WK's Victorian Horror collection (1 Viewer)

[White Knight]

Re: WK's Victorian Horror collection (update 4/11: Royal Navy for HMF)

Lieutenant Alfred Caine and private Ishmael (no last name given) were serving with the Royal Navy when they were called upon to join "Her Majesty's Finest". Little did they know they would soon be hacking their way through legions of undead in London.

"What's your name, private?" - "Call me Ishmael, Sir."

Alfred Caine joined the Navy in 1875 and served on the 'Britannia' and on the 'Alexandra', the flagship of the Mediterranean Fleet. He was wounded in the shoulder while serving ashore in the Niger River in 1881, but made a full recovery. The following year he became first lieutenant and was present at the bombardment of Alexandria. He fought in the Sudan campaign of 1885.

Hold fast!

Private Ishmael was added to the unit on the recommendation of Lt. Caine, who praised the young sailor's courage and resourcefullness. Ishamel doesn't talk much about his past, though it has been said he was the sole survivor of a whaling expedition in his youth. Such a tragedy is sure to mark a man.

Both models are prepainted John Jenkins Designs toy soldiers from their Sudan War range. I only changed the bases so they would match my other figures. Lt. Caine is a character I made up, while private Ishmael was borrowed from Moby Dick.

 

[White Knight]

And a group shot of "Her Majesty's Finest" so far. More to come.

 

[villagehorse]

All these guys will need to hang out in the streets of London, otherwise you will be busy changing the colour of the bases once again.^&grin, Robin.

 

[OzDigger]

I'm enjoying this thread, terrific conversions and interesting scenes depicting the crime and horror we often associate with that era.

Dr Who has often visited that period of time, my favourite episode being;

"The Talons of Weng Chiang"

 

[Louis Badolato]

Shouldn’t it be Able Seaman Ishmael? On a more serious note, again great work

 

[White Knight]

Thanks for the comments, gentlemen. Robin, you are right of course, it does limit them, but then I intend to build a big townscape for them, so their likely won't be room for alternate settings anyway.

Interesting you should mention that OzDigger, as I have a conversion of another figure into one of the doctors underway, as well as a tardis waiting for a lick of paint.^&grin


Now for another, not completely new model:

The London market is full of big and small stands selling anything from fresh produce to dusty books and antiques. This old woman is selling some (overly?) ripe tomatoes. I originally painted her for my Three Musketeers collection, as she seemed fairly period neutral, but I decided in the end she fit in better in the Victorian age after all, so I rebased her (again).

Riiiipe tomatoes. Buy 'em before they spoil!

Seriously, buy'em now!

The base figure is Lemax' apple vendor and her basket of apples, but painting them as tomatoes just seemed to fit. I've also aged her quite a bit with the repainting and I think it suits her.

I remember when I used to be young and was selling apples.

The size fits in perfectly too.

Watson, I believe I may have discovered an entirely new type of tomato disease on this woman's offerings!

 

[White Knight]

Re: WK's Victorian Horror collection (update: redcoats)

Privates Alfred Henry Hook and Frederick Hitch were awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery in 1879, after the battle of Rorke's Drift against overwhelming Zulu forces. They continued to serve and were with the 24th regiment when they were called upon to join Her Majesty's Finest.

From hordes of Zulus to hordes of Zombies

Both figures are prepainted toy soldiers made by Thomas Gunn. I have only adapted the bases to fit in with my other figures. The characters are based on actual heroes of the battle of Rorke's Drift.

Private Frederick Hitch

Private Alfred Henry Hook

 

[White Knight]

The Chinese community in London has expanded tremendously over the last few years and more and more oriental stalls are popping up on the Lodon market. A popular stall caters to exotic plants and fruits, especially the aptly named mandarins.

Why buy rotten tomatoes when you can grow your own plants bearing more exotic fruits?

King and Country flower stall set (now retired) comes with a vendor and a small, but nicely detailed stand. I only changed the base on the vendor to match my other figures:

Watering your plants regularly keeps them healthy!

The mandarin seller is an older King and Country model and the skintone is more yellow. I may or may not decide to try and change the skintone, but for now, he will be fine. The base was changed to match the rest of the collection.

 

[White Knight]

Re: WK's Victorian Horror collection (update: 9/11: soldier)

Private Liam Hamstead has been with the 1st battalion of the York & Lancaster Regiment since the mid seventies, and was posted in India until 1882. After that, they were moved to Aden to be held in reserve for the Egyptian Campaign, and subsequently shipped to Sudan at the start of 1884. One day after their arrival, they came under gun fire and made a bayonet charge, capturing two Krupp guns. Prviate Hamstead was instrumental in that feat. He continued to serve with the regiment until he was drafted into Her Majesty's Finest.

Private Hamstead reenacting the bayonet charge

The model is a prepainted W. Britain figure. Not a favourite, but it fits in well enough and adds some more diversity to the unit. The base was changed to match the other figures. The character was made up, though the events mentioned did take place.

Private Hamstead shown here among the other members of Her Majesty's Finest:

For the Queen and the British Empire!

 

[Louis Badolato]

Love the photo of all the Queen's Finest!^&cool^&cool

 

[villagehorse]

The backdrop is a beauty, just makes it all real. Robin.

 

[White Knight]

The backdrop is a beauty, just makes it all real. Robin.

