71st Sgt Nap (1 Viewer)

[blaster]

Following my resurrection of the Joseph Bonaparte piece, I picked up another long-forgotten Napoleonic piece. This was supposed to be a straightforward assembly of the Airfix Coldstream Guardsman. Somewhere along the way, it segued into a 71st Sgt and the pose was changed. I didn't like it and abandoned it then.

I recently decided that I could revive the piece. The legs were shortened below the knees. The shoes were built up and spats were added. The tight trousers are being re-sculpted now.

Rgds Victor

 

[theBaron]

A good start, Vic, though I think his neck is a millimeter or two too long. Unless he's Mr. Fantastic, of course

Prost!
Brad

 

[blaster]

Hello Brad,

Thanks for that. I'll recheck and readjust the neck as I go along. I've just finished carving his left trouser leg down to match the right and will be sculpting more later. I use a mix of soft sculpting and hard carving in my work.

The figure is slightly shorter than my other figures. I am trying to capture a short compact man, hence the slightly large head used here. I imagine most sergeants in the light company were built like this....

The pose is based on an drawing in the book "Bloody Albuera" by Ian Fletcher and Gerry Embleton. Some interesting costume details here: The hat is a 7-inch stovepipe shako with the blue bonnet and diced band stretched over it. A tourie is on top. A peak is tied to the base.

Rgds Victor

 

[blaster]

I've added a lump of putty to start sculpting the shako. I've also changed the leg poses drastically to resemble more of the Embleton drawing (not yet shown). Will readjust the neck by about a mm.

I've been reading thru my refs on the trousers. Fletcher, Windrow, Embleton suggests white trousers. Haythornthwaite, Cassin Scott and Chappell suggests grey trousers, the reason being that the 71st was shipped in from South America and missed the first lot of white trousers being distributed.

Rgds Victor

 

[blaster]

This is the new pose with hands added. I've included the drawing on which this figure is based.

 

[blaster]

Some progress on the coattails.