Introduction

The Wee Friends range of figures available through Friendship Models continues to expand with the recent release of 3 new figures. This is a brief look at the Royal Navy Sailor, featured in the news recently.
News Item
The figure was sculpted by Pete Morton, whom I’m delighted to say is continuing to add to the original range.

The figure

Packaged in an oval plastic snap box is a simple figure of 4 parts. The figure is further protected within another zip plastic bag. Also in the pod are two small paper inserts. One with a front and rear view of the figure and the other contains contact details for Friendship Models.

Cast in a light cream resin, the figure depicts a Royal Navy Sailor in a relaxed setting. The body is cast as a whole and comes with separate left and right arms and head. His right hand is designed to fit in to his right hand trouser pocket and the left to hang by his side. A nice addition is the Navy Battle Dress jacket which he wears open at the front exposing a polo neck jumper. The casting is good with only an air bubble on top of the beret. Clean up should be minimal.

What I like about this figure is the pose and the order of dress. Both seem very apt for the time frame. The pose is very natural and the open tunic and jumper highly appropriate. The uniform detail looks correct and the casting has nice natural folds in the clothing. To complete the uniform the figure is wearing a pair of Sea Boots with thick socks over the top.

The head shows the face of a tough looking young man; the detail is very good and only the pour stud needs removed from the back of the helmet, but take care here not to damage the rim. The helmet shows the chin strap looped over the front rim of the helmet.

The left and right arms are separate items and again have good detail. Height and proportions are good with a heel to shoulder height of 40 mm approx.

Conclusion

It is great to see another RN Sailor coming onto the market and I particularly like the mixed order of dress. A very useable figure who should appeal to both diorama builders and figure painters alike. Well sculpted and cast with good detail, the open BD and jumper are a refreshing change and I do hope we see a few more figures of this type coming along.

It’s good to see the Wee Friends range continuing to expand, I’m sure this chap will be enjoyed by many. Another excellent figure from Pete and a good addition to the Wee Friends range of Royal Navy personnel.