Completed Medieval Teutonic 14th Century Knight

[Canterbury Coxswain]

Having just joined pF and posted a completed figure [WWII British Paratrooper], my fourth since joining the Faversham Military Modelling Group almost nine years ago, I have been encouraged by a number of Planeteers to put all four on vBench....so here goes.

My main 'passion' is choral singing with the 130 strong Canterbury Choral Society, performing five Concerts a year in the Cathedral. I also build 1/12th scale, radio controlled RNLI lifeboats.
However, since attending a Gravesham Model Show nine years ago, I was invited to join FMMG and sat next to MalcC at the first meeting. Having seen his completed 'Heaven's Knight' crusader and the wonderful finish achieved by him, I was 'hooked'! I asked so many questions and got so many friendly comments and tips from him.....so I went home and immediately ordered the figure. And there it still sits in the box, in my workshop, awaiting the 'right moment'.

But I also bought this figure, as I felt it had a number of areas that I could research and try my skills on first - chain mail, leather, cloth, metals, freehand design features, faces and especially the eyes, and minor conversions.

I had only really made one such model before 'in anger' and that was an Airfix 54mm Bengal Lancer [see next Posting].

So, here is the start, my way, and I will progress the build from my photo album. Even though it is complete, I will show it as if still in the building process. So any comments or criticisms are welcome....for when I build the other 30+ busts I have also bought during this period!




You will see the breakdown of the pieces that the kit comes as and the base that I have chosen to use.

I always get these when attending shows, as you can then choose the actual type of wood and grain pattern that you prefer.
You will also notice that I usually 'do away' with the pillar and make my own from brass, cutting and tapping a 6mm thread.
I also normally use small pieces of Blutac to hold the pieces together, once the pieces have had the sprue / casting 'legs' taken off.
From here I then add either brass or stainless steel 1 or 2mm rod pins to hold all the parts together [hence the head section upside down in the vice to obtain the centre of the neck for the head pin], until the main colours, patterns, and where awkward shading is required and painted.

I hope this makes sense. I will continue in the next few days.

Kim

 

[Nap]

Hi Kim

Great to see this VBench , good explanation of the steps , the work has certainly paid off

The only thing I do different is to prime the actual bust before fitting to base

Will you cover the base with lo-tac paper tape and use base as a holder when painting ?

Following this with interest

Have fun @ the bench

Nap

 

[Canterbury Coxswain]

Hi Nap,
Thanks for this reply. Picking up on your two points:

• I don't prime the figure, or its parts, until I have made any alterations to various areas and then pinned them properly [instead of using the BluTac], so they can be unassembled at any point, prior to the final 'glue' fit. It's all about those little sweat pores, amino acids and various oils from the sebaceous glands [if I remember right from my old job].
• Regarding the base, the reason for making the brass 6mm threaded stem is so that it can be taken apart at anytime during the building and painting stages. The main figure would then be put onto my aluminium handle [as MalcC uses....wonder where he got his from?!*], which is quite comfortable and copes with the weight of some of these figures well, when held in the hand. I have also seen that Michael Parkinson has one too. I got mine from a shop in Belgium, but you had to buy two so they would ship the order to the UK.....good old Brexit!

When I Post tonight's 'episode', what I have written here should make sense....I hope.
Kind regards and thanks for your interest,
Kim

 

[Canterbury Coxswain]

Before I Post tonight's episode I am including a few photos I have dug out of the Airfix 54mm Bengal Lancer mentioned at the start and completed some 47 years ago!

• He is painted using Humbrol tinlets of matt paint and the horse was painted in oils
• I think the horse was the original from the kit, but I used an Historex horse tail
• The epaulettes were from another figure and are not correct....but in my ignorance, looked better to me!
• The base was a piece of mahogany, bevelled and then taped and sand put on when a coat of PVA glue had been spread over
• The piece of slate was out of my tropical fish aquarium.....and not missed by them
• Whether there should have been metal horse-shoes like this I did not research [ugh!]

