Artillery crews from Britains.

[MAJOR DUNDEE]

Britains has issued this year 6 "different" sets of artillery crews from the USCW (3 union, 3 confederate, with 3 types of guns) , they're not in metal, but belong to the "Super Deetail " range, the 4 soldiers team appears to be the first figures from this range since....1986...(note that Britains says ":These sets represent the first new tooling for the plastic market in over 50 years!"...I don't understand what they mean, their current plastic collection lasted until the 90's, and news series where issued later than 1973...).

The brand also reissues it's classics infantry sets , adding a troop of black soldiers (without the officer figure), and their great cavalry sets -using only two horses figures...I wonder what was their problem with the second running horse ?- adding some replacement flags in each box.

I think I won't resist long to a parrot gun and his team.

Plastic American Civil War | W Britain

Britains American Civil War toy soldiers

www.wbritain.com

 

[Kurtlg]

Those look very good for plastic figures

 

[MAJOR DUNDEE]

I took a look at the "Toy soldier company" newsletter, they share this information about the Britains Deetail range :
"It's big news for plastic collectors when
new sculpts are produced by W. Britains.
The last time Britain's produced new
plastic models was in 1996, with their
Robin Hood range."
Concerning their Deetail productions, as the brand now only furnishes USCW, WW2 and some "dark" knights, they seem to ignore their others créations : Wild West, French Legionnaires vs Arabs, Falklands war British paratroopers...

 

[rebel brit]

Great looking set .
I don't know if it's the scrooge in me or the figure painter, but you could just buy one set for display and every 3 months repaint the set. There's at least 4 different sets you could come up with.

 

[DixieRifles]

I don't know if it's the scrooge in me or the figure painter, but you could just buy one set for display and every 3 months repaint the set. There's at least 4 different sets you could come up with.

I didn't notice; the figures are identical in each "set".

 

[DixieRifles]

BTW, for my birthday I ordered a Britain figure. It might have hit the market this year. I was told some are the new 1/30 scale that matches the King & Country scale. A tad bit bigger than the 54mm.

My only question---- Are the Civil War figures made to the size of the shorter 5 Foot 8 Inch soldier of that period? I don't want no basketball players in my CW Army.

 

[DixieRifles]

oooh the anticipation is killing yall.

Here is what I ordered:

Confederate Flagbearer, 3rd Arkansas Flag
​

Click to see description. They have other flag bearers for the 4th and 5th Texas and the 15th Alabama. I had a 2XGr-Uncle in the 3rd Arkansas who died at Gettysburg.

​

 

[DixieRifles]

Here is what I ordered:

It arrived, today!!

 

[rebel brit]

That's a great looking figure and I really like the finish on that flag.

 

[MAJOR DUNDEE]

Very nice, flags are definitly among the hardest things to realize on soldiers figures.
These explains maybe the price difference between a flag bearer and a simple infantryman.

 

[MAJOR DUNDEE]

I've just received a Parrot Gun and his crew from Britains ,they're great, beautifully painted, solid as their ancestors of the range, the gun is of great quality too, very detailled ; and the box is very fine so you can keep it as a showcase.

I couldn't empeach myself to add some few personal touch : I've changed some képis from red to gray, I made a gunner with blond hair, added a moustache to another one, and changed the colour of a pair of pants...these gunners where too perfect I think (but it's the Britains Deetail mark...their Confederates soldiers are always perfectly equiped, with similar clothes...).

I finally added a lead Britains to my USCW collection, expensive and a bit oversized compared to A.C.T.A and Britains plastic...but greatly realised, the painting is perfect, and I love the attitude.
Close to a classic "Starlux"...you then realise that the iconical french brand made 1/30 figures and not 1/32 , that's why they always appear stronger and taller than Airfix or Britains.

On the last photo (the clear one !) , you can see him in situation, from a diorama of the brand.

 

[rebel brit]

Great collection. Wow the 2nd to the last pic shows the massive difference between plastic and metal figures, in my opinion well worth the extra cost.

 

[Kurtlg]

I've just received a Parrot Gun and his crew from Britains ,they're great, beautifully painted, solid as their ancestors of the range, the gun is of great quality too, very detailled ; and the box is very fine so you can keep it as a showcase.

I couldn't empeach myself to add some few personal touch : I've changed some képis from red to gray, I made a gunner with blond hair, added a moustache to another one, and changed the colour of a pair of pants...these gunners where too perfect I think (but it's the Britains Deetail mark...their Confederates soldiers are always perfectly equiped, with similar clothes...).

