Courtenay Repair (3 Viewers)

[JD1990]

Ok, so I acquired this guy on ebay. He is a Courtenay M2 knight, or what's left of one, painted as the black prince. I have never tried to repair a Courtenay piece before. I tried going through some of my britains spares for parts, but I cannot find a good fit. If anyone has ever repaired a figure like this, or by this maker, and has any advice, I would appreciate it.

 

[Mirof]

You could ask the actual owner of Courtenay
http://www.greenhillminiatures.com/

But prices are sky high

 

[johnnybach]

Lucky find - I have never been fortunate enough to get hold of a Courtney to repair myself - but this example looks to be missing just parts of the rear two legs, including hooves and the base.

I would have thought that there might be several Britains type of rear leg spare parts available - which could be adapted by filing down - to provide new legs - to be drilled and pinned in place. A new oblong base should also be relatively easy to fabricate - again to be pinned to the figure. I think you have a Britains spare part supplier in the USA, where you might find suitable rear legs to adapt??? I think they are called "London Bridge"?????

As all of the weight of the figure would be carried on these two new rear legs - it might be necessary to drill right through the base/new portion of leg and right on up through the stumps of what you have remaining of the old rear legs. I would then glue and pin all together using the strongest epoxy resin glue you can find.

Then the fun part - you would need to repaint ( at least the rear part ).

Are there any other parts missing? - I can't really see all of the figure clearly from your pics........... jb

 

[theBaron]

...I think you have a Britains spare part supplier in the USA, where you might find suitable rear legs to adapt??? I think they are called "London Bridge"?????...

Right you are, John, right you are!

London Bridge Collector's Toys, right here in Emmaus, PA. Ron Ruddell is the proprietor, and a real gent. He is a licensed Britains dealer, and licensed to cast and sell replacement parts. The website is http://www.londonbridgetoys.com/ (which is hanging for me right now, but I think that's because of our web filter here at work).

If a Britains horse isn't a good fit, though, you might want to try your hand at sculpting the rear legs. In the process, you'd wind up making something that is stronger than the original, by inserting wire into the stumps, and then building up putty over them. It would be easy enough to leave some wire extending from the bottoms of the hooves, to pin into a replacement base such as John describes.

Do let us see your restoration work!

Prost!
Brad

 

[JD1990]

Are there any other parts missing? - I can't really see all of the figure clearly from your pics........... jb

Yes, the hoof on the front right front leg is missing, but I have already resolved to try and sculpt a new one as the Baron describes. Also, it's possible that the knight's helm is missing a plume.

Lucky find - I have never been fortunate enough to get hold of a Courtney to repair myself jb

And on a side note, I feel your pain. Courtenays are so absurdly expensive that the only ones which are even kind of affordable need restoration.

 

[johnnybach]

Here's a pic which might help. ( with many thanks to Vectis Auctions ).

Shows that a Lion is an ornament on top of the helm for The Black Prince. In this case, he's holding a battle axe - but Courtney did change over to other weapons - so the lance is fine.

I have repaired a few Cowboy horse rear legs in the way described by Baron Brad. ( pin and putty). However, as this is a Courtney, I would try to keep him as an all metal job ( if that is at all possible). There are just a finite number of these still around now - and as I get older, I'm more and more aware that we are just temporary custodians of them!

The front hoof should be an easy repair - as being raised, it will not have to withstand any weight stresses. I would use a larger Britains spare hoof suitably filed down to match the existing one - and pin that to the leg.

IF you don't have any luck in the USA finding spare parts for your repair - and you get stuck - I suggest you contact Giles Brown at Dorset Soldiers in the UK by e-mail Send him a pic of your Courtney - and maybe also this one of the Black Prince - and he will doubtless reply to let you know what he has in the way of spares which could be adapted???? He does make quite a range of Knight parts which COULD be adapted to fit, and he's a very helpful guy as well as being an enthusiast.

Best of luck. jb

 

[theBaron]

...However, as this is a Courtney, I would try to keep him as an all metal job ( if that is at all possible). There are just a finite number of these still around now - and as I get older, I'm more and more aware that we are just temporary custodians of them!...

That's a very good point, John, and it makes me think that as far as attaching parts goes, it would be worth it to solder the parts, if possible, rather than to glue them. Carefully, of course.

It also occurred to me that if you've got access to casting equipment and a horse mold, JD, you might just cast a horse for the necessary pieces, rather than to buy a casting. Not for my usual Dutchy reasons (ie, being cheap), but it's be a shame to cut up a nice Dorset horse, if you could cast your own, get the parts, and then toss the rest of the casting back in the pot. A minor pot, to be sure, but that crossed my mind.

