Britains ACW Conversions (1 Viewer)

[Dragoon]

I'm a collector glossie toy soldiers who likes a lot of the fine mat finished figures created by a number of makers. To get the best of both worlds I like to aquire these mat figures and treat them to some repainting and gloss coating. I'm currently working on a group of Britains ACW figures which will make up two displays of the Iron Brigade, Army of the Potomac.
The figure below is a work in progress. The flag is completely repainted using Foundry and Vallejo acrylics and gloss coated with Tamiya Clear Gloss.
The eye details on his face were smoothed out and then the face was painted in a ''toy'' soldier fashion and awaits clear coating.
The uniform will be repainted to brighten its appearence and NCO chevrons added to the sleeves. All then to be finished with a gloss clear coat. - Ken

 

[marco55]

Excellent work Ken.Great to see someone who is not afraid to touch his figures.(I am:redface2:{eek3}:wink2
Mark

 

[Dragoon]

Two of the figures in this group have already been repainted and gloss coated about a year ago. But wanting to make them fit into a display of the black hats of the Iron Brigade, I've carved off their forage caps and built up the heads with epoxy putty - the one reaching for cartridge has a bandaged head.
A few bare headed soldiers are always a nice addition to a large grouping of figures.
Want the officer figure to portray Lt.Col. Rufus Dawes of the 6th Wisconsin, so a chin beard and moustache has been added before I start repainting it. - Ken

 

[Ken & Ericka Osen/H&A Studio]

Very cool!
Converting your figures really personalizes your collection. Please post images as you complete these.
Ken Osen

 

[Dragoon]

Excellent work Ken.Great to see someone who is not afraid to touch his figures.(I am:redface2:{eek3}:wink2
Mark

Thanks Mark. I make my living as an artist, so I'm pretty comfortable with a brush.
You should give it a try - its a lot fun!

 

[Dragoon]

Very cool!
Converting your figures really personalizes your collection. Please post images as you complete these.
Ken Osen

Thanks so much Ken.
It's the quality, accuracy and beauty of your little sculptures that makes this possible in the first place. You and Richard and the other good people at Britains make me one happy collector - Keep up the Good Work!
- Ken

 

[Hazebrouck]

Ken,

These look really good.

Could you explain the epoxy putty application and sculpting to a novice please? I'd like to try something similar but am not sure where to start.

Scott

 

[johnnybach]

Attaboy Ken! That's the way - though it can be an expensive way of getting a glossy, by buying a new matt figure. I still prefer the blank canvas of a casting - unless fortunate enough to find a damaged matt figure going cheaply! If anything, that's even more satisfying - as you have saved it from the scrap-heap.

These are looking great - and I will look forward to seeing the finish - as I am trying to get hold of some of that Tamiya Clear finish coat that you recommended, and would be interested in seeing how they turn out. johnnybach

 

[Dragoon]

Ken,

These look really good.

Could you explain the epoxy putty application and sculpting to a novice please? I'd like to try something similar but am not sure where to start.

Scott

Hi Scott,

I like using an epoxy putty (putty which comes in two parts, resin & hardner, which is kneeded together before using) which went by the product name DURO and is now KNEADATITE Blue/Yellow Epoxy Putty. Here is their product description -

''Kneadatite Blue/Yellow has an extremely smooth, non-grainy texture, making it the ideal medium for sculpting intricate shapes and fine detail. Once mixed, it has a worklife of 90 minutes, allowing time for shaping and detailing with wet fingers or tools. Altering the mix with more blue component produces a faster, harder cure for building structures- the use of more yellow component results in a slower, softer cure for detail work.''

The putty is tacky and sticks easily to the surface to which it's applied, in this case the metal toy soldier. A small blob of it can be stuck in place and worked with a cheap set of hobby quality dental tools. Its very easy to shape and sculpt, but it helps to dip the end of the tool your using in water to avoid it also sticking to the putty.

