Skip to main content

Just the Metallic Bits, Dappeled Grey, and Squadron Standard to Do. . .

We're just about there. . . 


Well, after a prolonged period of inactivity on the hobby front, I've managed to get myself back into the painting chair for a few sessions in the last week or so, and just a few items remain before the two-squadron regiment of cuirassiers in bearskins can be glossed.  

The title of this particular post says it all, so I won't go into excruciating detail here.  However, there is one very important lesson to learn from ol' Uncle Ass Backwards (aka yours truly).  

If  there are small parts to affix to your figures -- like, oh, I don't know, the muskets just to the left of the figures shown above -- it is far easier (re: better) to do so before ANY basecoating or painting begins in earnest.  You will, I trust, grasp instantly what I'm talking about.

When I began work on the first red-coated squadron last summer, I was in such a rush to get started with the project that I totally forgot about the muskets, which needed to be glued carefully into place just behind each trooper's right arm and leg.  You can imagine my consternation when, after finishing that first half of the planned regiment and preparing to start with the 14 above, I realized my mistake.  If memory serves me correctly, the air here in Zum Stollenkeller was briefly turned blue by the string of curses muttered below my breath. 

Sigh.  Well, nothing for it but to paint the muskets separately and then attempt to put them into place with two or three tiny drops of superglue gel.  I suspect that my face will turn purple due to prolonged holding of breath.  Wish me luck!

-- Stokes

Comments

Stryker said…
That does sound like a right fiddle but I'm sure the finished unit will be worth any temporary raising of your blood pressure!
Bit by Bit as they say, (esp the bridles).

I have no doubt of your ability to superglue the paint on the muskets to the paint on the figures.
My Dear Heinz Ulrich, Greetings!

The figures look terrific, to quote my young nephew. The process of adding the rifles might be facilitated if you use a material like Zap Kicker which will set the rifles in position within 3-5 seconds. I would recommend selecting one horse and rider to initially work out exactly the location of the muskets and then move forward. And, of course, with any of the superglue gels and accelerants good ventilation is an absolute must.


I look forward with much anticipation the presentation of the finished products.


Your Obedient Servant,


Gerardus Magnus

Lovely Stokes. I do enjoy looking at RSM figures. Best of luck with the muskets. I opted for the figures holding? swords. I learned you could loop the sword around the figures hand and apply liberal amounts of super glue.
Wellington Man said…
Yaaaaarrrrrrgh, as they say these parts.

Nevertheless, I think your plan will work....it's effectively what I do when I glue my flags onto their standard bearers. Liberal amounts of varnish on top should help to bind everything together. Best of luck!
WM

Popular posts from this blog

And We're Off!!!

  Arrrgh!  Gotta go back into camera settings on my iPhone to bring all of the frame into focus.  Blast! Painting is underway on the 60 or so Minden Austrians, which are slated to become my version of the Anhalt-Zerbst Regiment of AWI renown.  More or less indistinguishable from Austrians of the era really, right down to the red facings and turnbacks, but the eventual flags (already in my files) will set them apart.   I went ahead and based-coated all of them over a couple of days lthe last week of August, using a mix of light gray and white acrylic gesso, before next applying my usual basic alkyd oil flesh tone to the faces and hands.  In a day or two, I'll hit that with Army Painter Flesh Wash to tone things down a bit and bring some definition to the faces and hands.   As usual, the plan is to focus on about 20 figures at a time, splitting the regiment roughly into thirds along with the color party and regimental staff.  Depending on ...

Sunday Morning Coffee with AI. . .

    A rmed with a second cup of fresh, strong coffee, I messed around a bit this morning with artlist.io using its image to image function in an attempt to convert my hand-drawn map from September 2006 to something that more resembles an old map from the mid-18th century.  And just like my experiments with Ninja AI in June, the results are mixed.   The above map is pretty good, but Artlist keeps fouling up the place names and has trouble putting a faint overlay of hexes across the entire area.  Hexes, admittedly, are not likely to be found on any genuine maps from the era in question, but there we are.  Frankly, I prefer the appearance of the Ninja map, but there were problems getting it to correct its errors.  Grrrr.  As is the case with so much having to do with the various AI's out there now, the output generated is a direct result of the prompts entered.  For text alone, and when you develop a lengthy, highly detailed prompt, it is...

Continued Regional Map Revisions. . .

F ooled around a bit more with the revised map just before and after dinner this evening, using the Fotor app to reinsert missing text .  I also removed a few other things using the 'Magic Eraser' function, which works surprisingly well.  Now, we're getting somewhere.  I just have to figure out how to ensure that the text is all a uniform font style and maybe figure out a way to add a few bunches of trees to suggest forested areas,  Ninja AI is not always entirely cooperative to the tune of "I'm sorry Dave.  I can't do that." -- Stokes