Venetian Halberdier - Late Fifteenth Century - FeR Miniatures - 75mm - Finished (Stopped more like)

[Bertie McBoatface]

I'd like to join in with this beautiful resin figure sculpted by Oriol Quin for Fernando Ruiz Miniatures. The time constraints will preclude the use of oils so I'll paint with acrylics throughout, mostly brushed but with a little help from the airbrush. It's so unstarted that I haven't even opened the box yet. With luck there won't be much clean up and from this top quality manufacturer I expect the assembly stage to be carefree. 

 

 

I don't have family commitments this weekend but I will need to plan my working around a flat-dweller's dog-walking schedule, so it's The Great Escape Option for me with multiple short sessions. I don't expect to need the full 24 hour allowance, but it's the only model in the house that requires less than hundreds of hours so it will have to do.

 

I think that the striped catsuit with the alluring frontal hammock will be the trickiest part to paint but it's been quite a while since my last big figure so there's a lot of potential for interesting disasters throughout. 😁

 

 

 

 

[Bertie McBoatface]

Yesterday Enzo sed "Preparation is acceptable. Other forms of preparation include removing vacform parts from the base sheet and removing resin parts from the casting stub."

 

I have some casting stubs to remove and then I'll take some pre-build photos of this kit for you. It's out of its box now and I have a suspicion that the sculpting is going to be far superior to the paint I'll be slapping onto it! 😄. It's quite beautifully done and the fit appears to be perfect, enabling a lot of painting before assembly which will make everything so much easier.

 

This is the better experience that you get when you buy from the original maker instead of supporting the pirates and thieves who sell stolen second generation copies on eBay and Amazon. I'm ashamed to admit that I have done that in the past but it's good to feel righteous this time, as well as having a perfect casting to play with.

[Johnson]

Good to see a figure in the BB!

[JeroenS]

Nice choice Bertie!

[Bertie McBoatface]

1 hour ago, Johnson said:

Good to see a figure in the BB!

 

49 minutes ago, JeroenS said:

Nice choice Bertie!

 

Thanks Jeroen and Charlie. I've had this fellow on the shelf for a while now. The GB is a good KUTA for me to get on and do some figurework again. 

[Bertie McBoatface]

 

Started. And there's your 'sprue' picture. I took the casting plugs off yesterday as permitted preparation. There was almost no other clean up required, the moulds were good and apart from that customary awkward parting line on the inside of the legs, only the slightest swipe of wet'n'dry was all that I had to do.

 

 

I've never seen double moulded pins like the ones on the arm joints but they fit like Tamiya!

 

 

The head had a casting plug which also worked as a locator but I wanted to paint the head separately so after checking that the scarf also worked to locate the neck joint I cut the plug off and drilled.

 

 

Finding a comfortable way to hold the pieces for the delicate painting jobs that figures require is half the battle.

 

 

This hole will be covered by the guy's handbag.

 

 

Almost ready for priming. (Note the time difference between the camera and the laptop. My internet is slow. Two minutes slow!)

 

 

Primed! Despite airbrush problems. Primer is so difficult to clean out of an airbrush. I suppose that's a good thing - you want your primer to bond well to everything!

 

0:51 elapsed

 

 

 

[Jinxman]

Nice progress - the detail on the figure looks lovely.

[Bertie McBoatface]

Airbrush phase complete. Photos after I've cleaned up and had a cuppa!

[Bertie McBoatface]

There are several parts of this figure suitable for airbrushing. The first one on my mind was the set of stripy overalls that he wears under his armour. Half of the surface is white and that's a hard colour for me to brush on. I didn't want brush marks in the base colour and I needed a bright, but not a brilliant white.

 

 

This is a layer of Tamiya white with 2% desert yellow to make it look more 'medieval'. I didn't bother about masking because it's a suitable undercoat for all of the other colours as well as the base colour for the thing I'm calling his overalls. 

 

 

Almost every part received the off white undercoat except the base. I want the man to be vivid but if the base is more subdued because of its grey primer directly under the base colour, that's great. Contrast is good! This is mostly Desert Yellow.

 

 

I quite liked that colour on the base so I used it as a base colour on the only visible flesh on this fellow, the face. The white under the yellow was sprayed from above to highlight the nose and lips and this shines through the thin brown layer quite nicely. At this level of magnification it's clear that this man was a survivor of smallpox.

 

 

I washed the base with a darker brown to make shadows. I'll be doing something similar to the face and other parts later but probably with an enamel wash which flows more finely. This is a Vallejo acrylic wash which is fine for groundwork.

 

 

The armour is the next thing to be airbrushed. It's the best way I know to cover large areas in natural metal. I masked off the face and scarf and sprayed the marvellous Vallejo Metal Color over the helmet. First I used Steel but it was too dark so I went over it with a mix of steel + chrome, mostly from above. I'm trying to show the helmet shining in the Italian sunshine.

