[Open box review] French Infantry in Canada from NutsPlanet by Kevin

Hi to everyone,

The French military in Canada resulted in many staying behind to work the land with nowadays many having French descendants in the family lines . Many Regiments fought in Canada mostly all in the distinctly white uniforms with simple facing colours , all adapting to the harsh conditions they campaigned in. One of these soldiers is the subject of a recent release from NutsPlanet namely:

We are lucky in that military artists have chosen this period to cover in very informative books among them L & F Funken , Rene Chartrand and of course Eugene Lelieprve

Here are a few more books of interest that are worth getting covering this period in particular..all are good reads:

Many regiments fought in the wars here are a examples of the uniforms :

As you can see all adapting to the campaign conditions as you can see the model has been based on one of these plates namely the Bourgogne Regt so lets have a bit of information on them: Privates "Continental Uniform"

Uniform Details as per Etrennes militaires 1758, La Chesnay in 1759 and Etat militaire 1761 Headgear Musketeer black tricorne laced gold with a black cockade Grenadier black tricorne laced gold with a black cockade towards 1759, bearskins became increasingly common among grenadiers of the French Infantry (Taccoli, whose work has been published in 1760, illustrates a grenadier with a bearskin) Neckstock black Coat grey-white lined grey-white with copper buttons down to the waist on the right side Collar none (white in 1761) The manuscript of 1757 as well as Taccoli illustrate a white collar) Shoulder Straps white fastened with a copper button (left shoulder only) Lapels none Pockets horizontal pockets (3 copper buttons on each pocket) Cuffs grey-white with 3 copper buttons Turnbacks none (Taccoli, whose work has been published in 1760, illustrates grey-white turnback) Waistcoat red with one row of small copper buttons; horizontal pockets, each with 3 copper buttons Breeches grey-white Gaiters white Leather Equipment Crossbelt natural leather (white as per the manuscript of 1757 and Taccoli) with a brass buckle Waistbelt natural leather (white as per the manuscript of 1757 and Taccoli) with a brass buckle Cartridge Box natural leather Bayonet Scabbard black Scabbard brown Armaments consisted of a musket and a bayonet. Fusiliers carried a sword (brass hilt) while the grenadiers had a sabre. "Canadian Uniform" Initially, in 1755, the Ministry of the Navy supplied new uniforms to the troops sent as reinforcement to Canada. Accordingly, the 2nd Battalion was issued uniforms differing from its regulation uniform. In 1757, this battalion received uniforms more in accordance with its full regimental regulation. The Ministry of the Navy specifications for the Canadian uniform of 1755 were as follows.

Uniform Details Headgear Musketeer black tricorne laced silver Grenadier black tricorne laced silver Neckstock black Coat grey-white Collar none Shoulder Straps n/a Lapels none Pockets horizontal pockets (3 pewter buttons on each pocket) Cuffs grey-white with 3 pewter buttons Turnbacks none Waistcoat red Breeches grey-white Gaiters white Leather Equipment Crossbelt natural leather Waistbelt natural leather Cartridge Box natural leather Bayonet Scabbard n/a Scabbard n/a Here are the Colonels colours the 2nd being the Ordnance .

Onwards and upwards we go lets see what we are looking at: As usual the anticipation was high when I received the distinctive sturdy blue box from them the first thing I noticed was a different sculptors name on the box for NutsPlanet at least ...................a certain

Eduard Perez.

Eduard is professional sculptor who has released previously under the name of Fahrenheit and under the banner of H&V miniatures (now no more but changing to Fer Miniatures soon) . His previous work certainly showed great balance and volume and skill . so we can expect something to look forward to . You can visit his facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/eduard.perezdelgadosculptor. Details are as follows: Title: Comrade in Arms - French Troops in Canada 1760 Reference: NP 75001 Scale: 75 mm Material: Gray Resin No of Parts: 17 Sculptor: Eduard Perez Box Art: Myeong-ha Hwang This is the first of the releases in this scale from NutsPlanet the other (the Highlander) was reviewed recently by me here: http://www.planetfigure.com/threads/cameron-highlander-in-75mm-from-nuts-planet.67088/watch-confirm The model we are looking at here depicts a soldier on campaign with his "Comrade" a faithful dog , many of these animals tagged along with troops and many soldiers adopted them often using them to carry part of their heavy load ..but all of these hairy "comrades" providing some comfort and company and loyalty to their new found owners in the harsh campaign life ....in return they were looked after and fed with no doubt scraps from the meals . A sturdy box indeed with the usual high standards of colour box art and qty of foam packing safely surrounding the resin.

