Perry Sudan figures

Earlier this year I began a Sudan project, attracted by the Perry range. I've always admired their figures, in just about every period. I've been gradually building up the collection, but for some strange reason they don't have photos of all the figures. For example, the Baggara horse and the captured Egyptian gun aren't pictured.

However, at Partizan earlier this year, I photographed these very figures on Dave Thomas's excellent stall. Dave has sold me thousands of figures over the years, and probably plans to sell me thousands more, if he can. At one time, I was painting figures for his display stands but now I'm using them for reference in my own painting, as my eyesight is not really up to the prizewinning quality of yore.

Here are some of Dave's figures. [Click on a picture to enlarge it].

Finished!

At last the first unit of my converted Perry figures is finished. This is the regiment of the Cuirrassiers von Stolzhuf, the first completed regiment of my imaginary Mendelstadtian "SYW" army, converted from Perry ACW cavalry.


(More photos and relevant history are on the Mendelstadt blog).

As an exercise in conversion, this proved quite time-consuming. On the TMP group, I was called "mad" for doing this, and I think that viewpoint has some validity. However, I've very much enjoyed doing it. And I've produced a unique regiment which also, because of the work involved, feels very much a personal endeavour, meaning I identify with them much more than if I'd merely done a decent paint job. (Which almost certainly means they will turn tail and run at the first opportunity on the battlefield: C'est la guerre, chez moi.)

I've learned quite a lot about how to model with greenstuff, and developed a few ideas for possible future work. You'll perhaps see that I've modelled flames around an eagle (Napoleonic French, I think; or perhaps Austrian) on the head of the flagstaff to turn it into the phoenix of Mendelstadt. Little touches like this make fanciful warfare a la Tony Bath that much more interesting.

Of course, this is not for everyone. I'm simultaneously developing the 10mm and 15mm World War Two collections and these are as close to authentic as I can be bothered to make them. I had my first taste of Flames of War the other day (I'm usually well behind the fashions in rulesets) and was quite taken with them, though I did find the complexity of looking things up in rules, helpsheets, army books and so-on rather too reminiscent of the worst excesses of Games Workshop. I don't know which generation of 40K it was, but I remember with irritation and frustration old games where more time was spent cross-refencing different variants of the rules than actually playing the game. (Needless to say, I gave up playing 40K a long time ago).

A couple of posts ago I mentioned a comment from Adam pointed me towards some Youtube videos which show how to make a mould and cast simple components in green stuff. Thanks, Adam, for this really useful suggestion.

Essentially the process is like casting in metal, except you use green stuff both for the mould and for the casting. Adam's idea was that I could make some of the parts of my figures, such as the hats, this way and thereby speed up the process and ensure a higher degree of uniformity. (You'll see, if you inspect the cuirrassiers, that their hats are quite varied, and the turnbacks, not really visible in the photo, are different lengths, too).

I've found that, once I had my turnback mould I was able to produce 10 pairs of turnbacks in about 15 minutes, a massive increase in speed. And they were pretty similar to each other, meaning that once I'd figured out how to attach one pair, I knew how to attach the rest.

I still needed some judicious filing to make it work, so the process is not yet ideal, but I think with a little more forethought, I shall be able to produce my conversions pretty quickly now.

Which has inspired me to think about sculpting my own masters on a dolly, and perhaps casting my own figures. I've not yet taken this step. But....watch this space....

Nearly back in the saddle

Sorry there's not been a post for a while. The Protecteress of Pelarcona and I went touring Northern England and lower Scotland. Firstly we went to the Lake District, touching many of our favourite spots. Grasmere is probably top of the list, but this is Aira Force, near Ullswater.


Then onto the Borders of Scotland, up to Edinburgh, then Durham and the seaside resorts on the east coast of England, of old the host to my childhood summers and, some years later, those of my own three children.

Amongst other places, we visited Abbotsford, near Selkirk, the gothic "castle" built by Sir Walter Scott which bankrupted him. Here he wrote "Ivanhoe", amongst others of the Waverley novels, in order to pay off his debts (which he did, shortly before he died). The house was built in the 1820s, so is hardly an eighteenth century edifice, but it strikes me as the kind of building that might exist in Mendelstadt, my ImagiNation, where everything is a little over the top and off the wall (can you be both these things at the same time?)


Although we passed several battlefields, especially in the much-disputed Borders, we only stopped briefly at one, Redeswire Fray (1575), to see a mist-drenched drizzly moor.


