There's an Old Tribe of Injuns - in Dorset! (1 Viewer)

GICOP said:
Great to see this thread back up and running again jb {bravo}}{bravo}}{bravo}}

Glad to hear Giles is OK :salute:: I know Portland had it really bad during the Great Storm {eek3}

Cheers

Martyn:)
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Me too M! Great fun to do - and Giles found me some nice scarce additions this time.

All was well at Portland - the shop was cut off for a couple of days - as the causeway was covered in shingle - but as it was high enough up - no water problems at the shop. Still open for business as usual - and I bought my usual amount of stuff - Too Much!!:Djb
 
GICOP said:
Great to see this thread back up and running again jb {bravo}}{bravo}}{bravo}}

Glad to hear Giles is OK :salute:: I know Portland had it really bad during the Great Storm {eek3}

Cheers

Martyn:)
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Completely agree with Martyn's comments jb, very much looking forward to following along as you work your magic on these latest additions of Cowboys and Injuns ..... great thread. :smile2:

B. :salute::
 
Hi Buster - Hola Amigo! ^&grin here's a couple more pics showing developments in the Western area.

First up - is a general view of my latest battered and bruised recruits. No magic really involved - just an appraisal of what might be possible with each piece - and a little TLC when it comes to repairs and refurbishment. Note that most have been given bases - or even re-based where the existing stand wasn't up to snuff. Sadly, my pod-foot Timpo archer - just wouldn't stand up - as his small stand was quite warped - and the metal it is made from is old and thin. I was afraid it might break if tweaked too much - so just gave him a custom-made, bigger alloy sheet stand (epoxy resin glued on). Note also the Johillco cowboy with rifle on knees, on the Charbens horse (furthest left) - and a similar Johillco figure on a Timpo horse - to his right - proving that you can mix and match makers sometimes - with few problems. All are now just castings - and ready for repainting - which I have begun with a few.



Here's another closer view of a few that I have begun, below. Note the new arm with made up six-shooter on the first Britains cowboy. A spare arm from my spares box - Milliput, Paperclip and glue make up his originally missing gun and arm.( I missed it was missing - and didn't pick up a spare when I first found him - so made it up myself. Johillco rocking-horse cowboy painting develops - whilst the Strombecker ACW figure is also now primed for painting. My last figure on the right is my Charbens cowboy - quite a rareity - and is developing nicely too. Note that I didn't strip him back too far - as he was in relatively good condition - so will just carefully overpaint much of his original finish.

Glad you like 'em too - jb:D

 
Between other projects - I started to paint up a couple of figures from my last foray into repairing some "Westerners"

The first of which - is a nice Johillco example of a "Rocking Horse" posed Cowboy. I've shown him here - on the Palamino horse in the foreground - against another previously restored example. Note that the rear one has a replacement tail to the horse ( which is a Britains re-cast tail) and another Britains replacement arm with pistol fitted. The newer figure had both rear horse legs replaced - as these were mostly missing - as was the horse tail. What I hope to show - is that a nice figure CAN be made of most broken figures - and you don't necessarily need authentic spare parts to make up a half-decent figure (always assuming you like these in the first place, of course:D).



My next repaired and restored figure, once the original rather poor paintwork had been removed - is really not a Cowboy at all. I originally thought that he may have been a US Cavalry Officer from the Indian Wars - BUT - as it turned out he wasn't - he was from the ACW. My chum Brad (the Baron) identified him for me in next to no time. He is an American made "Strombecker" figure - of a One-Star General from the Battle of Shiloh. What he was doing lurking in a cupboard in Dorset - with a broken off stump of a sword in his right hand - beats me!! However, once repaired and repainted - he has turned out to be a superbly cast (Die-cast actually) little figure - and my only example from the ACW (by pure accident). I've included three views of him - provisionally entitled General W T Sherman on his favourite horse "Duke". I found a nice portrait figure of him on the Internet, to use as a painting guide - so both are more or less the same as that - though his kepi style cap was a Stetson in the picture used as a guide for horse and uniform detail.



Note that the General and Duke were originally two separate pieces - but I have firmly pinned and glued him to the saddle now. I also enlarged the original stand - as this may help stop any future possible damage to the figure - which was originally far too easy to knock over - which may have contributed to his original damaged state. His hand/sword was replaced with another spare part - originally designed for a Household cavalry Trooper, which was drilled pinned and glued in place. As this is a soft metal piece - I also touched a dab of glue to the kepi - and to the blade, to hold it lightly in place above his head. Again, slightly different to the original casting - which was held pointing forward - but less vulnerable now - to avoid any potential future damage.



Last view - other side. There is also a small "pad" made from Milliput between him and horse saddle - as there was originally quite a gap between both castings. Painted blue - it just disappears - and he is now firmly in place and has become a one-piece figure - which improves the overall appearance quite a bit. He will no longer "fall off" again. jb

 
nmrocks said:
Really excellent clean work JB :salute::
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Thanks Ray - glad you like 'em. It helps considerably, when repairing, if you have a version to follow - as I did with this pair.

