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Review Notes and Ratings Explained |
At the top of each review is one or more scanned images. These show all the
poses in the set, and any other significant pieces such as vehicles etc. Below
each piece is a number in brackets, which indicates the quantity of each piece
provided in one set. Most of these figures are supplied unpainted, but for some reviews we have
painted the figures ourselves,
partly because they look better that way, but mainly because we like to paint
them and show them off too. Most reviews with our painted figures also have a button below the pictures
which will display the same figures unpainted (as painting can distort the actual quality of a
figure).
In a few cases the figures are supplied by the manufacturer already painted. In this case there is no legend under the
picture stating the figures are unpainted, and the stats section shows the plastic colour as
"Factory Painted". Such figures are always shown with the factory painting, and are never repainted
by us.
Stats
This section shows the following key facts about the set:
-
The year that the set was first released. The set may have been
released later in some parts of the World.
-
The number of figures in a normal set. This is the number of human beings, not
the number of pieces. Thus horses, animals, bits of kit etc are not counted,
but pieces where two or more people are moulded together will count each
person represented - even stretcher cases.
-
The number of human poses in a normal set. As with the total number of
figures, this is humans only, and again groups moulded as one piece will
count as several poses.
-
Average human height gives an idea of the size of the figures. While all
the figures reviewed are roughly 1:72, some are still bigger than others.
This figure gives the average height in milimetres of all those poses which
are standing reasonably straight,
and in brackets the actual height in metres that this would represent at
true 1:72 scale. For our purposes we define height to be from the
bottom of the feet to the top of the head.
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The colour of the material in which the set was made. This will
include all reissues, including those under licence by other
manufacturers. The description of the colour is general rather
than going into specifics about shade and so forth. If the figures are prepainted by the
manufacturer then this item is labelled as "Factory Painted".
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The material used to make the figures. Currently this is one of the following:
- Soft plastic is usually Polyethyline but can be other types of plastic. Although called
soft it varies in consistency and can be almost as hard as 'hard' plastic. It tends to be
more flexible, but can be less good at accepting glue and paint. It often has memory, so bent pieces
bend and then return to their original form. Some manufacturers use a special form of 'soft'
plastic called BDS which is fairly hard but has little memory and will stay in place when bent.
This also accepts paint well and can be easily glued.
- Hard plastic is mostly polystyrene or similar, and as the name suggests it is hard, so it
is brittle rather than flexible and breaks more easily. It accepts paint and glue very well.
- Resin has similar properties to plastic but is much cheaper to produce and is
therefore favoured by many smaller manufacturers. However it is much more fragile than plastic.
Review
The main body of the review gives a commentary on the set. This can pretty
much include anything the reviewer wants to include, but will mostly be
concerned with all the particularly good and/or bad points as well as a
general impression. When compiling a review, the following points are
considered:
History or story of the set
General impression of the set
Number of poses
Variety of poses
Suitability of poses for the subject
Anatomical accuracy
Accuracy in uniform and equipment
Level of detail
Quality of sculpting
Amount of flash or mould imperfections
Usefulness for wargamers, diorama builders etc.
Comparison with similar sets from other manufacturers
Whether chosen subject is new or already well supplied
Ratings
The ratings section gives a quick summary of the various aspects of the set.
Each rating has a maximum of 10 points, with 0 being absolutely dreadful
and 10 being perfect or as close as you're likely to get.
Historical Accuracy covers the accuracy of the uniform and equipment,
and the suitability of the poses for the subject
Pose Quality covers how good the variety of poses is, how suitable they are for the
subject and also originality in pose selection.
Pose Number covers the number of appropriate poses included in the set, bearing in mind the
subject matter. In broad terms the set will score
maximum points if it contains 20+ poses (infantry), 10+ poses (cavalry or artillery), although the
actual subject matter is always taken into consideration and scores will depend on how many poses
the subject matter might ideally expect.
Sculpting covers the level of detail attempted, how crisp and well
defined that detail is, how anatomically correct the figures are,
how natural the poses seem, how well issues of undercutting have been
addressed or avoided. In short, all about the skill of the original
sculptor.
Mould Quality covers how well the figures have been moulded - for
example air bubbles in the mould can produce holes in the piece,
stunted or missing equipment or limbs. Also the amount of flash and
other extranneous sprue that needs to be removed from the figures.
Caveat Emptor
Remember that this web site is all about reviews, which are
necessarily dependant on the opinion of the reviewer. You may find that
you strongly disagree with some of the opinions or scores. What we have
tried to do is give as much information as possible so you can decide what
may be worthy of purchase. However, if you intend to buy many copies of a
particular set then it would still be wise to buy just one first to ensure
it meets your needs.
Finally, where statements have been made as fact we have tried to ensure they are
correct. If we have made a mistake, please let us know via the
Contact page
- we are only human after all and are happy to make corrections.
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