Now for the puzzle that has never been solved:

• Where did the top of his lance, his left hand epaulette, the horse's tip of the right ear and the bush from the bottom right hand corner go?
• My three children have never revealed what happened, even though the eldest retired from his work last summer........strangely, their table tennis table was very near the place where this figure was displayed!!
• I took this, very proudly, to an early FMMG meeting and three folk [nicely] criticised it, mainly saying that the highlights had been painted first and the shadows last.....since then it has remained in it's box in the 'box room', but my retired son says he would like it some day.... .therein might lie a clue!
• 

As they say 'enjoy' or not..................
Cheers,
Kim

 

[Canterbury Coxswain]

Having got to this stage in the build, I felt a few very minor alterations were needed:

• The hood's original centre seam and some creases needed filling and a new one added, along with stitch holes
• I also did not like the pointed aspect to the front of the hood, so lowered and smoothed this off, also re-creating the centre seam and the front area of fold-back, with the stitching here too
• The right hand had the fore-finger attached to the mid-finger, so I used a small electric drill and dentists' drill piece to remove this resin, especially as this hand would be holding the axe handle and, therefore, 'on show'
• Then I primed the figure with Vallejo mid-grey primer
• After which I sprayed a LifeColor mid-skin tone onto his face and then, with a brush, added a white [with a very small amount of red included] into the eye areas. He was starting to look the part!

When I came back to him the next time, I felt some texture was required to the hood, so hand stippled some Mr.Surfacer 500 onto this. Then did the same to the rest of cloak, but used Mr.Surfacer 1000.

• Some extra cuts and abrasions were added to the shield surface and that too was sprayed with the grey primer
• A start was made to painting the hair, with a brush, and continued throughout, until I felt I had achieved what looked right, to me

Now came the fun part in my research.....who would this 'hedgerow mercenary' belong to? All I knew was I needed something that was colourful and this would require me to hand paint the detail onto his shield....it was to be Luther von Braunschweig, and that will come in the next episode!
Kim

 

[Canterbury Coxswain]

Warren [down-under],
Many thanks for the 'likes' of the Bengal Lancer, you've just made an old man happy!!
Cheers,
Kim

 

[Nap]

Hi Kim

That’s right blame the poor innocent children ...lol ...great to see the Bengal , wasn’t there a larger scale released as well?

Amazing you’ve still got it ...be nice for you to redo a version ...this time with the references !

As for your knight , again great explanation, nice idea to do the work on the hood

Good start on painting

Looking forward to seeing more

Have fun @ the bench

Nap

 

[Canterbury Coxswain]

Well, I think a few other folk might agree with my choice of Luther von Braunschweig's army colours for this one! A number of the [older] members at FMMG use the phrase, 'make the colours 'pop' ', when painting or critiquing a figure, and I soon saw what they meant, either because the other main colours needed something to bring it alive, or else the edges of small items or areas on a figure where a highlight edging has been added, but hardly notices, however, it accentuates that item and brings the whole figure alive. On 1/6th, 1/9th or 1/10th scale figures/busts I feel there is no excuse to achieve this, but my admiration goes out to those that accomplish the same on 54mm and miniatures! But I am preaching to the converted here.........
So, you can see from the attached photos that:

• I photocopied the lion to the size of the shield
• Cut this out and then Tamiya taped the figure to the shield and outlined it
• Painted this outline with a brush and Nato Black,
• then from inside the line, in an outwards direction, stopping at the place that gave me the desired thickness of 'black'.
• After this I added the fur and other detail required.

During this process I use odd moments to:

• paint the steel pin heads that are on the reverse to hold the leather covering over the wooden shield - again, they might really be iron and/or rusty, but like this and a small ink around each makes them 'pop' from the rest of the shield....likewise a little bit of shading in the crease between each pin.
• Also, added various browns to make the woodwork and the grains to show, with shadows being Iroko brown [Scalemates woods] and Birch for the highlights and blending, where necessary. This was fun and many little alterations were made until I though it looked OK.

