Red Lancer Trumpeter
75mm White Metal kit from Pegaso
Painted spring 2007
It’s good to have a trip down memory lane now and then, and I’m finding working through these old articles, and in some cases writing new pieces as well, that thoughts and memories get piqued.
This kit is one such, bringing back memories of The Basement Forum that Robin Snelson set up and that we ran jointly ( He did most of the work to be honest ),
and the way in which the social side of the hobby can be fun, and in some cases help you improve, simply because ideas get thrown about. Sometimes painting the same kit can be very interesting, simply because it highlights how people find different interpretations of the same subject.
This model was suggested as a “Group Paint” where anyone could get the kit, paint it up, share ideas and methods throughout the painting process, and compare results.
There wasn’t a competition with a prize, the idea being to see the differing results that people managed to get, because of different mediums and methods being used. Now to be truthful, at the point when this madness took hold, there were only around ten folk on the forum – it really was in it’s infancy ( there were over 800 at it’s highest point I think ). As it was I think seven or eight decided to have a go at painting one piece, and after some discussion the Pegaso 75mm lancer was chosen.
The criteria was set so that each person would try and paint up their model for Euro 2007, although a few ( Nutters like myself ) were aiming for the Antwerp show in early March 2007.
Having a forum to discuss things on certainly made it interesting, and the amount of discussion concerning quality of casting, how different each kit was in it’s finer details, well, it was a bit of an eye opener. To be honest I felt a bit lucky that my figure didn’t have much wrong with it barring the normal clean-up expected for a metal kit. Some folk had tassels broken or missing, some experienced mis-casting on the face too. Nothing too major, but certainly more than was expected from a company of such usual high quality like Pegaso.
What we did all agree on was that it seemed to be a complex complexity of the kit, that the detailing was in the main very good, and that there was little that each modeller could do to make his figure “different” from anyone else’s.
Any differences would actually come from the paints used and the effects those paints could give, allied to the skills of the individual painters.
This latter fact alone would be interesting, simply because on such a level playing field, it should show up the differences between the “top” medal winners, and allow the intermediate and beginners a chance to experience the same figure and hopefully have more idea when discussing how to make improvements.
Well that was my theory. I think I’m the third to finish the figure, so we haven’t had much discussion yet, and at the time of writing this, to be fair, no-one’s even seen him.
Still, I’m typing this the night before setting off to Antwerp, so I’ve succeeded in getting him finished, and I should have plenty of time discussing any shortcomings with my painting over the weekend – no doubt there’ll be jokes about the size of the tree !
So, I said I wasn’t going to waffle – Oooops, I lied there, didn’t I ?
I’d better just get on and tell you a basic story of what I did to make him different, and then close with a few comments.
Let’s start with the box top art – photo #1 - it shows a well-painted example, and very nice it is too; now on to my comments.
To begin with I had a problem with the face. Mine had no apparent cheekbones, and the eyes were slightly uneven – photo #2. To remedy this I added some small balls of Magic Sculpt to the areas that should have the cheekbones, and then blended this into the metal with a soft brush – probably not much to see, but that has been done in photo #3.
Photo #4 shows the painted face. O.K. the eyes are uneven – another problem with the casting, but with a little bit of painting trickery – like painting the figure’s right lower eyelid to be part way up the eye, I managed to even them out. The other problem was that I’d put a line in the soft putty on the cheekbones that I’d sculpted in.
It was invisible until I got some paint on the face, and too small to correct unless I removed the putty and started again. So I left it in place and painted it as a scar. Oh, and I took the liberty of adding a moustache and a dimple in the chin. Um, yes, this now has an un-striking resemblance to me, which is not intended – work out the double negatives in that last sentence and you’re a good’un !
Photo #5 shows more shadows being added – although I’ve still not evened out that moustache.
Now with Photo #6 it’s really moving along – the arms had been temporarily Blu-tacked in place so that I could get the white jacket done, whilst allowing me to remove them for easy fitting of the trumpet later on – obviously here is where I’d removed them again so that I could work on other areas.
In photo #7 I’ve done the braiding running down the legs. This is like the rest of the figure and is painted in acrylics, using a mix of Bubonic Brown and Chaos Black from Games Workshop, and by adding more Bubonic Brown, then some Skull White, I lightened the mix gradually so that through the course of fifteen to twenty thin coats of the paint the mid-tones and highlights were gradually built up. The last couple of coats added the braided effect to the colour, using a fine brush to paint on individual lines crossing the braid. By using non-metallic colours on the braiding, the buttons really stand out on the figure because they are done with metallic paints.
