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Saturday 14 January 2012

First Legion: Forthcoming Releases

Welcome to the first First Legion newsletter of the new year. I hope you enjoy these figures as I much as I do! First up, some new German figures for their Napoleonic, Battle of Waterloo range
 

Brunswick



The Duchy of Brunswick was officially reconstituted in 1814, just a week before Waterloo, from the recently disbanded Kingdom of Westphalia, a satellite state created by Napoleon as part of the Confederation of the Rhine






Frederick William the Duke of Brunswick was against the French domination of Germany and with Austria’s assistance raised the famous “Black Legion” to continue the resistance against their French opressors.  Uniformed in black, many of these troops fought with the British both in the Penninsula and during the 100 days campaign which climaxed at Waterloo



Specially trained as light infantry, the Avant Garde Jaeger Battalion had two companies of light infantry and two companies of Jaegers and they wore some of the most unique uniforms of the period. Presented here with the level of sculpting and painting that First Legion is known for, these figures will make an excellent addition to any serious Napoleonic figure collection!





Next up, yet more Germans, leaping forward in time a century or so to the Soviet Union in the 1940s!

GERSTAL039 - German BMW R75 Motorcycle Combination
 24th Panzer Division - Stalingrad 1942

The Reconaissance battalion of a German Panzer Division functioned much like the cavalry of horse and musket armies, able to move rapidly and find and fix the enemy. The BMW R75 Motorcycle was an integral part of German Reconaissance units. This highly detailed model is made up of a mixed media construction, primarily resin with metal, photo etched, and plastic parts


The driver and passenger are separate figures so the model can be displayed with an empty passenger car if desired or the driver of this bike can be used with the GERSTAL041 Motorcycle as well (and the Feldgendarme of GERSTAL041 can equally well sit on this version). We are extremely proud of this wonderfully detailed model!


GERSTAL041 - German BMW R75 Feldgendarme Motorcycle Combination
16th Panzer Division - Stalingrad 1942

The German Feldgendarmerie, or military police, played an important role in keeping order and discipline amongst the troops.  This was even more important at Stalingrad as discipline started to breakdown during the period of the Kessel and order had to be maintained

 

This highly detailed model is made up of a mixed media construction. The Felgendarme is a separate figure so the model can be displayed by itself without the figure or you can use the GERSTAL041 driver for this bike with the covered passenger car (and the Feldgendarme of GERSTAL041 can equally well sit on the GERSTAL039 bike)



The following figure would make a wonderful addition to any diorama featuring the Feldgendarmerie!



Last, but by no means least, is this cracking little vignette featuring a sharp-shooting German sniper, very reminiscent of the film starring Jude Law and Robert Duvall [I think!], the name of which I'm ashamed to say I can't quite recall. A cracking film though!

GERSTAL040 - German Sniper Behind Wall - Stalingrad 1942

This beautifully sculpted and painted German Sniper has taken up position sitting on a broken pipe behind a shattered section of wall.  He is prepared to be there for the long haul and has brought a thermos with him to help him cope with the freezing temperatures of Stalingrad



Happy hunting!

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