Austrian Infantry Band c.1865 (1 Viewer)

[johnnybach]

Very cool set!

Hi Dave - that's just the thought that I had - when I first saw them on the Museum web-site. The dog pulling the cart (Paulke) did it for me - as it was so unusual. I only wish that the engraver ( whoever it was ), had also engraved the figures in their White summer parade uniform - as well as them in campaign wear - with greatcoat and pack etc., I would have had BOTH sets then!^&grin

I'm also indebted to my friend "Ernst" - in the museum shop, whose knowledge of English and generally helpful attitude - helped me actually buy the set as unpainted castings by mail order. There are several catalogues available online at:

http://www.zinnfigurenwelt-katzelsdorf.at/zinn-main.php

Just click on the "translate" button - and then on "museum Shop" - to find no fewer than 7 Catalogues of old historic figures - on display ( mostly as castings - but also with colour illustrations - which are very helpful for any painter). Ernst also sent me several Colour pics of my completed band - (which I showed earlier in the thread ) - as well as painting advice on individual members of it, which really made things easier for me to start painting.

A very nice experience indeed - bettered only by the joy of seeing each piece almost come alive, as successive coats of paint go on.

Glad you like 'em too, chum. jb

 

[DMNamiot]

Hi Johnny,

I just am about finished putting back together my Christmas Gift. I managed to find a Marlborough Durbar Elephant set that I needed for a very good price on ebay so I was luckily the high bidder and it was sent off to me in late September. Unfortunately the package was handled by the Samsonite Gorillas and when it finally arrived via our APO it was mangled. The Howdah had several pieces knocked off and bent, easy fix thankfully! That was repaired quickly. The figures had a little damage to the Truncheons they carry but not too bad so a little heating and bending and we are good to go. The elephant was another story. It was in three pieces which is how it comes out of the mold so I had to do a little drilling and then stuck then back together with a very heavy duty epoxy. All said and done now the set is back together and I am retouching paint where needed. Its been fun trying to match the shade of lavender in the elephants coverings. The set is D62 if you want to see it on the Marlborough website. I will try and post some photos in the next week or so but its been a crazy month and I am not sure yet how this week will roll...

Thanks again for showing all the cool sets you paint up! Will have to see your collection sometime!

Dave

 

[johnnybach]

Hi Johnny,

I just am about finished putting back together my Christmas Gift. I managed to find a Marlborough Durbar Elephant set that I needed for a very good price on ebay so I was luckily the high bidder and it was sent off to me in late September. Unfortunately the package was handled by the Samsonite Gorillas and when it finally arrived via our APO it was mangled. The Howdah had several pieces knocked off and bent, easy fix thankfully! That was repaired quickly. The figures had a little damage to the Truncheons they carry but not too bad so a little heating and bending and we are good to go. The elephant was another story. It was in three pieces which is how it comes out of the mold so I had to do a little drilling and then stuck then back together with a very heavy duty epoxy. All said and done now the set is back together and I am retouching paint where needed. Its been fun trying to match the shade of lavender in the elephants coverings. The set is D62 if you want to see it on the Marlborough website. I will try and post some photos in the next week or so but its been a crazy month and I am not sure yet how this week will roll...

Thanks again for showing all the cool sets you paint up! Will have to see your collection sometime!

Dave

Thanks for the Horror Story!! I have been pretty lucky (so far) with most of my Postal buys - though I DON'T like our local Post Offfice in the UK slapping a "handling charge" of £8 on anything that attracts Import taxes!!!

Handling Charge??? What else will they dream up - they have to handle the thing - that's what I paid postage for!To add insult to robbery - I even had to go there and pay cash to get MY last package out of blackmail custody!!

Still - everything was as it left the point of origin (ATKM in USA).

Just have to make sure we're both in the same place - if you want to see my collection - but might rustle you up a beer or two - when you get there! jb

 

[DMNamiot]

Hi Johnny I will drop you a pm in the next week or so we are planning a trip to Normandy this Spring (late April) so who knows maybe we can get together for a beer!

As for the handling Changes who can say what they will dream up next...

Dave

 

[johnnybach]

Hi Johnny I will drop you a pm in the next week or so we are planning a trip to Normandy this Spring (late April) so who knows maybe we can get together for a beer!

As for the handling Changes who can say what they will dream up next...

