Bits, bobs and spare parts

I love these hardware type organizers. I may have to upgrade to a larger one though, my bits are starting to overflow.

Mixing Epoxy Putty

When I mix putty, I do wear gloves. Not necessarily for safety, but because the mixture can get very sticky, and I would be constantly washing my hands if I was doing this barehanded. I like to dip my fingers in water (I suppose saliva would work also) just to keep the residue down. When finished mixing, I will take the gloves off and start applying putty with sculpting tools and occasionally finger tip.

Kneadatite-Duro-Green Stuff-What have you.

Here's the ratio I use when mixing the "green stuff". It approximately 70-30/60-40, depending on how long I want to sculpt a project. Basically, the more yellow you use, the longer the working time.

Irish Warrior-St. Paddy's Day Parade 2015

Here's a different take on Latorre Models Irish Warrior 9th-10th Century.This commission will rank high on the (almost) over-the-top pieces I've ever done. Not that there's anything wrong with that...

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.