Parts consist of the main torso (with one leg) the other leg , 2 arms, the head, Musket, the sword , the pouch and water bottle, the coat, some equipt that the dog carrys, 2 halves of the dog,a small strap (for musket) and a base as well as a small roll of wire (for the dogs lead)

Lets begin first with the largest piece the torso this includes the left leg , prep needed a quick snip to remove a small plug from the underside of the shoe and a small remnant on the waistcoat lower, he wears his waistcoat open with his shirt underneath bent forward with the weight of his equiptment (the pose based heavily on the plate in the first post)

On the back and sides we see a recesses for his equiptment and underneath another for the right leg. This is another lovely piece of work the clothing is really natural in position , folds are great , sharp undercuts all over are seen , straps are a fine bit of work with the ends slightly upturned with wear ...this piece screams quality ..a really nice start . He has his gaiters on full of details from the buttons on the sides to the calf muscle underneath , folds at the ankle are smooth and done with care, folds on the trousers are in keeping with the pose particularly at the back.

The same comments apply to the other leg (fit is good to the recess..I would pin it still) ,prep a quick snip of a some casting plug from the shoe base ..or you could just leave it on to fit to groundwork.

Arms now , prep needed removing a small plug from the left and cutting the right away from its former , both are totally in keeping with the torso full of lovely folds , the left swings down with the right bent holding the musket, hands are finely worked , defintion between the fingers is good . , fit into the torso is spot on .....NutsPlanet quality again .

Now the head begin by a n easy removal of a casting plug from the neck and then just look and admire the character in the fellow , hair straggly, long and unkept , moustache across his face , lovely work on the facial details , wearing a bicorne , this is another nice part , fit into the neck area is good .

When you have the main figure together it really brings it to life even without the rest of the pieces just begging you to get the brushes out.

Now to the remaining pieces ..... The equiptment first starting with his backpack , prep was the removal of 3 tiny plugs from the edge of the coat , this is a full pack over which we see wonderfully draped and hanging down his coat and this does look so right , great folds and definition especially at the turn backs , the fit is into the recess on the torso , there is also a hole to fit his cooking pot to .

.Next we have his pouch and waterbottle (wine inside perhaps!!!!) ....you need to cut away these from the former , both are really nicely done fit is good to the relevant area, both adding to this soldiers burden.

Next the sword/baynot , removal is needed from former's but be careful not to take the baynot top off!! , nice work on the sword guard with fit being clean and no filler needed .

The Musket now , well executed , again this has been cast on formers which are easy to remove , good mechanism details , fit is again good ...don't forget he is carrying it upside down, you will also have to remove the rest of the musket strap and fit , this might find you crawling about the floor as its small (guess who did??!!)

Mans best friend now the dog , coming in 2 halves easily put together with a bit of filler needed on the undersides, prep was removing casting plugs from the feet or should that be paws!....it is posed plodding alongside his master carrying some of his load and looking up , tongue hanging out , panting looking up in anticipation of a treat or just words of encouragement , surface details is good of note being the bushy tail and the mouth area

The load he carrys is a blanket like item wrapped up with cord , fit to the dogs back is nice after removing a casting plug from the edge.

Finally we have a base shaped and textured ground, if you use this then remove the casting plug from the side.

Final thoughts This is a cracking piece of work from a new sculptor to NutsPlanet , well sculpted, well engineered ,minimal prep needed on all pieces , a great subject as well , full of character and a nice touch with the dog. Its a good piece for painting with challenges to enjoy the painting the whites with a splash of colour of the waistcoat very striking Talking of painting lets enjoy some more views of the box art

I am sure we will see more from Eduard and that is certainly something to look forward to , the 75 range has got off to a cracking start from NutsPlanet . You will know I like my busts but this is heading for my bench , yes I know its a full figure but its great For more details on this and other releases from NutsPlanet go to their website you won't be dissapointed www.nutsplanet.com or vist them on facebook at : www.nutsplanet.com/nutsplanet Thanks to NutsPlanet for the review model and for you dear friend for looking in Enjoy your modelling Nap