Hi to everyone ,

Well what a blast we all had at Euro this year, great traders amongst them an established and well respected one in our community it is of course

Amongst their display was the subject of this review ...not that I waited till Euro to get this just had to have it as soon as it was released.

The release in question was announced by Fernando here on PF

http://www.planetfigure.com/threads...n-officer-charleston-1780.73006/watch-confirm

and also of course on FB .

The release we will look at is :

Lets have a bit of information on this subject and the Legion itself:

Banastre Tarleton was born on August 21, 1754 in Liverpool, England. His father was a merchant who dealt in sugar and slaves. After squandering an inheritance in London, he convinced his mother to buy him a commission in the British Army in 1775.
The least expensive commission at that time was that of a cavalry coronet.


The cavalry suited him well, and after the start of the Revolutionary War he volunteered for service in America. By 1778, at the age of 24, he was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel.

The British Legion, which became known as "Tarleton's Legion", was originally formed in 1778 by the union of the Philadelphia Light Dragoons, Caledonian Volunteers, and Kinloch's Light Dragoons, all from the Pennsylvania and New Jersey area. In 1779, the volunteer group was named the 5th American Regiment, and in 1780 it absorbed the Bucks County Light Dragoons.


In February 1780, the Legion was transported to South Carolina and began a campaign that lasted almost two years.
Through that time many were killed or captured, but Loyalists from the Carolinas (many of Scottish origin) joined the Legion. As the muster rolls from October 1781 show, the Legion consisted largely of these Scotch Loyalists.

The Legion played a key role in many of the most famous battles of the Revolutionary War:

• Monck's Corner in April 1780: This battle cleared the way for the surrender of Charleston, South Carolina.

• Waxhaws on May 29, 1780: The Legion marched 105 miles in 54 hours and caught up with Buford's Virginian militiamen, and though outnumbered more than 2 to 1, quickly defeated them after Buford refused to surrender. In the confusion that followed this battle, some Americans tried to surrender while others ran or kept fighting. The Legion killed most of the Americans, giving Tarleton his reputation as a slaughterer, and the title "Bloody Ban".

• Fishing Creek, August 19, 1780: The Legion charged the encampment of a force of 1000 American volunteers, and scattered the army.

• Cowpens, January 17, 1781: Battle of Cowpens: The 71st and 7th regiments were added to Tarleton's command for a total of about 1100, facing an army of 1000 Americans under Brigadier General Daniel Morgan. Morgan placed his men well, and laid a trap. The over-confident Tarleton and his Legion were misled by a false retreat and found themselves outflanked. The result was a rout which was one of the worst for the British in the entire war.

• Guilford Courthouse, March 15, 1781: Tarleton's Legion was joined by Royal Welch Fusiliers and Hessian light infantry against an American force under Lee.

• Warwick Courthouse, spring 1781: Tarleton and a patrol of dragoons (cavalry) routed 400 rebel militia.

• Charlottesville, June 1, 1781: Tarleton and 250 infantry attacked the town and broke up the Virginia legislature, capturing many prominent politicians. They almost caught Thomas Jefferson himself, but Jefferson was warned and fled 10 minutes before Ban and his troopers arrived

The chosen uniform was much like that of [John Graves] Simcoe's, consisting of a short green jacket with a black roll collar, white buckskin breeches, with black riding boots for the cavalry or long black gaiters for the infantry. The headgear was a black leather cap, hard and polished, and looking like a small round iron pot, with a glazed leather peak in front. The dragoons were armed with sabre and pistol, the infantry carried a light musket with the usual cross-belts holding bayonet and cartridge-box."

The British Collectibles (Militaria) Limited once advertised a "Tarleton-style" 9th Regiment Light Dragoons helmet, shown on the right (the photo is from their website). This isn't an actual Tarleton's Legion helmet, but is of much the same style:

"A rare 1784-1812 Georgian Tarleton helmet. The body and peak are of stout black jacked leather, the peak is edged with a silvered band, across the front above the peak, is a silvered metal title strap inscribed "1X Light Dragoons". A black velvet pleated turban encircles the body, fastened with three sets of silvered chains to each side. The right side is mounted with a large silvered regimental Crowned emblem comprising the English rose, shamrock, acorns and oak leafs, below are two-part scrolled banners inscribed "Dieu Et" "Mon Droit". To the top of the helmet, a large black bearskin fur crest. The left side, inset in the top of the turban is a concealed metal plume holder (plume now absent). To the rear, a black velvet padded bow with hanging silvered twist wire tassels. The interior retains a scarlet silk liner, now faded but intact, also present a mostly faded label of "Hawkes Mosley & Sons" Hatters To His Majesty The Prince Of Wales, Piccadilly London. Helmet is complete with little or no restoration, in remarkable good condition for its age.


"The Tarleton helmet is named after Banastre Tarleton, who raised a legion in the American War of Independence. Hand manufactured by hatters and saddle makers, skull and peak made of boiled leather and thus combining a resistance to sword-cuts with some degree of lightness.

