Die Volksschutzmann kommt!

Working the 1813 "Befreiungskrieg" theme, I decided I needed a LOT of Landwehr style fellas.  As an unabashed cheapskate, the IKEA box full of Warlord plastics appealed.

However, rather than just paint them in an alternative colour scheme, I decided an head swap would help to lift them from mediocrity.  Now I have a use for all those spares wearing Russian shako!

Reichskreis Volksschutzmann.

Ten minutes with the power drill, toolkit and a dab of Squadron putty smoothed with Testors cement enabled a workable solution.  I am especially pleased that I have found a use for those rather poor Prussians!  When I am in "full production" I reckon I will use Milliput rather than the aggressive and smelly solvents.

Finally, the song of the Peoples' army (please excuse any grammar errors, my German is basic!  Please feel free to highlight my mistakes!)

Die Straße frei der Volksarmee! 

Offene Tore für die Volksschutzmann! 

Wir folgen dem leuchtenden hoffnungs fahne, 

Der Tag der Freiheit und Freude bricht an!

1813 Reichskreis Infantry

Mademoiselle Biche.

When a relatively quiet Sunday presents itself, grab it with both paws!  The ladies are out, son on the PC and "La Biche" sleeping on the sofa.  I put some Bruckner on the stereo and got chopping to see if I could create something a bit "different" from the various plastic sets I have lying about.

They fit well on the 40mm base.

Working with some Warlord Russians as a base (I have hundreds after an Ebay score) - I added Perry KuK helmets and some Victrix French backpacks (I may well use some Warlord French backpacks too) I then slapped them on a custom "Warbases" 40mm squares to see if they looked OK.

Lots of variety is possible.

I think they do the job quite nicely, looking suitably "composite" like so many of the conteporary "Zwergstaat" armies.  Most importantly, they don't resemble simple head swaps!

Now granted, the Warlord hands are BIG but I think they are acceptable.  I may add sabres or save these for the Grenadier battalions, I will see how the glueing goes - I want to keep assembly relatively fast as I am going to need at least four 24 man units of these chaps and they require a bit of plastruct work around the collar stock.

French backpacks pre-surgery.

These will probably appear Saßenlander Gray or Teschenburger Red.

Next up is a mounted officer to be patched together, probably from bits in the Victrix KuK box...

UPDATE: Whilst fiddling about trying to slice a whole lot of collars I decided a simple Milliput push-mould would be best.  Now I am waiting for it to cure so that I can get assembling!  It will just end up as a notched spacer to liquid glue in place. I think I will use the pause to get a unit ready for assembly.

Leibgarde Uhlanen-Regiment

Whilst waiting for the plastic bits and pieces to arrive (they have now - more of which later) I had a think about the cavalry component of a "Napoleonic" era B-S army.

By this time the State had expanded eastward and the main enemy remained the perfidious Turk.  Added to this foe are the various petty warlords in the colonies.  Considering the near-Medieval nature of Oriental armies, it seemed only natural that armoured lancers would be desirable.  Such troopers would have a degree of protection from missile fire plus the extra reach to hit the enemy first - well that's the idea anyway!

The components.

Trawling around for figures I realised I would have a limited choice, namely Cuirassier standard/guidon bearers.  I didn't want to go French as the geographical location and politics of my ImagiNation do not suggest Francophilia.  The choice was further simplified by a trip to Leigh-on-Sea (to collect a parrot - bizarre I know) which is pretty close to the Essex Miniatures factory...

I made a shortlist and went into the showroom for a browse.  I decided that the best figures for the project were the later Russian Cuirassiers.  The only downside was that they sport the "brush" type crest rather than the caterpillar I wanted.  Yes Essex do the earlier style but the standard bearer does not have quite the right look for use as a lancer.

I have tentatively selected a Dixon horse as it is a great little figure and there was one in the spares box.  Yes the shabraque may need work but this will be determined as I go.

Working on the plume re-sculpting has been most frustrating as my usual putty mix didn't work well - this will be the subject of a future posting.  I want to simplify the conversions as I need 10 of these (plus command) for the Regiment so the work will be kept as minimal as is possible.

