A pair of British Soldiers - Gulf War 1 & 2

[wasdale32]

A pair of resin figures approximately 90mm picked up from a particular Chinese market place.

I realise that these are probably recasts and I would have preferred to buy from the original source but I've not been able to identify the original producer online.

The first I have finished in 1990's era desert DPM with a mix of gear including both early and late 58 pattern webbing and a non-descript Bergan.
The barrel of the SLR was broken on arrival and I had to drill out the fore-stock and flash hider to insert a bit of carbon fibre rod so it is a bit skew and I've just noticed it is upside down ( the bayonet lugs should be at the bottom)!!

As he is toting an SLR I did wonder if it was actually meant to represent someone a bit earlier and could be in jungle DPM however the 66 LAW wouldn't fit with jungle.

The second is obviously Gulf War 2 or later ( mid 2000's to present day ) as he has an SA80 and appears to be wearing full MTP including the load carrying vest.

The casting quality of the second guy leaves a lot to be desired especially around the face. The stubby barrel of the SA80 is slightly warped but it is too short to realign.

[Airborne01]

I agree about the Bergan mate, don't recognise it, possibly a civvy or foreign bit of kit? Nice productions though!
Steve

[minitnkr]

Love the finishes.

[wasdale32]

I agree about the Bergan mate, don't recognise it, possibly a civvy or foreign bit of kit? Nice productions though!
Steve

I hindsight I wonder if he is an Aussie or even South African as they also used the SLR

[Ian M]

Funny you should say that, my first though was he looked like an Aussie.
Great job on the camouflage as well!

[The Smythe Meister]

Well,to be honest,I like BOTH figures :smiling3:
I don't know everything thing about kit,but one thing I DO know is....
...on the build up to,and even during the the first GW,we were all trying to get better PE from home or any other source we could.
Still had "Greens" on until about Mid March if I remember correctly... not exactly great when in the middle of the Desert!!... Typical British Governmental treatment of our forces!
But I digress.. excellent stuff mate, they're superb. :smiling3:

[Jon Heptonstall]

Really nicely done.The figures are by Andy Cairns AC Models.That first chap was originally an Australian in Vietnam.
They are described as 1/16 scale but are a bit on the a small side compared to other brands.

Jon.

[Neil Merryweather]

Really nicely done.The figures are by Andy Cairns AC Models.That first chap was originally an Australian in Vietnam.
They are described as 1/16 scale but are a bit on the a small side compared to other brands.

Jon.

I was about to say they look like Andy Cairns work - he has a particular, almost expressionist style of sculpting, and almost always ANZAC subjects.
Nice job on them.
Shame about them being recasts though

[PaulinKendal]

These look really good - I particularly like the pose of the second one.

Re. them being recasts, can someone clarify? I've always thought that recasts are effectively copyright theft. Am I right?

[Tim Marlow]

These look really good - I particularly like the pose of the second one.

Re. them being recasts, can someone clarify? I've always thought that recasts are effectively copyright theft. Am I right?

Yes you are Paul.

[banjer]

These look really good - I particularly like the pose of the second one.

Re. them being recasts, can someone clarify? I've always thought that recasts are effectively copyright theft. Am I right?

The reason recasters produce them is because people buy them. I don't know if buying them is illegal but it's certainly morally wrong.

[JR]

Nicely painted Mark.

[wasdale32]

Thanks for identifying the original sculpted/producer - I have searched the internet for any stockists of these two figures and the only one I found was the one where I bought them. I wouldn't normally buy recasts as I really do want to support the original maker but if an item is out of production or not available elsewhere then the options are limited. A popular auction site ( rhymes with "delay" ) often has items of unknown provenance at wildly inflated prices where even the seller may not know that they aren't original. I've also picked up anonymous resin figures at model show "under tables" sales so the market is there. It would be great if someone could licence some of the out of production moulds to manufacture and sell and properly compensate the original maker.

[Gavalaar1980]

Great work here! I absolutely love the texture on the ammo pouches etc, it's very realistic.

Gavin