I finally added a lead Britains to my USCW collection, expensive and a bit oversized compared to A.C.T.A and Britains plastic...but greatly realised, the painting is perfect, and I love the attitude.
Close to a classic "Starlux"...you then realise that the iconical french brand made 1/30 figures and not 1/32 , that's why they always appear stronger and taller than Airfix or Britains.

On the last photo (the clear one !) , you can see him in situation, from a diorama of the brand.

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Great job . Britain's have really improved over the last several years.. I have a fairly large collection of their Civil War pieces. I recently ordered a woman from the colonial period to put in a diorama I've been planning for many years. I think she will be small enough to fit in with my 1/32 scale figures .

 

[bayonet]

Well they look a lot better than what I encountered years ago. Was at a military/gun show when I came across a guy selling Civil War ones. Only problem was all the Rebel ones faces were painted black/brown as African Americans, even the one carrying a Rebel Flag. The bottom of the metal base was stamped MADE IN CHINA. When that figures guess American history is not taught in Chinese factories. I even said to the guy what's up with this? He was like "I was wondering about that being a mistake". I was like yeah ya think duh! I brought one of each as a joke and keep them for years but threw them out when I downsized and moved. Can't make this stuff up!

 

[Kurtlg]

Well they look a lot better than what I encountered years ago. Was at a military/gun show when I came across a guy selling Civil War ones. Only problem was all the Rebel ones faces were painted black/brown as African Americans, even the one carrying a Rebel Flag. The bottom of the metal base was stamped MADE IN CHINA. When that figures guess American history is not taught in Chinese factories. I even said to the guy what's up with this? He was like "I was wondering about that being a mistake". I was like yeah ya think duh! I brought one of each as a joke and keep them for years but threw them out when I downsized and moved. Can't make this stuff up!

I bought a 2 figure set depicting the fight for the flag at the railroad cut many years ago. It was pretty bad. The anatomy and the painting were awful The newer ones are a lot better and the most recent ones are better yet.

 

[MAJOR DUNDEE]

The actual Britains Superdeetail are still "made un China", but the level of quality has raized, for the black paint on the faces, I guess you talk about 1990's production , they were poorly painted and they had changed their color scheme at the time.
Authentic Britains Deetail were "made in England" until the end of the 80's , they're the one actually collected around the world, under the zamac base you may read : made in England-1971.

About that "fight for the flag railroad cut" scene and figures, I suppose they're metal figures, maybe included in a diorama, the Deetail range only had two flag bearers (one foot and one mounted, both in grey and blue).

 

[Kurtlg]

The actual Britains Superdeetail are still "made un China", but the level of quality has raized, for the black paint on the faces, I guess you talk about 1990's production , they were poorly painted and they had changed their color scheme at the time.
Authentic Britains Deetail were "made in England" until the end of the 80's , they're the one actually collected around the world, under the zamac base you may read : made in England-1971.

About that "fight for the flag railroad cut" scene and figures, I suppose they're metal figures, maybe included in a diorama, the Deetail range only had two flag bearers (one foot and one mounted, both in grey and blue).

Yes the fight for the flag figures are metal . Britains metal figures have come a long way since then .

 

[bayonet]

The actual Britains Superdeetail are still "made un China", but the level of quality has raized, for the black paint on the faces, I guess you talk about 1990's production , they were poorly painted and they had changed their color scheme at the time.
Authentic Britains Deetail were "made in England" until the end of the 80's , they're the one actually collected around the world, under the zamac base you may read : made in England-1971.

About that "fight for the flag railroad cut" scene and figures, I suppose they're metal figures, maybe included in a diorama, the Deetail range only had two flag bearers (one foot and one mounted, both in grey and blue).

I still had a photo I took of them. Nope MADE IN CHINA 1971. Maybe the Chinese factory worker whose job was to paint the faces was upset he was denied a dollar raise on the $3 he was making a month wonder if he painted Robert E Lee's face black and Abraham Lincoln with a handle bar mustache and nose ring?

 

[MAJOR DUNDEE]

Yes , they're 90's chinese production (the base is round, instead of rectangular), don't imagine they planned to depict colored soldiers, it's the paint used at the time that made that feeling , I bought at the time (90's) a complete box (6) of WW2 us GI's, they had the same colour for their faces, and they wore a modern camo type of uniform...I finally gave them to a kid , but I kept one, changed the base for a classic one, and made him a decent paint.

Basically, the paint job on Britains (like Starlux for example) was very basic, they deserve a better painting, you can change a factory painted one to a Superdeetail if you want...I'll place photos (good ones this time !) tonight, so you can see the difference.