More to follow...

Building "Fort Kalypso" - Stage 2 - Basing

Basic tools and "spacer" as described below.

Although the building is not yet complete it is now time to provide it with a base.  This is best effected at this stage to both avoid damaging the finished model and to enable the structure to be blended realistically into the groundwork.

It has to be said that buildings without bases never "sit" right on the table-top and always look as if they were simply "plonked" down without care.  

You have a couple of options.  The "scenic" base with some simple (or not so simple!) groundwork - perhaps featuring character figures and trees etc.  Alternatively you could opt for a rudimentary grounding just slightly larger than the building's footprint.  This option is seen in the majority of commercial offerings.

Personally, I favour the scenic option and some form of diorama.  In this case a few palm-trees and civilians should effectively set the scene.  Anyway, I am getting ahead of myself - first let's get the structures safely based.

Building seated and extra contours added.

You can mount the building on MDF or styrofoam, the former is stronger but cutting requires safety precautions.  As this is something of a demonstration piece and will not be handled unduly, I chose the styrofoam and hot wire method.  Roughly mark out the shape and cut out.  It helps if you contour the edges carefully as they will look more natural if a gradual profile is achieved.  

Once you have a shape you are happy with, it's time to seat the building.  I always glue them on a spacer made from card or foamcore.  This is for two reasons.  Firstly it enables you to work the ground-level up to the building and avoid obscuring your work with plaster.  Secondly, it enables you to squeeze filler into the join and this provides further adhesion.   To clarify, the spacer should be glued onto the base with "hot glue" or a contact adhesive.  The oasis should be secured with PVA as it provides a better grip.

Woodland Scenics' rocks.

Now create a few styrofoam contours to add to the base - this gives the effect of a varied ground level and breaks-up the flat surface.  The aim is to make the building look as if it is sitting in rather than sitting on the base.  

Styrofoam cut and rocks seated.

An added touch (if appropriate to your setting) can be some rocks.  A long time ago I bought one of Woodland Scenics model railroading rock-moulds.   I cast a whole lot of these and have found them very useful.  An alternative is cork bark which is available through most model shops with a train department.  The choice is yours.

Joins filled and lines smoothed.

Cut away the styrofoam as required and seat the rocks with hot glue.  Do not go too crazy with the stonework unless the setting is mountainous.  A few look great but too many just looks silly.

Once all of this is secure, get to work with the trusty Polyfilla/grout/spackle and fill in any gaps between walls and rocks and of course the join between building and base.  As before you can be pretty sloppy here as the next stage will allow you to correct any errors.  That said, try to do a good job as it will mean less time is spent on clean up later on.

Now put the building aside and go watch Sunday's Columbo re-runs.  After a day or so drying time we can move on to the walls!

Building "Fort Kalypso" - Stage 1a

Coffee stirrers make great planking in 28mm and larger!

First up, apologies for the delay in posting this installment.  My chest/throat infection matured and my generous children donated a bout of conjunctivitis for good measure.  Thus I have been feeling awful for a few days.  Symptoms persist but the severity is lessening so it's time to get this thing built!

The latest work is fairly simple stuff but well worth outlining.  I made some doors from "coffee stirrers".  The stirrers were trimmed (off-cuts saved) to a width that looked "right" and then glued to cereal box card with slight gaps between the planks.  These assemblies were pressed overnight to ensure a good bond.  I am aware that these gaps are large if "scaled-up" but you cannot escape the fact that the doors just look better with them in situ!

A quick note on stirrers.  You can buy a box of them as I did 5 years ago (catering suppliers have them at very low prices) or you can take a few (dozen) extra next time you buy coffee or a McBurger.  I greatly prefer them to balsa as they are harder and rougher in texture.  That said, if balsa is your thing - go for it!

Cheap pre-mixed filler is used to obliterate the various gaps.