 

 

I masked off the trousers and sprayed a darkish steel on the armour, then masked off the chain mail and made a chrome + steel mix for the polished plate armour.  I really like the contrast between the two metal shades and went in search of natural light to show you the full effect.

 

It doesn't matter that the scarf got sprayed because this acrylic NMF won't be affected by the colours I will be brushing over it.

 

 

And that's what it looks like when I expose my helmet in the window.

 

 

For anyone wondering how I managed to mask around these very complicated shapes, it was this stuff. For anyone thinking of buying some, I think that it's merely Silly Putty in black so you may be able to save a few quid by visiting a toyshop.

 

Looking at the timestamps on the photos I think that took about an hour and a half so that takes me up to 2:20 elapsed. If I'd manually brushed it would have taken twice as long and been half as good.

 

 

 

[Johnson]

Looking good!

[Davek72]

Great work.  Lovely to see a figure in the GB.

[Enzo the Magnificent]

3 hours ago, Bertie McBoatface said:

And that's what it looks like when I expose my helmet in the window.

 

 

 

[Bertie McBoatface]

5 hours ago, Jinxman said:

Nice progress - the detail on the figure looks lovely.

 

3 hours ago, Johnson said:

Looking good!

 

36 minutes ago, Davek72 said:

Great work.  Lovely to see a figure in the GB.

 

Thanks y'all. 😄

 

 

Time, medieval time even, for my third session of the day. Three goes is all I usually manage and concentration wavers after an hour or so. I have no Idea how I'll get the extra time in to finish this laddie off by Sunday night!!

 

 

The rear of the shield is wood, the front will be covered in boiled leather which wraps round as you see.

 

 

Dunno why he's wearing oven gloves? 

 

 

Hush Puppies? Hmm...

 

 

Filthy desert boots are more his style. And mine too, come to think on it.

 

Another 40 minutes worth only. I have a headache and I'm packing in now. I'm satisfied with the day's fun.

 

Three hours completed.

[Davek72]

4 hours ago, Enzo Matrix said:

 

 

 

Some of us didn’t  react Enzo….but I am glad you did 😀

[Black Knight]

12 hours ago, Bertie McBoatface said:

 

This hole will be covered by the guy's handbag.

Handbag indeed!!

It was called a 'girdle purse' 

A belt was not a belt but a girdle

I used to make a lot of these girdle purses

 

 

That chap is carrying his dagger wrong. It should be horizontal through the purse hangars, with the hilt forward

Leather mittens, usually padded, were easier and cheaper to make. Still are

The leather on the shield would not normally be boiled, it would be raw-hide, partially tanned hide, which tightens up when wet

Boiled leather, cuir bouilli , was stretched on an open frame shield, it does not need the under support of the laminated wood shield

The chap's cod-piece would normally be of boiled leather and painted

 

You're getting on well with him

 

 

 

 

[Beggsy]

15 hours ago, Bertie McBoatface said:

Finding a comfortable way to hold the pieces for the delicate painting jobs that figures require is half the battle.

 

Comfortable for you perhaps.  Sitting on a pole stuck in your back doesn't look comfortable at all! 

[Bertie McBoatface]

5 hours ago, Black Knight said:

Handbag indeed!!

It was called a 'girdle purse' 

A belt was not a belt but a girdle

I used to make a lot of these girdle purses

 

 

That chap is carrying his dagger wrong. It should be horizontal through the purse hangars, with the hilt forward

Leather mittens, usually padded, were easier and cheaper to make. Still are

The leather on the shield would not normally be boiled, it would be raw-hide, partially tanned hide, which tightens up when wet

Boiled leather, cuir bouilli , was stretched on an open frame shield, it does not need the under support of the laminated wood shield

The chap's cod-piece would normally be of boiled leather and painted

 

You're getting on well with him

 

 

 

 

Handbag or purse, it’s still a cute little accessory. And whatever happened to the girdle? My mother used to wear one of those from Playtex. 
 

A boiled leather codpiece worn over tight whites is very Clockwork Orange 🍊 wouldn’t you say? Ultra-violence in another era. 
 

Thanks for the technical input. The figure isn’t from an era that I know much about, being bought entirely on impulse some time ago. It’s fun though. 
 

I was considering his long weapon and the way that his armour protects only the top half of the body. Am I correct in thinking that this foot soldier is optimised for fighting against cavalry, with a back up sword for protection against enemy infantry?

[Black Knight]

No, he is from the early period of 'Push of Pike'

About 50 to 300 of him would advance upon the enemy pike men and when the two teams met they 'pushed' their pikes at each other, killing each other Eventually one team 'broke' and ran away. They ran and hid behind their musketeers. At this period there was about 1 musketeer per 4 or 5 pike men.

