Monday 20 May 2013

Foundry British Napoleonic Light Dragoons 2

 Have you ever painted a figure that has fought against you every step of the way? Well, this one did. A great sculpt and love the bicorn being worn rather than the tarleton helmet. I was really looking forward to painting this.
To prevent handling,  I fix figures to corks with blutak when I paint. It fell off at least twice resulting in bent bits, scratches and fluff stuck to wet paint.. It was fiddly and I just couldn't get the freehand on the sabretache... three times I tried... lost patience. Gave up in the end.
The varnish didn't dry properly leaving bubbles and that white residue in the creases, folds and recesses. I just couldn't remove it. You can see it on the photo.
Finally, as I removed the figure from the cork, the horse's tail broke off! I gave up in the end. Sometimes it is best just acknowledege that things were never meant to be and move on.  

3 comments:

Michael Awdry said...

Now you see if you hadn't said anything, I would probably have posted 'job well done', which was certainly my initial impression! The freehand work looks pretty good to me and well worth all the effort that you put into to it!

AJ (Allan) Wright said...

Wonderful work. Instead of blue tack and corks I use white glue to affix figures to soda bottle caps. The white glue holds them firmly, but pops off when you're done painting since it doesn't stick to the metal/plastic of the figure/cap well. I prefer the round caps so I can easily manipulate the figure while painting. I'm assuming that is the same reason you use corks. Hope this tip helps you.

This post has a WIP with my method shown: http://ajs-wargaming.blogspot.com/2012/06/western-gunfight-banditos-wip.html

painted stuff said...

Well done! I know the varnish problem. Depending on the varnish and the drying time it helps to take a look at the figure after about 10-15 minutes and carefully carry off any excess varnish which is still wet and has gathered in the recesses with a brush.