Something I will mention too, is the use of a 'round pointed' brush for the front and a 'flat' brush for painting and washing the back, but a 'rounded' for just dropping a ink solution into the grain indentations, that then run with a certain capillary action​

The 'pins' can also be seen here, for temporary positioning,,...awaiting the final gluing.​

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Having mentioned my other main pastime, choral singing, you will see some 'placement' within my photos. This is a small 'marketing' ploy, but also when I laminate some of the concert posters, there are the odd ones over, so I use them on the work bench for spray testing, mixing small amounts of paint and cutting. Recycling at its best!! Oh yes, should you happen to be in th Canterbury area on Saturday 2nd November, we, the Canterbury Choral Society [CCS], will be closing the fortnight of the Canterbury Festival in the Cathedral at 7.30pm. The Meridian Sinfonia will be accompanying us on this occasion, but we have regularly engaged the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra[RPO], the English Chamber Orchestra[ECO], The London Mozart Players and the London Handel Orchestra. Not bad for a local amateur symphony sized choir. Unfortunately, every three years we all get auditioned again and 'the sword of Damocles' hangs over us,,,,,the next one is towards the end of September, so a few weeks will see less modelling and more voice training!!​

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Finally, on the last photo you will see that I have painted in the wood where the shield has been 'slashed' and after this it looked too neat, so some dry pigment powders were added to give the impression of use [wear and tear].​

Thanks for likes and comments, much appreciated.​

Kim​

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[Canterbury Coxswain]

Hi Nap,
As and when you have a moment, can you please help with my last Post?
Two things:

1. Why have I got a line running through some of my script? How do I get rid of it?
2. [I would like the 5th photo [first on second line] to be the last in the top line and then move the lone one at the bottom to be the last on the second line. How do I go about this?] I have now sorted this - thanks - just the jolly line issue above at 1. needs correcting.

Sorry for this, but I have tried various things...and not succeeded.
Many thanks,
Kim

 

[Briggsy]

Crickey mate you've been busy, loving the Knight and really do like the Lancer, I reckon I'm going g to have to read through a couple more times to make sure I didn't miss anything.

Cheers Simon

 

[Canterbury Coxswain]

Thanks Simon for the comments on both figures. Remember, both of these figures were finished before I joined Planeteers and I'm just trying to get my first four completed figures up to date on the vBench, as encouraged to by a couple of folk here.
By the way, we are members of the same club on another front too....the 'Hipsters'. I had a new one fitted on the right side in January 2022, wow what a difference! Now I can put my socks, trainers and shoes on again, by myself, and also do the gardening, without having to get someone else to do it all. They told me the left one will need doing in 2025/26, but so far it causes me no problem.
All the best.
Kim

 

[Nap]

Hi Nap,
As and when you have a moment, can you please help with my last Post?
Two things:

1. Why have I got a line running through some of my script? How do I get rid of it?
2. [I would like the 5th photo [first on second line] to be the last in the top line and then move the lone one at the bottom to be the last on the second line. How do I go about this?] I have now sorted this - thanks - just the jolly line issue above at 1. needs correcting.

Sorry for this, but I have tried various things...and not succeeded.
Many thanks,
Kim

All sorted Kim , no worries ...happy to help

great update on this really coming along well

Happy benchtime

Nap

 

[Briggsy]

Hi Kim, must admit I'm not looking forward to the hip job, yes it will be nice to be rid of the pain and have more use of the leg, just had too many ops over the years. With the spinal injuries, replacement knee and lack of cartilage in the other one I'm still going to be pretty immobile and in pain, but hey it means I get more bench time which is at least a positive.

Cheers Simon

 

[MalcC]

Hi Kim
I enjoyed following your progress with this at the club meetings, you certainly made a much better start to the hobby than I did. I got glue everywhere, messing up the figure completely..
Your painting improves with every piece, and you amaze me with the little bits of detail you add.
I'm looking forward to your next update.

Malc

 

[Steve Ski]

This is looking really good to me, Kim. I like the shield work, too!

