So here we are at Blog Number 2 and some War of 1812 American Regulars. Thanks to all those who responded with positive feedback after Number1.
Some people requested information detailing the construction and conversion methods I use, but, before I go on to do that, a quick statement of the type of stuff I produce. We like to have big units, we think that large scale figures in small numbers look a little daft, so what you see in is our standard infantry company, an officer, drummer and sergeant and 20 privates. Because of our desire to build these units as quickly as possible, our conversions are best described as "in the style of...." that is they do not stand up to scrutiny as 100% accurate, but are pretty close, they are not connoisseur models, but toy soldiers for wargames and display.
I've always liked "American Wars" ACW and AWI (American Revolution if you prefer) both are well provided for with plenty of plastic figures in our scale. So why choose the War of 1812? Madness just madness.
So back to the figures. They are a mix of Barzo figures from the period, a few HELMET Soldiers, simple conversions here, and the bulk of the rest coming from A Call to Arms Belgian Infantry, BMC Mexicans with similar from CTS. I was just looking for British style Napoleonic types.
For all except the Barzo's I used HELMET Belgic shakos. I removed the cords, not the tassels, and badges and replaced these with new items form greenstuff, the American badge was small and higher up, and the cords sloped across rather than hanging in a half loop. I also "nicked off" the top corners of the false front on the shako to try and create the impression of greater height. A tip here, I try to avoid troops carrying their musket across their bodies, this can often be avoided by turning the head through 90 degrees and have him looking along his gun rather than across it. The high collars which support the pinned and glued heads come from greenstuff.
Those figures wearing knapsacks had them replaced with American envelope style packs made simply from greenstuff. I've uploaded a couple of pics of the command figures as we have had a few questions about the availability of such models. The Officer is as follows: HELMET body, arms, head, sword and scabbard, Marx US cavalry legs with sash etc from greenstuff. The drummer is an old Timpo Waterloo figure with a HELMET head, I carved away the lace on the coatee front and built up coat tails, haversack and canteen from greenstuff. Finally the sergeant is basically a HELMET figure converted as above with sash and epaulets from greenstuff with an extra sword and bayonet scabbard. The belts are made from thin paper fixed with a gel superglue. Painted for durability in good old gloss enamels and textured bases. Done!
I'm working on some more regulars in grey jackets which we'll post when complete. Any feedback gratefully received.
Cheers for now.
Eric
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