Blasts from the Past

[Ray Stout]

Hey Peedee, I have a number of early pics from the club, and I'll be happy to share them. Does anybody know what happened to Nicky Dransfield?? He was such a talented Painter , and Sculptor. His Blackbeard Bust was fantastic. He was the first person to do a Flat using acylics paint but blending them like Oils. Ray

 

[Nap]

Hey Peedee, I have a number of early pics from the club, and I'll be happy to share them. Does anybody know what happened to Nicky Dransfield?? He was such a talented Painter , and Sculptor. His Blackbeard Bust was fantastic. He was the first person to do a Flat using acylics paint but blending them like Oils. Ray

Please do share any pics Ray

Agree ref Nick Dransfield

Nap

 

[The Dozing Dragon]

I remember meeting Joe when I worked in the Manchester Games Workshop in the Arndale Centre (early to mid 80's). I had been in awe of his work for years on those Poste Militaire figures. He was looking for an oop Citadel mini, 'The Complete Adventurer'... I had one in my collection and gave it to him the following weekend. Never saw it painted unfortunately.

 

[peedee]

Hey Peedee, I have a number of early pics from the club, and I'll be happy to share them. Does anybody know what happened to Nicky Dransfield?? He was such a talented Painter , and Sculptor. His Blackbeard Bust was fantastic. He was the first person to do a Flat using acylics paint but blending them like Oils. Ray

I just looked at his wall on facebook Ray, to see he sent Colin Langeveld that same photo two years ago .

he's still about, he helped design the Euromolitaire leadlets 2017, -2019. He did some great sculpts for United Empire miniatures too, and they are still available

 

[Ray Stout]

In those days Mike, French Napoleonic figs. were far more Commercially viable than the English. It was only much later that there was sufficent interest in British. Like now, WW2 Germans sell far more than the Allies. Ray

 

[Ray Stout]

On my facebook page, in my photos, there's a group of famous faces taken at Euro Militaire 1987. I don't have the computer savy to transfer it to here, but see how many you can recognise? Ray

 

[Nap]

On my facebook page, in my photos, there's a group of famous faces taken at Euro Militaire 1987. I don't have the computer savy to transfer it to here, but see how many you can recognise? Ray

This one Ray

I see Bill Horan and Mike Good I think

Nap

 

[Ray Stout]

LtoRt. Back row John Schley ? Ray Stout, Rodger Saunders, Derek Holmes, Bill Horan, Brian Stewart, Pete Armstrong, Keith Durham. Middle Row L to R Mike Good, Alice Armstrong. Front Row L to R Steve Warrilow, Rick Scollins, Alex Williams ? This was the year Bill won with Gandamack. Quite a line up !!

 

[yellowcat]

Back in the summer of ’78, I had just graduated with honours from my art and design program; I took a break and was browsing around my local hobby shop. There on display were some Greenwood & Ball Sanderson, and Phoenix figures. A nicely painted ESCI 1/9 panzer grenadier sculpted by Bill Hearne caught my eye. I never built figure kits before.

Over the year I bought several Sanderson figures and incorporated them into a diorama. These were my first figures and diorama painted in Humbrol enamels. Later on my figures were painted in oils.

During the ‘80s and ‘90s Military Modelling, Campaign and Military Illustrated Past & Present were my favourite magazines. I had been stocking up figures by Poste Militaire, Ceremonial Studio, Barton, Almond Sculptures, Phoenix, Hearne Orginals, Tiny Troopers, Le Cimier, David Grieves, Chota Sahib and Series 77 just to name a few. Ray Lamb and Richard Almond kits were always on top of my collections. Those years was the golden age of figure modelling. There was no figure club locally just the IPMS.

Here are some of my early works which I still have. The Sandersons were my first, then Phoenix, Taisho, PM mtd Samurai, Elvis and the unfinished Under Two Flags Standard Bearer Kings Troop Horse Guard.

Cheers,

Felix

 

[akaryu]

They're still impressive Felix

Pierre

 

[harto]

Some lovely figures Felix. The Taisho looks just like the boxart. In a fit of nostalgia I dug out the mounted samurai which I re-bought before PM disappeared and started putting it together. Forgot just how heavy a kit it is. Also they seem to have changed how the horse and saddle goes together for some reason, quite a few very fine mould seams as well which I don't recall when I first built it, some of them only become obvious after a coat of primer.

 

[Chris Oldfield]

The Taisho, the grey horse in Encounter in the Swamp, & Elvis are my favourites in your lineup Felix. An outstanding body of work! Thanks for sharing them here.

 

[Chris Oldfield]

This one Ray

I see Bill Horan and Mike Good I think

View attachment 392109

Nap

Steve Warrilow looks the same fresh-faced Lance-Corporal I remember him as from Palace Barracks, Belfast 1981-83......
The location is iconic too, & not just because of its associations with Euro - my Dad guarded the Leas Cliff Hall (he said it was a dance hall then) against the expected Nazi invasion in 1941, as a Private in 2/5th Sherwood Foresters. Every time I’ve been back there, I always think of him.

 

[yellowcat]

Some lovely figures Felix. The Taisho looks just like the boxart. In a fit of nostalgia I dug out the mounted samurai which I re-bought before PM disappeared and started putting it together. Forgot just how heavy a kit it is. Also they seem to have changed how the horse and saddle goes together for some reason, quite a few very fine mould seams as well which I don't recall when I first built it, some of them only become obvious after a coat of primer.

