Strelets R Foot Rif Rebels 20mm 1/72

      Strelets R had extended its coverage to include the Rif War. One of the "small wars" that followed the insanity of the First World War this conflict was one of the early attempts by native North Africans to eject colonial powers from the continent. This war saw many innovations including the first landing of tanks in a sea-borne invasion! This set pairs nicely with the French Foreign Legion just released by Strelets R.
      The models are well-detailed and cleanly cast in an odd orange-brown plastic that holds the deeply cut sculpting very well. The craftsmanship and skill of the sculptor is on real display with this set; the flow of the robes, the detail of the faces and hands and the proportion and poses are simply superb. Whoever the unsung sculptor is has really raised the bar for further models in this scale. This set is useful outside of the Rif War setting as there was a much slower evolution in local dress that one sees in the uniforms of most armed forces. These figures could easily be used as early as the 1880's (aside from the fellow with the Lewis gun) though to the Second World War without any issues.

the box art provides useful, if uninspired, uniform color ideas

rear of the box

box with contents; one command sprue, three of infantry

the Command sprue, Side A
these are some truly impressive figures 

close-up of the standard bearer, I'm no fan of cast-on flags but this will be easy to remove and replace with a wire, but the real issue is LOOK AT THAT AMAZING FIGURE, and remember that his face is barely bigger than a sesame sedd

Command Sprue, Side B 
this is the sprue that sold me on the idea of adding another new project to the existing mountain of  "Projects in Progress", they are simply outstanding, the Imam and the Sheik alone raise this to art

the attention to detail and anatomy is first-class

Infantry Sprue, Side A
the rest of the minis in this set are nearly as good as the Command figures

Infantry Sprue, Side B
good active poses, excellent proportions and attention to detail

the sculptor has done a fine job of draping the fabric over the miniature 

the burly man with the Lewis gun instantly reminded me of Ardeth Bay from the 1999 movie The Mummy when he fearlessly wades into a horde of undead armed in just such a manner

      This set shows he level of quality that plastic figures can achieve if the manufacturer is willing to take the effort. These are simply the best figures of this type that I have seen in the last half-century that I have been painting miniatures. If you have even a passing interest in this period this set is a great place to start collecting your Home Team troops. I would be tempted to buy the box just to paint the command sprue as a vignette. 

       Very Highly Recommended, seriously, go buy one now......they really are that good!