[Open-Box Review] Celtic Warrior and Carthaginian Soldier by Legion of the Cow

Product Review – Celtic Warrior and Carthaginian Soldier by NutsPlanet!

Jason Martin (RedRum)

Two wonderful new historical sculpts by Oleg Pogosyan and Oriol Quin for NutsPlanet.

- CASTING QUALITY : 8.5

- PAINTABILITY : 9.5

- SCULPTURE QUALITY : 9.5

- POSE AND COMPOSITION : 9

- UNIQUENESS : 8.5

POSITIVES

• Accurate and highly detailed sculpting.

• Particularly paintable!

• High quality casting.

NEGATIVES

• Not necesaarily as unique as fantasy figures.

• Open spaces on the shields may be daunting to beginner painters.

MY DEVELOPING INTEREST IN HISTORICAL FIGURES!

I have recently began to appreciate the various subjects within the historical genre and so when I saw that the Korean company NutsPlanet had added two new historical pieces to their range, I was pretty excited!! Up until recently I had paid historical figures little interest, that all changed when I attended my first Euromilitaire Show, and I was blown away by some of the works I saw. For me, NutsPlanet are developing into one of the Powerhouses within our industry, their attention to detail, customer service and collaborations with box art artists such as Ben Komets and their own uber talented Myeong-Ha Hwang, means they stand head and shoulders over many other figure companies!

The contents of the two releases, note the scenic bases and those wonderful shields!

THE BASICS.

Both figures arrived safely, in their sturdy, high quality, instantly recognisable blue boxes adorned with multiple views of the box art. The pieces are nestled between two layers of grey foam and the smaller items are secured in a ziplock bag. The figures are cast in grey polyurethane resin, with that distinctive strong smell, and when sanded releases very tiny resin particulates, I would recommend wearing a mask of one kind or another. Both figures are 75mm in scale and look very nice on first inspection, there are multiple pieces and they come complete with their own portion of scenic basing. I so wish they would include stickers with their items though! You know how us figure painters love stickers!! Now let us cover the usual criteria for our reviews for both figures.

CASTING QUALITY.

The reinforced spear shaft and support to prevent damage.

Really nice detailing to the leggings, straps and tunic of the Celtic Warrior.

The quality of the casting is very good although there are some things you will need to pay close attention to. Both figures have some really nice detailing that has been cast very well but pieces such as their shields have quite large resin plugs that will need to be removed very carefully for fear of damaging any fragile, delicate detailing. I would suggest cutting them some distance away from the actual part and then cleaning the rest away with a sharp knife and sand paper so as to rule out snapping or damaging the part. Any moldlines are superficial and from what I can see there are no defects or holes in any of the pieces. There are some resin blocks that also need removing for instance from the torsos before you can dry fit the pieces, again shouldn’t be an issue with some clippers and a knife. The figures have been cut for the casting process in quite a clever way that should reduce the amount of filling required prior to priming them ready for paint, which is always a welcome consideration. The Celtic Warrior for instance consists of three main parts, torso and legs, head and shoulders and the left arm resting on his sheathed sword, that slot together nicely, forming a tight connection and hiding the joins. Another thing I like about their casting is that they use brass rod for long, fragile items such as spears and staffs, with a thin cast of resin around its circumference, this negates the risk of warping or damage to what could otherwise be a fragile item. Clean up and assembly should be pretty straightforward!

SCULPTURE QUALITY.

Finely detailed features of the head sculpted by Oriol Quin!

As with all of their figures, there is a lot of detail and it is all nicely, crisply and accurately rendered, from the clothing, straps, fur and facial features! The crisp detailing to the head of the Celtic Warrior sculpted by Oriol Quin is phenomenal with really nice detailing to the braided hair and beard. The anatomy that is on show is expertly represented and sculpted, all the muscles, to my reasonably untrained eye seem to be in the correct place. The correct design and anatomy is very important, it seems that some sculptors have become complacent with this, but not Oriol! Another detail that has not been “lazily” sculpted is the clothing and straps. The flow of the folds in the tunic and leggings is realistic and the straps have been accurately sculpted, which should make picking them out when painting much easier. There are no moldlines running through this detailing either, which means cleaning the piece up won’t deface or obscure the various elements either. I really like the centurions helm (still containing the poor Romans’ bleached skull) atop the staff. Another nice detail is how well the pegs on the feet fit into the scenic base, eliminating the need to pin your figure, which can sometimes be nuisance.

Accurate representation of the Punic Breastplate and pelt on the Carthaginian Soldier.

There are plenty of nice things to say about the Carthaginian Soldier too. The majority of the Carthage army were mercenaries, the population of its own people probably not numbering much more than a 100,000, so defeat to the Romans would have come much sooner if not for the mercenaries. I am making an assumption that perhaps this figure is from the First Punic War, the ornate breastplate that has been sculpted by Oleg Pogosyan looks very much like a Punic Breatsplate. It is nicely crafted and looks accurate to the era. The wolf pelt is nicely done and fits over the shoulders, with the head then being glued in place afterwards. At a quick glance I couldn’t see how you would line up the cloak to the torso, but during a dry fit with some blu tac you can see quite clearly that the cloak and wolf pelt join together nicely, if these two line up then you know the cloak is in the right place. Again the peg and hole assembly for the base is sufficient enough that no pinning will be needed and both scenic bases can be easily incorporated into your larger display base. The shields for both figures are accurately sculpted with large, smooth surfaces to try your luck at freehanding some heraldry or patterning!

POSE AND COMPOSITION.

Starting with the Celtic Warrior once more, despite it being a static figure, the pose of the piece is such that it still conveys a story. The warrior is posed in such a way that you are immediately aware he is strong, healthy and confident in his abilities as a warrior. The raised leg and the positioning of the shield creates a good compositional balance and with careful planning the face of the warrior, as always will become the focal point as it is framed by the shield.

The Carthaginian Soldier, likewise has a stationary pose, the arm draped over the knee suggests a moment of calm and rest during a campaign and the raised arm nicely complements the composition of the sculpt, balancing the fact that the large spear, draws a line left to right across the figure. The line of the spear and indeed the raised arm, are both clever ploys to draw your eye from the external details and in towards the focal point, the face.

PAINTABILITY.

One of the wonderful shields – take care removing the plug of resin so as not to damage the fine rim.

I am excited about painting both of these pieces equally so even though both offer their own challenges. The Celtic Warrior provides a wealth of different elements to paint, the bare skin, check patterning to the leggings, tribal tattoos and patterning to the shield. Then there’s the detailing side of things such as woodgrain, cloth textures and the folds and flow of the cloak. Likewise for the Carthaginian Soldier, then throw into the mix the metallic of the breastplate and shin guards and helm and that incredible expanse of smooth space on the shield, and what NutsPlanet have delivered here are two highly detailed, accurate figures with a wealth of painting options. The figures have also in my opinion been presented in such a way that you can depict them in which ever environmental setting or climate you may wish. I now own several of their pieces in my grey army and I cant recommend them highly enough!

Having met some of the Nuts team at Folkestone back in September what also strikes me is their passion for figures in general, not just their own range and indeed their passion and commitment to figure painting and the community in general! May their efforts long continue!

BREAKDOWN.

Carthaginian Soldier.

UNIT PRICE $60

No of PIECES 10

MATERIAL Resin

RELEASE DATE Available Now

Celtic Warrior.

UNIT PRICE $60

No of PIECES 8

MATERIAL Resin

RELEASE DATE Available Now

ORDER FROM HERE: http://nutsplanet.com/