Whilst these doors were drying I filled in all the gaps between the now dried oasis chunks.  This was effected with a cheap ready-mixed gypsum style filler.  I prefer the ready mixed as it dries faster than the stuff you mix yourself - from the smell, I think it contains some form of alcohol!  This was pushed into the cracks and smoothed with the wet pastry brush.

At this juncture we are NOT looking to add the final texture, we are looking to ensure the "skeleton" is sound. Obviously, had I carved the building from one giant block of oasis the filling would be unnecessary but big blocks cost a bomb and I am a father of three expensive children!  After fixing the dome in place with two-part epoxy, I applied more filler to the joint.  This was smoothed to better resemble the lines of the real thing.

A door trimmed and fitted.

Once all this has dried (overnight) I trimmed the doors to fit the apertures.  Fixed in place with a blob of PVA or hot glue, they should be a fairly tight fit.  You can see from the pencil-line that I adjusted my measurements during fitting.

Now is the time to add any window bars - if your plan calls for them.  I used the off-cuts from the door planks and gently "roughed" the edge to give them a "rustic" look.

The strongest way to add window bars.

Cut a slot (top and bottom) and then apply some filler to the window well.  Smooth this out with a brush ensuring there is minimal build up in the corners.  Then simply slot your bar in and smooth the filler into the remaining slots.  When dried, this will give you the appearance of a bar situated mid-wall but will be far stronger than simply glueing a piece of wood against the sills with a butt-joint.

When all the bars are fitted, put the structure aside for another evening.  When this is dry its time to roll with the creation of the textured surface.  The structure will then look much better and be ready for painting.

Building "Fort Kalypso" - Incidentals

The well method.

Just a quick posting today.  I want to illustrate both the "well" for pouring glue into a building and just how rough the basic oasis structure can be whilst remaining workable!

Cutting a large cavity into the base of a structure enables the gloop to enter from inside as well as out.  This aids absorption and thus speeds up the process.  If your construction isn't too fragile to invert - I would advise doing this.

As can be seen, I used some offcuts of oasis to build this little tower and had to use a goodly amount of cocktail sticks to pin it all together.  It looks messy and indeed it is - however the end result will not betray the hodge-podge nature of the skeleton!  I hope this shows anyone giving this a try that they need not panic if the base structure looks rickety.

Tower built from waste.

The look I am working toward is a definite pastiche.  I want the fortress to look "Eastern" or as they would say in the C18 - "Turkish".  Thus I am thinking of a period production of "Die Entführung aus dem Serail" rather than an architectural model of such and such.  In fact this tower appears a bit "Hittite" to me!  That said, it will look perfectly good once coated and it was built from waste materiel that would otherwise have been trashed.

The other face of the building is more interesting with Ogee arches and a balcony but I didn't manage to snap it before the camera battery went flat.

On a tangent, a TMPer suggested foamcore buildings are much faster to produce.  This is true, as far as the skeleton is concerned, however it misses the point of this method.  Foamcore is great but it is flat and straight (unless you buy it from Hobbycraft UK) I want buildings that are not truly straight and that have undulating surfaces.  Anyone who has been to a real fortification in the East will be aware that whilst straight from afar they are far more "organic" close-up.

This roughness would be hard to model on a foamcore base and adding lots of filler to such a skeleton is also a real pain in the rump.  But if you are content that your structures are box-like with a sprinkle of sand or a thin layer of plaster filler to roughen the surface - then clearly the "Oasis Method" is not for you!



Incidentally, I ordered some of Mega Miniatures' rather excellent "Arabian Nights" figures to dress the set!  At only $1.50 they are a steal.


Proper posting to follow shortly along with a new review.

Building "Fort Kalypso" - Stage 2

After allowing the pinned components to dry for a few hours I had another look at the structure.  I decided that the main upstairs apartment needed more height.  Not hard to rectify, I merely cut a piece of oasis to the desired thickness and pinned it in place.

"It slimed me Ray" - Pour on the gloop.

Now we come to the first truly messy bit!  I would advise those of you with live-in womenfolk to buy a few things in advance or alternatively make sure they are out enjoying themselves at H&M/Gap etc when you start to play with their kitchen equipment.  