The dark horse at the back, had the rear legs complete when I found him. So I bought a few spare rear horse legs from Dorset Soldiers, which looked roughly similar - and grafted them on to the stumps that were left of my latest figure using the original as a guide ( look back to my "start" pic for these - which shows them as found - on page #58). You do the best you can with the original legs fit ( drilled, pinned and epoxy-glued), and then build up, where required, with Milliput. The legs were more or less okay, but the hooves were originally a tad small - so these were "built" using the putty - which dries rock solid - and can be drilled, filed and sanded once it has "gone off".

Once the repaired figure stood on his new stand (again - drilled/pinned/glued on) - it's then just a re-paint job. As I hope I have shown - you can be as imaginative as you like with paint, at this point. This is really the nice part of painting Cowboys an Injuns - you aren't constrained by any Uniform for them - which means that no two figures ever need be exactly the same - as these two Johillco Cowboys show.

I'll have to show all of my Cowboys and Injuns one of these days - they are quite a colourful sight. :D jb
 
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johnnybach said:
Thanks Ray - glad you like 'em. It helps considerably, when repairing, if you have a version to follow - as I did with this pair.

The dark horse at the back, had the rear legs complete when I found him. So I bought a few spare rear horse legs from Dorset Soldiers, which looked roughly similar - and grafted them on to the stumps that were left of my latest figure using the original as a guide ( look back to my "start" pic for these - which shows them as found - on page #58). You do the best you can with the original legs fit ( drilled, pinned and epoxy-glued), and then build up, where required, with Milliput. The legs were more or less okay, but the hooves were originally a tad small - so these were "built" using the putty - which dries rock solid - and can be drilled, filed and sanded once it has "gone off".

Once the repaired figure stood on his new stand (again - drilled/pinned/glued on) - it's then just a re-paint job. As I hope I have shown - you can be as imaginative as you like with paint, at this point. This is really the nice part of painting Cowboys an Injuns - you aren't constrained by any Uniform for them - which means that no two figures ever need be exactly the same - as these two Johillco Cowboys show.
I'll have to show all of my Cowboys and Injuns one of these days - they are quite a colourful sight. :D jb
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Now that's something to really look forward to! ^&grin

B.
 
Cheers to both Buster and Fraxinus. Glad you too appreciate the simple charm of an oldf-ashioned Glossy. Not everybody's cup-of-tea these days - but done just how I like them. All of these hollowcasts are getting on a bit in years - and were mostly in need of a bit of TLC - and, therefore a re-paint afterwards. The nice thing is - because they really aren't "original" anymore - because of many of the repairs - I can give full rein to a bit of imagination - when it comes to repainting - though I think they look best in strong primary colours - so mostly go for those.

Another thing that I give to most of my cowboys - especially - is guns/and or gun-belts and holsters - as many are missing those essentials for a Saturday morning Matinee cow-poke like me!! Surprising how many of the original makers omitted these - but thanks to the magic of milliput - we can soon rectify that.

Here's another couple, recently completed from this batch, which you may enjoy. On the left is a restored Britains cowboy ( repaired rear legs to horse - and new arm with pistol) - whilst reining in with pistol also drawn to his right, is a somewhat rarer find - a cowboy from Cherilea. As he was complete for parts - but a bit playworn - (with some bodywork holes) - I've retained most of his original colours - though I did change his horse to all white. Someone had applied a "toothbrush spray" of black spots over the original white, sometime in the past - which looked okay from a distance - but was very lumpy - up close. A careful partial strip and repaint made him nice and smooth and shiny once more. jb

 
johnnybach said:
Cheers to both Buster and Fraxinus. Glad you too appreciate the simple charm of an oldf-ashioned Glossy. Not everybody's cup-of-tea these days - but done just how I like them. All of these hollowcasts are getting on a bit in years - and were mostly in need of a bit of TLC - and, therefore a re-paint afterwards. The nice thing is - because they really aren't "original" anymore - because of many of the repairs - I can give full rein to a bit of imagination - when it comes to repainting - though I think they look best in strong primary colours - so mostly go for those.

Another thing that I give to most of my cowboys - especially - is guns/and or gun-belts and holsters - as many are missing those essentials for a Saturday morning Matinee cow-poke like me!! Surprising how many of the original makers omitted these - but thanks to the magic of milliput - we can soon rectify that.

