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Soldat,50 Franz. Inf.rgt. Sektion.1914
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Musketier Biroth,Ers. MG co. Saarlouis, 1916
Part I - in-box review
Musketier Biroth,Ers. MG co. Saarlouis, 1916
Kit number: KA54003
Scale: 54mm – resin 4 parts
This is a Kaisers Army 54mm figure from Sockel & Bases and is of a soldier in a seated position with his hands resting on his legs. The figure comes in a sturdy clear plastic box with nice thick soft foam to protect the parts. The uniform he’s wearing is the enlisted mans uniform of 1916, midway through WWI. He has a buttoned up collar and a soft cap that was standard issue.
This figure comes in three parts, the body and two arms. Also included is a flat base for him to be placed on, or you can use the figure in a diorama etc. The detailing of this simple figure is outstanding. The uniform looks great, with buttons and seams, but the best feature of this figure is the head, or rather the face. The eyes, ears and mouth show excellent detail for a figure of this size and he sports a mustache.
Click on the images below to view full size
Being a machine gunner he is carrying a holstered pistol on his left side, and this too show some nice detailing that will stand out when painted. The box art shows the figure painted in the gray uniform of the period and could be used as a painting reference.
The below images show the figure that is in this kit without arms and with arms attached. The kit does come with a square flat resin base to place the figure onto.
 The figure out of the box |
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 left side |
 right side |
 back side |
 Arms attached and supplied base |
 On a base with MGBase and MG sold separately. |
Conclusion
This looks to be a nice little figure that can be used to show a quiet time in the trenches on the front line, or to be used in any other way.
I would like to thank Sockel and Bases for supplying MSC with this and other review samples. You can find this and other figures and products on their website.
Part I - in-box review
Soldat,50 Franz. Inf.rgt. Sektion.1914
Kit number: KA54002
Scale: 54mm – resin 1 part
The Figure
Another interesting and new figure from sponsor Sockel & Bases, the newest sponsor of MSC. This company, as the name indicates, has some very impressive bases for figures, some nice WWI 54mm figures and trench walls. This is a welcome addition as there aren’t many companies catering to enthusiasts of this era. This figure, as with their other figures is cast in resin, and in being in one piece. The figure is in a walking stance and has an injured arm in a sling. His left hand is grasping his right and this makes it easier to cast him in one piece instead of the normal separate arms from the body,
The uniform is standard for the period with buttoned back bottom half of the long over coat. Looking at reference images of uniforms worn by the French during the first world war the trousers were red, as is the cap he s wearing. The coat is the dark blue worn at the time over the uniform. Not having a reference book I did a google search to find this info and painting guide for the build/paint review to follow at some point.
The casting of this figure is perfect with next to no flash or mold seems to be seen. Considering this is a one piece figure the detailing is fantastic with sharp edges and very fine detail. The figures head looks very good with a textured beard that will make painting much easier.
He is wearing a belt with pouches attached, a canteen and bag is slung over his body and hanging at his back. The arm sling is tied at the back of his neck in a knot and with careful painting this should look very good, and add some contrast in color.
Painting:
Time for the primer and painting. I chose a gray primer from Vallejo for the primer since this goes on smooth and to a nice flat finish which helps reveal any flaws,flash or mold lines. The primer also dries fast which allowed me to start with the main colors of the uniform as well as getting the base flesh color on the face and hands. Here I did a quick google search to find out what the color the uniforms were in 1914 in the French army at the time, and also of the personal equipment carried, such as the ammo pouches.
Click on the images to enlarge
Using Vallejo,K4 and Tamiya paints the base uniform colors were applied by airbrush and with a paint brush. Some highlighting and shadow effects were also added and gave a good starting point.
With the primer on, and then the base paint I looked to see if there were any flaws, mold lines etc that I may have missed during the cleaning prior to primer. The base paint revealed a very small line on the boots but that was about it. There is little to no mold lines or any other flaw that needs addressing on this figure. Basically a quick cleaning and it’s ready for painting.
As with the other figures in the Sockel and Bases ‘Kaiser’s Army’ line of figures, this one is well detailed as is evident when you start the painting. The face is nicely detailed which made painting easy. Here one can really spend time painting and bringing out the detail, but for this review I had to set a limit on how much time and what I needed to paint.
The uniform and gear carried, as well as his arm in the sling, stood up well to painting. By this I mean for review purposes that there is enough detailing of which is nice and crisp and not just a representation. The uniform has folds and creases wish give the figure dimension when shadows and highlights are applied, and not look like a toy soldier as some less detailed injection molded figures sometimes do.
Conclusion:
The quality of the resin combined with the professional sculpting of the figure really makes this one fun to paint. With a bit more time I could have made the review sample look better but due to having other painting reviews to work on I had to set a point in which to stop.
I may go back to this figure at a later time and continue the fine painting .Overall this is a very nice figure that helps fill the gap when it comes to 54mm world war one figures. Considering the entire figure is cast in one part there is enough detailing with little mold lines.
I would like to thank Sockel and Bases for supplying MSC with this and other review samples. You can find this and other figures and products on their website.
Part, painting
The second part of this review will be to show how this figure will look once painted. For review purposes I won't be going all out with fine painting but will focus more on the color, some shadow and highlights as well as any flaws that are revealed when the primer and paint are applied.
My painting skills when it comes to small scale figures is not the greatest so I am sure other modelers could really go to town painting this figure.
Below we have some images of the painting process with the primer and main colors applied. Once the Vallejo white primer was dry I looked for any flaws, mainly molding cast lines, and from what I could see there were none to be found.
Painting the base colors was done using Lifecolor and Vallejo acrylics. The shadow and highlighting was done by darkening and lightening the main colors, and then oils were used for the face and shadows.
Click on the images in the galleries to enlarge
I repeated the process several times until it was roughly where I wanted to go with this review sample. I have some touching up to do, but for the most part and to fulfill the requirements for this review the figure is basically finished.
The two images below show the figure placed on a trench section also from Sockel and Bases. This looks better than the resin base the figure sits on in the above images. This also gives you an idea of how this could fit into a small vignette or diorama.