You will need a funnel, a large shallow dish or pan (the type used for roasting meat is great), a kitchen jug, a cheap brush (I use ASDA/WalMart pastry brushes 29p a time), an empty plastic pop bottle - 2 litre or above, a whisk or hand blender, a cookie cooling rack, an old carrier bag and preferably a turkey baster.

Firstly mix PVA glue (This time the kiddie stuff is fine - but woodworking is still better) and water into a smooth single-cream like consistency - important that this is not too thick.  You should make every effort to avoid any lumps - they cause minor problems later.  Old PVA glue will have these in abundance.  Mine had a few - annoying as this was to be a tutorial!  Just take it as a "what not to do"!  Once you have a smooth creamy gloop decant it into the pop bottle (hence the funnel)

Brush the emulsion into the oasis.

Now pour a little of the gloop into the bottom of the shallow dish and place your building on top of the liquid.  The oasis (being the absorbent "wet" type) will begin to slurp up the liquid.  If you made your emulsion too thick this will not happen and you will have an island floating on a sea of white.  Once it is absorbed start pouring the gloop all over the building, concentrating on natural reservoirs in the structure.   

The oasis will suck up copious quantities so don't be mean with your glue mix.  When the structure is drenched start brushing the collected gloop onto the structure concentrating on apertures and recesses.  This is why the turkey baster is so useful, you can shoot jets just where you want them.  My turkey baster had perished so I had to use only the brush.  If you are unlucky enough to have lumps gently brush them away - or in severe cases - pick them off.  Be especially vigilant of lumps in door/window areas as this is where they congregate.

Dipping each facet speeds absorption.

The aim is to completely saturate the oasis with gloop.  You can see when this is effected as it begins to repel the emulsion and oozes glue if gently prodded.  The absorption can be achieved more speedily if the structure is rotated whilst "basting" with each facet taking it's turn in the sea of glue.  Another way to accelerate this stage is to cut large "wells" in the building's underside.  This reduces the density of the oasis and allows the glue to enter "from the inside" as it were.

Now prepare your drying/cooling rack.  Wrap it up in a plastic carrier bag - securing the plastic with tape.  The bag is there to ensure the model does not stick to the rack when drying - it can happen and is very demoralising when it does.  Make sure the bag is sufficiently loose that you can create little recesses to collect the run-off during drying.  Now gently lift you magnum opus and place onto the rack.  Make sure all important areas are adequately supported as the oasis will now be quite heavy and any delicate parts will be liable to fracture under their own weight.  To give you some idea of this medium's absorbency, this little building drank close to 1.5 litres of gloop.

On the rack waiting to dry.

Unless you live in a warm area, you will need to use an airing-cupboard or similar to dry the building.  Do not attempt to accelerate the process in an oven as this will cause the whole thing to become brittle, fracture or indeed melt!  Depending upon the size of the building drying time can take anything up to about a week.  I expect this one to be ready in that sort of time frame.  

The end result will be a very durable but lightweight version of your original.  It will be firmly glued together and ready for the next stage.

In the meantime you can make the other structures in your complex and get to work on window frames and/or doors ready for insertion when the structure is dry. 

Building "Fort Kalypso" - Stage 1

The inspiration.

This morning I decided to ignore the distractions of a house chock full of children and get on with the business of creating my fortified trading post.  Over the past week or so I have looked at a great many Indian/Pakistani/Afghan defensive structures and I had a general idea of how I wanted the main tower to look.

My principal inspiration was a series of photos and drawings showing what is variously described as a Mosque or a Watchtower from a site named Hampi - located in South Western India.  The building has three shallow domes, an ornate window and a roof-top terrace.  I decided that some or all of these features would work in miniature and the structure could be used as a guardroom (ground floor) and apartment for the big cheese (upstairs)

Thus enthused, I unpacked the materials and tools and got going.

Nothing too unusual here...

