Plastic Soldier Review - Italeri French Infantry

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Italeri

Set 6002

French Infantry

All figures are supplied unpainted (Numbers of each pose in brackets)

Stats

Date Released	1995
Contents	50 figures
Poses	15 poses
Material	Plastic (Medium Consistency)
Colours	Silver, Pale Blue, Mid Blue

Average Height

24 mm (= 1.73 m)

Review

At first sight you might be forgiven for thinking this is a reissue of the Esci French Line Infantry set. It depicts the same subject, and many of the poses seem identical. However it does in fact have all new poses, though for some reason it seems many were slavishly copied from the Esci set.

The similarity with the Esci set does not end there. Like that set, this is labelled as '1815', but the uniform is incorrect. In 1815 the French infantry wore a double-breasted short-tailed jacket or habit-veste rather than the coat with open lapels that is modelled here. However, the jackets do have the short tails, as introduced at the same time as the double-breasted regulation, rather than the tails down to the knee as before. So, the tails are post-1812, and the rest of the jacket is pre-1812 - like Esci these figures wear a uniform not worn by the line infantry. However the short-tailed coat is reminiscent of that of the light infantry, and this coat was also worn by the Conscrits-Grenadiers of the Young Guard from 1809, though those troops had a long plume on their shako.

Many manufacturers, even well established ones, often produce rather poor figure sets to begin with as they find their feet. Not so Italeri, whose early sets such as this one are every bit as good as their latest offerings. The detail is excellent and virtually no flash. Poses are well chosen apart from the man reloading his musket while kneeling (or perhaps fixing his bayonet), which is a fairly unlikely situation, but in general the set oozes quality. Many customers complained about the silver plastic this and subsequent sets were moulded in, and certainly Italeri were well advised when they later produced these figures in blue. Presumably the silver this was to make them more compatible with metal figures, or maybe it is simply cheaper, but it does hide the beauty of these figures.

If you can live with the incorrect uniform then this is a splendid set, and promised great things to come from Italeri in the future, a promise that was more than fulfilled.

Ratings

Historical Accuracy	6
Pose Quality	9
Pose Number	9
Sculpting	9
Mould	10