 

[Canterbury Coxswain]

Nap,
Many thanks for sorting this out for me. What did I do wrong and how did you fix it [just so I know, should it happen again]?
Regards,
Kim

 

[Canterbury Coxswain]

Simon, like wise, but not to your extent. Four ops. in the last two and a half years, with another three 'on the cards', but the way the NHS is at the moment does not help. The last one in April has not been successful, but the surgeon has kept putting back the appraisal from 3 months to 7 months...the stitches still require removal. The other surgeon for another 'complaint' said he cannot start until this one is successful and healed....heyho.
Like you, at least when I feel in the right mood, I can go into the workshop and spend time at the bench, which is where I was this afternoon for a couple of hours.
My regards,
Kim

 

[Canterbury Coxswain]

Malcolm, good to hear from you again and thanks for the comments, but a lot of this is down to the superb membership's help at FMMG. Not only do they pass on their tips each month, but you get a decent cup of tea and chocolate digestives!!
I shall be bringing along three pieces 'in build' to the next Meeting, each one at a different stage, to suit my current mood. However, the way I am physically, I have to spend a chunk of time most days, just trying to keep on top of the gardening, back and front!
I shall now do another small update to this in a moment.
Cheers and regards to your 'good lady'.
Kim

 

[Canterbury Coxswain]

Hi Steve,
Thanks for your comments again, a great encouragement to a 'newby' here.
I have just started to look at your vBench quota.....and like the Point du Hoc, the initial kit looks quite different and good. It looks like good reading over the next day or two. I have already gained so many tips and ideas in the last couple of weeks, since joining Planeteers, that I feel I have got my 'monies worth' already.
Have a good week and benchwork.
Kim

 

[Canterbury Coxswain]

Firstly, my apologies for not saying what we shall be singing at the Canterbury Festival Concert on 2nd November....the Monteverdi Vespers of 1610. They are of great significance, as the style in which he wrote them was ground breaking for such choral works and the likes of Mozart, Bach, Handel, Beethoven, Brahms and many others have continued that style, right up to today. Do listen to them on the likes of YouTube, if you have the time, they are a wonderful sound and quite uplifting.
Now back to my 'second passion', sorry!
This Teutonic Knight was now gaining apace and I was very much enjoying the build....learning all the way. My next step was to paint and detail the axe, the gloved hand and start on the leather work and tunic of the main body. The various steps were:

• to paint these three parts with black gloss undercoat so that the metals could be given a good base. You will notice that my airbrush skills were not too good on the lower body section, with a splattering effect! At this stage the cloak's hood could still be removed for painting
• The axe-head blade was given a number of 'dings' along the leading edges and the side faces, to make it look as if it had been used. I then used the AK steel coloured wax, one of those that Melanie spoke of in one of her build processes, likewise giving it a gentle polish, but with a cotton bud, once it had dried thoroughly. The black overcoating of the gloss primer was a coat of paste from a tube of Hotspot - black stove and grate polish [as suggested to me by MalcC at an FMMG meeting, when discussing his wonderful Knight of Heaven bust]. I also painted the axe handle with a mixture of the Scalecolor light wood paints, using a thin dark wash into the woodgrain pattern to finish off with. It might be a silly thing to say, but I was really pleased with this little part of the bust, when finished! Satisfying.
• The glove was painted in a slightly different colour brown to the cloak, the latter being revisited many times to get the finish and effect I had in my head. I feel I got there, eventually, but this will be shown in the last set of photos, which I shall Post after this set.
• You will also see, from the photos, that I drilled a small hole and cut a thread to accept a grub-screw that would hold the bust onto the brass upright of the display stand [I now drill and cut a 6mm thread into the bottom of each bust, as well as doing the same to the other end that goes into the wooden stand, as demonstrated earlier in this thread
• You will also see, in the photos, a stand I made from square 'C' section aluminium, to mimic the aluminium stand that holds the bust handle that I use to fix the bust onto, whilst painting it. It holds Boadicea, queen of the Icene [from whom I have removed her pouting lower lip], and a WWII 1935 Sikh soldier bust, prepared and grey primed. They remain the same at this moment!

We are nearly there!
Kim