Matthew Brady Photography wagon (1 Viewer)

[whdamon]

Over the next multiple sub threads I hope to walk through the construction and conversion of the 50 year old metal 1/32nd Light delivery Van kit by Phoenix Model developments into my interpretation of Matthew Brady's Civil War Photography wagon.
This first thread gives you the beginnings of the adventure. The horse is also a companion piece that goes with many of the wagons and carriages in the Bygone Age series
.

 

[Obee]

I assembled and painted one of these for a local collector a few years back ....



the collector was very pleased with it and then added these goods.



John

 

[theBaron]

Looking forward to following this one, Walt! I really enjoy seeing your work with the Phoenix kits and their contemporary figures and accessories!

Prost!
Brad

By the way, that Carriage Horse is among the ones I just got last week off eBay. The other two were the VC-15 horse kit. I wondered if I might even convert them to artillery horses for my Prussian field artillery pieces. Of course, it'd take a lot of metal to equip them; I've got 14 guns!

 

[whdamon]

Looking forward to following this one, Walt! I really enjoy seeing your work with the Phoenix kits and their contemporary figures and accessories!

Prost!
Brad

By the way, that Carriage Horse is among the ones I just got last week off eBay. The other two were the VC-15 horse kit. I wondered if I might even convert them to artillery horses for my Prussian field artillery pieces. Of course, it'd take a lot of metal to equip them; I've got 14 guns!

Glad the carriage horse came through, but no familiar with VC-15 horses.......any photos?? only other horses are the cart and plough horse but dont have product number on them

 

[whdamon]

Jon love what you did with the delivery van, and especially all the produce. looks like a supermarket.. one thing i did notice is the blinders on the horse, which I forgot and will have to correct keep up your fine work

 

[whdamon]

These metal castings are really fine for their time but still need a lot of casting line clean up.. needle files and a brass wire brush do an excellent job in no time. There is a lot of pitting however, but a light coat of primer will show these and the bad ones filled with magic sculpt and sanded smooth. After cleaning up its off to assembly and eventually primer and with some pieces, a little in process assembly pre painting. I'm using an enamel semi gloss paint on the van (chocolate brown undercarriage, deep blue on the body) , except the roof which is a flat black.

 

[whdamon]

The assembly process continues. I use super glue to join the pieces. if any gaps in seams I use magic sculpt to fill them sanding as necessary, but over all the pieces fit as expected. photos below show the wagon on its way to completion to include the hand painting of the wagon side graphics. not the best lettering job, but considering it was done by a set of 77 year old hands, it came out ok. The boxes on the roof rack are not part of the kit. They came from the spares box. as of this writing (Jan 26 2024) there are 2 of these vans for sale on eBay at approx $50 which I consider a fair price. search under BYGONE AGE SCALE MODELS. Next up the horse and a lesson when attaching the reins

 

[Louis Badolato]

I think the hand done lettering is excellent, as is the assembly and painting of the model!:salute:: Tremendous work!

 

[theBaron]

Outstanding, Walt!
Yes, I'll have to take some photos of the box and the casting. S&D doesn't have them listed in their catalog, but it's definitely Phoenix's kit. It's the blue-motif box, not the Bygone Age range.

Prost!
Brad

 

[Wolfgang_UK]

Very nice model and a very fine paint Job.
Would Like to borrow your 77 years old hands for my next hand lettering Job.
Great thread, thank You for sharing.
Rgds Wolfgang

 

[whdamon]

Outstanding, Walt!
Yes, I'll have to take some photos of the box and the casting. S&D doesn't have them listed in their catalog, but it's definitely Phoenix's kit. It's the blue-motif box, not the Bygone Age range.

Prost!
Brad

Ah, different series than Bygone Age. Now I see why I didn't recognize but still interested, so send photo when you get a chance.
thanks Walt

 

[whdamon]