Photo # 8 shows the “flag” that hangs from the trumpet. Now I must mention a big “Thank You” to Dave Maddox, who posted on the forum a picture of both sides of an actual flag, because I for one did not have such material in my references – Thanks Dave.
So here’s one side painted, in acrylics too, because I’m impatient, and wanted to see what I could do. The detail sculpted on the part is very good, although it’ll take a good painter to bring it all out in the correct colours.
Now in the next shot – photo #9 - the vapours from the acrylics must really have affected me, because I took it upon myself to paint in a shed-load of extra detail – like the “N”, the little crown above it, the lettering on the top of the swagged banner that reads “GARDE IMPERIAL” – yes, I missed off the “E” at the end of IMPERIALE, but that got corrected shortly after.
How did I manage the lettering – well I sharpened a pencil up and wrote it on – Honest, I did !
And now for the bit that will make you laugh……all this detail is hidden by his right leg apart from the first three letters of GARDE – Bugger !!!!!
But moving along; in photo #10 he’s nearing completion, I’d taken the liberty of hollowing out the trumpet – it looked awful without the horn being worked on, and I stripped the initial paint off, having tried to paint the shadow of the horn in place and being totally dissatisfied with it. I used a couple of small drills to hollow out the mouthpiece and the horn, expanding the shape of the horn with a sharp scalpel – this can be seen in shots of the back of the figure when he’s finished.
The “rope” braiding that is the sling for the trumpet, is supplied in the kit as a short length of cotton cord. This I thought was unsatisfactory, as not only is it very thin, but it is also “hairy” and would just look like an old frayed string if painted and used.
I decided to make a replacement with some soft lead wire. I used a ten-inch length of this and painted half of it with the yellow coloured acrylic, and half with some red. Then I bent it in the middle, inserted it into a pin vice, and proceeded to twist the wires together. Instant painted rope braid, and very neatly painted at that. It just required a couple of washes of oil paint to add in the shadows, and some small spots of highlight to finish it off.
I wanted to put him into a setting that would give me the excuse for him to look clean. So I decided to use a section of wall that Andrea make as a resin scenic kit, and although it’s for 54mm scale figures, I thought it’d adapt just fine. I set out a small base with some additional paving slabs and some grass in Milliput to frame the wall – the paving stones supplied by Andréa looked too small ( well, as mentioned, it was intended for a much smaller scale kit ).
The pin sticking out of the base is where the figure will be attached.
Photo #12 shows the wall in place. I’ve altered the wall so that it is undamaged, and the flat back has had the applicable detail added to match the front. I’ll add a tree behind the wall too.
The final shots show the figure in place on the painted base, and a couple of close-up’s to show off the details.
Oh, the tree.
Yes, now that’s constructed from a twig off a dead miniature rose bush, and by adding some fern-like moss to it by drilling small holes into the twig and gluing the moss “branches in place.
To stop the moss from drying out and disintegrating, I preserved it by simmering the moss for a couple of minutes in a 50:50 mix of glycerine and water. The moss is then removed and allowed to dry out on newspaper for a few days before it can be used.
The only drawback to this method is that the simmering of the moss kills it, and the colour quickly fades out of it to a greenish yellow. However it can be painted with oil paints or with the use of paint sprayed through an airbrush.
Conclusion.
I’d got two of these kits, with the thought that my son Thomas could have a go at painting one too, after all he’s pretty accomplished at painting now, and I though it would look good having two of these figures standing side by side in the display cabinet. It’d also show him how close he is to being as good ( and soon hopefully overtaking ) Good Old Dad.
Unfortunately I have to admit that this kit is just too hard. I have to admit in fact that I struggled with it.
Don’t get me wrong, the casting is O.K. – not brilliant, but it’s good enough on my example. It’s all the fine detail, that to be honest will test the best painters skills.
I’m certainly not trying to put you off. Robin for one reckons this is the best work I’ve ever done so far – and for that alone I thank him.
But it is a difficult one to paint satisfactorily, and I certainly think that Thomas needs a couple more figures under his belt before attempting to complete this one.
Whilst doing this, I’ve got to say that at some points I wanted to put it to one side, and at others I was saying that this one would cure me from painting another Napoleonic for quite some time. As is usually the case, this was all bravado and bluster, and seeing how good the finished piece looks, I’m tempted to line up another ( well there’s only one other 75mm Napoleonic isn’t there – and it just happens to be on my shelf ) one from this period.
We’ll see about that though – there’s a bit of a queue forming on the bench at the minute, so another Napoleonic might be some time off…….
What I am sure of is that I’m looking forward to seeing other versions of this from the several other members of The Basement Forum who have taken on this project; hopefully here, and with a few words describing their individual trials and tribulations with the painting.
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