Now, as is ever the case with vintage OOP figures, comes the inevitable cleaning up and repair of the castings; plus, converting some rank and file into command figures that were sadly lacking in the Hinton Hunt range.
First up the horses. These have been cleaned of any flash and had any holes from in the castings filled with Milliput.
The filling is rather simple but cleaning out the excess metal between the horses back legs would be a real bore without my trusty Dremel rotary tool and grinding bits. As I didn't take any 'before' photos of this process, here's one of a handy one-piece casting showing the problem next to one of the 4th Hussar horses that was free of this flaw.
The troopers, seen in the first photo, now need cleaning up and the following photo shows the figures selected for conversion into an officer and trumpeter, ...
... together with one trooper who needs his sword repaired, the photo below showing the missing point that needs replacing.
The 'butchered bits' in the title to this post are standing by to be cannibalised for these figures; including a Newline Design trumpeter - trumpets are just too fiddly to fabricate from scratch.
To command these hussars, I've included a personality figure in this painting batch, and who better to command a regiment of hussars than the man himself, General Antoine-Charles-Louis, Comte de Lasalle.
I hadn't originally intended to do any mods to the figure but his right hand resting on his thigh was just begging to have a pipe added as I've never seen an illustration of him without it.
That's all for now, but these will take some time to complete so there will probably be another WiP post before they are completed and ready for a full-dress parade.
They are lovely figures, looking forward to seeing them painted up. The excess metal between the horses back legs really does look it would be a real chore to do without the dremel.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to getting them painted as well, but several hussars have not had their left foot cast properly so I'm blobbing on some solder and doing lots of filing at present.
DeleteI think these are going to break the internet when they're finished. I love the Lasalle conversion! Any tips on how you made his pipe?
ReplyDeleteThe bowl of the pipe is just a blob of solder filed to the right shape - I drilled the hole / bowl into a basic shape and finished the filing after that as it's easier to file up to the hole than to drill a hold centrally into such a small shape.
DeleteThe stem is just a piece of bent, fine steel rod inserted into a hole drilled into the hand / pipe bowl and slightly thickened at towards the bowl with some '5 Second Fix'. The trick is to create the bend near the mouth-piece and then cut it as it's near impossible to put a bend like that so close to the end of the steel rod.
Some of the plans in the post have already changed on encountering reality, e.g. the sword fix became a head swap of the head with shako onto an elite trooper whose sword was complete.
Also, I discovered yesterday that quite a few have incomplete castings of one of their feet - so again blobs of solder and lots of filing.
But now they're all ready for an undercoat tomorrow, which will no doubt reveal a few more flaws.
Splendid stuff Rob…
ReplyDeleteI am continually impressed by people who can work with a soldering iron…
It wouldn’t be a case of putting ‘ blobs’ on to make a new foot with me… It would more like me staring at a metal puddle that used to be a leg 🙀
I am looking forward to seeing these chaps painted up and shiny.
All the best. Aly
Thanks, hussars are a bit of challenge so any encouragement is welcome.
DeleteNow this is really whetting my appetite for more Napoleonics. Can't wait to see the progression of these! Can you say a bit more about the attachment you use with your Dremel to tackle the flash between horse legs. I will have a similar problem with musket butts and under arms when I get to the Old Guard Grenadiers.
ReplyDeleteI think the easiest way would be to take a few photos of my Dremel and some of my favourite attachments - and perhaps my soldering iron as well.
DeleteI have another, much more ambitious, conversion project running in the background, but have held off posting on it as there's a risk it may fail badly.
What an interesting post Rob....I wish I'd thought of using a Dremel before rather than needle files. I too have never had the courage to use a soldering iron...you must have a really steady hand. It's great to see these figures come to life.
ReplyDeleteWith the Dremel I drill a series of holes through the surplus metal between the horses legs, then use a Stanley knife to cut most of it out - the holes make it easier to cut chunks out. Then I smooth it off with a grinder in the Dremel.
DeleteWith a soldering iron it's not so a much a steady as quick hand if doing anything delicate as the biggest risk is melting a plume of musket. The main body of a figure is pretty resistant as it's quite a large heat-sink.
For things like plumes and the horse tail; it's a case of get some solder on the iron, dab it on and quickly pull away in the direction you want the solder to go - this direction should be down so that gravity will assist not oppose. Then it's a case of lots of gentle filing.
One other trick I use is to hold two bits I'm trying join up against each other using Blu-tack so all I have to do is dab the solder on. You mustn't get Blu-tack on the surface you want to join and it can be a pig to get off afterwards.
I recommend you try it on some old, beyond-saving, figures; you might find it quite addictive.