In addition to the usual assortment of knives, geometry gizmos and a steel straight edge, you will see my rudimentary template and some blocks of floral oasis.  As I touched on before, wet oasis is a favourite medium of mine when I wish to create a structure that is less than perfectly built and weather beaten.  Oasis lends itself to creating the wobbly lines so often seen in old stone and adobe structures.  The downside of oasis is that it is very fragile and crumbly.  However my method does not require too much precision and your errors will be obscured in the later stages of construction.  Please note it essential that you chose "wet" oasis and not it's "dry" cousin.  The reason for this will become apparent in the next installment!

Determine how much oasis you will need.

When building this type of structure I like to "wing-it" improvising as I work.  This generally results in a more relaxed looking building and you lose that "regimented" and over-engineered feel of many Western structures.

The first thing to do was determine how many blocks of oasis I would need.  I was lucky and managed to cut the basic shape from just over two - approximate cost £2.00.  The beauty of my method is that you do not need one enormous and expensive block.  Rather you can pin together pieces cut from the smaller and readily available "bricks" to achieve the desired effect.  The readily workable nature of oasis makes the cutting and smoothing the blocks as you work a very simple process.

Doorway, marked then cut-out.

Once you have sorted out which blocks go where, it's time to mark the position of windows and doors.  To do this, I place pre-cut templates in the appropriate place and follow the outline with my scalpel.  When the outline has been cut into the surface, you merely insert a long flat blade into the oasis a quarter inch or so below the surface of the external wall.  This parallel cut creates an aperture of flexible depth and neatly indicates the thickness of the structure's walls.  Simple doorways can be countersunk into elaborate frames with multiple cuts, however, in this instance I wanted the structure to remain relatively simple.

Pinning the parts.

When you have finished the windows/doors on a couple of sections it is time to pin them together.  Simply use some cocktail sticks and a blob of PVA glue.   I prefer the "Woodworking" variety (Elmers/Elch/Evo-stik etc) as it is slightly tackier and dries faster than the stuff aimed at kiddicrafts.  At this stage the sticks take the strain but the stress is minimal due to oasis' lightweight nature.

After the pieces are aligned to your satisfaction, you can repeat the processes for the rest of the structure.  Using a finger or palm you should softly smooth the oasis to both round-off straight edges and create an irregular surface.  It will seem a bit odd to do this after carefully cutting the blocks to a desired shape but believe me the building will look better for it in the long-run.

The bare bones completed - stage one ends!  

Following the methods above I pinned the completed parts together and crowned with a Christmas ornament (not yet fixed) to give myself an idea of the basic structure.  As I said earlier, details have been kept very simple as the fort is a dilapidated structure in a fledgling outpost.  The only flourish I allowed myself was the upstairs window, which is a simplified version of that on the original.  The aforementioned ornament creates a dome more ornate than those on the original but I think it will work very well once properly seated into the roof.  You could easily add turned details, ornamental stonework or buttresses.  Really the only limit is your own imagination and skill with a knife and oasis!

Now, details such as exposed brick and/or stone work can be scribed into the oasis with a cocktail stick or pencil.  My structure is supposed to be stone so I opted for regular(ish) blocks as shown in the photos of the real structure.  Adobe bricks should be a good deal smaller and far more uniform in appearance.

Once the glue is dry I can move on to stage two - the first of the messy bits my children love!

"Fort Kalypso" - First Attempt

"Fauxban" bastion.

The fort has received a suitably Classical name - "Kalypso" after the possessive Nymph of Greek mythology.  Apt as many posted to this backwater feel stranded in the manner of the unfortunate Odysseus.

I made a trip to "Homebase" the poor British relative of the USA's "Home Depot" and (surprisingly) found what I was looking for - namely polystyrene ceiling coving.  Very 1970s but just the job for the squat octagonal tower comprising the North-Western corner of the complex.  At £1.79 for about 4' it is a steal.  I simply hot-glued four sections together to form the octagon.  All other parts were lying around the garage (much to the disgust of the lady wife) and thus cost me nothing!

Crusader Austrian for scale reference.

