necessary to do this IMO ..its a personal thing.


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On now to the definitive german image ..the pickelhaube :

This is sculpted with Oskars hand holding it from underneath and he is actaully holding it ..great sculpting and a credit to the casting .

The eagle badge is a cracker to say the least , the chinscales are secured up and the finial of the helmet (which I thought might get broke ..but wasn't) is a true shape ..exactly as it should be for an officers helmet .

I perhaps would like the finial pushed into a piece of foam for additional protection to avoid the need for rework .

There was heavy casting line to remove very carefully from the back ...

......that said the helmet is what makes this piece and is a joy to look at ..it without doubt adds to the model and as always will come out even more when painted .

The hand itself is well defined with the fingers being well sculpted and holding the helmet , fit at the wrist to the cuff area in the right arm is very good .

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Nap

Hi Guys,

Now onto the final piece ..the base , together with some pictures of the full figure :


The base is in keeping with the rest of the range in the shape of an Iron Cross , , a small amount of prep is needed to clean the edges up , fitting of the actual pedastal is really good , my suggestion is to pin this as well .

As you can see the model looks good ....even unpainted !!!

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Nap

My final thought on Prince Oskar :


It is good to see the " lesser" notaries featuring in this series , I certainly learnt a lot both about the subject and about the German military style when I was researching for the Review .

The likeness is very good , with some casting remnants to deal with (be careful when doing the arm) ..gently does it .....what will you have at the end of your modelling ..a distinctive piece that you will proudly display , a great addtion to the UP range .

The medals and decorations are very well done ..making painting an enjoyable process ...why not try NMM on these .

UP miniatures contact details : www.puchala-figuren.de or up-miniaturen@t-online.de

Price of 35 euro's plus shipping, you are guarenteed an excellent service from UP

or from Historex Agents in the UK www.historexagents.com

Very highly recommended , and another interesting subject to review.

I will post some pictures of the box art when I receive them

Nap

Hi Guys,

Its my pleasure to show you the actual box art that now comes with this bust ...looking real good as well ....ENJOY.

Nap

Hi to all on PF ,

Thank you for all the comments , pleased you are enjoying the reviews and they are of use to all on PF .


Ron,
Thank you ...I like to include the warts and everything !!!

Pedro ,
You are correct another nice bust from Herr Ulrich , thanks for the comment .

Filipe ,
Can I congratulate you with your research on the uniform that allowed Ulrich to produce such a subject so accurately.(pm sent)

Captnenglish ,
They make for a great display as well like you say a work of art ..it will be my pleasure to have another ready for PF very soon.

Filipe ,
The Kaisers Warlords from Osprey is indeed a really good book , no Oskar like you said ..perhaps a 2nd edition might be in order from them .

Hapy modelling

Nap

Hi Filipe,

I think you are probably correct ,but I think I might suggest something to Osprey !!!!

Thanks for e mail ..appreciated .

Nap