Homecasting Horses in 45mm

   A couple of other blogs have been working on post-ACW militia companies, an area of great interest to me. As mentioned before, anyone interested in colorful uniforms would do well to look into the militia uniforms of the militia in the United States in the 19th century. 

    I have been toying with different projects to get my interest back into gaming. One was to use Britain's West Point cadet figures to create post-ACW militia companies. Another was to make 40mm Militia units. I started by making a mold of a Britain's West Point figure; the idea is to use this figure to convert to a master that different heads could be added to.  The mold turned out usable figures; now to figure how to use them.

   I also saw at Berliner Zinnfiguren a nice horse mold in 45mm. The picture shows an elegant horse in full gallop. I ordered it, along with a Napoleonic Chasseur a Cheval figure.  I almost cancelled the order once the postage was added; however I broke down and bought the molds. 

  They came this week. As my wife was going out with a friend Saturday morning, I set up for a casting session while she was gone. I had also made a mold of a Britain's series B Guard marching figure that I wanted to test.

   The casting session was partially successful. My homemade mold was a failure. However, the Horse mold was a success. The horse mold, made by the company Nowikoff, is a two piece figure. What makes this mold great is the body of the horse is hollow, cutting down both weight and the amount of metal used. The mold fills well, however, being a rather thin mold, needs several clamps to keep it together without the metal oozing out. As can be seen from the photos below, the horse as cast is leaping over a bush, with a large base. I ordered it, hoping to cut the base and bush off, thereby having a horse with a classic Britain's free standing horse. Thankfully it worked as I hoped, although the legs have to be bent slightly to get them stable. Luckily the metal being used can be gently bent, so the horse is free standing. The two halves fit together well, with a few gaps that need to be filled.

  While working on the horse, another thing I wanted to see is if Zinn Brigade horsemen would work with this horse. I tried a Lancer figure on the first casting. I was very happy with the result. So happy, in fact that I cast total of 5 horses and a couple more Lancers with the idea of making a unit of Lancers. I want to paint up a unit of National Lancers, a Massachusetts Militia unit formed in the 1800's which became quite famous, and saw action in 3 wars. The National Lancers are still in existence, being a ceremonial unit in my home state.

West Point Casting

First casting of Nowikoff horse mold

Trying the horse with a Zinn Brigade Lancer. The inspiration for the National Lancers

A photo of a just poured horse. I believe more metal goes back into the pot that goes to the horse itself. I cut off the bush and base and return those to the pot.

Working on cleaning up the castings.

The horses have been glued together and primed for painting. I started painting one of the horses to see how glossy the glossy paint I am using was going to be. I really want these figures to look like proper "Toy Soldiers".

Wargaming the War of 1812

    Before I had access to the internet, for several years my main interest was the American War of 1812. Recently I read a biography of the American general, Jacob Brown. He was commander of the American army that invaded the Canadian side of the Niagara area in 1814. He was the most successful American general during the war, but is largely  forgotten today. Reading of the 1814 campaign has renewed my interest in the war.

    Right now my big decision is which figures will be used.

Some of the figures I'm thinking of using; 15mm Minifigs 1st generation British Napoleonics(for both sides), 15mm Heritage Napoleonics, 20mm Frying Pan and Blanket Amalgamated War of 1812 figures, and 40mm Homecast Prince August and Zinnbrigade figures.

Some of the figures I started painting for inspiration.

Two other options are using Old Glory 10mm or Historfigs N gauge Scrubys. These are some Old Glory Napoleonics that were painted for a different War of 1812 project that I was working on.

Old Glory British infantry painted as Americans for the above mentioned project.

A Zinnbride figure converted for use as a early American infantryman. I got the idea for this figure from Ross Macfarland's Battle of the Month blog. In one of his War of 1812 games, I saw such a converted figure and liked the pose.

Two Zinnbrigade conversions. The  painted Zinnbrigade figure was converted to a march attack  figure. The musket is simply a piece of garden wire. Besides deciding on figures, I'm thinking of different rules from the usual Battle Cry or C&C rules. My wife and I are going camping next week. I plan to bring several War of 1812 books to reread for inspiration. Hopefully at the end of the vacation I'll have a better idea of where this project is going.

Rebasing Scruby N Gauge SYW Figures

     Being Easter weekend, I have three days off. My wife went off to the picket line, so I decided to get some hobby work done. First was to cast some Zinnbrigade cavalry figures, to see how well they would match Britains 40mm figures.  While waiting for the metal to cool, I cleaned the area around my workbench. Recently I haven't been able to move my chair because I keep stacking various projects on the floor around the table. I got the figures cast that I wanted and my work area cleaned.

   The next project was to try to rebase one unit of the Scruby N gauge SWY figures. I wanted to see if an idea originally planned for my Minifigs would work with these figures. The regiment would be of 12 figures, 3 figures to a base. On one base the standard bearer would be placed on the right side, so when in line the flag would be close to the center.  I was happy with the result; so much so that I took the painted figures off the bases they were mounted on and then started remounting more than planned.

    I find that I really like the looks of the N gauge Scruby's. So much so that I am thinking of ordering some of the ACW line to use with Battle Cry.

The Scruby's on their original bases. I personally don't like thick bases.

The Zinnbrigade cavalry next to Prince August Brave Toy Soldier figures.

Some of the newly mounted Scruby N gauge figures.

The first regiment of Scruby Austrians.

