Airfix 42nd Highlander In 54mm Scale.

[tempestfan]

On 6/15/2024 at 11:09 PM, Richard Humm said:

As far as I know, Airfix still have the 54 mm tooling, though it hasn't been used in years. Perhaps these could be Vintage Classics.

They should have re-released the 95th around 1994, maybe even with an ITV licence.

 

Nice on, @Alex Gordon!

[Alex Gordon]

G'day again Chums,a little more to show.

 

Cliff,thanks old chum.It's the way I tell 'em.

 

Tempestfan,cheers old fruit.

 

The head has been dryfitted.

 

 

The missing bits on either side of the collar joint were filled using a number tag from the frame glued in

 

 

and fettled once set.

 

The soles of the boots weren't quite meeting the plinth properly,noticeably so.

 

I made a couple of thin cuts through the left ankle joint

 

which took enough material away to set things right.

 

The boot soles have been painted and the paintwork touched in.

 

The cuffs have had a bit of attention too,paint scraped away from the lacings and chrome silver on the buttons.

 

There's still a way to go yet.Thanks for looking in Chums,more soon.

[AdrianMF]

The highland uniform has a lot of intricate detail. I particularly like your sock patterns, and I'm rather glad the kilt is quite tight fitting in your "boot soles" shot!

"Devils in skirts" indeed...

 

Regards,

Adrian

[Alex Gordon]

Hello again Chums,a little more progress.

 

Adrian,thanks old chum.Me too,I was trying to stay away from the "if it's a quarter pounder he's a McDonald" line and very nearly succeeded.

 

The various bits of strapwork are starting to go on,the usual painted masking tape.There is a sequence to be followed otherwise things will be in the wrong order.

 

 

I've gone for the fancy shoulder bits,they weren't always walking into a punch up and the idea of parade order is appealing.A couple of slivers of masking tape assisted with the gluing process.

 

The arms were then fettled and glued on making sure that the angle of the left one would be good for a musket on the shoulder.There will have to be some corrective work on the fingers to look right but that is for later on.There has also been yet more touching in of the red.

 

In other news I've found that the paper used in the wet pallet has disintegrated so I've cleared it all out and am going to try a piece of polythene instead.

 

Thanks all for looking in,more soon.

[Troy Smith]

2 hours ago, Alex Gordon said:

I've found that the paper used in the wet pallet has disintegrated so I've cleared it all out and am going to try a piece of polythene instead.

I'd suggest grease proof paper, or cooking paper,   if you look up the refills they sell for wet palettes it looks to be  something 

this

https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/comments/15prjab/i_cant_find_parchment_paper_is_baking_paper_good/

 

"It's the same thing. Parchment = baking = grease-proof paper. They all have some kind of silicone in to make them non-stick. Some more than others. It's a property that is required for the wet palette to work so it doesn't go soggy. Otherwise we would all just use regular paper 🙄

Waxed paper is the only thing to avoid. It used to be used for wrapping cheese. Doesn't usually come in a roll."

 

Tracing paper might work,  from the above,  you want a strong paper that is porous, but will not just turn to mush quickly.    Polythene isn't likely to work.

 

I've not used a wet palette,  I have lots of bottles of Vallejo Model Color, mostly from when Creative Models had weekly specials (pre Covid and the upsurge in stay at homes hobbies) and they often had sets cheap.

Anyway, their dropper bottle format means you can easily dispense a small amount into a standard palette.  

 

I still have somewhere a strip of 7 tiny lidded pots that must have come with a child toy,  but was/is great as you could keep little mixes of a colour fresh, sadly I could not find more online, and I have no idea what it was originally with.   The compartments could easily be cleaned of dried paint when done. I have found paint strip pots online, but tended to be large amounts.  

 

Hope of use,  you may have some paper types already to experiment with.   

 

HTH

T

 

PS https://www.amazon.co.uk/Atelier-Interactive-Acrylic-Keep-Wet-Palette/dp/B008PCGNWY

 

£3.45 Contains 3 sheets of 'Keep-Wet' paper and 12 sheets of membrane paper

 

Just came up in a search.

 

 

 

[Andwil]

2 hours ago, Alex Gordon said:

I've gone for the fancy shoulder bits,they weren't always walking into a punch up and the idea of parade order is appealing.

Not a case of full dress or parade order, the “wings” distinguished the grenadier and light companies.  A battalion in that era consisted of ten companies, a grenadier company which stood on the right of the line, a light company which stood on the left and could be deployed in extended order for skirmishing, and eight “centre” or battalion companies that formed the main body of the line.  The centre companies did not have the wings, just the shoulder straps.

 

AW

[Richard Humm]

Polythene certainly won't work in a wet palette as the water from the reservoir underneath won't be able to soak through. My homemade one uses greaseproof baking paper, but you do need to be careful when you put the paint on, as pressing with whatever you are using to transfer it can go through the paper.

[John]

My dad was an officer in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, and he kept his kilt after he left the army. These things are heavy - it would go around me about 5 times when I was a kid. 

My Grandpa was also an Argyll and fought on the Western Front - in a kilt. He said that the worst thing was when it got muddy then dried out, sticking to the hairs on your legs. Every time you moved you got the equivalent of a good waxing 😱

I think the last time a Scottish regiment fought in their kilts, as a unit rather than just their pipers, was around the time of Dunkirk. 

John 

[AdrianMF]

23 hours ago, Troy Smith said:

Anyway, their dropper bottle format means you can easily dispense a small amount into a standard palette.  

It depends what sort of painting you are doing. The real benefit of wet palettes comes when you're mixing a load of colours and need just a little bit more of something you mixed earlier to touch up. If you  don't have a wet palette then your mix will have dried out and you have to start again. It's particularly relevant in figure painting as opposed to, say, an aeroplane with three stock colours for camouflage.

I'm going to put one together tomorrow because I'm starting a figure, and I've been re-mixing colours all day just doing a horse! I should learn to stay inside the lines...

 

The paper you get to protect decal sheets also works as a wet palette top layer BTW.

 

And the wee laddie is looking great!

 

Regards,

Adrian

[Troy Smith]

1 minute ago, AdrianMF said:

The paper you get to protect decal sheets also works as a wet palette top layer BTW.

This is what @Alex Gordon  has used initially, and had finally ripped.   I know Alex likes alternatives and work rounds to 'modelling products'  that are frequently the same thing in a smaller container for more money as it's been blessed with magic dust by the fairies

.... apparently.

2 minutes ago, AdrianMF said:

The real benefit of wet palettes comes when you're mixing a load of colours and need just a little bit more of something you mixed earlier to touch up. If you  don't have a wet palette then your mix will have dried out and you have to start again.

which was why I mentioned my little strip of mini pots, this was one of it's uses.    I can see the use of a wet palette, just not tried out one myself... as yet.

 

cheers

T

[Alex Gordon]

Yep,the damp finally got to it.It's a real time timescale in this thread so I've had six weeks out of it with no snags other than what you've seen.Noted tightwad that I am I'm only going to use this for one job so buying goodies isn't really on the menu and if I can find a method that we can all use with the odds and ends that are routinely lying around then it's all for the better.

36 minutes ago, AdrianMF said:

The real benefit of wet palettes comes when you're mixing a load of colours and need just a little bit more of something you mixed earlier to touch up.

That's pretty much why I thought I'd give it a go.