After the American War, the helmet became popular among the regular regiments of Light Dragoons and was worn by them up until 1812, when the Shako replaced it."

The Tarleton style helmet was used in many units including Yeomanry and at Waterloo with the RHA and also by French units before and during the Revolution

As you can see Tarleton and his legion was hard fighting and his helmet style was copied by many


Books are again well served and of course we now have the internet ..I like my books !!! here are a few to have a look at :

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Continued in next post

Nap

Lets see what we are looking at:

Title: Tarleton's Legion Office Charleston 1780

from the Series: Magna Historica

Scale: 1/12th

Material: Gray Resin

No of parts: 6

Sculptor: Paul Deheleanu

Box Art: Fernando Ruiz


The purchase was received quickly and safely from Fer , with the contents being held in a really strong oblong plastic container. the parts were in resealable plastic bags resting on a foam base, on the top was of course the Box Art. the box is very secure so much I asked SWMBO to open it !!!

Contents consist of the torso, the head, the helmet, the right arm , right hand(with pistol) and the feather "plume", no separate base is included as this is incorporated with the torso.

Prep needed torso ..nothing really smooth infact not a blemish , the arm has a tiny pip of resin from casting on the elbow, , the head will need a tiny bit of sanding to fit to the collar perfectly and a small casting remnant to take away from the top , the helmet has a small casting remnant to sand away on the underside and a few air holes that are easily filled,the pistol has a fine casting line to sand off on the top and a bit of resin excess from the butt ( the pistol has a small lug on it but do not remove as it fits in a cutout on the right shoulder) ....and that is all minimal prep before the real enjoyment begins.

Looking at the Torso this is a classic bust in style and its good to see this , the torso sweeps down to form the base as well , beautifully smooth , the sculptor has a lovely tight sculpting style we see the uniform as in the pictures , the sword belt over his right shoulder , good undercuts and definition on the buckle and the buttons but for me the most striking area is the fold over collar the undercuts are excellent , the lacework edging sharply worked , we see a cravat at the neck nice folds here, on the shoulders we have the epaulettes again as in the pictures . on the back of the collar is the hair tied in a bow , both areas are good , like the work on the hair and the way the bow hangs ..very natural.



Now to the Head this is a young officer from a good family well clothed and well kept hair , he looks to his left perhaps at his troopers getting ready for the battle, features are good the mouth tightly shut and the eyebrows are not overdone, the hair is a lovely bit of work this has been worked with fine skill the side rolls are great , , I like the way we have a stray strand of hair showing underneath , fit to the neck is easy with the hair matching up to the collar piece. On the top we have 3 keys to fit into the cutouts on the helmet

Now to the Helmet on the underside we see the 3 matching cutouts , the helmet itself is very accurate to the pictures , the peak has a brass edging to it with the right side having a badge this is beautifully sculpted making painting a joy for sure. the turban band again great texture and folds with the retaining chains all spot on . On the left we have the same quality but no badge. The bearskin crest is packed full of surface work , and sits really nicely over the helmet crown , on the left there is a cut out ready to receive the feather.

The Feather , what to say except a good bit of work , fit into the helmet is a easy method with a lug on the helmet crest matching a cutout on the back of the feather , when in place looks really good.



On now to the Arm , firstly fit to the shoulder is really clean with no gaps visible so no filler !!!, the same care and attention to details are seen as in the torso , folds and cuff work well done and again naturally worked , we see the correct clothing seams both here and on the torso., the cuff is ready to receive the hand , I like the way the sculptor has put the shape of the lace cuff into the inside making fitting of the pistol hand easy.



Now the final piece the Hand with Pistol , this is another good bit of work , nice work on the lace cuff , I like the way the hand has been done he is actually holding the pistol , good finger definition , the little finger slightly ajar , his forefinger is through the trigger guard , all he has to do is cock the weapon and another traitor will die!! The pistol has the mechanism uncocked but showing nice details including all parts like the flint and screws , pan etc , on the opposite side we have a plate again with good work on the retaining screws.the ramrod is in position , I will drill out the barrel on mine.



Final Thoughts

A really classic release well sculpted and with great box art ...an interesting subject which will be a nice addition to the display cabinet , presentation is very good indeed , minimal prep and lots of enjoyment to follow. I recommend Fer Miniatures not only for the HIGH QUALITY but also for the customer service.


For more details on this and other releases have a look at the website:

www.ferminiatures.com

or go to their FB page as well for more pictures , why not follow them ...I am !!!

http://ferminiatures.com/shop/magna-historica/tarletons-legion-officer-charleston-1780/
https://www.facebook.com/FeRMiniatures

Thanks to Fer Miniatures for the fast shipping and to you all for looking in

Happy modelling

Nap

Lets have a couple more pictures of the excellent box art...

ENJOY

Nap

Hi Guys,

Thanks very much for the comments , it's a lovely piece of work .

Terry , I agree it would be nice to see another from the AWI to go with is and the Infantryman previously released...perhaps a dragoon standard bearer .

Thanks for looking in

Nap