Indian Mutiny in Matte Finish (1 Viewer)

[cantinetozzo]

Hi...i'm new on this Forum..it's very interesting...i own only matte soldiers (i'm new to this hobby, i confess) my suggestion is :why don't you make matte Indian Mutiny Sets?I like that historical period...a motley collection of soldiers of different regiments with re adapted (to the climate and to other factors) uniforms all bound together to save the few british residents besieged by fanatical rebels.I think it will be a good series , WBritain is really at his best when giving life to little combat or dramatic scenes, i like the american civil war range and the dramatic power it conveys ...something missing from the same (but nonetheless i adore them too!) range of K&C..another range i think will be a success,(but alas maybe too similar to the confederates seen from the eyes of a profane) could be the Boers..with their long biblical beards and mounted on their horse..but now i'm dreaming..a bit..btw ..keep on with the good work!!!

 

[Mister Dave]

I too would personally love to see a matte range done covering the Indian Mutiny. Really liked the gloss range WB did recently, and the Museum series figure from "the Mutiny" looks great. Welcome to the forum.

MD

 

[cantinetozzo]

Thanks Mr. Dave!Yes i own the Black Watch Soldier - Mutiny 1857..i hope WB will return on the subject with the future releases in museum range..there's plenty of examples from which building entire ranges of soldiers..just in front of me i have 4 Osprey books regarding the Mutiny..full of splendid figures..!Btw..your avatar is magnificent!Great great film "The Charge of The Light Brigade"!!!.."There are your guns...!"

 

[4th Hussar]

I have always been surprised that the Indian Mutiny and the Boer War (1st or 2nd) have not drawn much interest in the Toy soldier world. both are fantastic stories

 

[Mister Dave]

Thanks Mr. Dave!Yes i own the Black Watch Soldier - Mutiny 1857..i hope WB will return on the subject with the future releases in museum range..there's plenty of examples from which building entire ranges of soldiers..just in front of me i have 4 Osprey books regarding the Mutiny..full of splendid figures..!Btw..your avatar is magnificent!Great great film "The Charge of The Light Brigade"!!!.."There are your guns...!"

Glad you like the avatar, and I too really liked this film....it's one I need to own if I can find a good copy to purchase. I can only find it on Netflix, so I occasionally insert it at the top of the list, much to my wifes pleasant surprise.

Hopefully if Ken and Richard are listening, we will have some feedback on your thoughts here soon.

Cheers
Dave

 

[Mister Dave]

I have always been surprised that the Indian Mutiny and the Boer War (1st or 2nd) have not drawn much interest in the Toy soldier world. both are fantastic stories

Completely agree with these sentiments.

 

[4th Hussar]

On the Indian mutiny , I am not sure how a "shot from the guns" piece would go over...............

 

[cantinetozzo]

On the Indian mutiny , I am not sure how a "shot from the guns" piece would go over...............

ah..you're referring to the famous punishment inflicted to the mutineers..i read it was an ancient mughal punishment relived for the occasion..by the way i'd like to see some Ghurka brandishin his kukri too..!and a few of the wonderful personalities that populated the mutiny epic..Sir James Outram, Sir Colin Campbell,Henry Havelock..and many others..and from the side of the mutineers too!

 

[marco55]

On the Indian mutiny , I am not sure how a "shot from the guns" piece would go over...............

People have got to get over worrying about what people think about what has happened in the past.The people of the past thought about things differently.Yes the British were brutal to the mutineers but there were many Indian princes who were just as if not more brutal to the people of India.All races in this world have many things to be proud of and all races in this world have many things to be ashamed of.Basically we all have one thing in common.We are all HUMAN.
Mark

 

[Mister Dave]

On the Indian mutiny , I am not sure how a "shot from the guns" piece would go over...............

Hate to think of it....

 

[General Custer]

I too would personally love to see a matte range done covering the Indian Mutiny.

I too !!!

 

[cantinetozzo]

I completely agree with Marco55..the only reflession is ..toy soldiers are bought by a vast spectrum of people and kids obviously too..so there must be some limit to the gruesome representation of violence...but history must be judged with the morale of the time in which the past events unfolded..at the time the death penalty was rampant in all the "civilized" societies, and so in the military estabilishments of the time..

