54mm Roundhead Cavalry II

[kansas kid]

Ok, so here we go with further SBS detail about that 54mm Airfix Roundhead Cavalryman figure that I’ve been working on for a couple of weeks. It is a slow process. In this first photo you see the attempt to make new pistols that will fit down into the saddle holsters that are stationed on the port and starboard side of the horse.
I have a number of packets of Evergreen and Plastructs plastic rod and plastic tubing in a number of sizes. The idea was to make a pistol grip that would be of the correct scale for setting down into the two saddle position holsters, on the port side and the starboard side.
So I put a pan of water on the stove and when it was boiling hot, I dipped the plastic down into the water, and used tweezers to bend the plastic into a shape that would replicate the bend of the pistol grip. Then I put the bent plastic rod into the flame of the candle shown in the picture so I could enlarge the end of the pistol grip. When you hold a piece of sprue next to the flame of a candle and raise it up and down the flame sides, it starts to melt and form back on itself so to make the shapes that you see in the photograph.

 

[kansas kid]

Part II continued. . .

The idea was that I needed to fabricate two pistols for the saddle holsters on the port and starboard side. And although I had a number of pistols from the Airfix and Historex kits, they didn’t seem to be the correct scale. So I thought I needed to fabricate the correct scale for these two pistols. I hope this doesn’t get too complicated. I took the center piece of two rifle kits that were flint lock, sawing off the stock end and the long barrel end; leaving just the piece that had the cocking leaver and the trigger mechanism. Looking at the photo, you see at number 1. That is the stock end of the weapon I did surgery on, and photo 2 is the barrel end with the bayonette that was also sawed off. Then the styrene that was bent to shape in boiling water was cut to size and mated to the part of the rifle that I wanted to use. Super glue was used to fill in the surgery areas. Super Glue Accelerator was used in those areas to fill in the cuts of the surgery area. The red arrow points to the place where the joint was made; and the Accelerator was used with the Super Glue.

 

[kansas kid]

Part II continued . . .

In the next photo you see a glue stylus I fabricated using piano wire and a small wooden dowel rod. It gives me the opportunity to draw super glue from the tip of the tube on to the piano wire tip in such a small amount. Then I can touch that drop of Super Glue to the joint between the pistol grip and the cocking mechanism/trigger assembly.

In this next picture, you notice that I’ve shown how I put tall bottles of various bottles, of liquid glue, super glue, and super glue accelerator, into containers that have a built up housing square taped around the bottles so that they will not tip over. Oh yeah, spilling a bottle of liquid glue on my important model parts is part of my past. . . Been there, done that, and . . . drum roll please, . . . bought the T-Shirt. I suggest that you novice model builders make similar devices to make sure your bottles of important “chemicals” do not tip over on your work bench. In the middle of this photo you notice the styles for putting small amounts of Super Glue in the correct area without an overflow. It is just a piece of wood dowel rod and a piece of piano wire glued down into the center of the dowel rod.

 

[housecarl]

Attention to detail Rick, like it.
Carl.

 

[kansas kid]

Part II continued. . .

Oh boy, the phone just rang and this is more difficult than I thought it would
be. Sorry this is so discombulated, flummoxed, and befuddled, and is causing
me to be some what vexed. . . hmmmmmmm. Oh durn burn it two photos of
the same thing. Arrrrrrrrrrrrgh.



rick

 

[kansas kid]

Here is the photo I intended to put in this position.

The final two photos are of the work on the fringe of the strapping for the horse saddle that I fabricated from sheet styrene, both 10 thousandths and 20 thousandths thickness. The base large part is cut from 10 thousandths sheet styrene, and the square with the hole drilled in the center, is fashioned from 20 thousandths sheet styrene.

I wish this was easier for we old old fellows who are not that up to date with
those 'pooter happenings. Ug.

rick brownlee

 

[kansas kid]

OK so I lied. . . .

Hopefully, here is photo of how I make a stylus for putting Super Glue into
small places. rick

 

[kansas kid]

I give up. . . .

