7th Chasseurs au Cheval Bassoonist 1809 (3)

Added a twig to the scene and some tufts of long grass and weeds.

1st Hussars 1813

As promised, this very early piece is being refurbished.

I carefully removed the piece from the base, then removed the figure from the horse. The plastic reins were cut away. The head, torso, arms and legs were separated. I carved away the front of the legs and repositioned the torso in a forward leaning position on the legs, testing the pose on the horse.

Luo Warrior 13

Painted the cattle.

FFL Kettledrummer 10

Painted the banners. Also starting to paint the figure and horse in detail. Some gravel was added to the groundwork.

QOOH10

Now repainting the banners carefully. Also added some gravel and stones to the groundwork. The base has been varnished and glossed.

QOOH 9

Painting has begun on the horse. Following a thin wash of dark umber and payne's grey, off-white spots were added to areas along the neck, buttocks and flanks.

QOOH 8

The rest of the headstall and reins were completed. Chains and badges added to the head and breast straps. As the figure was quite heavy due to the metal kettledrums, I decided to epoxy the horse to the base now, to distribute the weight among the four legs. This was also done for my 2 other kettledrummer pieces.

QOOH 7

Finally, I've started to move on this piece again. I was awaiting an order for some Historex curved bits which were the nearest to the type of bits I was trying to represent. All the previous straps were removed and replaced. The bits were carefully drill with a 0.4mm hole to attach to some very fine insect pins inserted into the sides of the horse's mouth. The bridle details were carefully added from Historex parts.

A thin rope length was measured and tied to fit neatly around the horse's neck. This was coated with super glue to "wet" down the fibres. The end was carefully positioned to attach to the bridle under the chin. The throat lash plume was made from sprue coated with melted plastic. When dried, I worked over this with a pyrogravure. The brass ball attachment was made from a French shako plume and glued to the sprue. This was then glued to the throat strap and rope for structural strength.

More hair was sculpted for the mane.

FFL Kettledrummer 9

I've started to add the bits, bridle details and reins to this figure.

The throat plume was resculpted. This was glued to the throat strap.

Drumsticks glued to the hands.

Luo Warrior riding cattle 12

Started to paint the figure in oils.

First Historex mounted figure

This was the first full-fledged Historex conversion. All Historex parts but using theatrical hair for the mane and tail.

Early mounted conversion Hussar Royaux

This was made about 30 years ago. A conversion made with various parts mounted on a converted Britains farmhorse. The putty used then was Duro and the tigerskins were sculpted with this putty. Tiger heads were cheap plastic toys.

FFL Kettledrummer 8

I've started to undercoat the figure with acrylic colours.

Chariots 2

As I was clearing my worktable, I came across the bow fittings for the Egyptian chariots. So I epoxy glued these to the chariot.

Luo Warrior riding cattle 11

I last worked on this piece in March 2015. Then it was forgotten and when I was doing some cleaning up, I found it in a few pieces. I managed to reattach all the parts and here it is.

FFL Kettledrummer 7

I have added small pegs to each kettledrum. Even though the tuning keys are not visible in any of my references, kettledrums have to be tuned. I think that an internal mechanism for tuning these kettledrums without visible tuning keys is correct. Thus, these pegs would be present on each kettledrum to loosen or tighten the rim holding the drumskin.  These pegs would serve to create a "geometrical" shape to the kettledrum banners.

The banners were wrapped around each kettledrum, pressed in at each face and superglued. This was quite fiddly and superglue is not perfect for ensuring a permanent bond. In addition, each kettledrum was upended and epoxy glue was dribbled into the recessed areas between the banners and the kettledrums. This epoxy glue can be seen glistening in the photo. Any excess that leaked through were wiped up. The end result is a very strong structure attaching the banners to the kettledrums.

The horse was undercoated in matt black at this stage.

PNG Cyclist 13

I've decided that this figure will represent an Enga tribesman. Their facepaint was typically blue over red. This particular figure does not have large net headdress and so, I've removed the top of the head and have remodelled the figure. Some basic painting has also been done.

Napoleonic Drum Major 11

This figure was last completed in July 2014. I've just added more grass to this figure and taken a better pic.

7th Chasseurs au Cheval Bassoonist 1809 (2)

I completed reworked the groundwork. It slopes slightly downwards to the front as the figure was previously made to be descending a slight gradient. I've added a fence from basswood and scattered grass behind. I intend to add more foliage behind the figure. The figure has been positioned to the front of the scene. It definitely looks better than previously.

NCO Historex Corsican Infantry 6

Grass was scattered onto the groundwork. Perhaps I will add more foliage to the groundwork to finish it off.

Napoleonic Drum Major 7

The Hungarian knots were improved. The yellow facings were covered with burnt umber. Grass was scattered onto the groundwork.

WWI Tommy 10

The back load of wire pickets and barb wire spool were now added to the figure. I have speculated that a length of cotton strap was wound around the pickets several times to secure them and then tied to the front of the figure. There are several WWI photos which show several pickets carried in this manner. Two lengths of metal strips were added to the scene. This would represent guide paths for any movement through a trench wire area.