French 7th Hussars trooper in 54mm

Last February I had published a work in progress post of a 54mm French Napoleonic Hussar.  Those who missed that post can see it here. The figure has been ready for a couple of months now but being the lazy bugger that I am, it took me all this time to come round to take a few half decent pictures suitable for publication.

The figure itself is from M Model and is painted entirely with Vallejo acrylics. No oils. The figure is finished in ultra matt varnish but the horse has been finished in satin. All reins and buckles are scratch built. This is my second 54mm figure, the first one having been done quite a few years ago and can be seen here. These figures take up quite some time to finish and obviously the level of detail is much higher but they are also very rewarding when complete. And they certainly make eye catching show pieces in any collector's cabinet! 

My current project is a 1:72 scale diorama of an Avro Lancaster inspired by a recent visit to the Derwent dam in the UK. This is the place where the famous 617 Squadron made their practice runs before their raids on the Ruhr dams. The build is still in its very early stages (hampered by domestic refurbishment works) so I expect it will be some time before I will be able to present anything of this project. Until then keep well!

 

Monument to 617Sqdn with Derwent dam in the background

 

Another 28mm medieval knight walkthrough

Having finished the 54mm French Hussar (more on this in a future post) and not really having any particular thing going, a couple of weeks ago I decided to paint another Front Rank MAA just as a filler between projects. Rather than present the finished figure, I am posting a set of step-by-step pics showing the gradual build up to the finished knight. Now I know I’ve already done something similar in the past but I like presenting these kind of ‘tutorials’ in the hope that someone might find them useful or somehow inspirationanal. And it's my blog anyway, so there! All pics are taken by mobile phone so apologies for the low quality. Hope you enjoy anyway!

I failed to take pics of the initial phase but it is mainly black primer followed by a base coat of black brown for the horse and saddle. The caparison will be showing a rampant bear motif on a green field with a dark red border. The process kicks off by sketching a basic figure of the bear in brown earth. The first pic picks up from here. All colours Vallejo except for Games Workshop Nuln Oil wash.

 

The rampant bear on the right is filled in with details using a mixture of browns and buff on a field of black green. The border is black red. The basic sketch which forms the basis of the front of the caparison can be seen on the front quarter on left.

To create a separator between the rear quarters I created an ‘embroidery’ pattern with a petalled flower motif

Once highlighted, the green field seemed too bare (excuse the pun!) so I added a yellow cross of St Andrew. The ‘embroidery’ pattern is carried on around the caparison border.

 

The front sinister quarter is completed but the bear resembles more of an otter!

Starting dexter side now. Same process. Sketch, detail, field, border, and finally cross.

Front dexter bear rampant detailled.

Field, cross, and border all base coated. I used brown earth as a base for the yellow cross

Front caparison dexter quarter complete

A plant & flower motif is added to the interior lining of the caparison to make it look that little bit richer

 

 

Front armour and main saddle strap added

Same stage sinister (left) side

 

I added some random curly patterns to the saddle to represent wood inlay. Armour washed in GW Nuln Oil

 

 

Saddle 'wood inlay' rear view

 

 

 

Base is flocked and horse is complete. Note the saddle pin.

Work now starts on the figure with the face and jupon. I went for a simple linen look so as not to elaborate the model too much.

Lance arm, armour, scabbard and all leather belts still to be done

Added lance pennant and finished!