Prost!
Brad

 

[johnnybach]

I'm currently making up a few more Knights - so once again raided my "spares" box. Whilst I was at it - I pulled out a few of my Dorset spare parts - and took a quick pic to show you just some of the range of bits and pieces that Giles produces.

The Horse Legs on a sprue - is just ONE of the many that Giles produces - which can usually fix up many of the older Hollowcast ( and other more modern) horses with a new leg (or part of one).

Hope it helps jb

 

[theBaron]

Ah, so desu! So it's not a whole horse, that would make me feel better, going into this kind of project.

Prost!
Brad

 

[johnnybach]

Ah, so desu! So it's not a whole horse, that would make me feel better, going into this kind of project.

Prost!
Brad

Yo Brad. There are several horse-leg sprues available - with many styles, lengths and thicknesses of leg - to suit most of the old damaged Hollowcasts to be found - from Dorset Soldiers. Giles began his business by providing spare parts to repair figures - almost 40 years or so ago - and has continued to provide them to the present day. Anyone can order by e-mail or visit - and can often repair broken figures to repaint for pennies - as I hope I have shown in many posts elsewhere in the Forum.

Visitors who take their damaged figures there - can even match up and buy individual legs - and at 40 pence each ( about US 60 cents), won't break the bank either.

I bought 6 x sprues last visit - and use up a fair proportion annually on "fix up" projects. It really is quite surprising just how many mounted figures, with mostly horse legs and tails missing, that turn up.

After a bit of practice, they become quite easy to repair - though I usually add on a good solid base for the repaired figure too - as I think the lack of one was a major factor in their becoming broken in the first place. jb

 

[JD1990]

Finally, after several weeks of work, and a couple of concept changes, he is ready to ride again, albeit as a different knight.

 

[theBaron]

Nice job! Do you happen to have an in-progress photos? If not, would you tell us a little bit about your process?

Prost!
Brad

 

[theBaron]

For those who are so familiar with Courtenay's knights, the bottles of Testor's enamels give you an idea of the scale. And they are a good addition to any collection of toy soldiers.

Prost!
Brad

 

[johnnybach]

Nice job! Do you happen to have an in-progress photos? If not, would you tell us a little bit about your process?

Prost!
Brad

Yes - I'll echo Brad's words there - always nice to hear about snags/problems/solutions etc along the way - if you feel like sharing them. We're a pretty small bunch - and will understand.

Many congratulations on "getting there", as that's an achievement in itself That isn't an easy repair to do ( as you probably know by now!!^&grin).


So................now you have a Courtney eh???And he stands up!!! How nice!!!!:redface2: (can't find a green with envy face!)

Still looking Well done. :salute::jb

 

[JD1990]

Nice job! Do you happen to have an in-progress photos? If not, would you tell us a little bit about your process?

Prost!
Brad

Unfortunately, this is my only in progress photo.



In terms of process the base was cast from a Prince August mold, and I used a DeWalt drill to bore two holes at an angle for the legs. The legs are attached with as much putty, glue, and rubber cement as I could possibly pack in ther. Initially, I had intended to restore him as the Black Prince, just like the original paint job, but after a few frustrating attempts I eventually decided to scrap that idea and repaint him as Phillip ii.

After all, English knights are overrated.

 

[JD1990]

For those who are so familiar with Courtenay's knights, the bottles of Testor's enamels give you an idea of the scale. And they are a good addition to any collection of toy soldiers.

Prost!
Brad

That's an excellent point about the scale of these knights. This picture shows the Courtenay lined up next to a Knights of Agincourt recast for comparison.

 

[johnnybach]

That's an excellent point about the scale of these knights. This picture shows the Courtenay lined up next to a Knights of Agincourt recast for comparison.
View attachment 200027

Interesting choice of Knight you used for size comparison JD. I visited one of his former homes at Farleigh Hungerford, Wiltshire last week with my two Grandchildren. He is Sir Walter Hungerford, who was at Agincourt with Henry V - and whilst researching a bit more about him ( for a future figure) - found this excellent biography - which might be of interest. jb

http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1386-1421/member/hungerford-sir-walter-1378-1449

 

[Ivanhoe]

Interesting choice of Knight you used for size comparison JD. I visited one of his former homes at Farleigh Hungerford, Wiltshire last week with my two Grandchildren. He is Sir Walter Hungerford, who was at Agincourt with Henry V - and whilst researching a bit more about him ( for a future figure) - found this excellent biography - which might be of interest. jb

http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1386-1421/member/hungerford-sir-walter-1378-1449

Excellent Biography.

Thank you for the link.