By the way, the Peter Laing GNW armies are almost complete. All that is needed is to complete the generals, and I want to make a couple of Cossack units.

42mm Britains figures

     I have been waiting for some figures I bought on Ebay. They are some Britains, 4 which are smaller than the usual 54mm figures.  I bought them hoping they would be the same size as Zinnbrigade 42mm Prussian parade figures.  The package came in today. I think they are the same scale, although a book I have lists the Britains as being 44mm.

The Ebay lot. The 4 figures on the left were the figures I wanted.

The figures belong to Britains  "W" series.

Unfortunately, the Highlander is damaged, with a large hole in the side. The upper part of the torso seems to have been crushed. The figure is still usable though.

A converted Zinnbrigade figures stands with the Britains. They are a good match.

Painted Homecast Crimean Grenadiers

I found myself wide awake at 3:30 this morning. With 3 hours before I had to go to work, there was time for some painting. So I decided to do a quick paint job on the newest home casts.

Homecast Crimean War Guardsman

In my last post, I showed a conversion figure using a Zinnbrigade and a Guardsman head. Under the comments, Ross MacFarlane mentioned about wanting to make a Crimean period British Guardsman with a coatee. The idea was too much to resist! I took a Zinnbrigade French infantry figure that I had casted for another project and put the grenadier head onto the body. The mold almost wasn't made; the rubber is on it's last legs and I barely got enough usable rubber.

The figure. There were more air bubbles in this mold; I'm wondering if it has to do with the fact the rubber  is at the end of it's shelf life. Luckily most are small and not too noticeable.

The conversion from an earlier post painted, except the rifle.

These are painted with Krylon enamel hobby paints. Now I have to find a source for more of the colors.

Homecasting Takes Blood, Sweat, and Tears

      One of the truly inspiring blogs I go to is Battle Game of the Month by Ross MacFarlane.  Among my favorite molds are the Zinnbrigade line, which are Imperial German figures. Mr. Macfarlane converts these figures to different armies and periods.  Someday I hope to be able to achieve the same results as his.

       I did get some 40mm heads with an odd lot of toy soldiers at one time and made a mold of the heads. I converted some Zinnbrigade figures into British Guards, using the heads. After seeing the latest conversions at Battle Game of the Month, I decided to make a mold of the marching Guardsman I had made.

    The mold was completed, however when making the mold the rifle in the master broke. I tried to position it so when the second half was poured, the rifle would be in the right place. Unfortunately, it moved and the rifle is all wrong. I decided to just remove the rifle at the shoulder and drill a hole to which I would put a piece of wire to represent the barrel. As I was casting, in between pouring I was cutting up old figures to melt down. While doing so I managed to cut a large chuck of skin out of one of my fingers; hence the blood, sweat and tears!

The finished figure out of the mold. The mistake with the rifle is clear in this picture.

One of the figures with his new rifle at the start of the painting process.

The bandage on the middle finger is for where I cut the chuck out. The bandage on the index figure is where I stabbed myself with an Xacto blade while trying to bore a starter hole for drilling out the rifle barrel.

More 1880's Militia Uniforms

Shortly after my last blog, I went to one of my favorite blogs, Battle Game of the Month, and there was a new posting of Zinnbrigade marching soldiers in spiked helmets, but painted similar to dress uniforms of the United States army of the late 1800's, with some minor changes. This unit is for an "Imaginations" style wargame. And as I have the same molds and have thought along the same lines in the past, I figured to show more of the militia cards I have  just to show how colorful such an army could be.

  

New Toy Soldier Molds

While on Ebay a couple of weeks ago, somehow I came across these molds, which were on the German Ebay site. I got these  molds; unfortunately I could only afford two of them and missed out on some more. I was hoping these would be the same size as Zinnbrigades, alas, no. However, they are nice figures and sometimes I think of maybe trying to sell toy soldiers at local craft fairs. These would be nice additions if I ever do take the plunge.

 

Prussian Guards from the late 19th century.

Another 40mm Zinnbrigade Conversion

While casting some new figures I came across the mold I made from some old heads I found in an odd-lot of toys soldiers. This head looked like a British colonial in a sun helmet. 

A previous conversion loses his head. His new head is at his feet.

The neck hole is drilled out and head fitted.

A quick coat of  paint for a rough idea of how it would look.

From another angle. The head looks a little large for the body.  Maybe a 45mm head on a 40mm body?

I like the way this figure looks. It definitely has an old toy soldier look about him. I could see him in a "Little Wars" battle.

40mm Zinnbrigade conversions

  Over the holidays I came across a blog that mentioned converting Zinnbrigade figures using Little Britons heads.  Zinnbrigade figures are 40mm homecast figures and Little Britons are a line of unassembled figures from the Shiny Toy Soldier line found at the Spencer Smith miniature page.

    I have many of the Zinnbrigade molds, and last year I came across in a job lot of old toy soldiers a bunch of heads with plug bases. What's more several of them seemed to be 40mm. At the time I was experimenting with mold making, and so made a mold using a couple of the heads.  After molding a few of the heads and attaching them to some of my Zinnbrigade figures to see how they worked, I put the figures aside and went back to casting 15mm figures.

       The story on the other blog peaked my interest and I dug out the figures I casted. One reason I started out with Zinnbrigade figures was the possibility of using them for Little Wars. After looking at the conversion figures, and the fact that the "Little Britons" line has a 4.7 cannon, it might be time to revisit these figures.

3 converted Zinnbrigade figures with  original

close up of an original and converted figure