Cherry Pickers Mounted Band (1 Viewer)

[johnnybach]

New Year! - New thread.

After a very enjoyable vacation way out west - it's now time for me to return to one of my favourite time periods (Victorian) - and one of my favourite subjects - Bands. I have had this next project in the back of my head for a year or more now, and have spent many happy hours looking for information - and more importantly - pictures - of the British 11th Hussars in Victorian times. During what I somewhat hopefully describe as my "research period", I came across this small - but beautiful little water-colour of the Mounted Cherry Pickers Band, with a small contingent of Oficer and Troopers crossing a small bridge.

That settled it - there and then. That's the band I wanted - right there. The picture was dated 1884 - so great - that settled the date for them as well - always a tricky thing to determine with subjects like this. I noted several uniform and equipment details from the little picture - including drum banners, colour of the headwear of the band - even the shabraque of the Officer's horse - and also the grey horses included in the band. Wonderful stuff for someone like me who likes to paint castings - but prefers it when you can get 'em right!

Okay - castings required next - so where better to stop than one of my favourite suppliers - Giles Brown at Dorset Soldiers - with my list of requirements.

A Drum Horse, band to include a dozen instruments or so - with maybe something not shown - a Musical Director out in front - plus Officer and Escort to bring up the rear, escort carrying carbines - a bit like the early Britains figures - in fact, a lot like this one really:

In fact - if they could also include the Officer on a Prancing Horse as in the Britains set below - well, so much the better.

I also plundered the wonderful world of Richard Simkin - one of my favourite artists - and came up with this excellent detail study of an Officer of the regiment with a trumpeter standing beside him.

That'll do for a start then - Giles turned up the required castings - some requiring a bit of work to get what I wanted - so off we can go!

In the following thread - I intend to produce a group to include all of the above - and have now become used to showing those who care to look, just how I go about it. If anyone is getting a bit tired of following my progress with some of these projects - then don't look. But if you do - then do follow along - and PLEASE jump in whenever you think necessary - and stop me making mistakes - which would be much appreciated, preferably before I make 'em!

Anyway - Happy New Year everyone........... see you later?? ...johnnybach

 

[Napoleon1er]

This looks to be one of your best yet! I have always loved these early Britains sets, and I can't wait to see what a band will look like! If you do bases, I really liked that thing you did with the lentils....
-Sandor

 

[johnnybach]

Hi Sandor - thanks for the vote of confidence! I'll see what I can do to justify it.

The lentil "pebbles" idea - I nicked, I must confess - and I used it on a repaired Britains Egyptian cavalryman figure, to try to convey a desert feel to the base. I have another two like that as castings now - so will do a similar job on them, when I get around to them, to look exactly the same. I also have some ideas swirling around - to make a big Mounted Egyptian Cavalry Band from the same time period as that figure - though that's still in the "Ideas" stage at present, and I have to find the right parts for them yet. Again - the lentil pebble-dashed bases might play a part there - to link them to the better known Britains figures.

I want this band to have green bases however - to convey a grassy underfoot feel to them - so maybe not this time. johnnybach

 

[thebritfarmer]

Looking forward to this one very much JB

As to the lentils maybe just a few here and there painted different shades of grey for stones?

 

[johnnybach]

Hi Scott - well - as there's now two of you keen on some bumps - maybe I'll try one or two dotted abaht then? I don't actually have a bases for any of them at the moment ..............too busy sorting out the shabraques for Officers/Director of Music at the moment. Giles let me have some basic front ends and back ends of horses - and I'm having to marry them up - and then get the shabraques sorted out and built up.............hang on ................I'll show you.......

(pause for photo - then photobucket lark.............etc) Done it.

Have a look at the drum horse - lying down in front. There's a line across his middle where the front end joins the back end. They are all like that - gives you options on different leg positions - see.

Now look at the three I'm working on at the rear. (I've put the riders on loose just to hide the joint that's why its there - you never see it when the rider is in place). You can see that I'm building up the front part of the Officer shabraque with milliput, to look like the earlier Simkin picture I posted. I had to carve away some of the hump of metal that was there, (was a sheepskin - but it's going to be leopardskin when finished), as I want to show the GR cypher at the front of the shabraque, if I can squeeze it in.