At present the structure is a pretty crude skeleton and I am aware the angles on the glacis are somewhat steeper than historical prototypes.  This inaccuracy is a deliberate compromise.  Should I model them correctly the thing is going to be enormous.  As it is I am going to have trouble finding it a place to live.  The apertures have been made oversize as I am going to fine detail them with, my old friend, floral oasis.

Bird's eye view.

Tomorrow I will tackle the buildings for the landward side.   These should include troop quarters and some form of administrative structure.  I am still unsure as to how the tower should be finished off.  Originally, I thought an open fighting top with gun ports - now I am considering a roofed structure as seen in many contemporary prints - perhaps even a rather snazzy (and suitably Oriental) dome?

Fortifying myself

A relatively simple African fort.

For a long time your author has been building various architectural models.  These have acted as both distractions and stress-relievers depending upon the date of construction.

The European side of the Beimbach-Schönau project does not really allow me to build anything impressive as the cities are far too large to depict in 28mm scale.

In contrast, the modest nature of our overseas possessions opens up the possibility of small forts and fortified harbours.

After some sketching and research over the past weekend, I have decided upon a small trading fort with a "Vaubanesque" flavour - although the structure will be far from textbook.  Perhaps a bastion and a few earthworks - remember this would have been built by a largely native workforce and the emphasis is on protection against local raiders rather than sophisticated European engineering.

In terms of size, something along the lines of a West African fort (such as St.Sebastian ) is most likely.  My plans, although drawn, are very rudimentary so I will refrain from sharing them at the moment!

Once this posting is made I shall be venturing into the black-hole also known as the garage in order to find a few bits and bobs that can be used in the construction.  I have enough flower arrangers' oasis to be going along with but I am unsure of the styrofoam and carpet roll stock levels...

Mammoth surgery

The re-do and the original.

On Friday evening I cleaned up the body halves and tried to secure them together.  This initial attempt was made with styrene spacers and five-minute epoxy adhesive.  It proved to be a disaster!  The epoxy did not set properly and I was left with sticky gunk all over the components.  Needless to say I was annoyed.

After an over-night soak in Nitromoors paint stripper, the bits were nice and clean again.   I decided upon a different approach using pins (or in this case dowels)  I drilled four holes in each half.  These passed all the way through one side so that I could fine tune the positioning of the parts before they set.  The dowels were held in place with super-glue (no more epoxy on this one) and then tweaked around until the body halves were in the right position.

The dowel work is far from subtle!

To further secure the parts, I filled the gaping cavity with a good deal of Milliput.  This was then brought to a level slightly below the intended surface of the beast's "skin".  This was so that the fine detail of the skin could be easily applied when the model was finished.  After another over-night, this time in the airing cupboard, the model is a solid and heavy lump of a Nellie.  The dowels will be trimmed and the holes filled or covered.  The damage on the beast's back will be obscured by the howdah padding.  

Annoyingly, I seem to have misplaced his tail!  It came off neatly but I cannot find it.   Hopefully it will turn up but if it doesn't I can sculpt a replacement fairly easily.

The first photo shows just how poor the beast looks assembled "out of the box" when compared to a fattened twin.  My wife thought the poor chap looked as if he was dying and on the way to the Elephants' graveyard - I couldn't agree more!

Other components waiting for their moment.

The other parts are from a few manufacturers.  Gripping Beast tusks, Essex head and mahout with a Foundry Sikh who is likely to lose his head in the interests of affairs Colonial.  This fellow may get a reprieve if I go with one of the Redoubt chaps who are presently "in the mail".

Bear in mind this is in a very early stage of construction, however I think it is potentially useful for anyone considering a similar project.  Although I wouldn't advise anyone to bother with OG elephants unless they had masochistic tendencies. 

The Army in miniature: IR.10 " von Klingenbach " pt.3

"Donors" pre-op.

Last night it occurred to me that the process of swapping a awkwardly positioned head may not be something with which all my readers are familiar.  Just in case, here is a step by step guide as to how I effected the transplant.

