Guys, Thanks a lot I do appreciate it. These figures are an educational exercise as sculpting in putty with a very limited working time has it's frustrations.~Gary

You're doing alright. Looking forward to its completion. Keep up the wonderful work and thanks for sharing it with us, your SBS.


regards

Looking AWESOME my friend! I love the shell jacket look. You don't see that on Federal soldiers in miniature. Are you going to add the slash pocket?

Jason, Thanks, I already added the slashed pocket, it just looks like a fold in the pics.~Gary

Sculpting the haversack After having no trouble with the waistbelt I decided to move on to the haversack. A few things I needed to keep in mind is where it needed to be positioned on the figure and most important, to make it look like there are things inside of it. I'm getting to the point where some of my work area and a much needed tv tray needs to be used to hold all of the references for this project.

I start by placing a blob of putty on the figure and slowly start to work out the overall shape of the haversack. I'm careful to keep it high on the body and imagine the items that could be inside.

I now start to work in the folds after the putty has started to cure.

After this step is complete I then put a light film of vaseline on the back of the canteen that will rest on top of the haversack. After the putty has cured I will pop this off an add the flap to the haversack.

I enjoy your SBS pics a lot.

Very educational.

Very nice,interesting step by step on sculpting.

Roc. :lol:

Roc & Manfred, Thanks a lot. Here is where I'm at on the NY figure. I'm going to scratchbuild a musket and cap box with the rest of the details being commercial pieces. The waistbelt and cartridge box plate(s) are Shenandoah Miniatures photo-etched pieces, they are really well done and work great for this kind of project.~Gary

Gary, I'll soon start a 54mm Confederate, utilising Shenandoah parts. I'll use your work as reference & inspiration!

Cheesy, Thanks my friend. If you need any references let me know.~Gary

Looking good, Gary! You've got the placement of the haversack and canteen just right.

Gary

Continued admiration of your work.....he's coming along nicely.

Will you do an SBS of the musket? that I'd love to see!

cheers

Rob

Rob, Thanks for the kind words. An SBS on the musket? Sure, I'd be more than happy to do that.~Gary

Thanks Gary, look forward to that; we have covered this topic in the past but more in retrospect not as an ongoing project.

going to attempt a 28mm musket for a native american I'm scratchbuilding - very basic I think it will be at that scale!

cheers

Rob

Rob, It can sometimes be hard to not include everything, but I think a good rule especially for a wargame size figure is just show what needs to be or could be seen.~Gary

Weapon Construction I thought I would include a brief SBS for the construction of at least one of the muskets I need to do for my 54's. The two drawbacks with the Shenandoah stuff are that they only offer one type of rifle, and the casting quality is average at best.

Reference Materials Your weapons are only going to be as good as your references. I prefer ones with line drawings and or detail photos so I can get everything as accurate as possible.

After selecting your weapon, make a reduced photocopy of the photo/line drawing. Most weapon books give some basic measurements, you'll need to make your weapon scale size. The best tool is the one provided by Planet Figure. In the upper right hand corner you'll notice a little icon of a calculator, click on it and you'll be on your way. You put in the actual size of the item and the scale you want it reduced to. I love all of the math work (sorry Pete)being left to the computer. Say for example your weapon comes out to 1 1/2 inches long, I scan the drawing and then crop it and reduce it to that length. Before reducing your drawing to the final size, take a fine point marker or pencil and darken in the stock, leaving a silhouette of the weapon.

Once you've done this your ready to take your reduced drawing and begin your weapon. The next steps will show the main parts of weapon construction.