Plastic Soldier Review - Streltsi Bonus Figures

Streltsi Bonus Figures
All figures are supplied unpainted

In 2003 Strelets began producing sets that included one figure which was unrelated to the subject of the set. The figure was of a member of the Streltsi from the late 17th century, and as each set is acquired so a complete collection of Streltsi is built up. It is not currently known how many such figures will eventually be made, so this page is concerned with those figures already in production. By it's nature therefore this page will change and be updated each time a new figure appears.

In the 1690s the nearest thing Russia had to a standing army were the Streltsi (literally ‘musketeers’). They liked to consider themselves an elite, and tended to act like a praetorian guard, getting involved in political intrigues and enjoying their power without adequately maintaining their military effectiveness. When Peter the Great (1672-1725) became sole Tsar in 1689 he embarked on a radical series of reforms to transform his inward-looking feudal state into what was to become a major European power, and many of these concerned the army. In 1698 the naturally conservative Streltsi, who felt threatened by the ‘new ways’, rebelled. Peter savagely suppressed the rebellion and disbanded many of the regiments, incorporating the rest into his new army.

The Streltsi were dressed in the traditional Russian long coat (kaftan) and had fur-trimmed hats. They wore beards, another Russian tradition, and carried a match-lock musket, sword (shashka) and battle-axe (berdysh) which also served as a musket rest. The figures here reflect this appearance accurately, including the musketeer using his berdysh as a rest. Figure B carries a device that can be either a halberd or a large axe, with either the axe head or the spike being trimmed off as required, though this man is missing a sword. The musket on figure C is rather too thick and short for our liking, but the officer figure (D) is quite nice, with only a passing resemblance to Santa Claus!

The detail on the figures is OK, but the quality of the sculpting varies from pretty good to quite poor, although there is no apparent flash. The differences in sculpting quality are down to the fact that they originate from many different sets, with different sculptors and production histories. For example it is noticable that figures I and J are much less well defined. This is due to problems with making the mould on the corresponding sets, but it means they compare unfavourably with the earlier figures (F to H) shown on the same line.

This is an interesting subject, and an intriguing method of delivering the figures. Since the company took its name from this unit it is only fitting that each set should include a representative from it, and over the years a large and diverse set could be constructed which is free from many of the limitations of the traditional one box approach. However for those that cannot wait Zvezda have produced a box of these figures which match these Strelets figures in terms of unit and time period. Take a look at the review for details.

As already stated, these figures are not available as one set, but instead each is included in other Strelets sets. The origin of each figure is as follows:

Figure A
Figure B
Figure C
Figure D
Figure E
Figure F
Figure G
Figure H
Figure I
Figure J
Figure K
Figure L
Figure M
Figure N
Figure O
Figure P
Figure Q
Figure R
Figure S
Figure T
Figure U
Figure V

Set 007 (The Scottish Army of Wallace) and Set 071 (Medieval Britain)
Set 006 (Army of Henry V) and Set 071 (Medieval Britain)
Set 002 (Russian and Prussian Chiefs of Staff)
Set 009 (French Foot Dragoons and Polish Grenadiers)
Set 021 (Swedish Infantry of Charles XII)
Set 016 (Anglo-Saxons)
Set 025 (Russian Line Infantry)
Set 024 (French Light Infantry) and Set 033 (Zouaves)
Set 029 (British Highlanders)
Set 027 (Russian Cossack Infantry and Sailors) and Set 032 (Russian Naval Artillery)
Set 033 (Zouaves)
Set 013 (Napoleon's General Staff Set 1)
Set 031 (Guard of Peter I)
Set 039 (Russian Grenadiers)
Set 042 (Artillery of Peter I)
Set 043 (Artillery of Charles XII)
Set 071 (Medieval Britain)
Set 028 (British Line Infantry)
Set 046 (Union General Staff)
Set 056 (Boers)
Set 038 (British Infantry)
Set 902 (Heavy Brigade)