Once again it's a temporary one printed out at A3 size, though I do agree it works well, so maybe I should look into getting it printed at a better quality (and some of the others I've been using). I believe this particular one is from one of the Assassin's Creed games.

 

[White Knight]

Captain Frederick Gustavus Burnaby joined the Royal Horse Guards in 1859. His service would take him allover the world. In 1875, he travelled with General Gordon in the Sudan and then journeyed across the Russian Steppes on horseback. In 1876-78 he travelled through Asia Minor and Armenia, which he would write about in 'On Horseback through Asia Minor'. In 1882 he crossed the Channel to Normandy alone in a balloon, which was a first. He was fluent in several foreign languages, stood for parliament (twice), published several books and was generally admired by the London ladies. Barely surviving a spear at the battle of Abu Klea in the Sudan on 17th January 1885 (he was in fact officially reported killed in action), he was offered a place among "Her Majesty's Finest" after his recovery.

Captain Burnaby, in the thick of the fight

The figure is a prepainted one from John Jenkins Designs, with the base raised and repainted to match the other figures. Despite the epic details of his life, captain Burnaby is an actual historical character and the figure was made to represent him. The real captain however did not survive the spear at Aby Klea.

Her Majesty's Finest:

 

[Louis Badolato]

Captain Frederick Gustavus Burnaby joined the Royal Horse Guards in 1859. His service would take him allover the world. In 1875, he travelled with General Gordon in the Sudan and then journeyed across the Russian Steppes on horseback. In 1876-78 he travelled through Asia Minor and Armenia, which he would write about in 'On Horseback through Asia Minor'. In 1882 he crossed the Channel to Normandy alone in a balloon, which was a first. He was fluent in several foreign languages, stood for parliament (twice), published several books and was generally admired by the London ladies. Barely surviving a spear at the battle of Abu Klea in the Sudan on 17th January 1885 (he was in fact officially reported killed in action), he was offered a place among "Her Majesty's Finest" after his recovery.

Captain Burnaby, in the thick of the fight

The figure is a prepainted one from John Jenkins Designs, with the base raised and repainted to match the other figures. Despite the epic details of his life, captain Burnaby is an actual historical character and the figure was made to represent him. The real captain however did not survive the spear at Aby Klea.

Her Majesty's Finest:

Burnaby was also quite s good story teller. His book “Across Asia Minor on Horseback” is quite a fun read!

 

[White Knight]

You'd be forgiven for mistaking the bespectacled Li Peng for a somewhat dull, but overall harmless old man. He is, after all, a bookkeeper and spends most of his time surrounded by papers and ink. However, this bookkeeper is none other than Fu Man Chu's personal accountant and secretary. His pen is just as often used to write a death sentence as to scribble down numbers. Most of Fu Man Chu's underlings have learned not to offend him as it has been said occasionally a name ends up on that death list that hasn't been ordered by the master.

Li Peng fulfllling his duties

The figure is made by King & Country in their Streets of Hong Kong series and initially represented a scribe offering his services on the street. The base was changed to match my other figures, other than that, the paintjob is the original one.

 

[Poppo]

I definetely love your idea of creating a victorian "gothic" line supported by many nice films.... Much better than a rather childish "Dickens" line in my opinion. Very good convertions, you are a great painter indeed!:salute::{bravo}}{bravo}}{bravo}}{bravo}}{bravo}}{bravo}}

 

[White Knight]

Thank you for the high praise. I love creating something that is unique and will differ from other collections. The World of Dickens range has many interesting figures, especially with the expansion into subjects like Holmes and the Ripper. Part of the fun is also finding figures in other ranges that will work with the setting, with some tweaking and making something coherent out of the whole. I have many more things planned for this collection, so I'm just getting started.

As is more apparent on the blog I made for this project, the figures I've shown so far have been assigned to different "factions". Not all the factions have been shown yet, as I still need to convert/paint the models for them. The idea is to have 7-12 figures per faction and then a whole bunch of civilians and carriages/cabs to populate the streets. Of course I'll need to build some houses and scenery to use as a backdrop. Then the storytelling can begin.

 

[White Knight]

With regards to your point on the Dickens range, I can only assume the general idea was this would make a good entry point to get collectors' spouses interested in (and more understanding of) the hobby. They are a quality step up from the Dickens themed Christmas ranges, so might appeal to that section of the market.

 

[villagehorse]

All the same, it makes a nice change from War. Robin.

 

[White Knight]

Re: WK's Victorian Horror collection (update 20/11)

Fu Man Chu has made extensive use of the various Tong gangs active in Chinatown and beyond. One such gang is boss Wang's. Having grown up on the streets of Shanghai before making the journey into the west, boss Wang made his way from petty street thief to the leader of one of the most ruthless gangs prowling the streets of London. These days, he rarely goes out with his men, prefering to lead from his headquarters, but he does like to hand out his own brand of justice to enemies and traitors that are brought before him. Styling himself a bit of a modern businessman, rather than the thug he is at heart, he rarely goes anywhere without his secretary by his side.

Boss Wang, taking on airs...

Boss Wang's secretary and occasional mistress.

Both figures are from King and Country in their streets of old Hong Kong range. I modified and repainted the bases to match my other figures, but otherwise, they are straight from the box. Boss Wang was initially the client from the barber set (the barber became the sorceror Wei Long Wu, while his secretary came with the street scribe set (the scribe becoming Fu Man Chu's accountant, Li Peng).