Passing Hadrian's Wall is always interesting, too. Many years ago, in the days when the wall was much less policed, and much less visited, we walked its length, walking actually on the wall for much of its length (not allowed now). Sometimes we camped in the vallum (the ditch), once in a field with a Roman fort, once we awoke to find ourselves snowed in, once had the guyropes wrenched away in a thunder-storm. Simpler times. Happy times.

If you ever get the chance, you must visit Hadrians Wall and the Roman sites nearby: Vindolanda, Chesters, Housesteads. Even if ancient warfare is not your thing, there is nothing like the sense of history you get merely from seeing the wall.

Whitby Abbey, which we also visited, is another dramatic place steeped in history.


As is Scarborough Castle (Scarborough is my favourite of the British seaside resorts, preserving very many of its traditional pleasures). The Castle was held by the Royalists in the ECW, and besieged by Parliament with cannon sighted in a local church (where Anne Bronte's grave now is). You can see the scars. Then in WW1 it was fired on by a German destroyer. You can see the scars of history in its walls.


Anyway, 700 miles of travelling meant that nothing got painted, modelled, converted or, indeed, read! But I hope you like the photos (all taken by my dear Protectoress, except Abbotsford, which was mine.)

Now, the troops of Mendelstadt beckon me..............

Latest update

First I want to acknowledge what I should've done to start with, that all the photos on both my blogs are provided by my lovely wife, the Protector of Pelarcona, who is a wizz with the digital camera.

I've been trying to advance several projects simultaneously, which means each of them goes slowly, so there's not much to report or show. However, here are the first three of the Hundred Years War figs, from the wonderful Perry's range.





On the WW2 front, the Russians have been suspended for a while as we ordered some Pendraken models for North Africa, and I decided I'd try to "speed paint" these, to compensate for the other projects which need more time. First stage is to spray paint both sides (8th Army and Afrika Korps/Italians) Army Painter Desert Yellow as undercoat. This covers pretty well.

Next stage is to "dip" the models. Except I don't dip it, because this generally gives effects which are too extreme for my taste, and also limits your control, as well as potentially wasting dip. So I brush it on.

I decided to use two different dips for the opposing sides, so they could be more readily distinguished on the table.

I'm using Army Painter "Strong" for the 8th Army. This gives a rather greyish, stone coloured effect. And for the Axis forces, I'm using a teak woodstain/varnish mix. This gives a reddish brown result. Both these "dips" result in a gloss varnish. Being a confirmed matt varnish man, I've surprised myself by quite liking this gloss on some figures and may start a more "toy soldierly" project to use it - but it's not right for these 10mm models. So I had to matt them down before further work.

Then I apply the same technique to both forces, a simple drybrush with Vallejo Sand Yellow (916) and then a further, much lighter drybrush on the edges with a whitened highlight of the same sand yellow.

The result of this process using the two different dips is shown below (Axis on the left, 8th Army on the right):



I think this is pretty effective, and the two sides are distinct. Of course, some detailing is still needed on the models, but basically they could be played like this. The actual time it took to paint these models to this standard is probably less than five minutes per model, in total - just a lot of waiting time between stages.

The SYW ImagiNation project is progressing along several lines at the same time. I've learned that I get bored easily (with everything!) so try to have different irons in the fire all the time, then I can move from one to the other as the mood takes me.

Presently, for the SYW, I have three foot regiments underway (one of them nearly completed can be found on the Mendelstadt blog), I'm three quarters of the way through the ACW to SYW dragoon/cuirassier conversion (12 figs), and have some jaegers on the go as well (aiming for 12 figs).

But I've actually spent most time following a suggestion from one comment on this blog, for which I'm very grateful: to do some "green-stuff casting" of the compnents I need for my conversions. Basically this involves making a mould out of greenstuff (from a previously made master) and then casting any number of copies using greenstuff again in the mould.

So far I've had mixed success. I made two moulds for turnbacks, and one for a tricorn. I made all three were too thick, pressing the masters too deep within the mould, meaning I've had to do some sanding and carving to get usable components out of them. In addition, the tricorn was a badly chosen master, with not enough definition, so I will need to make a better one. I ended up spending more time shaping it to fit than I would have if I'd started from scratch. But the turnbacks are working very well, and have speeded up part of the conversion process enormously. I think if I can get a decent tricorn cast, I can convert a regiment of cavalry (12 figs) in an afternoon. So that was a great tip.

It's not going to help a great deal with the major conversion, though: the hussars. It should work for the mirlton and sabretache, but each pelisse will remain a patient labour of love. So don't expect to see a completed squadron in the near future!

Building armies for an Imaginary Nation

Someone asked about the figures I'll be using for my SYW ImagiNation (see my other blog). I'm one of those rare and lucky wargamers whose wife is also pretty keen on the hobby: at least, some parts of it (WW2 leaves her cold, for example, but she's keen on fantasy wargames), so this project is for both of us.