The Horse...There are 3 different horses in the Bygone Age series: The carriage, the cart and the plough. There are 4 poses of the carriage horse: A<B<C<D. This is carriage horse C the changes between the poses are leg and head, which work well when doing a 4 horse set up like with the Royal Mail Coach in the series. Each horse comes with a complete set of harness. The pieces fit well, but some putty work needed on the seams depending on the extent of the mold flash, especially around the neck collar. Prime and then paint.
For me however I find the reins to be a bit stiff and easily kinked when trying to form around the body or droop properly. Therefore I use a metal line used by fly fishermen to tie flies. It is very strong, but more important very malleable and easy to mold any way you need it to. Unfortunately it is round, so I tap it flat on my bench anvil. one mistake I made was to paint the reins BEFORE stringing though the harness eyelets. nothing more discouraging than to see the paint peel off when you pull the reins through the eyelets!!! Better to string the reins first, then because of the strength and flexibility, arrange for painting and then reform as needed when dry.
There is and has been for quite a while 1 horse on eBay for $79. Ridiculous Price! I usually find them for about $20-30 apiece searching antique or estate sales (selling off grandpas collection with no clue what they have).. many times I buy one of the bygone wagons, and when I open the box I see a horse or 2 has been tossed in. For a 50 year sculpt and cast, these are beautiful pieces. Good luck hunting

 

[whdamon]

As the wagon and horse were close to completion, it was time to search the gray army and showcases for some suitable figures to round out the display. First up was the 19th century photographer by King and Country, which plays the role of Brady. followed by an old subscription premium figure (Toy & figure Model Magazine?) by Tedtoy. I believe it was of SW Jackson, but I must of painted him up as a Union General. Brady keen to take photos of the General, soon tired of that and decided a chicken was a better subject. Always a chicken, right? The General had some words with Brady ( now represented by a Britians figure of T. Roosevelt) and stormed off. Brady while finishing his Breakfast, read about the battle in Gettysburg and soon packed up and headed in that direction. Tent by John Jenkins Designs, fence by Britians, rock formation by Hobby Bunker, tree is a sea sponge on a resin tree trunk
(amazing how after a few blasts of sauce, my imagination can go off the rails)

 

[theBaron]

Great story, Walt! I can see another version with the General enjoying a chuckle at the absurdity of the scene, too. I hope you'll be able to bring this one out some day, maybe to Long Island or even if you're able to make our show in May.

Prost!
Brad

 

[theBaron]

OK, here is a photo of the other horse kit that I got. As I laid out the kit for the photo, I opened the enclosed instruction sheet for the first time. It's branded for the Bygone Age range. I dug out my Phoenix catalogs, and found that VC-15 is "Carriage Horse type 'D'". So that 'splains that!



I should add that I've developed my own technique for assembling kit horses engineered in two halves like this: I use 2-part epoxy putty to fill the body and adhere the two halves. I hit on the idea with Imrie-Risley horses. Theirs are also tooled in two halves, with a plug where the saddle goes. Since I often fill that hole to convert the horse according to army, it occurred to me that the putty could "glue" the halves. I can also drill holes and run pins into the mass, for more strength.

I also took a picture of the two ladies I got. These are (left) V2 "Victorian lady", and (right) V9 "Young lady (with parasol)":



The seller had two of each of these, so I bought all of them. One V9 kit was missing the parasol handle, so she was didn't charge me for that kit. That was awfully nice of her to do, and I will trade with her again. It's always nice to deal with people who are stand-up types. I mean, replacing the handle was nothing at all. Anyway, these will all go into my "Kaiser's Army/Berlin 1910" collection, as I finish them.

I must thank you, too, Walt, for the tip to search on "bygone age". I'd never thought of that, and it will help me find more Phoenix kits for my displays.

Prost!
Brad

 

[whdamon]

BRAD
good find on the repackaging of the horses. I will now expand my search criteria, as I suspect some of the other Bygone Age issues may have also been repackaged...I have both of the ladies you picture here. one still in the gray army the other (with the parasol) has been painted up and goes well with the Royal Mail Coach. Good luck with your turn of the century Berlin display. These are all great figures to paint and display.
I may try (physical issues with my legs make it difficult) to bring a few of these carriages to MFCA or Long Island this year, so stay tuned.

I continue to search for the plough horse, AT A RESONABLE price.

 

[whdamon]

And as I finish up. While going through the gray army looking for suitable figures to display with the van, I stumbled over the old Irmie Risley figure of Matthew Brady. Admittedly not the best figure from IR, but the camera is a gem! so out it came and off for cleanup, priming and paint. Today the pieces are roughly placed on a board awaiting my return from winter quarters, before being properly set up in a vignette with ground work. Fun project, hope viewers enjoyed the adventure. Plan is next to present same with the Bygone Age Costermonger and Chimney Sweep carts with a full set of converted figures.

 

[theBaron]

Beautifully finished, Walt! You're right, the camera is a little gem of a sculpt and casting.

Prost!
Brad