Britains Hollowcast Egyptian Lancer remake (1 Viewer)

[johnnybach]

I Picked up this rather sad, headless, one-armed figure - with a horse on only two complete legs at a Car-boot sale in the South West of England recently. He was actually given to me for free by the stallholder - as I bought another five horse figures for a fiver. He told me he was going to bin it anyway, as it had been around for a while - and no-one wanted it. (Heresy!). Needless to say, I asked him to keep any more like this - for when I next come around!!!

When I got home, I identified him from my Andrew Rose book "Toy Soldiers", as a figure from Britains set 115, Egyptian Cavalry, on the cantering horse version of the set, produced from 1903-1966. Produced originally, on a pony horse in fives - but from 1960 as a four piece set on cantering horses - they ride both black and brown horses. Here is what's left of him - next to Andrew's illustration in his excellent book.

I found that they wore red fezzes, all white lancer-style tunics, blue breeches and red and green girdles and lance pennants. In fact - like this.

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Okay - a quick e-mail to "The Repair Department" at Dorset Soldiers, confirmed that Giles Brown had replacement parts for horse and figure - so they were ordered.

In the meantime - a bit of research turned up another interesting illustration of a Toy Soldier figre - this time from Regal Productions ( which I believe is a NZ producer), which shows a figure like this below - Nice eh?

Shows a bit more detail than the Britains figure - like the black cross belt and pouch in black, which wasn't painted on the Britains figure.

Okay then - I will restore him to not only his former glory - but attempt a better paint job whilst I'm at it. But first - the repair:

About a week or so later - the parts arrived from Giles Brown at Dorset Soldiers.
Below you can see one front leg already cut to fit - drilled, and pinned and glued - whilst the other parts - head, lance arm and rear horses leg are placed around the figure. Note the "flash" still around the lance-arm - which will need to be cleaned up before fitting, of course.

Next, the rear leg is added - using the same pinning technique. As you can see below, the figure now stands up. Around are the simple tools and materials I used for the repair. The "pin" is simply a piece cut from a paper clip! I don't have the luxury of a nearby hobby-shop, so learned long ago, to use whatever I had to hand. This is what I usually use - though I bought some brass rod from the UK recently for axles - but it was a bit too thick for the rather thin legs of this particular horse. Note that I always try to retain as much of the original figure as I can, though choose a "meaty" bit for drilling into - whenever possible.

Rear leg was joined at the knee - front leg at the top of the leg. A bit of milliput worked into the joints - and when dry, sanded back for a seamless repair, (hopefully!).

Below, I have now added the cleaned-up head and dry fitted the lance arm to show the repaired figure this far. I will paint him up a bit more before finally fitting the arm - and think I will paint him a bit more like the Regal figure than the Britains - and give him a stable base - to help stop him falling over any more - and also help keep him in one piece this time!

This is as far as I have got - so far. About an hour's work to date - to help restore a figure destined for the bin - to something approaching his former glory.

To be continued..........................johnnybach

 

[GICOP]

Great thread johnnybach, love the detailed step by step progress.{bravo}}

I shall follow with interest as I have a few Egyptian Lancers from Little Legion in grey/blue uniforms

Cheers

Martyn

 

[Hazebrouck]

Johnny Bach,

You do like a project!

Actually thanks for taking the time to show the work in progress. It certainly is motivating.

And yes those paperclips do come in handy!

A question- what size drills are you using? I find most hardware shops only sell down to 1mm and those legs you have pinned look very slender.

Scott

 

[johnnybach]

Hi - both - This is probably my favourite bit of TS work. I just love finding what other people class as "junk" - and with a bit of TLC - and thought - making something of it. This one was lovely - as it was perhaps my favourite style (Britains old hollowcasts) - and relatively unscathed - so easy to fix.

As regards the drills. Well, I chanced upon one of those tiny modelers drills - and a box of bits for filing polishing and drilling - a few years ago now - in a Liddle Supermarket (of all places). It had a series of small drills in with the kit - the smallest of which is 1mm. I use these - and am always keeping my eyes open for replacement small ones. Always be gentle with them though - and take plenty of pauses to keep 'em from overheating! I s'pose I should have shown the holes drilled and pins fitted - but would have taken too long - you know how to do it though, I'm sure! johnnybach

 

[thebritfarmer]

There is no stopping you is there. Such talent, and I look forward to seeing this figure brought back to life.