A helpful reference book which covers this and other aspects of the art of military miniatures is BILL HORAN'S MILITARY MODELING MASTERCLASS by Windrow & Greene Publishing. It might be out of print but should still be easily obtainable ''used'' through Amazon.com .

Probably the most helpful tool I use when working on little figures is an Optical Visor w/ magnifing lenses. If what your working on looks halfway decent magnifide - it will look GREAT with the naked eye.
- Ken

 

[Dragoon]

Attaboy Ken! That's the way - though it can be an expensive way of getting a glossy, by buying a new matt figure. I still prefer the blank canvas of a casting - unless fortunate enough to find a damaged matt figure going cheaply! If anything, that's even more satisfying - as you have saved it from the scrap-heap.

These are looking great - and I will look forward to seeing the finish - as I am trying to get hold of some of that Tamiya Clear finish coat that you recommended, and would be interested in seeing how they turn out. johnnybach

Hi Johnny B.

I like working on Britains mat line of figures because they are very nicely sculpted, historically accurate, wide variety of action poses and a great choice of time periods to choose from. They are also free of flash (no filing required), pre-assembled and come with their own built-in painting guide. :wink2:

As far as pricing goes, they fall somewhere in the middle between less expensive toy soldier castings and the more expensive military miniature kits. - Ken

 

[johnnybach]

You have me thinking now Ken - you are dead right - well worth further investigation that! I would be very loath to spend the ( seen reported) $43 plus on a matte figure and then chop it about and repaint - but some of the older ones might be well worth a look. Thanks for the thought - I will certainly have a re-think about some like these - even though ACW is not one of my chosen themes ( well, not just yet, anyway).

As a guide though - my latest project ( Gordons, circa 1865) - cost me £2.80 plus 35 pence for arms/instruments each - so £ 3.15 - which is just over five bucks US - plus paint and all of the fun - though - as you rightly say - no built in paint guide - just loads of very pleasant reading and research.

Hmmm! - as I say - you have me thinking now...........johnnybach.

Off in search of Tamiya varnish and brushes on Friday, as I like the shine on those two of yours, so thanks for the suggestion -" La Commandante" is playing at Tonto with Tom-Tom ..................so........

"Heigh Ho Silver - Away!" I will be waiting for ... "Keemo Sabey - I theenk we are lost!"

Cheers chum - johnnybach

 

[Dragoon]

JB, Just so you don't think I'm completely daft, the average mat painted figure on foot by Britains here in the US goes for about 28.00, which is still still at least about 10.00 less than many of the higher end unpainted metal military miniature kits.

So at the present time I don't mind painting over a mat painted figure to get what I want out of it.

I don't think I'd have even started the project if the figures were going for 43.00 :rolleyes2:.

Best of luck tracking down the Tamiya clearcoat. I've ended up buying it thru the internet more times than not. Not many brick and mortar hobby shops around here anymore. - Ken

 

[johnnybach]

No - not at all - I can see that what you are trying to do is to augment something that you already have - with something a bit different which will make it unique! An admirable idea - and one which I agree with absolutely. I am always striving to do that too, where I can. I don't just want something that anyone with $43 plus ( or whatever) can go out and buy off the shelf - I like to try (don't always succeed mind) for something just a bit different too.

Sure, cost comes into it - and I'm pretty sure I agree with you - and wouldn't be as deep into this hobby at those prices - my "other half" might have something to say about that, I think.

I do like what you are doing - and can see the logic in it at those sort of prices. I suppose I fortunately started off with castings - developed a liking for what I do with them - and have (very happily) continued in that vein - long before I heard of this forum.

I must admit though, that I have certainly, on occasion, spent more than the price you quote on top end castings - such as some from Tradition of London, to take one example - and must also admit that you do get what you pay for - or work a bit harder to get to a more realistic figure. Just so happens, that I kind of like to work at them a bit sometimes - it gives me a kick to produce something worthwhile from a trickier figure to start with, if you know what I mean.