The pikes were about 18 to 20ft long. About the total height of an ordinary 2 storey house. A battle could be won or lost on the length of the pikes. The pike was heavy and awkward to carry so many soldiers cut them short. It was up to the commanders to make sure this did not happen. Part of the reason the New Scots Parliamentary Army under Munro lost the Battle of Benburb in June 1646 to O'Neill's Irish Confederate/Royalist Army was that the New Scots pike men had cut their pikes down to 12 feet long and O'Neill's pike men had pikes of 20ft long, so when it came to 'push of pike' the New Scots men could not reach O'Neill's men. The New Scots were slaughtered

At this period, of your man, the (mainly German) Landsknecht were making themselves a name. They used large 'anti-horse' swords of about 10ft long. They were better than the slender pike for killing horses.

[JeroenS]

8 hours ago, Davek72 said:

Some of us didn’t  react Enzo….but I am glad you did 😀

I didn't want to go there ... 

[Bertie McBoatface]

6 hours ago, Beggsy said:

 

Sitting on a pole stuck in your back doesn't look comfortable at all! 

 

It's how I feel getting out of bed in the mornings. Maybe I need a better mattress. 

 

 

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Warning: Don't follow this link into the history of the halberd until you have finished your blitzbuild. It's a proper warren!

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halberd#:~:text=A halberd (also called halbard,battleaxe) joined to form helmbarte. 

 

 

[Bertie McBoatface]

I started at 11.03 today.

 

 

I've found this artists acrylic white quite good for brush painting. There's a lot of titanium oxide in there so the coverage isn't bad - for white.

 

 

I used that to underpaint the 'scarf' which I now realise is a leather balaclava/hood thing to protect the neck.

 

 

Red, the colour of the Venetian flag, is a tricky colour to plaint but that's ok as multiple layers will make it look organic and worn

 

 

Getting there.

 

 

Time to start on the face. I can't put it off any longer

 

 

Over an hour later, I must remind you that figure painting isn't my main hobby. 🤪 (Not finished yet though.)

 

 

During that hour, all this happened.

 

 

And my bench was invaded by all of this.

 

Yet I took no photos. That was because I got into the flow and lost all sense of time and occasion. That's when I enjoy modelling best and when I work at my best too. Not for the first time I note that this happened when I had no music or tv or other distraction going on. Interesting...

 

That was an hour and 36 minutes so I'm now at four hours and 36 minutes. Unless something awful happens, I'm now confident that I'll finish him within the weekend and well under the allowed time.

 

 

 

 

[AdrianMF]

I know the feeling! You think “what did I use that colour for?”

 

Nice to see a wet palette too. Very useful, especially for those touch up cycles where you seem to use one brushstroke of each paint in turn. I should use one myself more often, especially at the end of builds.

 

And a lovely figure. Looking forward to some more pics.

 

Regards,

Adrian

 

 

[Bertie McBoatface]

2 hours ago, AdrianMF said:

I know the feeling! You think “what did I use that colour for?”

 

Nice to see a wet palette too. Very useful, especially for those touch up cycles where you seem to use one brushstroke of each paint in turn. I should use one myself more often, especially at the end of builds.

 

It's a trifle small for this weather, there's not enough area to stay humid for long on a hot breezy day despite frequent watering, but it has managed. One thing I like about it on a figure like this is the easy way you can just alter a colour enough to add interest. "I've painted that strap in this colour so that crossing strap needs... just a touch of that one in the mix." It prevents me using too many colours and keeps the whole thing sort of unified. And of course, the shadows and lights are simple to make up.

 

2 hours ago, AdrianMF said:

And a lovely figure. Looking forward to some more pics.

 

Regards,

Adrian

 

 

 

Yes he has character. I get attached to my figures far more than my models of machines of any kind. 

 

 

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At a quarter to five I decided to capitate him.

 

 

The trouble with painting separate pieces if that sometimes I misunderstand the sculpture. I thought the ends of his hatband were part of the hood thingie. No worries, like wooden boats, figures are very forgiving and I'll easily repaint them after tea.

 

   

 

I had a bit of a tinker with his small arms too. 

 

Wet palettes  are good for floating in and out of modelmaking. This session was only 20 minutes but no time was wasted opening paints. I just used what was already there. Oh, apart from the brass on the weapons

 

Let's call that five hours.

[Bertie McBoatface]

I'm cogitating hopelessly.

 

 

There's no way I can match Alfonso Prado's stripes. They even seem to have a black line between the colours and the white. Astonishing precision.

 

 

And that Lion of St Mark is NOT a decal. That is hand painted. 

 

Ain't gonna happen here, my friends!

 

[JeroenS]

1 hour ago, Bertie McBoatface said:

I'm cogitating hopelessly.

Don't. Just don't 🙂 

 

1 hour ago, Bertie McBoatface said:

And that Lion of St Mark is NOT a decal. That is hand painted. 

 

Ain't gonna happen here, my friends!

See? That should save you about 100 hours.