by sgtryan13 » Mon Mar 24, 2014 9:26 am
Thanks very much guys! Yeah Doug that Hawkeye mishap had me furious! I was attaching the radome, and slipped, basically crushing the whole damn plane between my thumb and forefinger!
I planned to do a review/comparison between the l'arsenal and northstar crew, but here are my observations:
Northstar
Pros-are hands-down more detailed and realistic. the details are jaw-dropping. Threre are many awesome and highly realistic poses, many of them are "specialty" poses like the photo-op group, the guys carrying boxes, a couple guys carrying a table???, guys carrying sacks, with mop buckets, etc. there are some general poses, plenty of standing , walking, leaning, peering through binos, as well as some that I can't figure out what the hell they are doing. They are also slightly "rubbery" for lack of a better term, so they are durable and do not snap off limbs easily.
Cons- Many of the specialty poses limit the places you can position them on your model, especially a carrier deck. I could be mis-remembering, but I do not think there are any poses where a sailor is walking up a set of stairs or climbing a ladder.
***Now the following "con" is specific ONLY to use of these on a CVN*** Plain and simple, these figures seem too small for incorporating into most situations on a carrier's flight deck. They are dwarfed by the blackdog deck tractors, looking like children next to or on them. They also look a little too small next to the aircraft, but not so bad that they can't be positioned convincingly. The general poses are outnumbered by the specialty poses, so if you want a good # of guys just buzzing around the flightdeck, you are going to need at least 2 if not 3 of each of the 3 northstar sets.
l'arsenal
Pros- there are many more "general" poses, so you have a wider array of ways you can position them. There are several figures giving some type of hand/arm signals which are very helpful on a carrier's deck. Their size is perfect to go with the blackdog & JAG deck vehicles. Their "sailors at combat post" set has helmets on, which is easier to make a convincing carrier deck worker out of. They have figures climbing ladders and walking up stairs.
Cons- There are no specialty poses that are so cool in the northstar set. The details are no comparison to the northstar ones (though at this scale, you can't really tell without a macro-lens or a magnifying glass). The resin is much more fragile, so great care has to be taken when handling/removing from the sprue/ painting, or you will lose limbs and heads pretty easily.
You can not place l'arsenal and northstar figures right next to eachother or in the same small scene, the l'arsenal ones will dwarf the northstar, and it will look like crap.
My ultimate conclusion is that I like the detail and cool factor of the norhtstar figures best, but... for a CVN especially, if I had to choose between northstar or l'arsenal, I would go with l'arsenal due to the size of the figures and the more general way you can place them on your deck. Using both is tricky due to their size differences, so you have to be really careful who you place where. If I were to do this whole thing over again, I would use northstar in my hangar, and l'arsenal on my deck, I think that would be the perfect combo.
Thanks very much guys! Yeah Doug that Hawkeye mishap had me furious! I was attaching the radome, and slipped, basically crushing the whole damn plane between my thumb and forefinger! :censored_2: :mad_1:
I planned to do a review/comparison between the l'arsenal and northstar crew, but here are my observations:
[b]Northstar[/b]
[b]Pros[/b]-are hands-down more detailed and realistic. the details are jaw-dropping. Threre are many awesome and highly realistic poses, many of them are "specialty" poses like the photo-op group, the guys carrying boxes, a couple guys carrying a table???, guys carrying sacks, with mop buckets, etc. there are some general poses, plenty of standing , walking, leaning, peering through binos, as well as some that I can't figure out what the hell they are doing. They are also slightly "rubbery" for lack of a better term, so they are durable and do not snap off limbs easily.
[b]Cons-[/b] Many of the specialty poses limit the places you can position them on your model, especially a carrier deck. I could be mis-remembering, but I do not think there are any poses where a sailor is walking up a set of stairs or climbing a ladder.
***Now the following "con" is specific ONLY to use of these on a CVN*** Plain and simple, these figures seem too small for incorporating into most situations on a carrier's flight deck. They are dwarfed by the blackdog deck tractors, looking like children next to or on them. They also look a little too small next to the aircraft, but not so bad that they can't be positioned convincingly. The general poses are outnumbered by the specialty poses, so if you want a good # of guys just buzzing around the flightdeck, you are going to need at least 2 if not 3 of each of the 3 northstar sets.
[b]l'arsenal[/b]
[b]Pros[/b]- there are many more "general" poses, so you have a wider array of ways you can position them. There are several figures giving some type of hand/arm signals which are very helpful on a carrier's deck. Their size is perfect to go with the blackdog & JAG deck vehicles. Their "sailors at combat post" set has helmets on, which is easier to make a convincing carrier deck worker out of. They have figures climbing ladders and walking up stairs.
[b]Cons-[/b] There are no specialty poses that are so cool in the northstar set. The details are no comparison to the northstar ones (though at this scale, you can't really tell without a macro-lens or a magnifying glass). The resin is much more fragile, so great care has to be taken when handling/removing from the sprue/ painting, or you will lose limbs and heads pretty easily.
[b]You can not place l'arsenal and northstar figures right next to eachother or in the same small scene, the l'arsenal ones will dwarf the northstar, and it will look like crap. [/b]
My ultimate conclusion is that I like the detail and cool factor of the norhtstar figures best, but... for a CVN especially, if I had to choose between northstar or l'arsenal, I would go with l'arsenal due to the size of the figures and the more general way you can place them on your deck. Using both is tricky due to their size differences, so you have to be really careful who you place where. If I were to do this whole thing over again, I would use northstar in my hangar, and l'arsenal on my deck, I think that would be the perfect combo.