The first thing to do is select figures to provide the components.  "Obvious!" I hear you cry but this is not as easy as it appears.  There are a lot of different sculpting styles in the 28mm bracket and many are blatantly incompatible.

I wanted a head wearing a "Mirliton" so my choices were limited.  The venerable Dixons Chasseur (FNC5) is easy to decapitate and leaves a perfectly usable body once this is done - ideal for cheapskates like myself.  In terms of size he is a fairly good match for the Crusader Fusilier (RFH009) Additionally, he is of a similar sculpting style showing a roughly equal level of detail.

The Chasseur's head was removed with a simple horizontal cut.  Once cleaned up, it was hand-drilled (pin-vise) to take a neck-pin (wire or cocktail stick)  As discussed yesterday, the plume was removed to ensure that the hat sits properly against the musket.  A replacement will be built from epoxy putty.

He looks apprehensive and who can blame him.

The Fusilier is a different story, his hat is cast butting against the musket and thus the head cannot be saved intact.

I made the vertical razor-saw cut first, carefully avoiding the musket.   Then the horizontal slice was performed to enable the head to be removed.  A good deal of mess is left to clean up but this is sadly unavoidable.  Annoyingly, I dented the barrel slightly when my toddler bashed the workbench at the critical moment - this is now repaired.

The collar was removed entirely and the neck drilled out (motor tool) to provide a "female" in which to insert the neck pin.  Remember to ensure that the figure has a realistically scaled neck - it is a very easy thing to overlook.

At this stage my method departs from the norm as I like to create an oversize socket that gives me some "play" when positioning the transplanted head.  This socket is filled with epoxy putty (Kneadatite & Milliput blend) and the head is inserted.

Epoxy putty is used to hold the head to the barrel.

This results in the putty being squeezed upwards and suction tends to hold the pin in place.  After a bit of judicious wiggling (Michael Douglas style) I had  the attitude I wanted.

The last part of the preliminary is to carefully remove the soft excess putty whilst leaving enough to support the new head.  I do this with cocktail sticks and/or Dental probes and smooth with a wet paintbrush.  At this stage you do not have to be too fussy as the details added in the finishing stages will obscure the finish.

Leave the little fella overnight (somewhere warm) or put him under a lamp to accelerate curing.  That's one down, five more to do before I can get them to the next stage:

The real sculpting work...

The Army in miniature: IR.10 " von Klingenbach " pt.1

The basic concept.

I apologise as I have not yet posted the relevant uniform card and potted history of this Regiment but that will be remedied later this week.

So at the risk of getting ahead of myself I thought readers would be interested to see my concept for one of the "new" Regiments formed when the armed forces expanded.

The Grenadiers are going to have an unusual appearance as shown by the very crude composite figure in the picture.  Wearing a decidedly French coat with turnbacks and a most decorative "Flügelmütze" style hat.

The body is from a Crusader French fusilier and the head taken from a Dixon French Revolutionary Chasseur à Cheval.  The latter are very nice figures and often overlooked these days.  They have a few flaws but are going to serve me well in many ways!

The transplant was rather difficult and resulted in some damage to the musket - as can be seen.  I hope to eliminate this during the other surgeries that will be required to create a full compliment.  As this was something of an experiment I am quite happy with the basic result.  Rebuilding of the collar and some fine details should result in an attractive and unique figure.

The uniform will be the standard "Mustard" coat with blood red facings and silver lace/buttons.  All in all pretty striking.

Along with this chap I was today building the Colonel but he is unavailable for a snap due to being baked in my "Coke Can Putty Oven".

More on this in the very near future...

Graf von Zsadány - A work in progress

The Colonel rides a Crusader nag.

It has been a slow few days here at "Schloss Krautheim".  Generously, the children have shared their various illnesses and the adults are not feeling too well.

In lieu of the article I wished to post, I thought this may be of interest.   Tentatively labelled "von Zsadány" of IR.3, this figure is intended to depict a Colonel of an "Hungarian" Regt.  He wears a plain jacket and drapes a pelisse over his shoulders for a touch of flamboyance.  I could have used an Hussar with dolman but I rather like the contrast between plain and ornate coats.




