Airfix 54mm Napoleonic French Line Infantry

[Tim Marlow]

The texture just makes him look lived in Neil......

[adt70hk]

Absolutely no complaints from me Neil. That's come out very nicely indeed.

The other thing I have to remember when looking at my work is that digital cameras pick up a level of detail we won't see with the Mark I eyeball at normal viewing distance.

ATB.

Andrew

[Neil Merryweather]

Well, thanks for the kind words, chaps.
I’ve been getting on with Fusilier 3.
In the quest for more character in the faces I sharpened up the detail very slightly with a scalpel and gave him new ears. I like to paint the head separately so I got rid of his collar and added it to the torso to make the join easier to hide.
Here he is before ;

And here he is after surgery


He still needs some hair (although he clearly has at least one, stuck to his nose….). The green bits of Duro are his ears-I might have to re-think them, although hopefully I can get away with just repositioning the chin scales.

So on with the rest of him. I decided that there was no point in having separate flaps for the cartridge boxes if I didn’t show at least one of them open, so I changed his right arm to be reaching behind for a cartridge. The close-up shots make me realise I need to try and drill out the top of the block. The change also makes the turning of his head a bit less contrived. Being a converted body I had to add piping (from 0.3mm solder) and buttons to his tunic and sleeve.
While I was painting the first fusilier I had a real fight with all the detail being under the straps, so I thought I would try and leave everything separate this time, and hope I can glue it all on afterwards without doing too much damage to the paint. For the straps I‘m using metal foil from an old glue tube which is tougher than pewter and allows for a lot more movement before it work-hardens.

Looking at the pics I think I will remove his left hand and fix it to the musket with a more convincing grip, just like my hero Bill Horan does.
Right, let's get back to painting Fusilier 2 now.
Thanks for looking
Neil

[scottie3158]

Neil,
Sorry missed this, just had a good catch up nice work on the figures. I really must give that a try one day and change some poses.

[Steve-the-Duck]

The only trouble I can see upcoming is that, leaving the straps proud until after painting beneath them is getting them to go close enough to the body afterwards. The water gourd looks really good, but does it have the weight against the pouch underneath?
Oh, and I agree there's nothing wrong with the finished face on fusilier #1

[Neil Merryweather]

The only trouble I can see upcoming is that, leaving the straps proud until after painting beneath them is getting them to go close enough to the body afterwards. The water gourd looks really good, but does it have the weight against the pouch underneath?
Oh, and I agree there's nothing wrong with the finished face on fusilier #1

I agree, but I'm going to give it a shot. I have tried to engineer it as far as possible- for instance the left epaulette is attached to the cross-belt for the cartridge box.
And to be fair, the first one could be a lot better in that regard anyway, so what's to lose? The pack straps are particularly tricky to get right.
I think I may just grind a way a bit of the pouch underneath the gourd, though, now you've drawn attention to it:rolling:

[JR]

Your good at this !
Love the use of the glue foil it does sit well Neil.

[Steve-the-Duck]

Yes, you can rely on me to make people go 'Wait, I could just...'
A thought. Did you use the original kit straps template? Despite the added complexity, I always thought Airfix had a good, if difficult, idea there

[Guest]

I remember these kits when they first came out and built most of them, but never to this standard.

[Steve Brodie]

super stuff

[adt70hk]

Way beyond my skill level....

Keep up the great work.

Andrew

[Steven000]

Lovely work Neil! Nice details :thumb2:
Steven

[Neil Merryweather]

I've finished painting Fusilier 2 and I'm a bit happier with him.



I always intended to paint the trousers in a variety of shades and colours but a moment of madness came over me with this one. I realised that if any of them were to have the stripes it would have to be this one with the straightest legs, so I bit the bullet and although I have seen better, this is my best shot and I'm not unhappy. And the face is better too.

So, on to number three.

Thanks for looking

Neil

[Tim Marlow]

That’s great Neil. The mattress ticking trousers are excellent. He has a real sense of life about him.

[Steve-the-Duck]

Green on his knees, dirt on the elbows, breeches not remotely regulation - a real soldier on campaign!