Completed French Line Infantry by ICM and Belgium Guide

[Mike Stevens]

The alterations are coming along nicely, so far so good, Briggsy. Ruck On, Bby!

I agree, good start on these!

 

[NigelR]

Nigel, just read through your thread, very impressive, especially considering it was your first venture. The converting, painting and composition are first class, I love that diorama, it does everything right in telling the story of the innocence of those first soldiers in that awful war.

Mine will be complete in time for Bugle Call, if you are attending I would dearly love to see your diorama in the flesh. I had to think carefully the with the wording, something I am beginning to relearn having already inadvertently taught my three and a half year old Granddaughter to say bugger and knobhead! Oops.

Thanks very much Simon, it did turn out quite well. I had a lot of help and advice from folks on here which was invaluable.

Sadly I can't make Bugle Call as Kev has a nasty habit of arranging it on the weekend closest to my son's birthday. Hopefully next year might work out date-wise.

And it sounds like you are bringing up your granddaughter in the right way!

 

[Briggsy]

The alterations are coming along nicely, so far so good, Briggsy. Ruck On, Bby!

Many thanks Steve, I'm rather enjoying this one, hopefully more progress today.

Cheers Simon

 

[Briggsy]

Thanks very much Simon, it did turn out quite well. I had a lot of help and advice from folks on here which was invaluable.

Sadly I can't make Bugle Call as Kev has a nasty habit of arranging it on the weekend closest to my son's birthday. Hopefully next year might work out date-wise.

And it sounds like you are bringing up your granddaughter in the right way!

That's a shame but family comes first, well if you value a quiet life it does. As for my Granddaughter, we were both wearing Iron Maiden tshirts when I took her shopping yesterday, now that is grandparenting done right.

Your diorama though is great, you put alot of thought and planning into it which is a very good approach, I tend to forge ahead with little more than a vague idea of what I want, it usually works but not always!

Cheers Simon

 

[Briggsy]

Done some more with the figures and tidied up the base a little. Without any ground work it looks a little Stark but I thought I'd add foliage maybe a small tree then they won't look so lost in the middle of the base.

I have masked the edges of the base before I start as I am the messiest at ground work.

Cheers Simon

 

[Briggsy]

A little closer look at the figures and what progress I have so far made. The weapons are only placed for effect they will be kept separate until into the painting process.

Off to start something new now and give these fellas a rest.

Cheers Simon

 

[MalcC]

Simon
Try using an old tooth brush to texture the groundwork, you'll be surprised at the effects you can achieve.

Malc

 

[MalcC]

DOH!... forgot to add the figures look good.

Malc

 

[Briggsy]

Simon
Try using an old tooth brush to texture the groundwork, you'll be surprised at the effects you can achieve.

Malc

It's a good technique I agree and have used it before, but I'm planning on a complete grass coverage of varying lengths, well that's the plan anyway.

Cheers Simon

 

[Briggsy]

DOH!... forgot to add the figures look good.

Malc

LOL, cheers anyway I'm hoping just the two of them will be enough to fill the space.

Cheers Simon

 

[Briggsy]

Had a long spell at the bench but couldn't comfortably do any more with these two figures as they needed time for the putty to cure. So I've started a side project that I'll run along with in this thread, might get a bit confusing but the thought of running two threads along side each other was too complex for my brain.

This fella won't be part of the vignette, he's from a few decades later and from not too far away. Not going to give any more detail than that until he starts taking shape and becomes recognisable. So far all I've done to him is add a tash and the leather work on the bottom of his trousers.

Cheers Simon

 

[NigelR]

Loving the progress on the vignette.....

 

[Briggsy]

Loving the progress on the vignette.....

Thanks Nigel, apart from taking my youngest car for an MOT I have a clear weekend so hopefully some good progress.

Cheers Simon

 

[Nap]

Hi Simon

Good to see the updates on these two , the " new " one looks French possibly a Hussar ? .....whatever it's is following with interest

As for BC clashing with Nigel's sons birthday ........I think he could bring his lad along to the show ......and pieces of cake !

The GW SIG will have a table for display

Have a productive weekend

Happy benchtime

Nap

 

[Briggsy]

Hi Kev, many thanks for the kind comments. The other figure, good guesses but wrong, a bit of childish fun on my part!

If Nigels children are anything like mine were when younger the chance of taking them to a show is slim at best. Still we need some more young blood in the hobby before we oldies all end up in old folks homes.

Cheers Simon

 

[Briggsy]

Right then today's progress so far, before I have to take my youngest sons car for an MOT, even at 22 I'm still running around after him.

First up a little progress on my mystery side project, all I've done is add some bulk to this trousers, once cured I can add the folds and creases. Being as voluminous as they are doing them in two stages like this makes the sculpting easier.

Oh yes I added some height to his head to build the headdress around. Still not saying what he will be, hopefully by the time he's done.

Main event, the officer is just about done, I etched the seams on the back of his jacket sleeves. He'll need a tidy up before priming, smooth any marks in the plastic and run a fibreglass pen over stray Tamiya Extra Thin Cement go ensure a smooth surface.

For the Grenadier, I have added the accoutrements, haversack and water bottle. As is usually the case with plastic figures of this kind there is a certain amount of bodge it needed. That said, his haversack lays over the bayonet scabbard away from the body, rather than nice an neatly molded on to his hip. Some paper and putty for the straps and I think it looks more realistic but will be a pain to paint around. I had to cut off his right hand as there was no way with the waterbottle in place that I could place his rifle correctly. So I will glue the hand to the rifle and then once painted attach his wrist to his sleeve. Also added his fringed eppulets. The fringes being made from a mix of Duro and Magicsculpt as the plastic bits were unconvincing.

I have also primed the base but you don't want to see a grey unpopulated base I reckon.

Cheers Simon

 

[NigelR]

Nice accoutrement bodging Simon, these guys are really starting to look the part.

My son would be quite happy to visit Bugle Call but it's a long trek from London where we will be on the 26th! He was a great figure painter in his youth, reaching the final cut of the GW Junior Golden Demon competition one year. I think he will return to the hobby at some point in the future.

 

[Briggsy]

Cheers Nigel, yes the bits and bobs to go on the figures are always a pain, sometimes think it would be easier to sculpt them in place. I did do that on a lot of my diorama figures as they were often contorted into impossible poses.

Good on your son the GW comps even for juniors are really high. There is usually an exit from the hobby when the real world starts to intrude, until life settles down again. I tried with my kids but they were never interested, though my daughter did once paint a flat milkmaid in oils, it was the first and last.

Cheers Simon

 

[Briggsy]

Made some more progress this afternoon since my son's car passed the MOT, which is a wonder as it's a year older than he is.

Anyway, one trouser leg on the mystery man.

I have turfed the base for the vignette, still a bit rough and needs lots of further work and colouring.

The officer has been tarted up and is ready to prime. The Grenadier is now a Caporal, his rifle and hand have been joined separate from his body and I reckon he is also ready to prime, final check for both tomorrow.

I have temporarily attached rifle and sword for their latest photo opportunity to see how they fill the base.

Let me know if I have missed anything, because I do generally miss things not having a proper plan to work to.

Cheers Simon

 

[mm70882013]

What product are you using for both types of grasses? Is it pre-colored? Attached with white glue, or other?

Thanks.