I will be making up some bases tomorrow - so may pin them onto some bases then - after that - I MAY think about pebbles! jb

 

[Napoleon1er]

As to the Egyptians, I think that is a truly unique idea- harder than the rest, due to their unique uniforms and possibly instruments. But on the cherrypickers, I agree with Scott about the pebbles- they add a touch of realism, which adds to that old-Britains+ feel that your models have. Interesting note about the 2 part horses- sounds annoying but it has some good results. I do prefer the leopard to the sheep as well, and it looks great on that mounted officer!
-Sandor


P.S. eBay sets:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Britains-Mo...Soldiers_EH&hash=item1e6228179d#ht_500wt_1361
http://www.ebay.com/itm/BRITAINS-88...Soldiers_EH&hash=item4159c5f09a#ht_500wt_1127

And have you considered some route liners like so:
http://www.wbritain.com/products_detail.cfm?productID=45764

 

[johnnybach]

Kind of you to go looking - but my group will number 20 by the time I have finished the castings that I have already planned for, purchased and are lying in my "to paint" box right now. I LIKE doing it this way, you see. This way I get to choose the poses, how many, how to paint them (toy soldier style for me - I'm not after "realism"), - and how good or bad they turn out is simply down to me. To be honest, if I couldn't paint them - then I don't think I would be in this hobby. I just don't get buying ready-mades and putting them in a cabinet, or worse, in a box! Nothing wrong with that, of course, but it just isn't my thing.

IF these turn out pretty well though, I may just add a few more next time I put in an order. I know where I can get some of the unmounted Hussars with a standing horses as castings too - very similar to these below - which would go well with what I have planned already.

I might also go for duplicates of some of the instruments - as in the picture that I began with - which has a twenty-one strong BAND if you count them carefully. I will have fourteen in my band when I have finished the ones that I've bought - and there's an unlimited supply of similar castings just waiting for me to order from Dorset.

Thanks for the ideas - and for thinking and looking for me - but I will be fine thanks Sandor. Just watch and see - I think these are going to turn out okay!

 

[trooper]

Dug these pics out for you, Johnny, might help you with the drummer. Let me know if you need anything else. Trooper

 

[johnnybach]

Do you know, I have been looking for a better pic of a drum banner - and that one is just the ticket! Many thanks Trooper - it's a beauty.

The best I could manage was this illustration. Whilst it is nice for many reasons, like the horse - and some of the details, the red shabraque gives it away as later than my 1884 date - and the edges of the drum banners just disappear, around the edges of course. Thanks chum - Now, as you offered........you wouldn't have a coloured illustration of a musician with the pale grey busby, have you? I have a tiny one in one of my books - which Bill Carman described as "pale grey-almost white" - but on the illustration of the drummer below, it looks quite dark. However, I will remember your offer - and give you a shout - if (more likely - when!) - I get stuck!

I've already spotted on error with my prancing horse figure. He still has a belt over his tunic - which the 11th didn't have then.(Converted from a different figure). So - out with the scalpel this morning!

Thanks again chum............jb

 

[trooper]

Johnny, before you start going ape with your scalpel, are you refering to an officer figure? If so you are incorrect pouchbelts were always worn, and the band would all be wearing music pouches so the pouchbelt is correct. I attach a couple of pictures of the kettledrummer, as you can see in the b/w photo the busby is very light, I also include a photo of the Director of Music, note that he wears the normal busby and also the plaited caplines on his chest, a regimental eccentricity. Trooper

 

[johnnybach]

BRRRRRRilliant! They are beauties - and just what I was looking for! As to the Musical Director - I hadn't given him a thought really - other than to vaugely wonder whether he wore a dark brown - or pale grey fur busby. Again - that clarifies wonderfully - and I can now paint him with confidence too.

As to the pouchbelts - yes - I was keeping that feature. What I meant was - my guy HAD a waistbelt - as he was originally a Dragoon figure. When I did the head change for him - I inadvertantly left his waist-belt on. My other castings of hussars don't have a waistbelt of course - and I hadn't noticed that until late last night!

He is now corrected - and his Prancing horse now has a full shabraque. When he has dried out a bit - I'll photo him and post him - so far. The shabraque isn't quite right at the front end (because of the casting assmblies I used) - but will now allow me to put the front GR cypher and crown there - as previously, it sort of just petered out around the rider's knees. I have three Officers ( including musical director) and the kettledrummer will be fine - as only the rear end of the shabraque is visible anyway. So once these are done - the rest of the nags should be plain sailing 'cos they don't have any.

