Cooplestone - Sailors, Guns, Czechs

[DRDHauser]

I'll be ordering the Russian Sailor Command to go with the Russian Sailors I already have from Mark and the White Field Gun and crew as well.

I agree with the earlier comment about the Czechs looking too pristine, I had hoped for a more polyglot look to them. Of course we can always mix in other BoB Russian Reds and Whites to give variety to the mix.

For this range I'm actually ok with the pose mix.

[Prof.Witchheimer]

It’s no problem at all to take the Russian figures for the Czech’s Actually they had russian uniform which they wore until February 1917. After February 1917 they have started to wear red-white strips on the caps. And that’s (almost) all. There were some other symbols wearing by officers and cavalry but not for the infantry.

Here’s a pic(from a russian book) of a Czech infantryman 1918-1920:

[Le matou rouge]

Lots of pics of the Czech Legion here :

http://web.mac.com/czechlegion/iWeb/TheCzechLegion/Photo1.html

And some uniforms :

http://warandgame.wordpress.com/2008/01/11/czech-legion/

(Thanks to the BackofBeyond group for the links)

meow,
Matt

[Helen]

Great Sites - thanks

[Plynkes]

Seems to me that making Czech Legion figures is a bit of a waste of time. They are really just Great War Russians (or Austro-Hungarians or French, depending on what period you are depicting them). Why not call them that?

If I get any (and I might), it will probably just be to mix in with Copplestone White Russians to use as the Tsar's troops fighting my Germans. No one seems to make Great War Russians, they always label them as RCW. I suppose they sell better that way.

[Poliorketes]

Seems to me that making Czech Legion figures is a bit of a waste of time. They are really just Great War Russians (or Austro-Hungarians or French, depending on what period you are depicting them). Why not call them that?

If I get any (and I might), it will probably just be to mix in with Copplestone White Russians to use as the Tsar's troops fighting my Germans. No one seems to make Great War Russians, they always label them as RCW. I suppose they sell better that way.

AFAIK there are some (although minor) differences between RCW white and tsarist russians. But for late war (1917 onwards) this shouldn't matter.

[Plynkes]

Well unfortunately Early War is where I'm at right now (I have no Late War Germans). The main problems that I can see are that early on ankle boots and puttees are wrong (or at least uncommon), as these were a response to a leather shortage; and the fact that the Russians started the war with stiff caps, but (much like in the BEF) the army was swept with a craze for removing the stiffening and so ended up with soft floppy caps. But soft caps appear quite early on it would seem, so I'm not too bothered about that.

The Copps and Brigade ones are the only Russians I've seen that are even vaguely right for the Great War, so I'm afraid they'll just have to do for now.

[marianas_gamer]

Sheesh Plynkes,
Here we are in the middle of the Golden Age of figure production and you are getting all wet on us  ::  ::  Just think what you would have been moaning 10 years ago :mrgreen: when you were trying to get East Front figures together for the Great War!

[Plynkes]

You misunderstand me. I'm quite content to use RCW figures for the Great War.

I'm just stating that I know about the little differences so that people know I'm wilfully using "wrong" figures, rather than doing it out of ignorance!  

[marianas_gamer]

I knew that I just had to needle you :mrgreen:

[Plynkes]

Grrr.... Why I audda...  

[Driscoles]

Matt !

Those pictures are amazing. Every picture tells a story...
So inspiring. Thank you.

Björn

[PeteMurray]

God-damn. I knew nothing about the Czech Legion.   Now I must have some.  

Thank you very much, Matt!

Edit: Oh my god, these guys were such badasses, I cannot believe this.
Edit edit: And the bit with the gold! Holy hell! My education has been terribly deficient.

[Hammers]

Make sure you read the bits about the Czech Legion, the Tsar's gold and the armoured train, Pete. It's quite a fantastic story.

[PeteMurray]

It's like if you had to pick a fighting force made out of Indiana Joneses, it'd be the Czechs.

And the best part is that they went home in the end WITH A BOXCAR OF GOLD. I'll bet they were insufferable old bastards, too.

"Jacek, do you really think threatening me over the rent is going to work? I've stared down mad Cossacks, been shot at by Reds, and seen men's blood freeze on Lake Baikal. Now get the hell out of my apartment before I remember where I keep my service pistol."