Roman Centurion (Andrea Miniatures bust, scale 1:8)

[arj]

It’s taken me a wee while to get around to having a go at this one. I bought it over 20 years ago in Hong Kong (considerably cheaper there than here) and I’ve had it out regularly, and then put it back thinking not today.

It’s a heavy beast, weighing in at just under 700g; all metal with a resin cloak, plus some of my own filling additions in Milliput to aid pinning and fitting.

I recollect reading on the Forum that Andrea resin is notorious for pinholes. I can confirm that the cloak looked like it had been attacked by a random resin worm (or two). It took a goodly while to deal with them (I won’t be surprised if I missed something).

It would have been finished a fortnight ago, but after fixing the plume spindle, I thought it needed a slight adjustment. Silly me !!

It snapped and I spent the next week or so drilling through it to use a 0.5mm wire reinforcement.

I have no idea what metal was used, but I managed to snap my 0.45 and 0.5mm drill bits trying to get through. Luckily they managed to last almost to the end. The 0.55mm bit finished the job.

Anyway, here he is. A Roman Centurion bust by Andrea Miniatures, scale 1/8.



Painting was mainly oils over enamels. The helmet was first painted in Baroque (Darkstar Molten Metal) and then with an oil mix of Lamp Black and Burnt Umber, which was then rubbed off with toilet paper (I do like Brian’s method for plate steel).

Cheers,
Andrew

 

[Tommy Atkins]

Very nice indeed! Regards Pete

 

[MoboSchreuder]

Fantastic paintwork Andrew

Mobo

 

[Redcap]

Cracking work on this old AM classic - love it!
Gary

 

[Warren SMITH]

Excellent work..

 

[Wayneb]

Excellent paintwork , Always wondered about the durability of the post that holds that crest. Aside from that production brain fart I think the piece turned out very well.

Wayne

 

[Tom W.]

A little tip for drilling white metal....use white spirit as drilling medium.

 

[Soldaten6]

Well done! I really like the way the helmet came out.

I have this in my Grey Army and have taken it out many times over the years; begun the prepping, filling, filing and sanding; only to get frustrated or distracted and put it away again. Your pictures are making me think its time to have another go!

R/

Bob

 

[arj]

Very nice indeed! Regards Pete

Thank you Pete.

Cheers,
Andrew

 

[arj]

Fantastic paintwork Andrew

Mobo

Thank you Mobo.

Cheers,
Andrew

 

[arj]

Cracking work on this old AM classic - love it!
Gary

I’m pleased you like it Gary.

Cheers,
Andrew

 

[arj]

Excellent work..

Thank you Warren.

Cheers,
Andrew

 

[arj]

Excellent paintwork , Always wondered about the durability of the post that holds that crest. Aside from that production brain fart I think the piece turned out very well.

Wayne

Thank you Wayne.
I must admit that there were times when I considered testing it at speed off the wall, but I’m finally pleased I didn’t.

Cheers,
Andrew

 

[arj]

A little tip for drilling white metal....use white spirit as drilling medium.

Thank you for the tip Tom.
The only time when it’s too late to learn something is when you’ve snuffed it.

Cheers,
Andrew

 

[arj]

Well done! I really like the way the helmet came out.

I have this in my Grey Army and have taken it out many times over the years; begun the prepping, filling, filing and sanding; only to get frustrated or distracted and put it away again. Your pictures are making me think its time to have another go!

R/

Bob

Thank you Bob.
I’m pleased you like the helmet.

I know your feeling very well. As I said, I was doing the same thing for over 20 years.
It’s a bit of a beast, with too many holes (to cut down on weight). Unfortunately, that makes sticking the bits together a bit of a nightmare.

That’s why I used quite a bit of Milliput. The neck connection was filled in both neck and body, and then drilled and pinned. That prevented the head from rocking once I applied the epoxy to the painted items.

I didn’t like the idea of using the angle bracket provided as the fixing to the ‘base’ (I considered that too restrictive). It was stuck in place on the body, and then used as a bracing for a hefty Milliput pack. A 3mm brass rod was temporarily pushed in place through the bracket hole to create a locating void.
I had a few large steel washers lying around and stuck five together to create a mini plinth, which was then stuck to the body and blended-in with Milliput. The brass rod was then slipped into place, ready for fixing to my wooden plinth.

I found that the main trick to this bust is to do a lot of dry runs to find the problem areas (there are quite a few) and plan ahead.

If you have any problems, drop me a PM and I’ll do my best to help you through.

Cheers,
Andrew

 

[Soldaten6]

Andrew,

Will do and I appreciate the tips!

R/

Bob

 

[Steve Ski]

That is some fine work, metal works and all.

 

[Nap]

Hi Andrew

So you've been working out ...that's a chunk @ 700g

I've always liked this , got to be the "Sid James look"

Good recovery on that crest redrilling

Painting looks good as well

Look forward to seeing this at Plymouth

Thanks for sharing

Hope we see more soon

Happy benchtime

Nap

 

[arj]

That is some fine work, metal works and all.

Thanks for looking and taking the time to comment Steve.

Cheers,
Andrew

 

[arj]

Hi Andrew

So you've been working out ...that's a chunk @ 700g

I've always liked this , got to be the "Sid James look"

Good recovery on that crest redrilling

Painting looks good as well

Look forward to seeing this at Plymouth

Thanks for sharing

Hope we see more soon

Happy benchtime

Nap

Hi Kevin,

Thank you very much for your kind comments.
I'm not too sure about the Sid James look, although I see where you're coming from.

Sid in 'Carry On Cleo'

The Centurion in the Ermine Street Guard:-
I think this was more probably the person chosen by the sculptor.

And his array of medals:-
The bust's medals can be found amongst this assortment.

What do you think?

Cheers,
Andrew