Hi folks
Next update from David ....ENJOY
There is butchery a foot. This episode of the St. Germain Cavalry School Trumpeter SBS will focus on building the trumpeter.
After cleaning up the mold seams on the legs I add a small shim to the crotch. As we have shimmed the horse this helps ensure a better fit. The leg halves are cemented together and once dry the gaps/seams are puttied. This figure is wearing tall, cuffed boots. I will cut the boots off, drill and rout, using a cylindrical cutter in my Dremel tool, out the boot top. I started doing this when I did a Dragoon posting in the saddle. I liked the way the tops of the boots came out have continued to follow this process with figures wearing cuffed boots. Note, I marked the bottom of each boot with a r or l to help me keep them straight.
Then I drill holes in the boots and legs, measure and insert wire pins, reposition the boots and start rebuilding the knees that were cut/routed off. Once satisfied with the pose of the boots, I rebuild the pants and adjust the seat of the legs in the saddle. Typically, as I work the legs, I would also start adding the upper body. However, on another site I had seen where a modeler had drilled down through the pelvis/hip section, through the saddle and into the horse. By doing this they were able to fix the rider’s position in the saddle have an attachment point for painting. After finalizing the legs position the top of the hole was filed with putty, and the pin super glued between the legs.
Next, more butchery, I began carving the detail from a Historex body. I know there are other methods for building up the body, but I find carving/cutting up a body cathartic. At this point I drill all the holes to attach the body to the legs and add head and arms. Then I measure and cut a piece of wire, attach the thorax to the legs and build up the abdominal area with putty. Next, I attached the head, in this cash one from Figurinitaly’s excellent range of heads. Because there are nine rows of lace to add before adding buttons, I chose not to add the arms at this point.
For the arms, I took a pair of Historex arms, removed the hands and drilled/routed out the sleeves. I also, marked the left and right forearms. I added wire pins to the hands, rebuilt the wrists with putty, and drilled corresponding holes into the arms. Then, I cut the forearms off, drilled a hole to add a wire armature for the upper arm, measured and fitted the arm to the body to ensure everything was of appropriate proportion. As noted before, I have not attached the arms.
The final step in this session is to add the surtout collar and the lower portion of the waistcoat. I rolled Magic Sculpt out very thin. I included a photo of one of my hobby business cards with the sheet of putty over it to show how thin I can get the MS. I will use putty rolled this thin for turnbacks, labels, etc. I roll it a bit thicker for gauntlet cuffs, which will be added in a coming work session. Finally, using the .18 punch in my sub-micro punch and die set, punched out buttons for the waistcoat and breeches.
There will be a bit of delay between now and the next installment. I am in need of “Granddaddy time”, so will be visiting my Grandson this coming weekend.
In the next installment of this SBS I will be adding coattails, using Magic Sculpt/Kneadatite mixed and building out the surtout with Apoxie Sculpt and Kneadatite. As always, questions, critiques and comments are encouraged.
Next update from David ....ENJOY
There is butchery a foot. This episode of the St. Germain Cavalry School Trumpeter SBS will focus on building the trumpeter.
After cleaning up the mold seams on the legs I add a small shim to the crotch. As we have shimmed the horse this helps ensure a better fit. The leg halves are cemented together and once dry the gaps/seams are puttied. This figure is wearing tall, cuffed boots. I will cut the boots off, drill and rout, using a cylindrical cutter in my Dremel tool, out the boot top. I started doing this when I did a Dragoon posting in the saddle. I liked the way the tops of the boots came out have continued to follow this process with figures wearing cuffed boots. Note, I marked the bottom of each boot with a r or l to help me keep them straight.
Then I drill holes in the boots and legs, measure and insert wire pins, reposition the boots and start rebuilding the knees that were cut/routed off. Once satisfied with the pose of the boots, I rebuild the pants and adjust the seat of the legs in the saddle. Typically, as I work the legs, I would also start adding the upper body. However, on another site I had seen where a modeler had drilled down through the pelvis/hip section, through the saddle and into the horse. By doing this they were able to fix the rider’s position in the saddle have an attachment point for painting. After finalizing the legs position the top of the hole was filed with putty, and the pin super glued between the legs.
Next, more butchery, I began carving the detail from a Historex body. I know there are other methods for building up the body, but I find carving/cutting up a body cathartic. At this point I drill all the holes to attach the body to the legs and add head and arms. Then I measure and cut a piece of wire, attach the thorax to the legs and build up the abdominal area with putty. Next, I attached the head, in this cash one from Figurinitaly’s excellent range of heads. Because there are nine rows of lace to add before adding buttons, I chose not to add the arms at this point.
For the arms, I took a pair of Historex arms, removed the hands and drilled/routed out the sleeves. I also, marked the left and right forearms. I added wire pins to the hands, rebuilt the wrists with putty, and drilled corresponding holes into the arms. Then, I cut the forearms off, drilled a hole to add a wire armature for the upper arm, measured and fitted the arm to the body to ensure everything was of appropriate proportion. As noted before, I have not attached the arms.
The final step in this session is to add the surtout collar and the lower portion of the waistcoat. I rolled Magic Sculpt out very thin. I included a photo of one of my hobby business cards with the sheet of putty over it to show how thin I can get the MS. I will use putty rolled this thin for turnbacks, labels, etc. I roll it a bit thicker for gauntlet cuffs, which will be added in a coming work session. Finally, using the .18 punch in my sub-micro punch and die set, punched out buttons for the waistcoat and breeches.
There will be a bit of delay between now and the next installment. I am in need of “Granddaddy time”, so will be visiting my Grandson this coming weekend.
In the next installment of this SBS I will be adding coattails, using Magic Sculpt/Kneadatite mixed and building out the surtout with Apoxie Sculpt and Kneadatite. As always, questions, critiques and comments are encouraged.
