Introduction

ICM has released the latest of their 1/16th scale large figures, technically this is the 6th figure in the Guardsman series. This offering is of a Yeoman Warder or as more popularly known Beefeater. The term Beefeater has been around for centuries with a lot of suggestions as to why it is used, it is my belief that the true reason is lost to history. The Yeoman Warder can trace their history back to the reign of Edward IV 1461 to 1483, their role is as Royal bodyguards, but today most people will know them as guides around the Tower of London.

All members of the Yeoman Guards must have served in the British Armed Forces or the Armed Forces of a Commonwealth country. The guard must have served for at least 22 years and reached the rank of Warrant Officer, further in addition to this they must have been awarded the Long Service and Good Conduct medals. Due to these requirements the Yeoman Guards should be seen for what they are and not as purely historic figures.

Review

This offering from ICM is provided in the now usual high quality packaging favoured by ICM, the result is a product that should handle any reasonable treatment by postal services without damage. The contents inside are packaged inside a single re-sealable plastic bag which has done its job in keeping parts on the sprues. An examination of the sprues does not present any issues that I can see. There are no ejector pin marks or poor moulding issues to contend with. There are of course a few seam lines that will need to be addressed as these are hard to avoid with injection moulded plastic.

Anyone who has tackled one of these figures from ICM will be aware of the nice base that is supplied; this offers a nice square base with a choice of four different textured surfaces to mount the figure on. The figure itself is broken down into very few parts for a 1/16th scale offering having only 23 parts plus the two weapons. The hardest aspect of this figure will be the painting due to the large quantity of embroidered badges on the uniform. Fortunately for the modeller ICM has provided lightly raised detail that will make painting a manageable task for those with a steady hand. I cannot help thinking that the inclusion of decals for the large emblems on the front and back of the torso would have been greatly appreciated by some.

Assembly of the figure looks straight forward to me with the minimum of clean up where the seams and sprue gates are concerned. The gates themselves are of a reasonable size and should not present any issues when it comes to removing the parts. The facial features on this offering are very nice considering it has been moulded in a single piece. The texture of the facial hair is very nicely done and that along with well presented facial features including the ears which is an area that is often poorly rendered. The hands have separate fingers to enable a good grip of the spear.

The uniform details all look to match up very well with online reference images regardless of how fine the detail is. The ruff around the hat has been split into three parts that will require careful placement to get a good finish. The belt has been nicely tackled and should look good when placed. All told this is a very nicely replicated figure.

Conclusion

Another excellent 1/16th scale figure offering from ICM, but this one will be a real test of the modellers painting ability. Assembly of the figure should be easy to manage as I cannot see any traps for the unwary to fall into.