We're building two armies: mine, for the Landgraviate of Mendelstadt, and hers, for the neighbouring Protectorate of Pelarcona. Her concept is egalitarian and romantic; mine is autocratic and megalomaniac. (So, she'll say, 'nothing new there'.)

She likes Front Rank figures, so the bulk of her forces will be Front Rank, probably mainly Austrians, supplemented by any additional uniforms that take her fancy.

Mendelstadt, on the other hand, will have core troops from Minden Miniatures, supported by my plastic conversions from Perry ACW, and then all sorts of oddments of figures lurking from previous projects, which include a handful of Front Rank, some Minifigs Naps, Foundry, two Spencer Smiths cannon, Hinchcliffe AWI and cannon, a few Old Glory, plus some of uncertain provenance. Problem is, figuring out how to use these oddments sensibly.

My guiding idea is that Mendelstadt is essentially a rag-tag of a country, really an association of brigands and minor nobles, all out to get what they can, united more or less under the government of a mad Landgraf who sees himself with the mission of a latter-day Alexander. This allows him to bring together forces of quite disparate kinds, drawn from many different sources, some antiquated, some perhaps experimental, being various in quality and appearance.

Two smaller countries are also available, Hamartia and Levander, as allies to either side, and as opportunities to use other figures that may attract. I particularly like RSM figures as a possibility here, and maybe as cavalry for Mendelstadt, though as I'm in the UK, the strengthened dollar and the possibility of hefty customs and excise charges, coupled with the hazards of international post, have caused me to hesitate so far.

Additionally, you're probably not aware that I've discovered the area between Austria and Prussia is a mid-European Lake District, filled with a complex network of waterways. The Landgraf consequently has an "inland fleet". His aim is to connect these waterways to the North Sea and to the Gulf of Venice, and thereby become a naval power despite being landlocked.

I told you he was mad.

This means I'll have excuses for naval and marine forces, and scenarios, as well as the occasional pirate-like activity, allowing other miscellaneous exotic forces to appear according to how the wargamer's whim alights. I wouldn't be surprised if some Turks appear, for example, seeking a strategic outflanking of Austria.

Huzzah!

I told myself I wouldn't attempt a hussar conversion from the Perry plastic ACW cavalryman, as it was too complex. But I wasn't listening to myself, apparently. So here's my first hussar attempt.

I think this regiment will become the Landgravine Musetta's Own Hussars, the light cavalry of the Mendelstadt Guard, and the bodyguard of the Landgravine herself. (Rumours have it that some of these handsome gentlemen may perhaps guard her body just a little too closely.)

Their uniform is a design of the Landgravine's own, as no doubt Major Wittering will report on the Mendelstadt blog when a full squadron has been recruited. And the mounts will all be greys, especially imported at outlandish expense from Spain.



But I suspect recruitment for the hussars may take some time, as I'll have to model each one separately. Mind you, the twelve strong cuirrassiers (who are being considered for possible demotion to mere dragoons, given the poor quality of their mounts and their generally drunken behaviour - of the riders, not the mounts) are nearing completion already, much faster than I'd expected. I've been bitten by the modelling bug.

You'll probably see that some of this "conversion" is merely paintwork: the thighknot, Polish cuffs, and lace on the dolman, for example. So what have I actually modelled (just in case you are mad enough to want to do something similar)?

Mirlton: green stuff in a cone (easier than I thought, but it may be hard to make the next one the same size!) with a plume of the same, the cone wrapped in a thin flamme of paper, very much like the original. I used greaseproof paper, after a couple of false starts with ribbon and tissue as this was flexible and yet tough, so when I soaked it with dilute white glue, it didn't dissolve into shreds. My flamme was a little too wide, so that in wrapping around the angle of the slope it creased a little, meaning a lot of teasing was needed to get something that was both flat enough and overlapping enough to be plausible.

Shabraque: the original Perry shabraque has squared corners, so I've shaved the front corner to a rounded edge and built the rear corner to an elongated point.

Pelisse: sculpted entirely from greenstuff, one layer at a time (first a draped diamond for the basic jacket, then two sausages for the sleeves, which are probably not long enough on this model; then greenstuff roughed up by the scalpel for fur around cuffs and the pelisse edge. Finally I used a thread of cotton to model the cord holding the pelisse around the neck (visible on the second photo). I drenched this in thinned white glue so it adhered across the model but also so it was stiff and had a good surface for subsequent painting.

Queue: modelled from greenstuff.