 

[Mister Dave]

Well....take those nice looking glossy 93rd Highlanders from the VC range for example. Once inside the Secundra Bagh they proceeded to essentially slaughter the unfortunate hundreds of sepoys inside in retribution for their countrymen and women killed during the early stages of the Mutiny. I would not presume to pass moral judgement on these acts from my cozy 21st Century perspective, but....at the same time I also would not be interested in collecting a range graphically depicting such activities. This is simply a preference for me, and not really based on any moral position. Interesting to note there seem to be very few figures released by any manufacturer depicting the acutal violence implied isn't it?

MD

 

[WBritain]

Hi Guys:

Welcome to the forum Cantinetozzo. We really appreciate hearing from folks all over the world and it is good to hear from someone in Italy. I am mulling ways in which to bring matte more in depth to a few new periods. The catch of course is that we really like to create a scene - so each range - though it may start small - often takes on a very large life of its own. And of course there is only so much we can do and so much the market will have. All that said - I share you passion for this period and the multitude of uniforms and units.

As for depicting war as it was/is. We have taken the tack here that we will will depict the dead and wounded as tastefully as possible (without large holes, blood spurts, contorted facial expressions etc.). While I agree fully with earlier sentiments here that war should not be whitewashed, sanitized and packaged in our 21st century political correctness, I do also realize that W. Britain is a commerical venture that sells toy soldiers to children in mainstream toy shops, so some decorum is called for.

As always, thanks for the ideas and thoughts.

Richard

 

[cantinetozzo]

Yes , as i've already said i'm new of the hobby..but i don't recall having seen many gruesome scenes reproduced in the toy soldiers world..notable exceptions are the scenes reproducing scalping (it's really a cruel practice i think..) or beheading (there's some examples in K&C range), also i possess "Gruesome Trophies" of the K&C Barbarian range, but in convincing me to buy that piece, weighed the similarity to a beautiful Angus McBride artwork..so i think that what draws the attention is not the violence in itself but the representation that a certain Producer makes of it..or i hope it is so for the great part of us..btw thanks to WBritain , the Victorian era is really a goldmine for toy soldiers producers and collectors..

 

[theBaron]

The Phoenix line and Sanderson Miniatures were both a little more adult in some of the themes covered in their ranges, adult in the sense of graphic depictions of sex and violence.

Phoenix' Viking raiders set, for example, showed Vikings in the act of killing monks in a raid on the Irish coast circa 800 AD. Phoenix also had an Elizabethan execution scene, with a figure who could be either Mary Stuart, or even Anne Boleyn, though she's depicted just before the act of decapitation.

Sanderson has a set of 18th century pirates raping and pillaging, which have some graphically violent pieces, as well as a Roman slave market.

And then there are the Phoenix Follies, scuplted by Tim Richards, who went on to produce the X-rated figures of the Mascot Models line.

Ulrich Puchala also included a line of sexually explicit figures in his 54mm line, nur für Erwachsene, of course (can you imagine shrinkage at 54mm? )

As for toy soldiers, Mignot's set of citizens with the severed heads of aristocrats on pikes comes to mind.

More recently, K&C's infamous ("That's better than famous-he's infamous!") set of Gestapo or SD with a captured French resistance fighter caused quite a stir in the Letters to the Editor pages of TS&MF.

I guess it's a matter of taste, if you're a collector, and if you're a producer, it's a matter of whether or not there is a market for such subjects.

Prost!
Brad

 

[Mister Dave]

Hi Guys:

Welcome to the forum Cantinetozzo. We really appreciate hearing from folks all over the world and it is good to hear from someone in Italy. I am mulling ways in which to bring matte more in depth to a few new periods. The catch of course is that we really like to create a scene - so each range - though it may start small - often takes on a very large life of its own. And of course there is only so much we can do and so much the market will have. All that said - I share you passion for this period and the multitude of uniforms and units.

As always, thanks for the ideas and thoughts.

Richard

I recall this notion being discussed previously in regards the Museum Series, and am guessing with the apparent brisk sales of initial stock, future expansion with new eras/units and companion figures to existing ones must be looking pretty attractive. WB really seems to have found a great approach with excellent quality, reasonably priced single figures first in the Redcoats, then Bluecoats and FIW, and now the Museum Range. I am pretty much collecting only matte figures now, so I am quite eager to see the Museum Range grow in the future....i.e. start a new Regiment, and add more Mutiny, Boer War, Egypt, Waterloo, etc...figures to the Black Watch line up, pleeeease?

MD