As to tracking down raw materials - it's tricky here - model shops are thin on the ground - and products not easy to come by. I am learning all of the time though - especially about the Internet - in no small measure due to the forum - and other guys helping me to get to grips with it. I have tracked down two Internet shops over here - so will see about getting hold of some different varnishes - or finishing gloss coats might be a better term. I'll let you know how I get on.

Nice chatting with a kindred spirit though Ken - do keep in touch. regards - johnnybach

 

[PJDeluhery]

E-bay is a great place to pick up old, broken and bargain figures. For years, I've been restoring and converting stuff I find on e-bay to make my collection unique or to fill in with figures no one makes.

Commercial kits are running roughly a dollar a milimeter - so $50 for a 54mm kit. WAY too high for me! It's a smart "investment" to learn to modify the great figures available from Britains and other manufacturers.

Nice job on these, Dragoon!

 

[johnnybach]

Hello Ken (Dragoon). I have managed to get hold of a pot of Tamiya X-22 clear coat - as we found the new model shop okay. Quite a good stock too - and had quite a chat with the proprietor.

He cautioned me on using the Tamiya product with Humbrol paint though. He thought that it might "wrinkle" the paint. I have tried a test piece with both gloss and matte Humbrol - and can't find any problem with using it.

Do you know of any such problem - before I try it on a real fully painted figure - I thought I would ask??

PJ - If you are reading this - feel free to chip in with any advice too - as I know you have a wealth of experience of painting.

johnnybach

 

[Dragoon]

Greetings Johnny B. - I use to use Humbrol enamels a few years back, but have since switched to acrylics. I known the Tamiya Clear will lift some colors of other acrylic paint manufactures like Vallejo. Over time, I've learned what to expect and work around it. A very quick brushed ''barrier coat'' of some makers ''milky white'' acrylic varnish (mat, gloss, whatevers on hand) seals the figure nicely allowing the crystal clear Tamiya to be applied problem free. The milky white acrylic varnishes that dry clear seem very gentile over other paint, but does not give that rich shine produced by clear varnishes.

I haven't used Tamiya over Humbrol enamels, But I don't see why there would be any problem over a well dryed enamel painted metal figure. - You might want to test it over metalic paint - I'm always leary with of metalic gold, silver etc. Seems to behave differently than regular paint. - Ken

 

[johnnybach]

Hi Ken - thanks for the prompt reply - I'm doing a couple of "test pieces" at the moment - and it looks okay so far. I do have some Johnson "Klear" - that was recommended to me by Baron Brad. Hadn't thought of using that - might be an idea to run a test on that too.

Thanks for the thoughts. If I do succeed - you will soon know - as all of my stuff will suddenly develop that lovely lustre!^&grin

Thanks again for the tips. Best regards - johnnybach

 

[johnnybach]

Well Ken - After several pieces of base material were tested with various colours of Humbrol Gloss and Matte - including some with Humbrol Gloss varnish - results looked very good - so I have taken the plunge.

The piece below - (A Dorset Soldiers casting - I picked up last November), was painted around last Xmas by me in Humbrol Gloss - and had just one coat of Humbrol Gloss varnish (No.35). A nice little piece - and a favourite of mine - but easily replaced for little money - so just the job for an experiment.

I gave it one coat of Tamiya Acrylic Clear X-22, about 30 minutes ago - and here is the result below. (I wish I had done a before and after now!).

The difference is just staggering. That's the finish I have been after - and it's down to the product you recommended. Thank you so much Ken - your a pal! I'm absolutely delighted with it. I will certainly use it from now on as the finishing coat, when I want that deep gloss finish.^&grin

 

[Hazebrouck]

Johnny,

That finish looks great- plenty of depth.

Ken,

I have the Horan military modelling book, thanks for reminding that it has a descent sculpting section. I had forgotten.

Scott

 

[Dragoon]

Hey Johnny that's great! I'm so glad that the Tamiya is working out for you.
Your soldier does have that ''deep lovely glossy shine''. And nicely painted too.
Keep up the good fight - Ken