Hi everybody
I'd like to show you all the process I took making my wild west undertaker figure. I've had this for many years and until recently incorporated it in a western diarama.

It has become the norm for me lately to repaint some of my old figures, trying to improve them from the last paint job. Recently I have had a passion for knights. Now I've got them out of my system I'm turning to the wild west.

The figure is an Andrea 54mm piece that I first saw painted by Adrian Hopwood many moons ago. He scratchbuilt a scene for his figure and I've tried to do something similar here.



I started by finding a suitable base and using Adrians recipe built a section of floor planking and some rough ground in front. Adrian used plastic card for his version but I've used balsa and cardboard.


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I made the slatboard wall from card slats built up from the bottom glued onto a flat balsa wood backing. I cut out a piece on the right side to later fit a door. The floor is made from balsa wood slats cut to size. Underneath I fixed a flat piece of balsa wood and painted this black to make shadow.



I made a door from balsa slats glued together then made a hitch post from three pieces of balsa.



I made a roof from a square piece of balsa then used small squares of cardboard for tiles. Before fixing the tiles I painted the balsa roof dark brown. I cut four pieces of balsa to use as struts under the roof and glued these in place then painted them a dark brown. After fixing the tiles I painted them in Revel acrylic beige then used burnt sienna oils to blend in the edges of the tiles to give the impression of age. I used milliput to make a rough ground painting that in several coats of sand acylic then I spread some pva glue over this and sprinkled some sand and gravel to simulate a dusty street. I also added a few clumps of static grass growing at the edge of the flooring. I loosely placed the figure to see where he would look best. I also loosely placed the roof on to make sure the scene wasn't too dark.




Next came the painting of the flooring and walls. To add some interest I made some coffin lids from balsa strips and used twisted wire as rope handles on one of them. These were painted in a very light brown and I painted a few very thin darker brown lines on using a rigger brish to emphasize the grain.





I didnt like the hitchrail in brown so tried it in white to try to break up all the brown shades. I also wasn't happy with the door so I cut a square window into it and made some bars from paperclip wire which I glued to the back of the door. I removed the doorknob that I'd made from milliput and replaced it with a small round chain link into which I fixed a copper coloured tiny ball bearing. This I stole from my wifes supply of magic balls. These are used for cleaning vases and decanters and are the perfect size for doorknobs in this scale. Then I glued the roof into place and added the undertakers sign that came with the kit.



I'm nearing completion now but still wasnt happy with the hitchrail. Being white it now looked like a rugby goal and took too much focus away from everything else. So after advice from my wife, the master in all things, (arent they all? ) I decided to remove one side and the hitch, just leaving the corner post which I painted in wood colours again. I added a barrel which I had in the spares box and fixed the figure into place after repainting him using a mixture of acrylics and oils.




Finally here is a close up of the undertaker himself. In his original write-up in the Military Modelling magazine Adrian Hopwood said he had the urge to add a cigarette to his hand behind his back. I didn't do this either but couldn't resist adding a tape measure into his hand in case he sees another customer.

This scene was fun to make and took about a week to complete. My thanks to Adrian Hopwood for giving me the idea. Watch this space for my next piece which will be Billy the kid being photographed for his famous tintype. As always I welcome your comments.
John

I liked the hitch but it was a little to big.
What I don't like is the white wood of the coffin. It take's to much attraction.
Maybe a wash with a greybrown will do.
Further I really like the outcome.

Marc

Thanks Marc. I appreciate your comments. The coffin lids were originally natural balsa colour but as my wife pointed out, were too stark so I used a beige colour to tone them down a bit. I wanted them to look like untreated wood but maybe they do need a bit more darkening down a bit.
John

A simple job that envelops the undertaker very well.

Nice little scene and the undertaker is a lovely figure, well painted too. look forward to more.

Thank you santi and Bob.
John

Great work , It looks beautiful

Mobo

Thank you Mobo. I appreciate that.
John

Nicely done John and my favorite period also!

Cheers,
Ken

Thank you Ken.
John

Lovely job on the figure John and the groundwork suits it nicely.

Steve

very nice scene my point of concern is the coffin lids, they look too thick for the scale to me.
great work overall

Thanks Steve.
Thanks Frank. I'm getting a few comments about these coffin lids, not least from Mrs Jazz who also agrees with you. Ok, I think I will have to look at this. The undertaker isnt the best coffin maker in the world and I blame him really.
John

Taking everyones advice on board I decided to remove one of the coffin lids and darkened the remaining one which I trimmed down a bit. Then I made two more conventional shaped coffin lids which I lacquered in gloss varnish and put in place next to the other. I made a nameplate for each from lead sheeting. Hope you think this is an improvement and I'm grateful for all the advice.
John