Barrel sash: modelled from green stuff, but with only three cords (not the more reasonable five or seven). As it's almost invisible on the model, I might not bother on the remainder.

Sabretache: made from green stuff as a component separate from the main model, then glued on when it had dried. I originally made a more satisfactory shape than this, but it was so small I lost it. Once it was gluedin place, I added two thin strips of scrap paper for the straps holding it on. (A more historical model would probably use three straps, but I found it hard enough manoevering two pieces into place. Three would need to be thinner, so more difficult to shoft about, and must end up placed in parallel to look right). I've been wondering about trying casting for the first time, so small pieces like this or maybe the mirlton might be a starting point.

What I didn't do:

- worry about the bucket stirrups. Instead, I painted them as if they were part of the boot, using the line of the stirrups to disguise this somewhat.

- worry about the sword and scabbard. These are (obviously) the same as the ACW original and therefore idential to the swords used for my cuirassiers/dragoons. But light cav swords are generally curved whilst heavy cavalry are much straighter (although this by no mean a universal difference). Fortunately this sword is both suffificiently straight and sufficiently curved to get away with being either.

- give him a fusil/musket. I'm reconsidering this as it would be more accurate, and the pantaloons are not really as tight as a proper hussar's ought to be, so a weapon on the thigh would disguise this somewhat.

- put cords on the mirlton. Although having no cords is fine historically, of course, I'd quite like to go the whole hog and add them, but I can't figure out how to do it convincingly and eptly. An attempt with green stuff created cords the size of ropes.

- model lace on the pelisse. I didn't think about the frogging until I'd modelled the rest of the cape, and by then I'd not even left enough room to paint any lace. I'll perhaps try and model the pelisse a little larger on the next figure.

- shave the saddlebags. To me these are the most glaring anomaly on this model, so ought to go, but I'm not sure that I'll be able to model the "missing" bits of the blanket roll and shabraque, if I do. This may be one area where I'm simply saved from the need by sleight-of-imagination.

- paint a dog's tooth border, or a national emblem on the shabraque. It seemed too arduous, really. Also, any such emblem should be the golden phoenix of Mendelstadt, but I've not yet managed to render it free-hand in any way that doesn't look like a five year old's cartoon. (Although there is just a hint of it on the sabretache, pretty much invisible in the photo). More practice needed here.

Even so, I'm quite proud of this one. But now I've three more cuirrassiers to finish, fifteen jagers and five (or maybe even eleven) hussars. SO it might be a while before you see my next effort.

Although, I've begun thinking about dragoons....How would they be different from cuirassiers?

And what about some irregular lancers????

A few pix

No painting projects are progressing at the moment, because I've been focussing on the Perry conversions to finish my Mendelstadt cuirassiers and jaegers, and I've also begun a hussar. Ambitious, or what? When he's presentable, he'll make an appearance here.

I've also been sorting a few figures to go onto Ebay, mainly from old projects, to raise cash for Mendelstadt's army, especially as Minden Miniatures have promised some tasty new offerings. So for those of you who like eye candy, here are a few pics of the figures (painted by me) that recently went up for sale.

Firstly, a Wargames Foundry oriental chieftain, from my colonial collection, which doesn't get out of the cabinet much these days.



Next, six Perry miniatures: ECW skirmishing dragoons. I really like these figures, but they are the last of my 28mm ECW armies. Maybe I'll return to the period in 10mm sometime.


Here are a group of Mexicans, painted for Wild West skirmishing, really. I like the WHB "Old West" rules, especially as the same mechanisms, roughly, are used in GW's Lord of the Rings game and, I guess, the WHB pirates game (which I've never played). I'm expecting that pirates will figure in Mendelstadt, as there's to be a naval element to my Imagi-Nation: it's a central European area of big lakes and mountains, ideal for ambitious predators with low morals. So maybe I'll use the WHB rules for these games.

Here's a surplus fantasy figure, Morrigan, from the Celtos range. I was quite pleased with this one. We've played fantasy games since the 70s, starting with the original D&D, so've built up quite a collection of adventurers and monsters over the years. But now it's taking up space that newer projects might better use.

Finally, a Jes Goodwin Eldar exarch. I fell in love with Goodwin's Eldar designs when they were first released in the 80s, and built quite a beautiful army of them, but I've never really enjoyed playing Warhammer 40K. My sons played it a lot, with various weird and wonderful armies, but to me the games always seemed too numbers driven, as well as needing very expensive figures. So, over the years, my Eldar have gradually deserted.


I'm expecting that there'll be some ACW, Late Roman, Sikh Wars and Biblical figures following these into the uncertain future that Ebay offers, so probably post a few pix of them, too, before they seek their new homes.