NHD Iraqi Piper

Whilst clearing out some of my very old stuff, I found this abandoned piece. It was an uninspired subject matter and I had bought it on impulse. I can't remember why I removed it from my display collection.

ECW Drummer

I had started this piece about 5 years ago and it was forgotten until now.

Marlburian grenadier

An unfinished grenadier with a Shenandoah head and trimmed down Historex torso.

Poilu

This piece was meant to represent a French Poilu of WWI. Pictures of that period showed elderly men in military uniform. Many of them were short and portly. Conversion was based on a couple of Heller legs and a Hornet head.

Ethiopian rider

I found this abandoned piece and reposed the piece for this photo. I like the horse but I think that the figure could be improved.

PNG cyclist 4

Another old discovery from early last year. . I perched the figure on his bicycle and have since repositioned all the limbs.

Kato Kiyomasa 2

I had last worked on this piece in August last year. I've removed the spear for better ease of handling.
I trimmed down the hat and am now making other minor conversions to the figure.

Le Cimier Eleanor of Castile

I have had this piece for many years. I had never built it then as it was distorted. The left hand had the seat handle sticking out through the sleeve! The Francis figure was separately completed and forms part of my painted collection.

Recently I rediscovered it with, luckily, the right hand and rear part of the the seat. Everything else is missing. I cleaned up the piece and glued the right hand to the body. The following picture shows the unequal length of the seat handles at the back. I intend to resculpt part of the sleeves and the seat to complete this piece.

Mendi

I had started this piece more than 10 years ago. I have just found it again after trawling through the heap. Most of the main sculpting has been done. It shows a Papuan couple of the Mendi tribe getting ready for a Sing-Sing ceremony. The Mendi are one of the tribes that perform at the annual festival on Mount Goroka. Their face paint is characteristic of this tribe. The drum was scratchbuilt.

The next step is to complete the headdress with feathers and foliage.

I intend to use this base but I will create some groundwork on top.

Cafe Storme/Mokarex

My very good friend presented me with over 100 pieces of these figures and I spent a very delightful time cleaning them and putting them up on one of my shelves.

I've also selected some of the best-sculpted women figures for a clearer picture. Although these figures are generally hollow-cast, the four pieces to the right of the photo are cast as solid pieces.

Although these are single castings, the character and animation of some of these pieces transcend their time. All of these figures will slowly, but surely be incorporated into my finished collection as painted or converted pieces.

Luo Warrior riding cattle 7

I cleaned up most of the piece and sprayed an undercoat of white primer to highlight any imperfections. Still some work to be done before I attempt to add the white ostrich feathers.

Balinese Frog Dancer 6

I carefully removed the frog dancer from its base and rebuilt the base to take the shrine.

Mauryan War Elephant 3

I changed the head pose for the elephant to better support the mahout.
I also built a simple howdah, reasoning that this sort of basic construction was suitable for a war elephant.

Mauryan War elephant 2

I salvaged some lower leg parts from failed castings and fitted them to these figures. Holes were drilled for wire inserts. Putty was used to strengthen the joints.

Balinese Frog Dancer 5

Minor progress was made to the roof with some leftover epoxy putty.

Heian Palace guard 13

The deer was painted to represent a Sika deer, common throughout Japan. When painted, a hole was drilled to take an arrow shaft. The deer is posed in the scene for final setup. I am now adding more foliage and groundwork to complete the vignette.

Mauryan War Elephant

A good friend commissioned me to make him a War Elephant and we agreed to represent one from the Mauryan Dynasty of Indian History.

I cut up a Britain's elephant and had the head, ears, tail and four lower legs as component parts cast in resin. This was easier to work with than the original waxy plastic used in the original.

A wire armature was created and the elephant pose was created. Then the body was built up with epoxy putty.

The warriors are currently being made from plastic parts.

Balinese Frog Dancer 4

When comparing with the picture of the shrine, I realised that I had to alter the shape of the thatch roof. The roof was filed down and more epoxy putty was used to create the thatch.

Celtic Warrior 8

I added a little bit more hair to the sidelocks. I filed away the surface around the waist and added a belt from sheet metal strip. The sword scabbard was fixed in place. the sculpting is finished.

I have added a thin undercoat of paint to highlight minor defects and also to start the painting process.

Balinese Frog Dancer 3

More progress on the shrine. I lowered the height of the shrine by removing a few layers of bricks. A wooden shrine was made from plastic card and L-tubing. A roof was created from plastic card, and thatch was simulated from epoxy putty.

Celtic Warrior 7

More hair was added. The hands and weapons were glued to the figure.

Luo warrior riding cattle 6

The long spear was added and further adjustments were made to the sculpting.

Balinese Frog Dancer 2

I used various sizes of bricks to build the shrine.

My workspace

Just finished sorting out my workspace, clearing the workbench, repositioning cabinets, storing parts and tools in the right places and most importantly, labelling the trays.

Balinese frog dancer

I had made this piece about 30 years ago. It represents a frog dancer cavorting in a ricefield atop a muddy bund.

I decided that it was about time to redo the setting, by adding a small shrine to the scene. Here is a picture of a typical rustic shrine in a ricefield.