Dave

France is a big place - and Normandy is the wrong end of the Country for us - it's another day's journey to get down to us - and about an hour and a bit to the Spanish border!!! So - if you are Bordeaux way - maybe drop by, mon ami.

By the way - as you seem to be fond of the Jumbo's - I saw something the other day - that might get your clumsy customs geezers in a bit of a tiz. It's a 30mm flat, of course - and you would have to give your elephant brush a bit of a twirl to paint it up - but there are a few more like this on his web-site

The engraver's name is Karl Rieger. Online catalogue: (zinnfiguren-rieger.de). Click on the British Flag for English - then look at the menu on the left and choose "Look at painted figures" for more Jumbos. ( I have the two Jumbo Gun in my stash for later on this year). Here's a sample.

Nice eh? - and as it's a casting..........maybe unlikely to qualify for Customs duty????????

(reproduced with thanks to Karl Rieger)

 

[johnnybach]

Here's an update and a couple more pics of my growing Band. There's a couple of bases to tidy up on some of the recent additions - but generally these can said to be completed. Just a half-dozen more to finish off - and my Austrian Infantry Band (circa 1856), will be complete - at 22 figures; comprising 20 musicians - a Bearded Drum Major - and the Musical Director. jb

 

[Wolfgang_UK]

Nice eh? - and as it's a casting..........maybe unlikely to qualify for Customs duty????????

(reproduced with thanks to Karl Rieger)[/QUOTE]


Really nice elephant indeed! Mr. Rieger is in buisness for a long time and as far as I know he is still doing comissions.
So if you really want your austrians in summer uniform and you are able to supply him with the essential proper drawings he will sit down and engrave those slate molds for you. Once they have reached you you will be able to cast thousands of flats and may even rightfully call yourself a "Herausgeber" or "Offizin Johnny Bach"{sm3}.
Now what do you think? Might be a whole new career ????
Kind regards
Wolfgang

 

[johnnybach]

Nice eh? - and as it's a casting..........maybe unlikely to qualify for Customs duty????????

(reproduced with thanks to Karl Rieger)

Really nice elephant indeed! Mr. Rieger is in buisness for a long time and as far as I know he is still doing comissions.
So if you really want your austrians in summer uniform and you are able to supply him with the essential proper drawings he will sit down and engrave those slate molds for you. Once they have reached you you will be able to cast thousands of flats and may even rightfully call yourself a "Herausgeber" or "Offizin Johnny Bach"{sm3}.
Now what do you think? Might be a whole new career ????
Kind regards
Wolfgang[/QUOTE]

Hi W. Nice idea - BUT....................I do have a wife - I call her, "La Commandante" (She commands - und I obey!)...........who is not at all keen on me playing around with molten metal in the kitchen............so...............I fear that your idea might fall upon deaf ears - if I were foolish enough to mention ( once again), a career in casting! {eek3}

Besides - at my age - Who needs another career???? I'm happily retired from chasing my tail - in search of a crust - but prefer to waft the odd paint-brush, from time to time.^&grin

Now......if Herr Rieger ( who I agree, is a very nice guy), is of a mind to do an Austrian Infantry Band, c.1859 - in Summer Uniform as a set of 30mm flats - we might do some business. But buying a set of engraved moulds for me to cast my own - is just a step too far, old bean!!

Thanks for the thought though - they would look terrific - don't you think???

 

[johnnybach]

Back to the work in hand - and after a "midnight oil" session, once again - I can report that my 30mm Austrian Infantry Band (circa 1865), in Campaign Order - are now completed. As these are Flats, I thought it might be a bit of fun to show them before being painted - and then after they had received my best efforts - in gloss Enamel paints.


So - here's what they looked like on arrival from the Katzelsdorf Museum, Austria.


And here's what they look like after a few licks of paint. Left side first.



Then the right side.



Thanks to all who likes them - I can confirm they are great fun to paint up - so watch out for more Flats from time to time, as I'm definitely hooked on them (though not exclusively - I still like painting "the bigger lads" too) - at a whopping 54mm{sm4} johnnybach

 

[aujj65]

I see that you have worked flat out for a week to get these finished JB!.. ^&grin and well worth the effort by the look of it. {bravo}}

Looking forward to seeing the elephants.

Jeff :salute::

 

[johnnybach]

I see that you have worked flat out for a week to get these finished JB!.. ^&grin and well worth the effort by the look of it. {bravo}}

Looking forward to seeing the elephants.

