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Yankee Scout and Tracker - U.S. Civil War Series # FINISHED #


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I thought that I would kick off the GB with this pair of Masterbox figures from their US Civil War Series. Since returning to the hobby I have had a few attempts at painting figures with mixed results and not really feeling satisfied with my achievements at the end - let's see if I can create a nice vignette with this group of figures.

 

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by John L, on Flickr

 

A large frame holds most of the parts for this group wth a smaller section accoutrements for the Scout.

 

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by John L, on Flickr

 

Here are a few of my previous efforts.

 

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by John L, on Flickr

 

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by John L, on Flickr

 

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by John L, on Flickr

 

And this poor chap ended up looking like he had a bad skin condition.

 

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by John L, on Flickr

 

But the Spaniel looked OK.

 

51115251079_778ecf7854_z.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

John

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Can't see anything wrong with those figures! The drummer has a lot of white, which is difficult to shade in a realistic manner, but it looks great.

 

You'll get disqualified if you're not careful :)

 

Looking forward to the vignette.

 

Regards,

Adrian

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They look alright from a distance Adrian, but they are way below the standard I have seen at model shows, perhaps I am setting the bar too high.

I thought that this one would be more of a challenge because of the different skin tones of the figures.

 

I can always switch to the tank if you think that my standards already too high. :)

 

John

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I started work on the horses of this kit yesterday by cleaning up the seam lines and flash before glueing the leg/body halves together. Once that assembly had dried the head was added and left to dry before the joins were filled where required and then cleaned up. The ears and tail were then glued in place and these need a small amount of filler to neaten up a couple of gaps and that will complete the Scouts horse.

 

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by John L, on Flickr

 

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by John L, on Flickr

 

Here is the process underway on the Trackers horse  - first the parts clean up.

 

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by John L, on Flickr

 

Followed by the leg/body assembly and in this case the ears have been glued to the head before I attach it to the body. 

 

52840457440_8cb37d8908_c.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

 

Back with more soon.

 

John

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Seeing them all in grey (all my horse parts were white plastic or metal when I did figures) and on such a clean bench makes me think I'm looking at a 3D design! Looks like a really nice kit so far.

 

Regards,

Adrian

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On 23/04/2023 at 23:32, AdrianMF said:

Seeing them all in grey (all my horse parts were white plastic or metal when I did figures) and on such a clean bench makes me think I'm looking at a 3D design! Looks like a really nice kit so far.

 

Regards,

Adrian

 

It's not too bad Adrian. The plastic is quite soft so care is needed when cleaning up seams etc, but it does mean that it is easy to resculpt areas to blend the joins if required. There are no assembly instructions, the parts are indentified on the painting guide and determining the best method of assembly is left to the modeller.

 

A quick update whilst I am here.

 

I have finished assembly of the horses and the seams and joins have been tidied up. They have both had a couple of light coats of one of Citadel's acrylic sprays as a base, in this case Zandri Dust, and are almost ready to be painted. I have also started working on the figures, the torso and legs of the Tracker have been glued together. As can be seen in the following photo, I have had a trial fit of a couple of necessary parts to ensure that the rider can sit astride of his horse, and Mrs N. (who being a horse rider knows about such things) informs me that he sits well :shrug:, so who am I to argue. 

 

52846097211_f6ac4c4a59_c.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

 

Regards.

John

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I have completed assembly of the figures (less heads) and they are almost ready for painting, a first coat of a primer has highlighted a couple of areas that need further attention. One of the horses has been painted with the main base colours, I am still pondering about the best way to tackle the Pinto markings of the second one. 

 

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by John L, on Flickr

 

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by John L, on Flickr

 

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by John L, on Flickr

 

Apologies for the out of focus horse shots, but it wouldn't keep its head still. :lol:

 

Never work with children or animals.

 

Cheers.

John

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I have mapped out a rough pattern for the darker areas of the Pinto which have received one coat, I will refine the shape with the second coat and then pain in the white.

 

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by John L, on Flickr

 

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by John L, on Flickr

 

Thanks for dropping by.

 

John

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Just a quick update on progress. The Pinto has now had two coats of white applied, it is a little patchy so will need a third thin layer to even things up, then I can think about colours for the blanket. I am not sure about mane and tail colour yet, I have seen photos of these horses with blonde mane/tail streaked with brown and grey or an overall ginger colour.

 

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by John L, on Flickr

 

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by John L, on Flickr

 

John

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Just caught up with thus one and very nice looking. Not done much figure painting, but I am always impressed by the skills shown. When I saw the separate horses head l, I thought is he going to do a diorama from a well known film? 