The origin of the components is partly unclear.  The figure is a Foundry Russian (I think) liberated from Dave T's "bits box".  He had a nasty face with protruding mouth - very Simian.  I transplanted a Front Rank Austrian head and affixed a spare metal pelisse to the torso - yes it is attached very far forward and this is intentional!  The latter was heavily ground-down to make enough space for the former to be seated.


As always, detail work is required but I think the figure "works".


Another "WIP" taster is the Iroquois man-servant that I have been planning for a fairly long time.  In the spirit of frugality *cough cheapskate* I have used the body from which I took von Heßlingshof's head.  His new head is taken from a Front Rank "Woodland Indian" and looks suitably grizzled.


Thus far he has lost his right arm and been drilled to receive the various pins.  In addition I have removed the scabbard moulded attached to the left leg.  There will a suitable substitution added to this area. A fair bit of clean-up and carving still to do on this one but I can see what is needed in my "mind's eye".


Hopefully work on these will progress over the next few days.

Freiherr von Heßlingshof - Pinning and Putty

Looking a bit like Donald Sutherland.

Shortly after taking the photos last night, I drilled the components and inserted various pins and pegs.  These are essential when converting metal castings as otherwise you are liable to suffer from a multitude of disastrous accidents.

I retained the nice bow on the neck of the Front Rank figure and I have counter-sunk this into the shoulders of the Crusader casting.  I was mulling over the whole right hand quandary and decided that the sword will have to do.  A cane looks a bit too "FdG" and a telescope is not really very good for a chap leading his Regiment to within sight of the Turk.  Myopic officers are something of a liability.

Moustache will need a bit of refinement but the plume is nearly done.   They are currently baking under a cheap IKEA desk light.

The Mastiff will go without appendages as I felt creeped out try to sculpt 28mm testicles.  We will just remember that it is a male!

For the putty I have used both pure Kneadatite and a Milliput/Kneadatite blend.  They have different properties and mixing allows the sculptor to take advantage of both.

I should be able to get the figure finished in the next day or so.  Now that reminds me, I need some laser-cut bases...

Freiherr von Heßlingshof & Gustav - The beginning

Having made my decision to bin Campaign Cartographer 3, I was freed to potter about with something else this afternoon.

Crusader Austrian General and Front Rank Baggot's Hussar.

I have mentioned before that I hate using stock figures for my Colonels and Generals.  With this in mind I decided to cobble something together from a few spare parts lying in my C18 boxes.

Wanting a fellow in "Austrian" uniform but with a twist, I decided to used one of the figures from Crusader's High Command pack.   The original is OK (ignoring that weird right arm) but rather boring - so I didn't mind sawing off his head.  As I have a whole host of miscast Baggot's Hussars from Front Rank, I decided one of these could donate both head and right hand to the project.

Gustav the Mastiff and the trusty steed.

I wanted to use a rather nice Dixon's horse for his mount but the rider's legs are spread (ooer Missus) rather wide for this to be practical.  I will give it a go but reckon it is safer to go for a Crusader nag (shown)

Gustav the hideous Mastiff is taken from the Vendel "Border Reiver" range and looks fearsome enough to be happy amidst the carnage of battle.

The Colonel's right arm is still "negotiable". I favoured a tobacco pipe or even a telescope as these are far more interesting than the drawn sabre - but I have the sword from the Hussar donor.  As the pinning and puttying happens I may well change the plan.

Mock-up to get a General (hoho) idea.

Other additions will be a plume, face fungus and an enlarged "bag" for the cap.  I may well rework the saddle - a furry shabraque would look somewhat different.  Gustav demands a little work, a pair of large "cojones" should add authenticity.

You may notice the little bit of putty in the last photo.  This is a push-moulded depiction of the "Order of Radegast" that Freiherr von Heßlingshof will sport upon his coat (if it can be made to fit)

Anyway - we will see how things progress.