Thanks again Trooper - lovely pics.... much appreciated, as always.............jb

 

[Napoleon1er]

From personal experience, pouchbelts are perhaps the most inconvenient objects ever. try siting down on anything with a back. Also, how on earth do you get the amo? I have to wear one for school....
-Sandor

 

[johnnybach]

Okay then - we're off and running on another mini-project - and, as promised, here's the first real pic on some progress below. Here you can see three figures. The central one is the Officer on a Prancing horse (Really wanted him!). He has had quite a bit of work already. Head change to Busby - plume extended, waist-belt removed and shabraque on the front end of the horse modified and extended forward - in order to accomodate GR cypher and crown above, which are to come yet. (Phew!).

The left horse will be for the Musical Director - and the right hand job will be the Drum-Horse, (note the mount and hole near the neck, where this side kettle-drum will eventually locate. (I like to paint most of the detail on before mounting each drum).

In front of the figures, note some new tools in my armoury. These are four pin-vices of differing sizes - and an archimedes drill (the brass one). I offer my thanks to Scott in the land of OZ - and Brad USA for the advice on the efficiency of these tools. Very handy for starter holes or drilling soft metal - which I used to pin the back two outsidehorses to their bases, which I fabricated from some 2.5 mil aluminium sheet (cut and filed to size). Xmas pressie from La Commandante - which we found in a local market in Devizes.[NOTE: If anyone would like to see once again how I pin these to bases - just shout and I will show again]

Reminds me of a funny poem that: There was a tool vendor in Devizes
Who had pin vices of various sizes
Some were quite small,
In fact - nothing at all
Whilst others were huge - and won prizes! .................or something like that. We're off! By the way - how do you like our sunshine today - nice eh?

 

[Napoleon1er]

Here are two picks I found of the uniforms (the drawing is 10th, but they are almost the same):

The project is great! Just one question- how DO you use that brass drill thing?^&grin

 

[johnnybach]

Hi Sandor - thanks for the pics.

Archimedes drill - Easiest way is to hold upright with drill bit on the metal. Hold the top with left hand - and work the knurled piece down with the left hand - the spring brings it back up to the top again - so that you can push it down again. The spiral twists the drill bit around,on each depression, which bites into the metal sheet and a hole begins to be formed. Quite a useful and gentle tool for making starter holes. I then usually revert back to my mini-electric drill to complete the hole. However, if the piece to be drilled is fine (like kogu's job recently with a small wrist and a hand to pin together) - these tools are slow and gentle - and ideal for such a job. Surprisingly inexpensive too - under a £5 for both!

No wonder La Commandante looked delighted when she said "Beloved - I'll get you those for Xmas" (or words to that effect^&grin). I think I'll get her a wheelbarrow for her birthday - don't like to see her struggling with those logs for the fire! jb

 

[trooper]

Johnny, if your band is supposed to be c 1884 and you put a GR cypher on the shabraque I shall be forced to descend upon you from a great height, sharply slap your wrist, burn all your paint brushes and sentence you to ten hours on the naughty step. Ever heard of Queen Victoria down in the valleys? Horrible little Welsh ferret, you are IDLE!! Trooper

 

[johnnybach]

Is that the little lady wot married a German called Albert - after whom the Regiment wuz named "Alberts 'Ome Guard" (or summit like that)around 1840 - when they did the onerus duty of escorting him from the docks to the Church? Oh aye - we heard all about that up the valleys (but not down the pit - mind!)Too dark down there!

Well - looking back through the thread - so I did! Okay guv - naughty step it is - and VR - done all squirly like - it is then.

Good job you said it though - things like that stick in your head - and before long I would have had Martin down on me like a ton of breastplates! Then it would be out with the six inch brush yet again.

That's a long-winded way of saying - Whoops! - Sorry!

 

[Napoleon1er]

You guys always crack me up- it's funny to think that you're older than 25{sm4}!
-Sandor -2months 'till 17

 

[johnnybach]

Sandor - age is but a number............and inside ...........I'm a seven year old with his face stuck up against a toy shop window - and staring at........................Toy Soldiers.

And that's what I hope to be, until I'm not able to post any more..............

Don't worry about numbers, they're not important................ and that's what age is -- just numbers....^&grin^&cool{eek3}

 

[Napoleon1er]

Sandor - age is but a number............and inside ...........I'm a seven year old with his face stuck up against a toy shop window - and staring at........................Toy Soldiers.

And that's what I hope to be, until I'm not able to post any more..............

Don't worry about numbers, they're not important................ and that's what age is -- just numbers....^&grin^&cool{eek3}

Precisely! Until I saw pictures of people, I could not help but subcutaneously think, from people's writing, that they were much younger- be older than you are when you work, and younger when you play{sm4}{sm4}!^&cool
-Sandor