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Rob Pollock
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British Lancer, France 1914

February 20, 2015 · in Figures · 34 · 2.5K

This is a 120mm resin casting of a mounted Lancer in the first months of the Great War (product ref 5201, £49.99), from Victory Miniatures of Gloucester, England.

I ran a short WIP thread in Figures, http://imodeler.com/groups/figures/forum/topic/16th-lancer-figure-france-1914/ if anyone is interested in the background to the presentation.

I mentioned in the thread that I thought the box title of the figure as a 16th (the Queen's) Lancer of that cavalry regiment was somewhat arbitrary, as I couldn't find anything that distinguished him from any other similar regiment, and so have opted for the title simply of 'British Lancer'. I could paint the collar badge of the regiment, which comprised the figure 16 above a scroll inscribed "Queen's Lancers", over a pair of crossed lances and surmounted by a crown (see photo), but at the moment I haven't done so, as the collar area in this scale doesn't leave much room to add that much recognisable detail.

Any interesting project, and recommended to anyone interested in military figures.

Reader reactions:
9  Awesome

11 additional images. Click to enlarge.


34 responses

  1. Rob:

    Really turned out nicely.

    Good job on painting the little details that add up to the fine result. There's a lot of equipment on this to do, and it isn't monochrome, which I'd think would be the problem.

    Once the British Army went into khaki and on active war service, you'd have to be an expert on uniforms to distinguish between units. No more facings and cuff turnbacks. Utilitarian, not colorful.

    Great stuff. I've only seen one other WW I British lancer figure, in Henry Harris' old book "Model Soldiers" in the pleasures and treasures series. His was metal, and he said it took a lot of soldering and cutting.

  2. Well done, Rob...and a tip of the cap to anyone who can finish and detail any sort of figures as well as yourself and others have done. I've got all I can do to paint a pilot and make it look "right" - (that's why I usually don't). 🙁

  3. Great figure there Rob.
    Beyond anything I would have a go at.
    As Craig said, painting the crew is hard enough.
    Well done mate.

  4. Rob
    your Lancer is the reason I keep away from doing figures, I couldn't compete with this quality of work! Very nice.

  5. Beautifully done all around Rob. I really enjoy the attention to detail you put into your work. When it comes to painting figures, I'm in the same boat as Craig, Simon and Mike-better left to the experts!

  6. Rob, thanks for reminding me why I don't do figures. This is very nice. Looks like something that belongs in a museum.

  7. Excellent work Rob. I occasionally take a stab at doing figures and can really appreciate your work here. It does make me want to get that figure as I really like the action it depicts.

    • Thanks, Jack. It has a real dynamic quality about it, I think. Also very good value for money when compared to other full figures/cavalry duos.

      I've been looking at a 90mm French Hussar, mounted, leaning over to hand a water flask to a drummer boy walking beside him - £95.

      This Lancer was half that price and a larger scale.

      I sent a photo of it to the sculptor. It was the first he'd seen painted of this new offering, and said it gave him confidence in the projects he was trying to achieve, to see one of his sculpts finished to a good standard.

      With so much mass produced plastic, it's easy to forget these cottage industries and the people behind them, working hard to create something different.

  8. Rob,
    Very nice work again. I enjoyed watching it progress. Well done 🙂

  9. Well done Rob. This conjures up images from the movie War Horse. Awesome work as usual !

    • Thanks for your comments, Morne. The sad thing of course was that this type of warfare was obsolete before it started. A few early encounters with German machine guns saw the Lancer regiments relegated.

  10. Beautifully painted and presented, Rob, I'm sure the sculptor was very pleased to see your work. To think we were going to war like this only one hundred years ago, it's incredible to think of the advances made since then.

  11. Very nicely done Rob, good to see it finished.

  12. Great looking figure, with the usual amazing paint work

  13. Rob,
    Your figure painting skills are outstanding.

  14. Superb Rob!
    Lovely work.

  15. That’s incredible such detail, you have enormous patience 🙂 GREAT work

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