Introduction

Surprisingly the French Revolution is a subject that not many miniature companies cover. Personally, I feel this is a great loss to the historical miniatures community. After all, this period was a pivotal turning point in European (if not world) history, and there are a great many interesting subjects that can be recreated in miniature.

Recently Pegaso Models released the “French Revolution, Sans Culotte” figure. In my opinion this figure will become a classic in 54mm.

The figure is sculpted by the talented Sicilian Napoleonic “Maestro”: Maurizio Bruno. This alone should tell one that we can expect another high quality Pegaso figure!

What’s in the box?

The figure, consisting of 7 white metal pieces, is shipped in a dark blue colored box, with the pieces sandwiched between 2 pieces of thick white. Included are “piece-by-piece” painting instructions, and some historical notes (in 4 languages).

The 7 parts are:

• Head with hat
  
• Torso and feet in one solid piece
  
• Left arm and hand holding a doloire (or wagoner's axe)
  
• Right arm
  
• Waist bag
  
• Hayfork with right hand attached
  
• Small round base

Quality and Detail

Although the pose is fairly static, it has a sense of imminent movement that can be interpreted in many ways: ready to depart; ready for action; and so on.

The sculpted detail is, as one would expect from so experienced a sculptor, exceptional! In true Pegaso form, this figure is defined by: very clean lines; nice piece definition and separation; face with the appropriate era style; and amazingly realistically rendered detail

The quality of the white metal parts is excellent. The smooth surfaces, with no visible mold lines, the figure needed almost no cleaning, other than a gentle wipe with fine steel wool to polish the figure. Then some washing in bath with a mild detergent – water mix to make it as clean as it gets before priming.

Building the figure

One of the motivational factors behind my building and painting of this particular figure was the fact the assembly itself was effortless. Everything fitted perfectly, and no putty was required. I simply glued the parts together with 2-part epoxy glue, leaving only the hayfork separate. This was done in order to avoid possibly damaging it while painting the figure.

Painting

I would categorize this as an easy to medium difficulty figure for painting.

This is based on the fact that there is relative freedom in choosing colors and schemes. However, when painting this figure, you need to bear the customs of the period and the specific citizen’s class in mind. While there are not many different textures to recreate, the sculpting affords you the challenge of plenty of folds and edges, as well as the nice face.

Personally after researching some relevant websites and books, I decided to paint the figure differently from Pietro Balloni’s stunning box art.

I also chose to put a pistol in his waist sack. This I scratch-built, as I didn’t have any Napoleonic era spares.

As always, making the base was huge fun for me. I picked a small farm scene of the era adding some small pets and hay to add on the scene.

Conclusion – Final Verdict

This is yet another fantastic figure from top Italian manufacturer Pegaso Models. As usual this Pegaso figure boasts an exceptionally high quality white metal casting sculpted by one of the most talented miniaturists in Europe.

Highly Recommended

On behalf of Historicus Forma, I would like to thank Pegaso Models for the review sample