British 54mm Napoleonic Horsemen.

[Dave Ward]

I've really stalled on the build of my Bronco Bishop SPG, but still feel like benchtime, so I decided to try a couple of 54mm horsemen, the Airfix Hussar & the Historex Scots Grey. The horses come first, I've assembled them & added plastic card girths, and are ready for priming.

I've drilled & added metal pins, and CA'd them to the horses, and drilled corresponding holes in the bases, dry fitted - now I can spray them easily.
Airfix horse left, Historex right. Historex horses were supposed to have been modelled on racehorses, when they should have been based on hunters -and the Historex horse is leaner than the Airfix. I would think a bigger horse would be better suited to carry a hefty soldier & all his gear.
I've never painted a grey, before, and the dappling is going to be a bit of a new experience!
Dave

[rtfoe]

Hi Dave, nice pair of horses. I have attached this link which I did for Neil as well on painting a grey. Hope it helps.

Cheers,
Richard

[Jim R]

Hi Dave
You certainly do not shy away from the difficult. I've never painted a horse but from what I've seen they are not straightforward. I'm sure you'll do a fine job.
Jim

[Neil Merryweather]

Hi Dave, nice pair of horses. I have attached this link which I did for Neil as well on painting a grey. Hope it helps.

Cheers,
Richard

I stripped my first attempt....
best of luck, Dave! :tongue-out3:

[Guest]

Good for you Dave. I shy away from painting horses.

[Dave Ward]

Thanks for that, Richard, It's going to be a bit of a learning curve - I'm not sure if my airbrush skills are up to it, but I will find out................
Dave

[Dave Ward]

One of those days - I'd primed both horses, found a suitable pale grey for one horse, and what I thought was a suitable red-brown for the other.............................

I'd tried a patch test for the red-brown, and in a small area it looked OK, but - when overall on the horse it looks really bad. The picture doesn't do it justice - in daylight it looks more purple! I'm back into the paintbox, to find something a little less garish!
Dave

[Dave Ward]

A quick respray - not quite the colour I'd envisaged, but I can work with it.........................


I've watched a couple of YouTube videos on painting a dapple grey horse, looks easy!! :worried:
Dave

[Jon Heptonstall]

Lovely base coat on the horse Dave.Oils are great for horses and a lot easier than figures.
Jon.

[Dave Ward]

Jon,
I'm using acrylics only on these two figures - I find oils not as easy to use - I keep on forgetting that they don't dry quickly, and I have a bad habit of putting paint on in too thick a layer! Just a matter of what you are used to................
Dave

[yak face]

Great project dave , i really enjoy the airfix 54mm kits , never done a historex though . To me the airfix horse looks better sculpted , cheers tony

[Dave Ward]

Historex Kits were the first 54mm kits - they always were a niche product, there are no real instructions, at first no colour picture, just French language colour call outs. A slight knowledge of uniforms was a great help. The sprues were small, white plastic only & mix & match - you could buy sets of legs - at attention, marching, etc, the same with arms, torso, heads, as well as complete sets to make a single model ( like my Scots Grey ). There is only one UK agent - Historex Agents in Dover! They do appear on ebay, but never at good discounts! The Airfix 54mm are very nice - I was looking at the Black Watch Highlander the other day, but the thought of painting tartan put me off!
Dave

[yak face]

The Airfix 54mm are very nice - I was looking at the Black Watch Highlander the other day, but the thought of painting tartan put me off!

Go on Dave you know you want to !

[SimonT]

You can still buy all the parts from Historex Agents Dave

[Dave Ward]

Simon,
yes, I've got the catalogue - I bought the Scots Grey direct from them
Tony,
sadly the highlander auction finished on ebay, and there seems to have been a run on the Airfix 54mm figures, normally KIngKit has about ten in stock, today only one - a mounted George Washington, I'll just have to wait >sigh< :disappointed2:
Dave