I wouldn't go so far as to say that the first squadron of the Estorff Hussars have traumatised me or anything, but I've decided to spend a little time away from them and work on some conversions instead.
I've just the one to show at the moment. He's the charging Prussian Foot Guards officer figure from the Der Kriegspielers set # 125: Prussian Infantry 1813-15, Command Group (Landwehr, Jaeger, Guard). I've removed his greatcoat roll and given him a Litewka.
The original was clearly based on the Hinton Hunt figure PN 10: Prussian Garde Grenadiers (in plumed shakos and jack-boots), officer (charging). The example I painted for my Prussian Foot Guards battalion way back in 2014 is pictured below.
I think my painting has improved a bit since then!
I may post a few more conversions over the coming weeks. It will depend on how well I'm doing with the hussars.
Best regards
WM
I've just the one to show at the moment. He's the charging Prussian Foot Guards officer figure from the Der Kriegspielers set # 125: Prussian Infantry 1813-15, Command Group (Landwehr, Jaeger, Guard). I've removed his greatcoat roll and given him a Litewka.
The original was clearly based on the Hinton Hunt figure PN 10: Prussian Garde Grenadiers (in plumed shakos and jack-boots), officer (charging). The example I painted for my Prussian Foot Guards battalion way back in 2014 is pictured below.
I think my painting has improved a bit since then!
I may post a few more conversions over the coming weeks. It will depend on how well I'm doing with the hussars.
Best regards
WM
Lovely work WM.
ReplyDeleteSoon you will out-Gilder Gilder. Have a go at repositioning a horse's legs into a rearing position. for an Hussar general?
I've already done it LG. Have another look at the Essex Hussar!
DeleteHow did you manage to remove the blanket roll and show buttons on the coat underneath? Did you carve in new buttons? this is clever stuff!
ReplyDeleteThe buttons took just a couple of turns with the point of a craft knife, Ian. The DKs are made of a rather soft stuff.
DeleteFollow my white plume! Excellent work WM!
ReplyDeleteIt may be white and it may be not, Phil. He hasn't received his commission yet, so it could go either way.
DeleteHinton himself had a small hollw punch that was used for buttons and, I think for the mail on his 1066 figures.
ReplyDeleteI'd figured that's what it must have been and have been wondering where I could get one!
DeleteYes, you are defiitely well on your way to out-gildering the late Mr. Gilder. Well done!
ReplyDeleteBest Regards,
Stokes
I don't always succeed, Stokes. I'll put a picture of my most egregious disaster in my next post!
DeleteMy guess is black - going by the litewka my money's on an officer for the Lutzow Freikorps?
ReplyDeleteMaybe, maybe not, Rob. I've half a mind to work on him a bit more. He'd make a very nice Prince Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich August of Prussia, I reckon, bearing the colour of the 11th Silesians at the Battle of Kulm!
DeleteRe punches
ReplyDeleteCould one get the ball out of a ball point pen and then hold the head in a chuck? This would give a hollow brass tube that should be harder than the alloy of the original figures.
Or are there hollow point medical needles, perhaps for veterinary work ( injecting cows or horses?) that one could cut and file to produce a punch?
I bet there's a tool out there somewhere, LG. It's the sort of thing that model aircraft and railway modellers would know all about, I reckon (all those rivets and whatnot) - I shall talk to a colleague who's very knowledgeable about these things....
DeleteBet Gilder didn't share his knowledge as you do. I'm still trying to work out the litewka....and spellcheck is trying to work out what a litewka is........
ReplyDeleteI haven't revealed that much, Archduke, now that you've pointed it out. The blanket roll was removed by paring it off with a craft knife. The litewka skirts were created by smearing solder around his legs. The hard part was to get him hot enough for the solder to adhere, without actually melting him. A craft knife and drill was then applied to tidy him up. It all took about 30 minutes.
DeleteI was just about to ask how you fashioned the Litewka Matt, but you explained in the last comment reply, it really is very clever and one would never think it was a conversion.Good point re model Loco builders too, those guys have miniature tools for everything as you say, including rivets and some of the scratch building skill is fantastic.
ReplyDeleteIf I ever start feeling too pleased with myself, I have a gander at what the model railway engineers are up to and am put firmly back in my place, 'Lee! There's nothing they can't build. We have a volunteer at the museum once who built himself a working .22 Gatling Gun using engineering drawimgs from our archive. He got into terrible trouble with the police, although they were gentle with him on account of him being 86.
DeleteHow did you clean up the figure so well? Excellent work!
ReplyDeleteCheers, ABC.
DeleteIn this case it was just a craft knife and drill bit, but when I was making him there was the most fearsome collection of medieval implements of torture on my desk. I think I need to put these up on my next post too,
Solder. That is sheer genius. Not to say competence. I like the story about the .22 Gatling just a bit too much.........
ReplyDeleteHe wasan amazing bloke. He'd been an apprentice artificer at Woolwich during the war. He catalogued some 40,000 of our gun-equipment blueprints!
Delete