Jeff :salute::

Cheers Jeff, - but I flatly deny that I was working flat out to finish them. Though I too, do feel a little flat, now they are done. I'm going to mount them up on a piece of card, later on - so will re-photograph - as I think they display better that way. Glad you like 'em too. {sm4} jb

 

[theBaron]

Great work, John, and capturing the look of the better-painted flats of the late 19th and early 20th century. I like your shading and outlining, fine work in such small scale.

Prost!
Brad

 

[johnnybach]

Thanks Brad - much appreciated. Whilst I'm still a relative learner at painting flats - I do enjoy the challenge. I think what I'm trying to do - is to make them into tiny Glossy Toy Soldiers - rather than the beautifully painted matte ones that you see frequently nowadays. Just that as a young boy - I guess - I was so taken with the Glossies - it has remained a life-long love affair ( with a mid-life gap - whilst I had other duties to perform - like earning a crust or two for my family^&grin).

Glad you like them too, though. jb

 

[johnnybach]

Here are my last pics for this lovely little set of 30mm flats. As you can see from my first pic., I have simply mounted them on a piece of white corrugated cardboard. I positioned them roughly where I wanted them - and then made a small slit, the size of each tiny into the space formed by the corrugations below - and then gently pushed the base into the slit I had formed. It's just enough to lightly hold each piece in position. Note also, thet where I had doubles of instruments in the band - I could also mount them in pairs - to show the other side of each instrumentalist.

Then I had a bit of luck!



I had been allowed out with "La Commandante" - on a shopping expedition! ( I suspected, to act as a mule for the shopping). My dearest had been looking for some crayons, to help with her design work for patchwork sewing, so along the way - we came across a shop that sold such items - and to my delight found just the thing - a box of crayons. Rather a nice wooden box, I thought - and better yet - reduced from it's pre-Xmas price. I asked whether she needed the box - and was advised that it wasn't necessary - so I could have it (Hurrah!).

Back home - crayons transferred to the sewing stuff box - a few moments work taking out the plastic inserts that one held the crayons - and a few adjustments to my piece of cardboard with new mounted set of Austrian Infantry - and they had found a new home - see below. Lovely! jb

 

[GICOP]

Here are my last pics for this lovely little set of 30mm flats. As you can see from my first pic., I have simply mounted them on a piece of white corrugated cardboard. I positioned them roughly where I wanted them - and then made a small slit, the size of each tiny into the space formed by the corrugations below - and then gently pushed the base into the slit I had formed. It's just enough to lightly hold each piece in position. Note also, thet where I had doubles of instruments in the band - I could also mount them in pairs - to show the other side of each instrumentalist.

Then I had a bit of luck!



I had been allowed out with "La Commandante" - on a shopping expedition! ( I suspected, to act as a mule for the shopping). My dearest had been looking for some crayons, to help with her design work for patchwork sewing, so along the way - we came across a shop that sold such items - and to my delight found just the thing - a box of crayons. Rather a nice wooden box, I thought - and better yet - reduced from it's pre-Xmas price. I asked whether she needed the box - and was advised that it wasn't necessary - so I could have it (Hurrah!).

Back home - crayons transferred to the sewing stuff box - a few moments work taking out the plastic inserts that one held the crayons - and a few adjustments to my piece of cardboard with new mounted set of Austrian Infantry - and they had found a new home - see below. Lovely! jb

Lovely looking figures jb :salute::.............and quite a result finding that wooden box {bravo}}

Cheers

Martyn

 

[johnnybach]

Lovely looking figures jb :salute::.............and quite a result finding that wooden box {bravo}}

Cheers

Martyn

And quite a result "liberating" it from the hands of La Commandante too M!{sm3}. Glad you like 'em.jb

 

[nmrocks]

Looks great JB, presentation is very important to me and a classic wood box... Well it just doesn't get much better for me, nicely done.
Ray

 

[johnnybach]

Hi Ray - glad you like 'em. I got the idea of a box for them, from looking at the displayed items of others ( including some of your collection).

So..................when I was out looking for some coloured pencils - I had a rough idea in my head of the size of box I might need to house my latest Flats. As soon as I saw the boxed pencils - I knew it was big enough for them to go in - so my first question was "Do you need the box?"

the rest, as they say, is history! And - yes - I agree - they do look smart in their new home.

Glad you got me going on these - all the best - Johnnybach:salute::