French 10th hussars

[rob_van_riel]

Build thread here: http://uamf.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=342&t=13488;

[PTB11]

Lovely work. Nice to see something bright and colourful for a change.
Are they Historex?

[rob_van_riel]

Lovely work. Nice to see something bright and colourful for a change.
Are they Historex?

Partially
The main kit is the new MasterBox French hussar. Since this contains two complete sets of head, torso, and arms, I added some legs from the spares box (Airfix Coldstream Guard, to be precise). Various bits were then added or replaced with Historex spare parts; the pipe of the standing figure, trumpet, and the plume on the mounted figure's colbak were added, the stirrups, and all the metal bits on the horse were replaced.

MasterBox appear to be repeating many of the mistakes that were made with figures like this decades ago, like shaky fit, moulded on belts, and odd parts layouts. I have some hope they'll learn though, and put out more Napoleonic stuff. So far they have this hussar, a Red Lancer, and a Cuirassier, all French. They're in 1/32 scale, a bit smaller than the more common 54mm, so parts compatibility may be shaky, but having Napoleonics available from a mainstream manufacturer is worth putting up with a few minor issues; grey and drab get boring after a while

Which is probably why I find Historex (they're still in production) so terribly hard to resist at the moment

[iggie]

That is superb work! I've never tackled figures being the very occasional pilot to fill a cockpit and a handful of 1/72 soldiers. This is far beyond my confidence level; kudos to you Sir!!!

[rob_van_riel]

That is superb work! I've never tackled figures being the very occasional pilot to fill a cockpit and a handful of 1/72 soldiers. This is far beyond my confidence level; kudos to you Sir!!!

Thank you. It helps that, while like so many I started out on Matchbox tanks and planes, as a modeller I grew up on Airfix Collector's Series and Historex, but really, I think confidence is all that's holding you and many others back. Anyone who can do a good job of detailing a cockpit(*) (just an example), can handle a figure. The approach to the project differs a bit, and may take a few builds to get it right and comfortable, but none of the regular posters on this forum lacks the skills.

(*)I actually find I can combine figures and interiors in a single session, because they are so similar, but that the other parts of airplane production don't mix with either due to the slightly different mindset I need for the jobs.