Rev War Militia/Continental Infantryman

Here's a new commission piece ready to be painted. I have this fella in more civilian type clothing than military. You can label him as a militiaman or one of the poor enlisted men who wasn't able to draw a uniform coat from the quartermaster stores.

More rusty ACW relics from my collection

Here's another Spotyslvania Battlefield dug (March '76) relic. This is, as labeled, a .69 caliber Springfield bayonet. Now, I have a reproduction .69 bayonet and the diameter of the lug compares pretty well, even with all the dirt and rust crustacean. What's really interesting is that by this time in the war the .69 rifle/smoothbore muskets were pretty rare for both sides, with the .58 cal. Springfields and .577 Enfields dominating the adversaries ranks. The logistics of supplying ammunition for these .69 weapons would have been a nightmare for either side, especially in the rough "Wilderness" area. If only the relic hunter had jotted down the location of this find, it could have narrowed down to maybe what side and what regiment it came from. Then again, this part of the Virginia crawled with Confederates for a good two years before this Battle and could have been just dropped or left behind during a march or camp. Still, a cool find with many stories tell and questions to ask.

What's in the curio?!

My goal this year is to keep this blog busy. In doing so, I am creating a new segment called "What's in the curio?". I'm sure most of the visitors to this blog will appreciate these "items". Over the past several years, I've made Gettysburg, Pennsylvania a second home and a must "go to" spot on my way from or to, the MFCA Show in Valley Forge. Having been to that town practically every year (sometimes twice a year) since I was a year old, I never had the means or really the urge, to collect artifacts. Now that I have a 'big boy' job, I've been making quick stops into the relic shop, 'The Horse Soldier' and only spending enough to give me a fix. With each trip, I'll pick up something small. Usually something rusted and dirt covered, with thick coats of some sort of varnish. And I only buy/deal with the 'The Horse Soldier', because they have a great selection and are reputable. Anyway, first up is an American Civil War era trigger guard for a rifled musket, supposedly picked dug up on the Spotsylvania Battlefield in 1975. I'm assuming this was dug before restrictions and laws against such doings;).

Drummer, 15th Light Dragoons, 1760

This fella is based on a Pierre Turner illustration. I changed the pose a bit. Needless to say, painting the lace was tedious. The drum paint job alone was a figure worth of detail itself. Still, I had fun building and painting the piece. Now, back to the workbench.

Trumpeter, Brandenburg Court

One of my New Years resolutions, as always, is to be more active with my blog. With that said, here's another of my latest originals. I had to do a little research with this guy. The pose was inspired by a Meissonier study and the trumpet banner is one of the flags used by Brandenburg-Prussia in the early 1700's.

American Revolutionary War Drummer, Brunswick Dragoon Regiment

Here's one of a few figures I've finished recently. It was inspired by the Frederick Chapman illustration.

Happy New Year!

To round off 2014, I am posting pics of a figure, fresh off the workbench. It's a 54mm figure from Ulrich Puchala that I bought off ebay many years ago. The subject is a Prussian Artillery Officer, Prinz Luitpold Regiment, 1795. It's a beautiful sculpture and was a joy to paint. I really like how the whites turned out with this project in particular.

Some winter projects

Here's a few of my latest. All musicians this time. I think I'm starting to run out of poses for my drummers! The subjects are as follows: Drummer, Brunswick Dragoon Regiment. Drummer, 15th Light Dragoon. Trumpeter, Brandenburg Court. More on the backgrounds once the painting is complete.

LINCOLN Redux

With the Chicago Show fast approaching, I am doing some final touch-ups to pieces before packing. The Lincoln bust needed some more contrast and transition between the whiskers and skin. Thanks to those friends with helpful suggestions. It's always nice to have several pairs of eyes to help with projects.

Officer, Swedish Lifeguards Painted

Officer, Swedish Lifeguards

A big thanks to fellow figure modeler, Mike Blank, for uniform information and inspiration. The horse I'm using is from Airfix. It's a tad "beefier" than the Historex model horses, and is better rendered in pose and muscle structure. More later.