This has NOT been fun. . . I give up. that photo just isn't going to show up.

 

[kansas kid]

A missing period. Hummmmmmm

Well, it only took me 24 hours almost to finger out what the problem mo was.
re the .jpg there you have it. The period (.) was missing. And that caused the
problem. So it is on to the next thing, getting the horseman torso and
legs joined together in the correct position to be atop a rearing horse.

So that "installment" will come. . . . later,

Jaybird

 

[1969]

You have been busy mate !!!

I like the work you have done on the horse with the fringe around his chest, really adds to the look of the horse and all looks great scale wise also.

Now fabricating those pistols is very delicate work in 1/32 and you pulled it of well mate, i can see your thinking well ahead with this one and that's what will make it successful.

catch you later dude

Stevo

 

[kansas kid]

Thanks Carl. . .

Hey Carl, thanks for having a look. . . a lot of text and not really sexy photos,
either. Thanks again, mate,

Jayhawker

 

[kansas kid]

Thank you Stevie. . .

Hi Steve:

Thank you my friend, for your encouraging comments about this rather boring
part of figure conversion. But I am learning a lot and hopefully, there will be
something here for the beginners; I especially hope so in the area of
thermo forming, either by dipping in boiling water, with the use of candle
flame to reform plastic rod, or by using a vacuforming machine. Here in the
"Colonies" many muddlers make their own vacuforming machines and soften
up the sheet styrene in the oven; with their contraption hooked up to a
hose type vacuum cleaner. Hummmmmmmm.

Thanks again, mate,

The Miami Jayhawk

 

[Brian Mikulencak]

Hi thanks for showing the method for making the pistol, with the candle very neat Idea.

 

[kansas kid]

Hello Brian

Hi Brian:

Thanks for taking time to post your comments. I hope that some of my
scratchbuilding techniques will be of interest to some of the Planeteers.
As I've said previously, I hope primarily to provide some information for the
newer modelers on our web site.

Thanks again, Brian,

Miami Jayhawker

 

[gothicgeek]

Sweet sbs Rick .... I so need to make a superglue stylus thing

Mark

 

[kansas kid]

You're on the Mark, Gothicgeek

Hi Mark:

Kind of you to comment here, Mark. I always appreciate your taking time to
do so. I have a number of spools of steel wire, as well as spools of several
diameter sizes of Solder wire as well. I find solder wire doesn't kink as much
as other kinds of wire when I'm wanting to make brake lines, or spark plug
wires going into the engine coil for armor vehicles.

So for that stylus I use to apply super glue, once I put it down into the
bottle, it come out with just about one drop of Super Glue. I also should
have mentioned the Accelerator that I use that speeds up the drying time
of the Super Glue and if done correctly, it can also help to fill in cracks. I
have a applicator for the Accelerator as well. The bottle come with a spray
adamizer (sp, sorry) but to me that wastes too much of the chemical. So I
use the steel wire again, on the end of wood dowel rod, but make a loop
like the eye of a needle on the end so it traps just a little bit of the
Accelerator in that loop. Then I tip the piece to be glued so gravity will
come into play. And apply the drop of Accelerator just above the Super
glue so gravity will allow the Accelerator to flow down hill into the Super
glue without fowling up the oval loop in the end of the steel wire
applicator. Hope this all makes sense.

Have a great week, Mark,

Jayhawker

 

[chippy]

Your sure going to a lot of trouble my friend for something that when it's in the holster most of it will be covered up and really all you needed was a pair of handels or do you intend for the figure to actully hold one of the pistols on the completed kit .

chippy

 

[John Bowery]

Rick,
Thanks for all the little tidbits. Very interesting and old dogs can learn new tricks?????
Cheers
John

 

[fanai]

so reminds me of the "Stan Cathcpole" articles in MM years ago Ric

Ian

 

[blaster]

Hi Rick,

Clever idea to cannibalise musket locks for the pistols. Keep them coming.

Rgds Victor