Hi fellow resin lovers,


The English language is full of genius writers of poems and books some are more well known like Kipling and Keats some are less well known but a particular poem they have written always seems to be known among these is John Milton Hayes

Known better as just Milton Hayes he was born in 1884 and passed away in 1940 , very little is known about him , from the North probably Lancashire , he served in WW1 in the Manchester Regiment, being commissioned in 1915 , wining the Military Cross and was held prisoner at Mainz Citadel in 1918 alongside a fellow officer called Alex Waugh the novelist (elder brother of Evelyn Waugh)

Waugh described him as "A North Country man; he was nearly forty; he was brisk, assured, purposeful, with his eye on the main chance. He was the first person I heard analyse success."

He was an actor as well as a poet but one of the most well known poems is:

The Green Eye of the Little Yellow God

There's a one-eyed yellow idol to the north of Khatmandu,

There's a little marble cross below the town;

There's a broken-hearted woman tends the grave of Mad Carew,

And the Yellow God forever gazes down.

He was known as "Mad Carew" by the subs at Khatmandu,

He was hotter than they felt inclined to tell;

But for all his foolish pranks, he was worshipped in the ranks,

And the Colonel's daughter smiled on him as well.

He had loved her all along, with a passion of the strong,

The fact that she loved him was plain to all.

She was nearly twenty-one and arrangements had begun

To celebrate her birthday with a ball.

He wrote to ask what present she would like from Mad Carew;

They met next day as he dismissed a squad;

And jestingly she told him then that nothing else would do

But the green eye of the little Yellow God.

On the night before the dance, Mad Carew seemed in a trance,

And they chaffed him as they puffed at their cigars:

But for once he failed to smile, and he sat alone awhile,

Then went out into the night beneath the stars.

He returned before the dawn, with his shirt and tunic torn,

And a gash across his temple dripping red;

He was patched up right away, and he slept through all the day,

And the Colonel's daughter watched beside his bed.

He woke at last and asked if they could send his tunic through;

She brought it, and he thanked her with a nod;

He bade her search the pocket saying "That's from Mad Carew,"

And she found the little green eye of the god.

She upbraided poor Carew in the way that women do,

Though both her eyes were strangely hot and wet;

But she wouldn't take the stone and Mad Carew was left alone

With the jewel that he'd chanced his life to get.

When the ball was at its height, on that still and tropic night,

She thought of him and hurried to his room;

As she crossed the barrack square she could hear the dreamy air

Of a waltz tune softly stealing thro' the gloom.

His door was open wide, with silver moonlight shining through;

The place was wet and slipp'ry where she trod;

An ugly knife lay buried in the heart of Mad Carew,

'Twas the "Vengeance of the Little Yellow God."

There's a one-eyed yellow idol to the north of Khatmandu,

There's a little marble cross below the town;

There's a broken-hearted woman tends the grave of Mad Carew,

And the Yellow God forever gazes down.

The poem as you can read tells the story of Carew a young and rather reckless officer and his love for the Colonels daughter , his "finding" the yellow god for the love of his life leading to his savage death and leaving a distraught woman.

That is the subject of this release and my review

Title: Mad Carew

Released by Black Pyramid

Series: Tales from The Raj

Reference: RAJ001

Scale: 80mm from base to top of head approx 1/12th

Material: Resin and Crystal

No of pieces: 3 Resin , 2 Crystal

Sculptor : Steve Leadley ( Valiant on PF)

Received in a clear fold over container , with foam packing piece , a paper backing header, with a aged copy of the actual poem.

Resin parts consist of the full torso less an arm, the right arm , the base, 2 Swarovski crystals (1 larger for the base) ...apologies I missed the smaller one!!

Prep needed consists of removing casting plugs from the undersides , and a fine casting line from the back , the separate arm needs a casing plug taken away , this is well placed on the surface which meets the shoulder area , a slight bit of filler might be required after fit but not too much and easily done.

The Crystals will also need fitting ( these are genuine Swarovski so you could always say the model is for the love in your life.....well the ladies like a bit of sparkle eh guys!!) , it would be better to fit once the rest is painted.

Looking at the Torso our dashing hero is depicted in his mess dress , a good looking fellow with good details on the hair and a cracking style in moustache.

Steve has sculpted the face nicley well formed chin , good eye details , the ears are well shaped with the details being brought out with the brush. , his left arm grips the mess jacket , his face looking down and to the left , in keeping with the poem we see a scar on the temple (a gash in the poem) , his uniform is torn at the left shoulder , the under shirt is also torn with the collar open

The epaulettes are of a twisted cord , well formed , with the jacket edging having a lace band with the regimental badge on his collar, his cuffs are of the pointed variety , very cleanly shaped and sharply sculpted and cast.

At his waist we have a cumerband , the folds are well worked .

The Right Arm this is of the same quality as the torso the upper arm has a rip in the material , hand is well done the smaller of the crystals needs to be fitted after painting.

This is a subject that has a mass of conversion potential to many other regiments mess dress , you could do a whole series of these ...very colourful , replacing the crystal in the hand with a glass or a cigar perhaps.

The Base a good stone effect is seen on this , drybrushing and washes will bring this out well , in the centre there is a hole to secure the larger of the crystals.

Final thoughts

A interesting subject packed full of conversion potential and well sculpted , , perhaps some painting suggestion might be an idea but most have accces to references ( remember this does not refer to a particular Regt!!) .
Its good to see the inspiration coming from this area of literature , a nice addition to the display cabinet and lots of fun to paint as well as being very reasonable in price.

For more from them why not go to their website at:

www.blackpyramid.co.uk

Thanks for the review item and to you all for looking in

Nap

Cheers Guys ,

Thanks for comments

ZC..love it ...Napoleopeart ???

It is a nice piece Gordon lots of potential

Nap

Hi Paul,

Thanks for the comment appreciate any feedback

As for Leaders owning up ..not that I can recall ..do tell all

Nap