Okay folks - up nice and early this morning so got a bit of extra time to work on this fella. I'm calling the face done for the moment. I'll paint the brass plate and touch up the busby later today and there's still a bit of touching in to be done here and there on the figure which I'll do once once he's based up. I'll also need to add the cords that hold the gorget in place with some thin wire (or maybe not - we'll see how I feel)

Next to paint the gloves and sword and then sort the base out.
Cheers for now
Paul

Cheers Nap
More to come and I've given up finding the scabbard in the grass (teach me to cut it more often during the summer I suppose . . . . but there again probably not!)

Bouldering is climbing without ropes using only chalk and a pair of climbing shoes often indoors and usually only 10-15' high. Crash mats and confidence for protection (Look up Akiyo Noguchi bouldering if you want to see it done really well)

Cheeripip
Paul

ps - Surprised you're not at Telford, everyone else seems to be there

That Figurinitaly head certainly adds a lot to the figure coupled, of course, with very accomplished painting.

I’ve laid-off my own efforts for some time but seeing work of this quality makes me want to get back into the hobby. Soon, I hope…

Jeff

Glad you approve Jeff and please do dip your toe in again soon. I love the Metal Modelles figures and the faces are good to paint as they come, but it's nice to be able to tweak them to create something different and the Figuinitaly heads fit well (as you might expect). By the way not sure where you are in the UK, but do say hi if you come to Bugle Call (in a couple of weeks). I'll be bent over a figure painting away on the demo table and it's always good to meet other PF members

Kev, my dear fellow I'll usually wear trousers at least as well as the shoes and chalk just to allay your vivid imagination
(lot's of opportunity to show off your guns if you are so inclined, but the best climbers I've seen look on the skinny side of normal, although seem to be able to velcro themselves to impossible little holds and hang there as if gravity doesn't apply to them)

(Telford is a long way and I'm sure you'll get more of what you really need at BC anyway)

Cheers for now
Paul

Nice painting on the face, I will have to look the heads out, plus the hands.
Look forward to seeing this soon.

Cheers Bob - hopefully bring him along with me to BC later this month.

Putting the figure to one side for the moment I started thinking about the base. Initially I was going to make up a gate pillar with a metal fence, but since this was similar to one I'd made up for another Napoleonic figure I decided on a wall instead. I know you can buy accessories easily enough from various sources, but I'm old school enough to get pleasure from making stuff up from scratch. (Stan Catchpol anyone?)

I'd got some blue insulation foam knocking about from my aeromodelling days so I used that and after a few experiments with different tools to engrave the brick pattern I found that an old biro worked best (I added a quick coat of acrylic just to confirm it looked okay) The only drawback I found was they looked too regular so I used the back end of a scalpel handle to press lightly on a few bricks giving a much more satisfactory impression of old or worn brickwork. Another sliver of sanded foam formed the rendered section at the bottom of the wall and plastic card cleaned up the side and back (with a bit of miliput on the joins) For the capping stones I used some 5 mm thick Foamex plastic sheet (sign making offcut from work, but any old 'styrene would work as well) This was sanded to thickness and then the section lines were cut with a razor saw and cleaned up with sandpaper. UHU was used to stick everything together because the foam doesn't melt (unlike normal foams)
Cheers for now
Paul

Thanks, Paul. Always good to know how other modellers get their presentation effects. I’ve used a couple of walls on figures. I found scale plastic stencils on a site dedicated to dolls house modellers which look good. This site (whose name I can’t now remember) also had very useful info on using other materials, like egg-box sections for realistic flagstones, etc.

I’m in South Wales. Where is Bugle Call being held? I doubt I can make it, though. As a pensioner I have to watch travel costs.

Jeff

Hi Jeff

Bugle Call is at Nailsea School in North Somerset and is being run by the Bristol branch of the BMSS including our own fair Nap and Bob Orr here on PF
.
Here's a thread detailing what's happening if you fancy a day out

https://www.planetfigure.com/threads/bugle-call-2019.164242/

Cheers
Paul

PS If Jeff wants directions they are on the thread as well ...Nap addition here !!

Thanks for all the trouble you've gone to Paul. Sorry, but can't see myself making it. Next time, maybe.

Regards,

Jeff

No trouble at all Jeff - Sorry you can't make it but I'm sure there'll be plenty of photo's and reports for you
Cheers for now
Paul

Following this with great interest, blues and whites are incredibly well painted.

Thank you

Whilst 'Henri' is waiting a new scabbard I've pressed on with the base and took a few photo's as I went along for those who might be interested in such things. (Generally I'll spend as long on the base as I do on the figure)

Having assembled the various bits made from foam and plastic card shown earlier with UHU clear they were sprayed with the same black primer as the figure and fixed to the base with a couple of cocktail sticks using 24 hour Aralidite. The ground in front was made from Das clay with some 'road dust' sprinkled into it for texture.

All areas were given thin washes of a generalised colour to prime them and then the fun started

First bits of colour were laid in pretty quickly using acrylics wet in wet over a couple of sessions. Then once they had dried overnight I spent a further 2 -3 hours picking out details and putting in washes till I was happy with the overall colours. Although the base colours are nothing like the uniform ones I added some of the same dark blue used for the uniform to the darker washes and the same 'whites' to the highlight colours to help keep the whole thing looking homogeneous.
Finally further texture was then glued on and blended in using a range of found items - ground up spices, dried up compost (baked on a tray in the oven for 30 minutes to kill off any little bugs first), crumbled dried leaves and sawdust which had been pre-dyed with acrylics.

Cheers for now
Paul

That is looking superb, nice base work.

That base looks spot on, Paul - nice bit of scratchbuilding.

Very nice!

Great looking ground work, Paul. It’s little details like the leaves blown about and gathering under the wall that make the difference. Can’t wait to see it all come together.

Jeff

Well folks having sorted the scabbard out and added the cords holding the gorget in place the figure's been mounted on his new base and is now finished (Well kind of I usually leave them in the cabinet for a week or so then take another look at them.

Hope you enjoy the finished article. Thanks for dropping by. I'll take him along to Bugle Call at the weekend if anyone wants a closer look

Cheers
Paul