Hi guys

While some of you have been swanning around Folkestone, most of us have been doing figure modelling

I've started base coating this lovely JMD figure and converting him to an Australian soldier of the 21st Battalion AIF, Sergeant Albert Lowerson VC.

Sgt Lowerson was awarded the Victoria Cross for 'most conspicuous bravery and tactical skill' on 1 September 1918 at Mont St. Quentin, France.

Sgt Lowerson directed his men, leading them to their objective, capturing twelve machine guns and thirty prisoners.

He was severely wounded in the thigh but refused to leave the front line until the prisoners had been dispersed and the post consolidated.

The Australian victory at Mont St. Quentin was described by the English newspapers at the time as the "greatest feat of arms of the entire war" and consolidated the ANZAC Corps Commander Lt General Monash's reputation as one of the most brilliant generals of the war.

Two days after the battle, Lowerson was evacuated for medical attention, rejoining his battalion on 17 September.

On 5 October 1918, he was wounded for the fourth time and returned to Australia medically unfit.

Albert Lowerson died in 1945. I remember reading about Sgt Lowerson as a boy and thought this figue would be easy to convert to represent him.

To convert the figure all I've done is add diamond shaped colour patches on the sleeves above the sergeant's stripes, "Australia" brass flashes on the epaulettes and a small rising sun badge on the collars.

Unlike British and New Zealand troops in WW1, who wore black leather boots, Australian's wore red-brown leather boots.

I have started base coating the figure with Vallejo acrylics, and it still looks very rough. The base is a resin vignette scene given to me by a friend which depicts the rubble and debris of a destroyed building.

I hope you like it.

I Know that you said that you get great motivation after Wasmex, But this is ridiculous!!!! Your a modelling machine.
Great start Tony, and great cover story.
Ben

Goond one Tony - the red-leather boots make a great colour addition

Cheers Ben. Actually this one has been primed and waiting for me to finish the Gladiator for weeks. I always have a little production line going mate, so I guess I am a modelling machine.

Thanks Gordy, the boots won't look quite so bright and shiny once I've weathered them.

Thanks Carl, I've been working on it tonight and will post more pics in a day or two.

I like the concept. I'll be watching since I recently finished the same figure.

Tony,
Very nice way to celebrate not being at Euro.
Cheers
John

Following with interest Tony

Mark

Actually, the British in WW1 wore brown boots as well.

Tony,
always good to see your work,

didn't know about the boots colour, you always do your research though.

Thanks for sharing,

cheers

Hi Mike, thanks mate. I'd be interested to see pics of your version of this figure. Are they on your Vbench? I'll have a look for them.

Hi John, yes, cold comfort I'm afraid. I was at Euro last year and loved every minute of it and I'm so envious of those people who attend every year. Travelling all the way from Australia to attend Euro really made me appreciate the experience. As much as I'm enjoying painting this figure, I know where I'd rather be.

Thanks Mark, I'll be posting a few more pics in a day or two. I appreciate your interest in my little project.

Hi Mike, yes you're right, British troops did wear brown boots too. The boots worn by Australian troops were made from a particularly red/ brown leather material which faded to a distinctive burnt orange hue once worn in and covered in dust. To my knowledge some British troops did wear brown leather boots, but they tended to be a darker brown colour than those worn by Australian troops.

Cheers Jamie, yes I always try to get my research accurate and especially with ANZAC stuff.

Tony, a nice start and the perfect figure to represent the great man , IMHO he already looks uncannily like the portrait . Will follow.

Cheers Ken

Great start tony,
Can you make some closeups of the converted parts.

Marc

Excellent start Tony.
I'm looking forward to progress of your work very much.

Mitsutaka

Hi Ken, thanks mate I appreciate your comments and I agree that there is a resemblence. I'm not trying to paint Sgt Lowerson exactly, rather I'm trying to represent how he might have looked sitting in the rumble of Mont St Quentin on that fateful day in 1918 that he won his VC. Looks like you had a great time at Euro mate. Sorry I couldn't be there.

Thanks Marc, hopefully these latest pics will show a bit more detail of the conversion work I did. As I said earlier it was a very simple conversion, nothing worth calling conversion really, just adding a few minor uniform details.

Hi Mitsutaka, thank you once again for your continued interest in my projects. I hope this one will be pleasing to you when it's finished.

I love the wool wrap around the water bottle and the face. My guy is on my Vbench just titled as "British WWI dude" if you want to see him. Watching for more.

Hi MIke,

Thanks for your comments mate, I'm glad you like the latest pics and the progress I'm making. I checked out your VBench and saved your pics of this figures to my file for reference.

The uniform is still a bit shiny and I'm not quite there with the highlights on the tunic, but I'm resonably pleased with the overall progress so far.

Final Pics

Hi guys,

Rather than start a new thread I thought I'd post these pics of the finished piece on the WIP thread.

I hope you like it. As always comments/ criticism welcome.

Excellent! I don't see how anybody could improve on that rendering, Tony!

All the best,
Dan