I don't recall PM made changes to the horse and saddle assembly. I did aware PM switch to different boxes over the years when they were in business. The first generation was a square black box, second was a fold up foam carton with a cardboard sleeve and a printed paper banner wrap across, the third was a rectangle box with layers of foam and the fourth one by Bonapartes also a rectangle box but smaller with no instruction leaflet.



I would also like to mention to avoid PM horses from bending legs, slant to the side or sagging.

This comment was from a previous thread regarding bending horse legs.
When you mount your finish piece onto the wood base, make sure the kit base is on level to the wood base and when you display your piece in your cabinet, make sure the shelving is also level.
Some years ago I displayed my Poste Militarie mounted samurai in a wood cabinet with glass doors everything was fine until I moved it to another glass cabinet with glass shelves. Over the year the horse would gradually slant to the left side. I straightened it back and then it would slant again over the year. I finally figure out the problem due to the glass shelf was not level. I use two small level to check on different spots on the shelf and fix the problem.


Cheers,

Felix

 

[harto]

I remembered this problem from the first time I built one. This time I wasn't taking any chances. I drilled and inserted thick brass rod into the horses legs. I drilled at an angle so I could get the rod up beyond the ankle which seems to be the weak point, I then carefully bent the rod downward from where it emerged at the hoof so I could insert it into the base. The metal is a pain to drill as it is very soft and will bind and jam the drill if you don't pull it out and clean it frequently. I also used a tap and die set to insert a threaded brass rod through the saddle so I had a decent pole on which to build the figure - I recall a tendency for the top to take a tumble in the old days but that may have been due to me not using strong enough epoxy. I also rebuilt the spear using a wooden dowel as on the original the spear is cast in soft metal as part of the right arm and is a bugger to get and keep straight. To add further stability I wanted to use the original base but embedded this in resin on

My recollection of the first time I built this kit is that the horse was still in three parts but the saddle was separate as one part and the bearskin parts for the lower sides of the saddle were cast with the horse not separate. This would be the very first release as I recall the first box you show. I could be mis-remembering as it was 40 years ago!

 

[yellowcat]

I remembered this problem from the first time I built one. This time I wasn't taking any chances. I drilled and inserted thick brass rod into the horses legs. I drilled at an angle so I could get the rod up beyond the ankle which seems to be the weak point, I then carefully bent the rod downward from where it emerged at the hoof so I could insert it into the base. The metal is a pain to drill as it is very soft and will bind and jam the drill if you don't pull it out and clean it frequently.

For drilling white metal, lacquer thinner is used as lubricant. Put a drop in the drill hole for smooth drilling without jamming the drill bit. I used K&S steel music wire instead of brass rod for the insert.

 

[fogie]

The only difference I recall with this one was the 'fringe-ing' cast onto the horse. Originally
it separated leaving an open gap either side of the raised right foreleg. On later editions this
disappeared and the 'gap' was filled with a continuous line of fringe-ing - not that it mstters
much..... just thought I'd mention it. Although I suppose an avid collector somewhere might
one day seek out and pay an insane premium for the original.

Mike

 

[fogie]

I remembered this problem from the first time I built one. ......

Been trying to get my head round this - you've certainly given yourself a powerful lot of extra work
with all these security mods. I'm wondering if the threaded rod connects the rider to the horse or
merely the rider's body to his legs - either way will surely make painting a bit tricky, unless of
course you have to dismantle it all before you start smearing the paint about. I'm a bit surprised
that you feel it necessary. This thing has been in my collection for more than forty years and it's
still solid and upright (...and the spear is still straight and true).

Mike

 

[harto]

Felix, thanks for the tip on the drilling lubricant!

Mike, on the security mods, it's a lot less complicated than it looks! The threaded rod was what I had left over from another project and tapping a hole was a good way to get a solid mounting into the saddle. The holes in the rest of the figure were drilled wider so that the threads don't engage, Once the rod is screwed into the saddle, the rest of the figure just drops over the rod and can be epoxied in place. This way I can paint and assemble the figure in sections; legs, armour skirt and then torso. The reason I mention the change in the way the figure was cast is that having the saddle separate made assembly in stages a bit easier to my mind, especially getting the stirrups fitted. I finally figured out you can attach the stirrups to the lower body first for a good fit to the feet and then when the body is dropped onto the saddle, the tops of the stirrups mate up pretty invisibly with the saddle in any event.


I tend to "knock proof" most of my figures as if I ever want to take and show them anywhere they usually have to endure a long haul flight from Hong Kong for a start.

I did manage to dig out my old horse which is pretty much all that remains from the first time I built this figure and as you can see, the saddle was definitely separate and the bear skins already part of the saddle. No idea why they changed it as I'm sure it would have involved some serious retooling. I hadn't even noticed the split in the front fringe until Mike pointed it out!

 

[Babelfish]

This is a very old pic of some of the North Cheshire members back in the day, (1970s) with Joe,View attachment 391669

That is a great photo!!!

Some tremendous Liverpool footballer / German porn performer barnets and facial hair on display there. The classic "manly" look of the era .

- Steve