 

[johnnybach]

Any reason to get away from the Gordons project for a spell - at the moment - is a nice break. However, I was secretly hoarding this little figure - and just waiting for the parts to arrive - and itching to have a bash at repairing him. Not sure yet whether I'm really any good at it - just love doing it. When you just know a 50+ year old figure is going in the bin - it seems such a shame NOT to try.

Whether or not I succeed in restoring - some might say I am spoiling it - I will still treasure the little chap. johnnybach

 

[Napoleon1er]

Very nice! Can't wait to see the finished product!
-Sandor

 

[johnnybach]

I will have to pull my finger out a bit - and get it finished before you go "incommunicado" then Sandor. Sorry about the quality of the pic - but it's that time of day when my camera, my lack of skill with it and my inadequate lighting give them that "Fanny by Gaslight" glow!

Never mind - at least you can see that lots of bits have been glued, pinned and epoxy-ed together - and I have put secured him on his base. Sacriledge to some - but sorry - he's mine now - and that's the way I prefer them to be! Just the first coat on the horse for now, but will build up some shading as I go. I have started him off as a bay - as a black horse with black saddle and sheepskin - don't really show him off to his best, I think. Note that Britains did some brown as well.

I will start on his jacket tomorrow - and re-do cross belt and pouch in black - and girdle in green and red. On closer inspection - this figure has been retouched in the past - and not all that well - as the belt is incomplete and jacket left too short.

 

[DMNamiot]

Hi Johnny,

Amazing work. I would really appreciate more detail on the drillling and pinning next time you do a repair job. I have a couple of figures that need help from when I was a kid and would very much appreciate some photos of how to drill etc. I will be sending away for the parts I need soon so I can be prepared to make an attempt at this sort of work.

Also what is the brand name of the drill I will swing by the train/model shop near here and see if they have it or one similar. I have a dremmel tool but the bits I own arent as small as 1mm.

Thanks for posting this demo!

Dave

 

[johnnybach]

Hi Dave - Well thanks - but the repair is quite unextraordinary you know. Have a look at MarkeyMakers post - a couple of clicks down in Repairs for "Glossy Camel Repair(tail)". He's a far better photographer than me - and I think you will find his explanation and back-up photos excellent. They show the technique very well.

One tip to give you though - is before you start drilling the hole - get the point of a really sharp scalpel and "Twirl it" at the point you want to drill first. This creates a small depression for the point of the drill bit to sit in - and stops it wandering before it bites. Obee has also shown how to do it somewhere in here _ I can remeber him showing a gun barrel.

Sme lightly clamp the thing being drilled in a mini-vice - but I prefer to hold whatever is being drilled in my fingers - with a wodge of tissue - as it gets hot quickly. This is a good thing - as it stops you drilling too fast. I do mine in a series of short bursts - and as soon as it starts to get uncomfortably hot - I stop - wait for it to cool down - and then go again. Clean out the swarf every now and then between bursts. I also dip my drill bit in white spirit now and again. I read somewhere this helps lubricate the tip.

My drill doesn't have a name on it - but the voltage adapter (from 230-12Volts) has the wording "Changzhou Sanhaun Electron Electric Factory" on it - so made in the Far East??? I'll take a pic of some kit and post it here later - so that you can see what it looks like. When you get it - practice drilling holes on a piece of junk stuff - until you get the feel of it - and it then becomes quite easy to use. jb

 

[johnnybach]

Dave - further to my last - see pics of kit below:

First one is of the mini-drill and box of tools that came with it:

This one is a box of tools - same shop about a year later (Liddle Supermarket!)

This one shows the second box - drill and adapter - and what you can do with them!

If you print it off - maybe you can take it to a hobby shop - and they can put a name to it?? They weren't expensive - around £5 or so (from memory). Good hunting - and if you drill a hole in your finger - don't worry - you won't be the first - but don't sue me! Your on your own!^&grin

Seriously though - the buzz you get from "saving" some poor old soldier - more than compensates for any pain!{sm2}

 

[Hazebrouck]

Hi Johnny,


Also what is the brand name of the drill I will swing by the train/model shop near here and see if they have it or one similar. I have a dremmel tool but the bits I own arent as small as 1mm.

Dave,

Just to add to Johnny's advice. If you are just going to be repairing a few figures by drilling/pinning and don't want to outlay a lot you might also consider a hand drill. I have an old one from my automotive days and the main benefit of them is that you can control the amount of pressure and speed of the drill with your palm and fingers.

As Johnny points out with the electric drill it is wise to have a pilot mark and you need to take it easy. Lead and plastic soldiers are pretty soft and I find the hand drill easy to use and very accurate and I know I'm not going to damage the figure.

