Still painting! (1 Viewer)

[Hazebrouck]

Cheshire Volunteer D-Day Commando. I painted the Denison smock with a very dry brush and a wash to tone it down. Another of Martin's figures to keep the commando company.

 

[Hazebrouck]

Starting to restore three old New Hope figures. Two Portuguese Cacadores and a Portugese infantry ensign. Have stripped them and will start cleaning off old flash and araldite before re-assembly. Need to make some shako plumes for these figures and a flag for the ensign.

Any Napoleonic enthusiasts wish to offer some advice on the colour of the Cacadore uniforms? References I have show pants and tunics vary from a very red brown to almost green.

These should look good in a shiny gloss coat.

(Ensign on the left and Cacadores on the right)

 

[Hazebrouck]

Spent some time pinning and assembling the Cacadore with the Baker rifle, who is actually a Corporal of the Altiradore (sharpshooter) Company of the 4th Battalion Cacadores from 1809. Some gaps to fill around his arms and realised that the sword type bayonet is missing from the left side of this figure. Will need to make a plume for the shako and a sword type bayonet for this figure now.

I stumbled across a useful Napoleonic site that contained an article on Cacadores which answers my question regarding the uniform colours. Seems that the dyes used in making the uniforms was not of great quality and on campaign the uniforms frequently faded to a khaki colour.

The article can be accessed here-

http://www.napoleon-series.org/military/organization/c_cacadores.html

Scott

 

[theBaron]

Nice progress! I've had to fill some seams with my New Hope kits, too. The seams are always minor, and they don't spoil the nice detail of the figures.

Looking forward to your next installment, prost!
Brad

 

[Hazebrouck]

A bit more progress..

I assembled the second Cacadore, a Captain of the 2nd Battalion of Cacadores, 1809.

These figures are shown in the third image down on this site-

http://historine.blogspot.com.au/2010/12/larmee-portugaise-1808-1814-2.html

Now the Captain has the sword in the other hand in the illustration- I'm not sure why New Hope did that.

After straightening his sword I realized that his scabbard was missing, so I used his sword to make a pattern. In order to make the scabbard thick enough I glued it together from a cardboard piece and a plastic yoghurt container piece cut from the pattern. I will make the slings later from electrical tape or masking tape strips.

 

[Hazebrouck]

Next... both these figures were missing plumes from their shakoes (hope that is the plural). So I sculpted some from milliput, which was still sticky eighteen hours later. I put them in the oven for twenty minutes and they hardened up.

Here are the shako plumes along with some pavers I may use for a base. Yes, some are quite large.

 

[Hazebrouck]

And this is the stage at which the figures are currently. The plumes have been fitted. They appear quite long in illustraions.

I need to make straps for the Captain's sword and build a bayonet/sword for the Corporal.

I am assuming that as the Corporal has a Baker rifle, supplied by the British, that his sword/bayonet is of the same pattern as issued to the British rifle regiments? Which it looks like. Anyone able to confirm this.

So slowly getting there.

 

[Hazebrouck]

Making some progress on the Captain. Finished the scabbard and made straps from Tamiya tape, primed the figure white and starting to add some paint.

Any tips on painting open mouths? I have used dark mahogany but it looks too dark. I may try a smidge of white for teeth and see how it looks.

Found a decent gold colour paint at last- Model Master 4671 Gold acrylic- a little darker and more tarnished than most.

 

[Hazebrouck]

Finished the Cacadore Captain.

 

[Hazebrouck]

Had some spare time today so made a sword bayonet from plastic card for the Corporal of the Altiradore company. Very roughly scaled from an image I found but I think it will look OK after painting.

 

[Hazebrouck]

Finished the Altiradore Company Corporal.

 

[Hazebrouck]

Two Cacadores together and a before/after image. There's still life in a lot of these old figures.

Onto the Portuguese Ensign.

 

[johnnybach]

Nicely done Sir! Agreed - with a few repairs, additions for missing parts and a new coat of paint - these old classics are brand-new once again. Well done indeed.

Only goes to show, once again - that you don't necessarily have to spend a fortune to own some wonderful figures. Just a little care and attention - and I suspect, a whole lot of fun along the way - as the small lump of metal comes to life, once again, beneath the hands. jb

 

[theBaron]

I agree with John, nice finish! Now, you just need to track down a couple more corporals and make yourself a set!

Prost!
Brad

 

[Hazebrouck]

Only goes to show, once again - that you don't necessarily have to spend a fortune to own some wonderful figures. Just a little care and attention - and I suspect, a whole lot of fun along the way - as the small lump of metal comes to life, once again, beneath the hands. jb

Thanks gents.

Yes I think they were definitely worth restoring. Whether they have any monetary value I don't know, but as you say a bit of paint and they come to life!

I can say though that I know a smidge more about the Portuguese army in the Peninsular War than I did before.

Scott

 

[Hazebrouck]

Just rebuilding this for my young bloke after it toppled off his bed whilst in pursuit of the Red Baron.

883 pieces (don't I know it!) and a 50cm wingspan.

Who said Lego is for kids.

Scott

 

[Hazebrouck]

Thought it appropriate to being working on a WW1 figure as the centenary of the start of the war passes. An Ozmade AIF infantryman keeping company with a Britains Black Watch highlander. I may even finish this figure in matte as he looks OK next to the highlander.

A NSW Battalion shoulder patch to follow.

Scott

 

[Hazebrouck]

Just starting something different. I liked the look of this Bronco models kit, the ATS driver in particular. These figures have minimal flash and lot of detail. As I had some spare Tamiya chickens around I thought I would base them together.

Just finished a Tempest for my young blokes ceiling.

Scott

 

[Hazebrouck]

A nice figure to paint.

 

[Wolfgang_UK]

Hello Scott,
what a nice clean painting job. Looks great especially the Khaki colour looks very realistic. Which brand of paint did you use? Hope to see more ... {sm4}Thank you for shareing
Kind Regards
Wolfgang:salute::