The Portola Expedition of 1769

Back Story:

Many of the greatest discoveries in history have been stumbled upon by individuals who were completely lost and confused. This certainly describes the experience of the Spanish Portola Expedition, the first Europeans to encounter the San Francisco Bay in 1769.

In late October of 1769, Captain Gaspar de Portola and his party of sixty men were charged by King Carlos of Spain with marching from San Diego to the Monterey Bay in order to create a settlement there. But from their overland approach, Portola’s party failed to recognize Monterey, partially because the place they encountered didn’t match the exaggerated description recorded by a previous explorer attempting to impress the King of Spain.

Ragged, weary, and confused, Portola’s party continued north, climbing over San Pedro Mountain and making camp in Pedro Valley, now in the city of Pacifica. On November 4, 1769, the Portola expedition scaled what we now call Sweeney Ridge and saw “…a large arm of the sea…some sort of harbor there within the mountains.” And so, Portolá and his men became the first Europeans to see the San Francisco Bay.

The above info extracted from https://sfbaytimetraveler.wordpress.com/about/the-portola-expedition-of-1769/

Kit:

This is a great kit from Oniria Miniatures, highly detailed in 36mm and including, to the best of my knowledge, Captain Gaspar de Portola and 2 Spanish Lancers with their horses. I added the lances made from Brass tubing topped with the included blades. The horse reins were made from black electric tape.

The base was made from Magic-Sculpt and sand with artificial grass added. I attempted to portray San Francisco Bay with waves on a sandy beach added using Woodland Scenics Water Effects.

As usual all painting was done with acrylics.

Thanks for viewing and keep an eye out as I'll certainly be doing more Oniria kits in the future.

Cheers,
Ken

Wonderful work and painting

Mobo

Nice work again, Ken!

Scott

Very nice work Ken

Very nice Ken, superb painting.

Great painting in this scale Ken.... Mike

Thanks everyone! A very well sculpted kit especially considering the scale.

Ken

Outstanding! Seeing as it is a California subject, I may have to order this, though the size makes me a bit hesitant. Again excellent job

Excellent work Ken. I really like your choice of ground work. Looks perfect. The high tide look rather than looking out over the cliffs. I have not started mine, but I think looking across the bay from the cliffs is the way I want to go. I think I have a base that will work but I have overcome my hesitancy to take on 28mm. Those guys are out of my comfort zone for sure, but I'm ready to give a go.

BTW, how did you deal with the horses since they do not have a base and their legs look too thin to pin to the base.

Thanks Matt! The figures are between 36-40mm and packed with detail. With my trusty "optivisor magnifier" they were a joy to paint.

Cheers,
Ken

Thanks Mike! As I mentioned to Matt above, the figure are 36-40mm in height. While still small, this makes a world of difference when compared to 28mm for painting purposes. Go for it!

The horse with the rider has more robust legs and I was able to pin 2 of the legs with a small hand drill and paperclip sized rod. However the other horse's legs are too thin to pin. Therefore, I cut my own thin but sturdy oval piece of sheet plastic for a base. Using crazy glue I glued the horse to the plastic base. When creating the groundwork, I pressed the plastic base into the soft putty to create a depression. After painting I glued the horses base to the groundwork by placing it into the depression and covering the edges with sand/grass. I have done this with other Oniria kits and the result is pretty sturdy. Gluing the four legs directly to the final groundwork might work but my groundwork is usually a little rough compared to the smooth piece of plastic. Fortunately all four of the horse's legs are touching the ground.

Cheers and stay safe,
Ken

Thanks Ken. I'll take your idea and make my own base for the horse. I'll try pinning the one horse, but his hooves don look big enough for a paper clip. Stay safe.

Beautiful painting on a wonderful set.

Hi Mike. Use the plastic base idea for both horses if in any doubt.

Cheers,
Ken

Thanks very much Henk!

Cheers,
Ken

Thanks Nap! I can certainly create a thread with a couple pictures of each small scale kit.

Thread has been created in Completed Figures.

Cheers,
Ken

Fantastic work Ken - everything from the groundwork to the color looks wonderful!

Regards,
Phil

Hi Ken,
What lovely painting on this size of figure. Always have to look twice at the scale.
Just one question did Captain Gaspar de Portola deja su corazon en San Fransisco. Sorry could not resist that one.
cheers
Richie

Thanks Phil! Much appreciated.

Cheers,
Ken