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Review War Elephant " Bustorama" from RP Models

Discussion in 'Reviews , Video Reviews and Open Book' started by Nap, Mar 15, 2019.

  1. Nap Moderator

    Country:
    England
    Hi everyone

    We all have followed the releases from Hugo Pereira and the team at RP models since they began 4 years ago .

    Hugo's passion and dedication for not only his products but also the wish to do something different which has shined through with each release , each one he learns from and listens to customers.

    The last year has been busy for sure with a stampede of elephant being most noted , the concept Hugo has is to give something to all modellers , whatever scale or preference of model type.

    Look here for my review on the award winning bust

    RP.jpg


    In that we have the elephant head and "driver" but in this review we go elsewhere on the subject....no not the full elephant but the castle and the occupants.

    Here are picture from RP of the full built piece:

    RP Full.jpg
    RP Full 3.jpg
    RP Full 1.jpg
    RP Full 2.jpg

    Here are a few books and reference pictures to look at but I want to concentrate on the resin

    RP book.jpeg RP book1.jpg RP Book 2.jpg

    RP 0.jpg
    RP 0a.jpg
    RP 0000.jpg RP 000.jpg RP 00.jpg


    Continued in next post

    Nap
    MCPWilk and captnenglish like this.
  2. Nap Moderator

    Country:
    England
    Details of the release:


    Title: Carthago War Elephant (Ancient World ) Bustorama

    Reference: HRP-B-01-002

    Scale: 1/12th ( see note 1 below )

    Material: Gray Resin

    No of parts: 29 plus information insert

    Sculptor: 3D

    Casting YS Castings ( Yiannis )

    Box Art: N/A



    General Comments
    1. Scale says 1/12th but it closer to 1/10th ( this was a error when printing >>.Hugo is aware ) ...so you get more resin for the same price
    • This is one very heavy box just under a kg ...a lot of resin
    • Well packed with minimal movement
    • It is BIG!!!! You will need a big space in the cabinet!!!
    • There are IMO 2 options to display this .... as in the RP pictures in the first part or just as the "castle" with the crew
    Packed well as I said but there was a small amount of damage caused no doubt by transit movement , you will see this is the pictures ...however as I expected a quick message to Hugo and my replacement part is on its way to me .

    Parts consist of 16 parts for the crew and the remainder being for the rest

    Prep ....For this review I will look at this in each section.

    However you will need to:
    • Work out where you want to position the crew in the howdah , what I will do is mount on brass rods inside
    • Source a suitable base I suggest Pete Watson Bases or Oakwood , run by Richard Wharton or S-73 ( all sponsor our feature FOTM )
    The resin was in a very strong cardboard box as here:

    rp busto 001.jpg

    Inside we also have a insert with a history write up and pictures of how the figures fit together

    Looking at the pieces ...in size order !!!!....

    The hanging covering

    rp busto 003.jpg rp busto 004.jpg rp busto 005.jpg rp busto 006.jpg rp busto 007.jpg rp busto 014.jpg

    As you can see its big ....YS castings have done a great job considering the sheer amount of resin involved here so ALL CREDIT to Yiannis .

    Prep .....Sanding round the edges , you will need to fit the chain into the locating cutouts ...a small amount of adjustment is needed and filler

    The details are very good indeed depicting a horse and a palm tree in stylised format together with corner decorations.

    The leather straps are textured and the same goes for the wood effects on the lower part of the howdah and of course the covering itself

    The Howdah

    Fitting to the other piece is easy by a excellent fitment point rp busto 013.jpg , dryfit showed a small amount of filler was needed but nothing drastic

    The howdah itself has good wooden texture features , including many cuts and damage caused in combat , there are fitment points for items that are included .

    On one side we see the door...shut with the door fitments and handle rp busto 012.jpg , the opposite faces forward , on the remaining 2 sides we are treated for a shield , one with rearing horses on the other with dolphins and a palm tree ...on both the designs are not overdone in relief

    rp busto 008.jpg rp busto 009.jpg rp busto 010.jpg rp busto 011.jpg


    So there you have the main pieces ...by this time you will have had a good workout !!!

    Continued in next post

    Nap
    MattMcK. likes this.
  3. Nap Moderator

    Country:
    England
    There are additional parts to fit in place

    These include rp busto 015.jpg

    The supporting chains....these look exactly as they should do ..powerful and well formed and very well cast , minimal flashing to ren=move in the links with a sharp knife .

    rp busto 022.jpg


    Above there are 3 straps ...these are for the crew ...again well textured and easy to fit

    rp busto 023.jpg

    The hanging feature ( in the middle of the picture above has tassels hanging ( one was broken off ..a replacement has been arranged ..Thank you Hugo ) , the covering fits to the 2 cuts outs on the howdah , a small amount of filler will be needed .

    Again on the material we have good textures in place , the cloth hanging well and naturally with the horse and tree design, the tassels are well shaped hanging straight down ...perhaps a little too static for some

    rp busto 016.jpg rp busto 017.jpg rp busto 019.jpg

    Rear view

    rp busto 020.jpg rp busto 021.jpg

    Tassels

    rp busto 018.jpg

    Spear and arrow holders

    rp busto 024.jpg rp busto 025.jpg

    Nice detail work on all the cases

    Arrows rp busto 026.jpg

    On these be careful removing from the flashing ...great idea to be able to put the arrows in separate

    Bow ( with hand ) rp busto 031.jpg rp busto 030.jpg



    Spears ( 2 with hands )

    rp busto 027.jpg rp busto 028.jpg rp busto 029.jpg

    Sword

    rp busto 032.jpg rp busto 034.jpg rp busto 033.jpg

    This has a good shaping as seen in finds , together with a smaller knife on the scabbard , the handle has a horses head on it , all well sculpted and cast