Of course there are times when some of those dremel bits come in really handy- horses for courses!

Attached is a pic of my 'old' drill after action with a 1mm bit. Smaller drill bits can be found at Engineering shops.


Scott

 

[johnnybach]

Hi Scott - sorry - but the drill and box came without a makers name on it - so can't tell you. I think - because it was so cheap - it is a "knock-off" job! Probably a far-east copy of something else. Again, my advice is to copy the pic - and take it to a hobby shop (lucky you!) and ask the guy if he has something like it in one of his catalogues.

Mine is a 12volt jobbie - and just right - powerful enough - but not too strong - and a handy size, of course, which is why I like it.

The hand drill is super-safe of course - but wears holes in the palm! Ouch! jb

 

[DMNamiot]

Hi Guys,

Well upon looking at the photos that Johnny and Scott supplied I find that I have a very similar hand drill to what Johnny has only thing with mine is its US based current so I need to use a power coverter with it but thats not too big of a deal because I have several of them. I will see if I can get my hands on a small manual hand drill because that is pretty handy for a lot of things. I will talk with my brother and his automotive buddies they have a ton of tools so one of them is bound to know where I can get one. Now i just need to hit up the OBI or Pratika and see if they have the 1mm and other tiny sized drill bits. Thanks for posting the photos it is very helpful!

Dave

 

[johnnybach]

You're welcome Dave - that's the beauty of a picture - saves a thousand words. I will be eternally greatful to Scott (britfarmer) for posting those instructions on how to upload to photobucket - then back to the forum - as they are just the best visual aids there are, for me. Also to my daughter for teaching me how to save images I find on the net - and copying to files. I now save on a ton of paper and ink cartridges - and can pull up images of something I want to paint - at will. Lovely! jb{sm3}

 

[johnnybach]

Last thing to tell you Dave (and anyone else interested in saving old soldiers from an early bin!).

Giles Brown at Dorset Soldiers started out by helping folks repair old Britains Toy Soldiers - and has a pretty good idea of what's required to repair things - and doesn't charge the earth (sometimes the postage is more than the bits - as in my repair!). If you are all fingers and thumbs though - he will also repair them for you.

BUT do be explicit as to what you need. Due to my new found skill(??? Don't laugh!). in taking photos and being able to post them on e-mails - I was able to send Giles both a photo of my broken Soldier and description of what it was. He also has a copy of Andrew Rose's book in his workshop - so I was able to tell him the page the item was on as well. This meant I got EXACTLY the correct parts for the figure in need of repair. I got the book, by the way, second-hand from Amazon - and it cost me less than a pound - plus postage. Best money I ever spent (except perhaps for the parts to fix my newest recruit!).

Okay - search out your lofts and garages - and - happy fixing^&grin johnnybach

 

[johnnybach]

Here's what he looks like at the moment. He now rides a bay horse - which has had one coat of Humbrol Gloss varnish (35). When that is dry, I will be able to handle the figure at both ends - so will be able to do a bit more with the Lancer figure a lot easier. Note his lance arm has still not been fitted - as it is much easier not to have to work around that yet.

I pinched an idea from John Firth - and used some lentils (Sizes - various) on the base - to try and make it look a bit more like stony ground. I quite like the effect so far - thanks John.

My new head makes him look a bit haughty - don't you think? :smile2: johnnybach

 

[thebritfarmer]

He does have have a certain "air' about him JB. I love the lentils, you'll have a snack now when working on your figures

 

[theBaron]

Great project, John, you're a man after my own heart!

The old hollowcasts are great material for upgrading like this, and yours is turning out very well.

Nice use of the lentils, too. That goes back a lonnnnnnnggggg way. You can use them to make cobblestone streets, too.

Regarding the drills, I use a pin vise for fine drilling work like this, especially with the smaller, thinner bits. I found I could control the drilling better, if I drill by hand. I do use my Dremel with grinding bits, though. For those who do consider using a powered hand drill/rotary tool for drilling, also consider getting a drill press stand to mount it in. One problem with using a powered drill in this work is that there will be tiny, subtle movements out of the line of the drill, when holding the drill and the work in your hands. If you apply pressure out of the line of the drill, ie any deviation from perpendicular, you could damage or break the bit (eye protection is a good idea). A drill press reduces the odds that that will happen.

Looking forward to more progress and your final piece, John!

Prost!
Brad

 

[johnnybach]

Yep - sossige samwidges - luverly! Must get that microwave fitted up! ^&grin{sm4}{sm2}