Command sets such as this have become very popular recently, with sets from HaT, Italeri, Odemars and Zvezda amongst others, but the Strelets formula of dozens of all-unique figures makes them ideal for this kind of subject, where not only officers but musicians and other ancillary troops can be included. This set has fewer poses than we have come to expect from this company, and the subject is both Austrian and British general staff, but still we find quite a variety of subjects.

To begin with, a list of what is on offer. This is based on the part inventory on the box and on our own guesses.

Row 1 - Austrian

1. Emperor Francis
2. Archduke Charles
3. Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg

1. General
2. Senior Officer
3. Senior Officer
4. Officer

1. ADC
2. Infantry Officer
3. Infantry Officer
4. Flag-Bearer

1. Duke of Wellington
2. Major-General Rowland Hill
3. Lieutenant-General Thomas Picton
4. Lieutenant-General The Earl of Uxbridge
5. Lieutenant-General Stapleton Cotton

1. Lieutenant-General William Beresford
2. Colonel Sir William de Lancey
3. Colonel
4. Lieutenant-Colonel
5. Staff Officer

1. Staff Officer
2. Staff Officer
3. Staff Officer
4. Staff Officer
5. General

1. Lieutenant of Infantry
2. Officer
3. Highland Infantry Officer
4. ADC
5. ADC

1. RHA or Light Dragoon Officer (?)
2. Standard Bearer
3. Trumpeter of Life Guards

Strelets have provided the Austrians in a light brown colour (close to the colour used for Austrian sets from Esci, Italeri and HaT) and the British in red, which is a good idea.

Taking the Austrians first, although there are fewer of them for some reason they are quite a nice bunch. The figure of the emperor allows for a famous scene after Austerlitz to be recreated, and no such set would be complete without Archduke Charles. Schwarzenberg deserves his place too as the victor of Leipzig, although most unusually the sculptor has given him epaulettes (a very un-Austrian item) and a cartridge pouch for what seems to be a full-dress or court uniform. In addition the sculptor has clearly tried hard to get the figure to look like his subject, but this is very difficult and tends to mean the sculptor enlarges the head, as here.

The remaining senior and junior officers are OK, and the infantry figures in particular will be welcome since there are still very few such figures in the market. Accuracy is pretty good, although the rounded coat tails of the Emperor are very suspect, and the flag is too small. Those officers of Hungarian origin wear a hussar-style uniform, naturally, while the popular Oberrock or double-breasted frock coat can be seen on the infantry officers. The head and right arm of the last figure on row 2 are both in anatomically impossible positions, and we would not have chosen the pose of a man attacking someone with the butt of his pistol (for which he has no holster), especially when he holds a sword in his other hand!

As for the British, the personalities are mostly taken from the Osprey book 'Wellington's Generals', although Picton has been done as he appeared at Waterloo, complete with round hat and umbrella. In what we think is a first the figure of de Lancey seems to be taken from a film, 'Waterloo', where he has just been struck in the back by a cannonball and is staggering before falling.

The selection of senior and junior officers is well presented and largely accurate, with the only serious problem being the figure we have labelled as an officer of the Royal Horse Artillery or light dragoons. Whichever he is, the long tails on his jacket are incorrect. The flag bearer wears an aiguillette, which is wrong for an ensign, but he may be a more senior officer who has simply taken hold of the colours in the heat of the action. In any case, as with the Austrian this flag is much too small.

The detail on these Strelets figures is very good - on a par with their best recent work, although the figures themselves still have a slight chunky feel, most clearly seen in the overly fat telescopes and canes. The table, with a map and instruments on it, is a nice touch and fits together easily. There is virtually no flash to be found, and the sculptor has delivered some really good animated poses which give the set a lot of life. Of course in battle many of these men would expect to be mounted, and we understand that mounted staff figures will be made in the future, but these nicely done figures will add variety and character to any Napoleonic Austrian or British army, and it is just a pity that fewer Austrians have been delivered compared to the other nationalities in the Strelets range.

Note The final figure is of a soldier from the Streltsi of 17th century Russia. Though he is unrelated to the subject of this set, he is one of a series of 'bonus' figures which when combined will create a set of this unit for the Great Northern War. See Streltsi Bonus Figures feature for details.