    Continued in next post

    Nap
    Redcap likes this.
  4. Nap Moderator

    Country:
    England
    Now to the crew themselves

    One a archer rp busto 038.jpg

    The archer is positioned leaning over with his bow wearing a mail shirt , details of which are sharp and cleanly cast , the strapping is very good with texture , arm fitments are spot on , there is a small casting piece to take out the right sleeve , on the left shoulder there is a locating piece to fit the cape to .

    rp busto 039.jpg

    rp busto 042.jpg rp busto 040.jpg rp busto 041.jpg rp busto 043.jpg rp busto 044.jpg rp busto 046.jpg rp busto 045.jpg

    In place the fit of the cape is excellent , matching perfectly to the torso ,with very good folds , although I could see no texture on it ...a high quality cloth perhaps ??

    ...before you fit the cape there is a strap that needs to be fitted to the rear of the torso and also the sword needs to be located in position

    rp busto 035.jpg rp busto 036.jpg rp busto 037.jpg

    The arms are very well muscled and fit well , veins are evident as well, the right arm has a separate hand which is very well done with the bow string being pulled , figure work and position are accurate .

    There are small casting plugs and fine lines to remove on the arms and flashing to remove between the fingers

    rp busto 051.jpg rp busto 052.jpg rp busto 053.jpg rp busto 054.jpg


    You can fit one of the arrows in pace as well or leave off as if he has just fired towards the enemy .

    The head is helmeted with cheek pieces in place the face is easy to get to despite the helmet , fit to the torso ...no issues there .

    The facial features are bearded with great eye details and quite a prominent nose , mouth wide open screaming as a result we are treated to a fine set of teeth and a tongue in place

    rp busto 049.jpg rp busto 047.jpg rp busto 048.jpg rp busto 050.jpg


    We will look at the spearman in the next part due to the number of pics!!

    Nap
  5. Nap Moderator

    Country:
    England
    Now to the spearman rp busto 055.jpg

    A small amount of excess casting resin plugs to take off ...but again easy to carry this out , the same comment go for the casting quality and the fit of the arms and head...excellent

    Certainly a higher ranking soldier ...much more finer armour , beautifully detailed with shoulder protection , sharply worked straps and supporting metal rings , of note is the hanging "skirt" , lovely details are on everyone , on the upper part of the front is a lions head ..top details.

    The arms again are well muscled with the hands fitting into position well ( these are actually cast on to spears , gripping strongly ...so much easier than fitting spears through open hands)

    The head wearing a helmet with a crest but similar in design to the archer , the crest has a casting plug to take away which will mean a bit of rework with the putty, the facial features are again one of a shouting face ...and again we have great mouth detailing

    Let the pics do the talking !!!

    Torso


    rp busto 056.jpg rp busto 059.jpg rp busto 062.jpg rp busto 063.jpg rp busto 064.jpg rp busto 065.jpg rp busto 066.jpg
    rp busto 061.jpg rp busto 060.jpg rp busto 058.jpg rp busto 057.jpg rp busto 067.jpg

    Arms


    rp busto 073.jpg rp busto 072.jpg

    Head


    rp busto 070.jpg rp busto 068.jpg rp busto 069.jpg rp busto 071.jpg

    Final Thoughts

    This was a piece I wanted to see close and sahre, yes its large to say the least and it will probably give the postman a aching arm delivering...LOL... but its so imposing and a very dynamic piece with the action of the 2 figures , the casting is something I can only envy Yiannis for his skill in completing the task .





    My congratulations are also going to Hugo and the family ....there is a heck of a lot of time spent packing the pieces up even in the limited casting runs RP do
    Recommended for sure ...a great long term project and the end result will be amazing

    Again RP would like to say a BIG THANK YOU to all PF members and so many others on their valuable input ...so much appreciated .


    [IMG]

    For more details contact:

    www.rpmodels.pt (website currently undergoing maintenance)

    sales@rpmodels.pt

    Facebook: www.facebook.com/RPmodels

    E mail: hpereira@rpmodels.pt

    or you can contact Hugo via this site

    Thank you for looking in on this little review hope you found it of use and interest...off for a large coffee!!!

    Nap
    Andreas K., Redcap and Viking Bob like this.
  6. Viking Bob PlanetFigure Supporter

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Superb bustorama, excellent and thorough review.
    Nap likes this.
  7. yellowcat A Fixture

    Country:
    Canada
    Hats off to NAP for another super review. Just wondering if the previously release of the elephant head bust can be joined with this piece together? It cries out for the rest of the elephant body so that all three kits can come together into one big spectacular display rather than just in 75mm.

    Felix
  8. Babelfish A Fixture

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Got to be honest and say that this disembodied mid-section doesn't really work for me, but I agree with Felix that a whole elephant in 1/10 would be amazing. I've got the 75mm version on order.

    - Steve
    yellowcat likes this.
  9. Redcap A Fixture

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Excellent review Kev thank you. Can't wait to pick up my (full) 75mm elephant kit at Darlington in a couple of weeks!

    Gary
  10. ROGAN Member

    Country:
    Ireland
    A magnificent sculpt. Amazing attention to detail. I love the creases in the banner.
  11. yellowcat A Fixture

    Country:
    Canada

    Totally agree with Steve that this piece does not really work and something is missing. I already bought the head bust, if I decided to purchase this mid-section I will join the two kits together and hope the scale matches up.
  12. Hugo Pereira A Fixture

    Country:
    Portugal
    Hello my GOOD FRIEND Kevin

    Thank you so much for the review... Excellent... congratulations...

    Big hug.
    Hugo
    Nap likes this.

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