NEWly Arrived French CARIBINIERS CAVALRY REVIEW (1 Viewer)

[oberstoskar]

I got my 7 Carabiniers today via Sierra Toy Soldiers (skipped the one shooting on horse back)

My comments:

1. First of all I bought these because K&C did not produce Carabiniers (same reason why I bought the Polish Lancers)

2. Scale: Matches very well with K&C and Del Prado (I got the Del Prado Mounted Carabinier Corporal and the Sky Blue Trumpeter and it is awesome and hard to find on ebay)

3. Painting: As expected the color is less vibrant than K&C with heavy 'wash'. I prefer the more vibrant K&C painting for Napoleonic soldiers. The Cuirass should be more shinny IMHO. The Del Prado cuirass has been painted just the right amount of shine. Face sculpting and painting are inferior to K&C

4. Poses: Moderately exaggerated (when compared to K&C Charging Cuirassiers). The arms holding the swords had a "stuck-on" appearance, just didn't look natural. Some had their waists bended in extraordinary degrees. My flagbearer is leaning too much forward comparing to the manufacturer's photo

5. Historical accuracy: The Trumpeter's horse should be white (it has the same brown color). I am glad that I can substitute with the Del Prado version, although the Del Prado mounted trumpeted seemed too calm as if on parade instead of fighting. Also the plume should be white instead of red. But that could be easily fixed with Vallejo paint.

6. Horses: they look more realistic than K&C and the painting of their eyes were more subtle and realistic than K&C. However, all the horses had the same color. Some mild variety between the horses would be great!

7. Packaging: I was glad that I get top notch delivery service from Sierra Toy Soldiers Company all the way shipped to Hong Kong! I only suffered minimal trauma from bended swords and carbines (one of the carbine had some paint chipping) but overall it improved from the Polish Lancers.

8. The horse lashes are in soft fabric material instead of solid polystone. I guess it reduced the cost and less breakage! But we customers didn't get reduced prices on these ones compared to previous releases.

In summary I look forward to:

Less exaggerated action poses (more realistic)
More vibrant paint (less washing)
No price raises
Higher historical accuracy
New Napoleonic cavalry releases (regiments not done by K&C)

 

[oberstoskar]

Few more review comments:

The Carabinier flag is a printed sticker instead of painted. This is a step backwards from the Polish Lancer's standard, which is painted on. The flag pole is black instead of blue and the tricolor ribbon beneath the eagle is missing.

The officer's saddle is the same as the other ranks. Maybe the offier has a different type of saddle?

Also the side of the sac sitting behind the rider does not have the grenade emble painted on it...

CS lacks attention to detail.

 

[nysoldiers]

Received a couple of Caribiniers today and generally concur with your comments. Nothing broken or chipped but swords seem a little flimsy.
They will look good in dioramas with K&C as well as WB.

 

[The Collectors Showcase]

Received a couple of Caribiniers today and generally concur with your comments. Nothing broken or chipped but swords seem a little flimsy.
They will look good in dioramas with K&C as well as WB.

Funny swords were made thicker than the Chassuer but still could be thicker I agree. Geez don't want to make them too thick though! But a bit more would be o.k. I suppose.

Glad your enjoying, I took mine home immediately. Will post pictures soon of my diorama.

regards,

Brian

 

[oberstoskar]

These cavalry has been out for 1 month and nobody is giving comments!

I personally like them a lot although i reviewed them critically so that the next batch of napoleonic cavalry will be better researched for historical accuracy.

Any comments?

 

[Terp152]

I have six figs, did not buy the carbine firing piece, and really like these. Plan to add more for my dio. One other company makes this regt and are out of my price range. I look fwd to more CS releases of Naps Cavalry that seems to be ignored by other cos. Would like to see different coloring of the horses for added realism. THe muted uniform colors are theme of CS. It's a collectors choice whether to buy these or not. Works for me IMO. Chris

 

[damian]

The RHA caisson is outstanding.
A piece that is iconic for Waterloo but has rarely been attempted by any other manufacturers apart from Frontline.
I hope CS continue to bring out sets of this calibre.
I will try and get hold of the Caribiniers.