Phoenix Charles and Diana

I made this piece from Phoenix Castings many years ago. Note the unusually shaped base which was probably aimed at the feminine market. I unfortunately contributed further to this mawkish taste by mounting the whole onto a bright red wooden base with cursive lettering. Anyway, it's part of my collection.

Beneito Catholic King and Queen 3

I added some putty to sculpt the lower folds of the Queen's gown. I removed the face of the King to resculpt a new face.

Baudouin and Fabiola 5 - Finished

I finished painting Fabiola yesterday and mounted both figures onto the base, which I had sanded slightly and recoated with black paint and lettering. I took two pics, one with flash.

Leuthen Tower

I am building this tower in 30mm scale for a friend. A suitable tin container of the right diameter was cut to create a strong structure for the circular tower. This was lined on the inside and outside with glued cork sheets to thicken the walls. Brick paper was glued onto the cork surface.

Kato Kiyomasa 17 Completed

I finished all the minor painting and touch up to this piece and signed it.

Philip II of Spain

I also touched up this figure, delineating more details to the painting.

Cafe Storme Baudouin and Fabiola 4

I painted Baudouin. The new base was also completed and painted.

Cafe Storme Baudouin and Fabiola 3

A suitable Historex sash bow was added to the figure. It is now ready for painting.

Mauryan War Elephant 13

The elephant's face, ears and trunk were painted. Cloth decorations were made from sheet metal and draped on the head and from the ears. The rug was painted and glued to the howdah. The figures were then glued on top. Groundwork was completed.

Mauryan War Elephant 12

A shot of the partially painted figures on the elephant. The rug has been removed for separate painting and I intend to add a couple of ear decorations.

Mauryan War Elephant 11

Starting to move onto the final stage with this piece. I've done part painting on the figures. I have decided to add a rug to the howdah. the rug is made from copper sheet.

Cafe Storme Baudouin and Fabiola 2

I widened the sash for Baudouin. The plastic base of Fabiola was trimmed away. A new base made from plastic tiles was created. The figures were pinned by brass wire for attachment to the base.

Cheyenne Couple

I made this piece in 1993 from a couple of resin figures. It looks like the resin is holding out pretty well and I propose to repaint the figures.

Red lancer

I left this figure lying on the shelf a few years ago. I intend to change the pose of the left hand to hold the czapska.

Cafe Storme Julius Caesar

After adding on a susbstitute hand, I added some putty  to sculpt the robe. I am trying to create a robe and a cloak, which on the present figure appears to merge into a single garment.

Cafe Storme Baudouin and Fabiola

I trimmed down the height of Baudouin a little and then sculpted the trousers over the shoes. I will next trim the width of the shoes. The sash over the right shoulder will be widened.

Crimean War Cantiniere

I built up the collar and started to fair some putty onto the arms.

Beneito Catholic King & Queen 2

After studying the pieces for a while, I came to the conclusion that elevating Ferdinand's height would increase the figure height to 70mm. The queen is currently at about 65mm. This would make the pair look out of scale in my collection.

I finally decided to remove about 1 cm from the queen figure. The lower metal portion was hacked away and the base was filed smooth to level the figure. I have taken pics of the queen figure all around as a reference to redoing the lower portion of the gown. The king was similarly lowered in height.

The original base was not well-made. The tiles were outlined with a knife and the distortion when the lines were made can be seen in the final sculpt. The rug is ugly and has no physical thickness. I intend to improve on this base. I also had to cut down the book pedestal height.

Mauryan War Elephant 10

I can see light at the end of the tunnel for this piece. I sculpted chainmail and plate armour for the figure with a spear. All the figures had improved turbans. I added a sword and shield for another figure. The mahout was later given a command stick.

Crimean War Cantiniere

I made this charming cantiniere many years ago from a metal casting head (U Puchala, I think). She is wearing a fantaissin dragoon costume. Hands and heel shoes from Historex parts, rest were scratchbuilt from putty.

Whilst fairly attractive, I think that I can improve on this piece and I am currently refurbishing it as can be seen in the latter picture. The arms are fully cut down and I have added Historex cuff details. The trousers have been trimmed down and I have also changed the pose slightly.

Beneito Catholic King and Queen

I've had this set for many years. While the Queen figure is beautifully cast, there was a problem with the King figure. The face was mishappened, the fur cloak was insubstantial and he was shorter than the Queen! I am currently rectifying these defects.

I have also identified the figures as representing Queen Isabella I and King Ferdinand II of Spain who financed Christopher Columbus' voyages.

Here are a few more images suitable for refurbishing the figures.

Cafe Storme Baudouin and Fabiola

As I have two Baudouin figures, I am using one as a reference point to modify the other piece.

I think that the figure pose is awkward, leaning to one side. I cut off the head and repositioned it.The upper arms were sanded down and new folds were carved into the sleeves. The base was removed and I also added some height to the Baudouin figure as he will be standing next to the Fabiola figure. The trousers are now being resculpted.

3 Cafe Storme figures

I took out three figures from my collection to start painting on them.

The first is a Julius Caesar figure. The left hand has broken off and I will substitute another hand for it.

The other two figures make a pair of King Baudouin and Queen Fabiola. I had painted the King many years ago and only recently got the Queen figure. I will redo both figures as a paired set.