Sunday 4 February 2018

Von Lützow at Last

Colonel Von Lützow has arrived at last to lead his famous Schwarzen Jäger.


And very dapper he looks too in his black duds, which match his black heart!




How I made him

As explained in the last post, von Lützow is actually a converted Hinton Hunt PN 10: Prussian Foot Guards Officer, charging. The tools I used for this conversion are pictured below.



The first job was to cut him off his base and then bend, cut and file his legs until he could sit  comfortably on his horse. Greatly aiding this process was the 'D'-section shaped microfile, which was just the thing for hollowing out his...er...undercarriage.

To make his litewka I tried out something new which was to create a very basic frame for it using 5-amp fuse wire. This was bent into shape with pliers and then glued into place. I hoped it would give a well-defined edge to the litewka once I started smearing solder around, and it worked a treat. The only major thing needed after that was to drill off any excess solder with my rotary tool.

I also repositioned his sword arm and added a couple of epaulettes. The latter were made by attaching small blobs of solder onto his shoulders, filing them flat and then shaping them with a small hand drill.

The final touch was achieved using the tool shown below. It's known as a "Diamond Poger", apparently, and is normally used for setting gemstones in jewelry. The little concave cups at the end of each point, each of a slightly different size, also happen to be excellent for making buttons!


My sincere thanks to Lewis Gunner for sending me this device when I couldn't find one in New Zealand.

Should be gunners next.

WM

30 comments :

  1. Creative and wonderful job, congrats!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Inspiring piece of work. You’ve got him to sit just as if he is riding. Well done. I must think of something similar with my MF ones.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Anon. I was greatly aided by the slimness and bendiness of the original Hinton Hunt casting. I suspect that it would have been another story with a big chunky Minifig.

      Delete
  3. Excellent conversion. I´ve never heard of a Diamond poger before..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Neither had I, Paul, until I saw one on a site for aircraft modellers showing how it could be used to make rivets! It also suggested making your own by grinding out the tip of a nail.

      Delete
  4. Stunning work Matt. We have moved to having both brigade commanders with 2-4 units in M&M. When we have units that suffer casualties they rhrow for a Colonel loss, and if they have a brigadier with them then he throws too. Having brigadiers does increase the amount of times that a general can be with a unit for morale purposes, but they are at risk.
    Lutzow will look a superb leader .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope he does better than he did in real life, LG!

      Delete
  5. He's another little gem and a great conversion. The horse shade and highlighting caught my eye. Lovely.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you 'Lee, The horse has one of Stokes's patent yellow undercoats. It made for a nice contrast nicely with von L's sinister black duds.

      Delete
  6. Replies
    1. Cheers Matt. I've just worked out that he's my 500th figure!

      Delete
  7. Matthew, v. Lutzow is a dream, that first shot is great in highlighting on the horse offsets his sombre uniform. As for your tools and tool-bench I truly hope you smartened them up for the photo-shoot - if not you shame me when I look at the grubby state of my tools.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I did indeed, Rob. They're all sitting on a bit of blue paper as I don't want people to see the hideous state of my painting table - which, despite being made of fine Rimu, came from the municipal tip and is painted a vile pale blue colour.

      Delete
  8. What a treat for Sunday morning. An excellent figure with an equally excellent unit. Wonderful work, like the commentary on how you made the figure.

    Thanks, Paul

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cheers, Paul. I spent ages trying to figure out how to make a Lutzow - there is a really knackered Austrian uhlan who was the front runner for a while - but in the end I just decided to plunge in without over thinking it!

      Delete
  9. Tools! Yet another fascinating and related sideline o the hobby. Herr von Luetzow looks great by the way. Where did you pick up your soldering skills?

    Best Regards,

    Stokes

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It all started with a Prussian Garde du Corps trooper with a broken arm, Stokes, and then escalated from there.

      Actually, that's not quite true. Several centuries ago I made a halberd for a soldier in my Hinchliffe ECW army using twisted wire and solder. I dimly remembered doing this, and wondered if it'd work for clothing too!

      Delete
  10. Replies
    1. Cheers, Ian. I think I'm definitely going to have to paint the 6th Uhlans now.

      Delete
  11. Nice work again Matt.

    Options are now endless for your future conversions!

    Tony S

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're too kind, Tony. I'll only be able to claim that when I start scratch-building hussars....

      Delete
  12. Once I have got my DK Lutzowers painted I am going to need a mounted officer to lead them. I doubt he will be anywhere as good as yours though.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You could definitely do a better one, Mark. Von L normally got about decked out as a hussar with black facings and silver lace, as far as I can tell - now that would be spectacular!

      Delete
    2. I do have a solitary JC Prussian Hussar. Perhaps I could use him as the basis for my Von L.

      Delete
    3. Whad'ya mean "black heart", WM? This man kept the heart of Prussia beating in her darkest hour..........

      Delete
    4. I think you may have outed me as a francophile, Archduke. Mind you, there is something about his biography - he comes across as a bit vainglorious.....and then there was that bit about challenging Blucher to a duel after he wrote an unfavourable report about the 6th Uhlans!

      Delete
  13. yeah, but supposing he had killed Blucher in the duel....Anyway, he put Prussian couture on the map. Well, on the battlefield....

    ReplyDelete
  14. What a dandy figure! Congratulations.

    ReplyDelete