Here's another couple, recently completed from this batch, which you may enjoy. On the left is a restored Britains cowboy ( repaired rear legs to horse - and new arm with pistol) - whilst reining in with pistol also drawn to his right, is a somewhat rarer find - a cowboy from Cherilea. As he was complete for parts - but a bit playworn - (with some bodywork holes) - I've retained most of his original colours - though I did change his horse to all white. Someone had applied a "toothbrush spray" of black spots over the original white, sometime in the past - which looked okay from a distance - but was very lumpy - up close. A careful partial strip and repaint made him nice and smooth and shiny once more. jb

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Definitely my cup of tea jb, well done {bravo}}{bravo}}{bravo}}

Cheers

Martyn:)
 
Cheers Buddy - No sugar in mine!:D You can have a Garabaldi with yours !:salute::
 
Another two from the original bunch completed this morning - after a lengthy session last night!!:)

The Injun Chief is another of the "rocking horse" figures from Johillco ( see bottom pic below of other Johillco cowboys - which clearly shows the similarity of the horse). Whilst the horse was found relatively unscathed as far as limbs go - there were several holes in the hollow body of horse and rider ( a one-piece casting - this one). These holes were at "thin points" in the basic casting - consistent with puncture wounds. I suspect harsh treatment, used by a former uncaring owner. Milliput to the rescue once more - and after a re-paint - and addition of a hunting knife at the belt and a re-paint - he's as good as new once more.

The Cowboy with rifle across his knees on horseback is perhaps, a more interesting figure. This was originally made up from two pieces. The rider is a repaired version of another Johillco figure - who was found minus a horse. I found another horse - though this one is by Charbens, (marked under the belly of the horse) - but when married up with the cowboy - they could have been made for each other. He fits the saddle beautifully. So, a compendium figure from two old British manufacturers will now grace my Western shelf.

A look back through the thread - will show that both figures were quite damaged when found. The horse was missing a rear leg - whilst the cowboy had both ends of his rifle missing (butt and barrel). Again, spares were found, and/or made (gun barrel is part of a paper-clip) - whilst the horse leg was fabricated and pinned together using scrap metal parts. Once fixed up - and re-painted - he was pinned and glued back into the saddle for eternity - and will fall off no more!

Both figures now benefit from another stand fabricated from sheet alloy, cut and shaped to fit. They are now far safer from accidental damage than they ever were before.




Other side:




Three Johillco versions of their "rocking Horse" style of figure, below.

 
Thanks for showing us your latest renewed pieces, John! Excellent work on bringing them to new life! I like the Indian Chief particularly, with the touches like the added hunting knife.

Prost!
Brad
 
theBaron said:
Thanks for showing us your latest renewed pieces, John! Excellent work on bringing them to new life! I like the Indian Chief particularly, with the touches like the added hunting knife.

Prost!
Brad
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Hope you checked back to page#69 Brad - where you'll find the Strombecker ACW piece you helped me identify - now restored too. Glad you like them, so far - and some of my little additions like the knife for the Chief. jb
 
johnnybach said:
Hope you checked back to page#69 Brad - where you'll find the Strombecker ACW piece you helped me identify - now restored too. Glad you like them, so far - and some of my little additions like the knife for the Chief. jb
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Thanks for reminding me, John, that's an excellent job restoring and refinishing the General, too! It's a nice casting, and your finish really shows the detail.

I look forward to more progress on your projects!

Prost!
Brad
 
theBaron said:
Thanks for reminding me, John, that's an excellent job restoring and refinishing the General, too! It's a nice casting, and your finish really shows the detail.

I look forward to more progress on your projects!

Prost!
Brad
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Yes - a really nice detailed casting - thanks again for ID for him. I will remember the name - and know what features to look for if I ever find any more - on this side of the pond. jb
 
I'm pleased to be able to report that not only have I completed repairs and painting to the next pair of cowboys - but thanks to Mike Niederman - I now know what both of them are!:D

The first - and rather smaller scale Cowboy below (on the left) is a B&T figure (London based around 1949?). A nice figure - which owes a lot in style - and detail to Timpo models, (Horse eye is SO similar - it must have been sculpted by the same guy). Identified by Mike (Cheers!), he is my first of this marque - and most welcome. I'll continue to call him "Shorty"!:D

The second figure is a straightforward Timpo for both horse and rider. A rather weary looking cowboy - wiping his brow. Found as two separate pieces - and put back together with small repairs and a complete repaint. I have fixed him to his horse forever! This is one of those figures - mentioned earlier in the thread - who had a waist belt full of bullets - but no holster and gun of any sort. Look at the second pic below - to see that I added a pearl handled pistol in a holster by sculpting both with a bit of Milliput and finished it off with a a dab or two of paint.



 
In between interesting Rugby matches - I finished off another of my rescued figures. This time, it was a figure that I already had - from a previous repair job - but he's such a nice figure - I just couldn't turn down the opportunity to have another. Here are both of hem now - my newest figure in the red shirt. The two bad brothers - Black Jake and Black Bob! Strangely enough, both had the same broken off pistol in the right hand - which is easy enough to fix with a bit of Milliput and a short piece of paper-clip for the barrel. Then it's just paintwork - which I have again done differently for each figure and their horses. Two views of the twins - below. jb



 
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