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I have revisited the Pinto and decided to cover the white areas with Citadel Corax White - which is actually a very pale grey colour. I am hoping that this will help me with the highlighting stage later. I have also started painting some base colours on the figures.

 

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by John L, on Flickr

 

We are away for a short break in the Lake District from tomorrow, so things wil be quiet for a little while, back with more soon though.

 

John

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9 hours ago, nimrod54 said:

Citadel Corax White

Glad to see someone has a use for a "white" that's actually light grey. Bring back Ceramite White! 

Nice work on the figures and enjoy the Lakes.

 

Regards,

Adrian

 

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On 12/05/2023 at 07:47, AdrianMF said:

Nice work on the figures and enjoy the Lakes.

 

Regards,

Adrian

 

Thanks a lot Adrian. We have just returned from a nice walk along the River Esk with Molly the Cocker who is now panned out.

 

Cheers.

John

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  • 4 weeks later...

Just a brief update on how things are progressing with these figures. I am still working through the base colours before I start work on adding washes and highlights, and that is usually where things start to go pear shaped, well it is for me at least, and hence my reluctance to rush headlong to Stages 2 & 3 of the process. But best foot forward and all of that nonsense...

 

Cheers

John.

 

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by John L, on Flickr

 

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by John L, on Flickr

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The models are coming thogether sell. I think the horses are particularly nice, with a lovely horse like sheen. 

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  • 1 month later...

My apologies for the lack of progress folks, but having wrapped up two builds for the Crusader/Corsair II GB at the weekend I was able to get on with these again yesterday. The heads are on the figures and I have done some further detailing of those. I am still planning on how best to tackle the patterning on the Indian Tracker, the items have had a pale colour applied and I have started to rough out a possible pattern in pencil, we'll see how things go from there. I have made a start on adding some of the items to the Scouts horse, but I will get him in final position to determine how best to fit the other items around him, and everything still needs to have a wash applied before adding the highlights.

 

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by John L, on Flickr

 

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by John L, on Flickr

 

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by John L, on Flickr

 

And here is a photo for a possible vignette set up.

 

53038958861_10198a58e7_c.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

 

Cheers.

John

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Really nice figure painting there, John :) As for your tracker, how do you want the patterns to appear? If it's beading, could you use the end of a cocktail stick to apply dots of paint?

 

James

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16 hours ago, Old Man said:

Looking very good, John.

 

 

 

Cheers buddy. I am pleased with the way things are going so far.

 

John

 

 

8 hours ago, AdrianMF said:

It's already starting to look very alive. Nice work!

 

Regards,

Adrian

 

Thanks very much Adrian. I can't tell you how many figure painting videos I have watched over the past few weeks, some with useful tips and some where the techniques are above my abilities at this stage - Mrs N rolls her eyes as if to say "Not another". I just hope that the hours of viewing pay off. :fingerscrossed:

 

John

 

7 hours ago, 81-er said:

Really nice figure painting there, John :) As for your tracker, how do you want the patterns to appear? If it's beading, could you use the end of a cocktail stick to apply dots of paint?

 

James

 

Thanks James. That is a terrific idea for the patterning, and certainly worth spending some time trying it out on a piece of scrap plastic to see if I can achieve a passable result. :thumbsup:

 

John

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 12/07/2023 at 17:53, Jb65rams said:

That’s looking really good. I really like the way the horses turned, especially the Indian pony.

 

Cheers JB. The Indian pony is almost done now I painted up the head collar and touched in the eyes yesterday. I just have to decide how I am going to make up the simple reins, I am thinking that maybe some waxed thread would suffice for those.

 

53083159467_b68dcae59b_c.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

 

I have also made a start on adding the equipment on the Scouts horse, the saddle bags, feed bag and bed roll? have now been fixed in place.

 

53084132500_c65c7f45e3_c.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

 

There are still a few items of personal equipment to add along with some straps to attach the water bottlle and sabre - I will have to make those either from foil or using Adrian's paper/superglue technique.

 

53084132835_d3d521ab99_c.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

 

I tried out James' dot paint technique to represent beads on a piece of scrap plastic but decided that my touch was not deft enough to make it a viable option for this build, with some more practice it could be worth keeping in mind for future use though. I have made a start on painting in the design and it should give an acceptable result once finished.

 

53083918259_d5045e4d48_c.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

 

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by John L, on Flickr

 

There is still plenty to do on the reverse of the Indian tracker too and I am still pondering what to do about the eyes on this figure, there is not a lot showing at this scale so I don't know whether to leave them alone or paint them in a dark colour.

 

53083918454_a52e178a94_c.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

 

John.

 

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  • nimrod54 changed the title to Yankee Scout and Tracker - U.S. Civil War Series # FINISHED #

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