Subscribers’ Figures Gallery

Here’s my Young Miniatures bust of “Lucky” Jack Aubrey from Master and Commander.

Apache 120mm figure from Verlinden

And the same to you mate!

Metal Models 54mm base model and acrylics have been used throughout.
Our thanks to Carlos for giving us his kind permission to use his images here.

Verlinden 120mm German Machine Gunner Eastern Front.

This is a beautiful piece of work and demonstration of figure painting skills by Hwadong Shin.

My thanks to Hwadong for his kind permission to let us use these inspirational images. Geoff

or A tale of “Life on the fringe”

At the back of our bungalow there is a long narrow room (No, not that one, that is at the front!). On the door is a sign reading “Jim’s Room”. In it are the devices and artefacts required for the successful pursuit of that special alchemy known as “modelling”. Thither I repair when certain eyes are looking elsewhere and enter a world of make believe and adventure.

Having for umpteen years built model aeroplanes of various types (flying, static – usually; wooden, metal or plastic), I decided it was time for a change so I built a figure. The next one was an improvement. Gradually they began to look less like Picasso paintings and more like small versions of the real thing.

Then I saw an advert for a 90mm metal knight on foot and another of the same scale but on horseback. Sending the wife and kids out to work and visiting friends so we got free meals I saved enough to purchase same.

Building those models was sheer pleasure if only for the fact that no-one was leaning over my shoulder saying ” That’s the wrong green” or “That rivet is 1/2 mm too far left”. I could splash paint and polish metal to my heart’s content.

After building them and getting some quite flattering comments such as: “At least it’s better than your last effort”, I decided to try my hand at diorama. (Wow!) Langley Miniatures have a set of figures for St. George and the Dragon. Being a Royalist and frightfully patriotic I sent for it. Mostly it was a “curate’s egg”. The right arm would only hold the lance vertical, so changes had to be made. i.e. break the lance and draw the sword. It all glued together with very little need for filler. However, the base seemed incomplete. Here’s the ghoulish bit. Border Miniatures do SKULLS among their accessories.

So just imagine me – sitting in my little room, miles from anywhere, moving dragons, knights, skulls etc., chuckling to myself, while I revel in the world of Merlin, King Arthur, St. George and Co.
At least no-one can say “That is the wrong colour”, because they are all figments of my imagination.
Yours from the nether world…
Jim

From a Chinese resin package, unknown manufacturer.

Teutonic Standard-Bearer (1410) – Standard of town Brunsberg

This is The Storyteller series77 figure of US Navy pilot re-enacting the Day’s work, Pacific WW2.

This is the Verlinden 120mm scale US Navy Pilot figure I converted by altering the arm to hold the helmet and painted him in the squadron markings of VF-14 “Top Hatters”

I had been given a CD of ‘The Yeomen of the Guard’ and I thought how colourful they looked in their uniform. Unfortunately I was unable to find details for this, so I was a bit stuck. At the time I was assisting at the “Stump”, and I mentioned my dilemma to one of the staff. He was unable to assist at the time but a few days later he came to me and pointed out one of the visitors, whom he knew quite well. “You see that bloke there, well he is a Tower Warder, have a word with him”. I did and the upshot of it was he got quite interested and said he’d see what he could do.
A few days later I got a letter with several photos of him getting dressed for duty.
My prayers were answered. As they were taken from many angles, I was able to see what the uniform really consisted of and was able to sort out a plan of campaign.
Once again it was an amalgam of kits and bits. The legs are from the Airfix Halberdier, the rest mainly from (l believe) the rifleman, his head suitably modded to take the hat made from two discs of plastic card, plastic putty etc. The skirts of his tunic were a joy to make, they were from the lead around the neck of a wine bottle (let’s make another, HIC!)
Various other bits (decorations etc.) were made from odd scraps of card, putty, sticky paper and so on. The stand was from prunings in the garden!