Review

All though the post office seemed to have played football, ( your choice of type), the package was a bit torn for the worse with added tape, the contents were undamaged, thank you Darren for a good packing job.

This is I.C.M.'s rendition of a French Republican Guard Cavalry Regimental Corp. The box art is a real photo of a guard at post with an imposed background. Included in this kit is the real life photo of this particular figure which comes in handy. As usual, it comes in a sturdy cardboard box and has a lock tab with a cover which keeps it all in very good shape. The box contains the model, instructions and color guide inside a resealable plastic bag. I wish other companies would notice this practice as it keeps it safe during all the handling etc.

In the bag there are 2 sprues for the figure and 1 for the base. Here you have the option of 4 types of finish stone, molded in black, for the figure. The other 2 sprues hold the light gray plastic for the figure. There were no broken parts on or off the sprue and no flash on my example. A little bit of thought has to go into this figure as it should be sub assembled so that the painting can be done. Some filling was required on the jacket sides and the gauntlet's. A little bending for the sword leather is needed also.

The figure break down as follows. 2 legs, 2 arms, 2 torsos and 2 hands. These are of course in halves by themselves and the hands require the thumb on one and the fingers on the other to be glued. I would wait till the sabre is glued together so that the right hand grasps the sword correctly. There are 30 parts that make up the cuffs, straps, coat tails, helmet, sword, pouch, and buckles. They clean up very easily though I broke the sword guard, me getting my fumbled fingers to work. The detail is great and no undercut is necessary. The creases in the uniform are crisp as is the detail on all the shoulder braid, the helmet buttons etc. The facial expression is well defined also.

In the directions it calls for C-3 to be attached to the top of the sword leather on the right hand. C-3 is the thumb for the left hand and should be noted. It also calls for partC-11 to be attached to the helmet (bottom of the plumb) but it is attached to the top of the right hand sword leather, or sword knot.
I started with the legs, torso arms and head. Here a bit of Mr. Surfacer worked very well and hide the seams well. It is here that you should know that sub assembly will be required as the arms are very close to the sides and painting will be difficult. The arms have a lock tab present so alignment will be accurate. When gluing the helmet together make sure the visor is spaced evenly from side to side. The legs (pants) have a seam that is partially done but disappears when it should come out from the side to the front. These will need to be scribed in. I have not done this yet and realize that a steady hand will be needed. Parts C-27 and C-2 will need to be slightly bent to form to the figure.

I tacked the figure together with blue clay for the photos so I can add the missing seam and paint without problems. The small attachment rings and leather strap sections I left off also.
All in all I would recommend this figure to any wanting a Republican guard. It is an easy build and was enjoyable. Getting away from the usual greens and greys was a holiday for me as well as a break from the usual that I do. For a plastic injection molded figure, I give this a thumb up and personally will purchase some of the other figures in this scale to add to my collection. Of course on the scale of 1-10, I would give it a 9.