Saturday, May 17, 2008

Bunch of Cattle and a Highland Soldier

1. I drilled a hole through the shoulders and inserted a bit of wire, sculpted the left arm and strap, part of the bonnet and hair on one of the base minis I cast previously. 2. Started the right arm, added ponytail to hair and top part to bonnet.
3. Added pom-pom and cockade to bonnet, redid left arm a bit, and did the hand for the right arm. I drilled a bit of a hole in the musket so it's pinned to the hand/arm armature wire.
4. Added a bit of ribbon to the hair and a buckle to the strap.
Assorted Highland cattle, made from the base beastie with added horns.

11 comments:

Bluebear Jeff said...

I like your Scottish cattle. You might want to have an alternate head position or two to add diversity to a herd.


-- Jeff

Snickering Corpses said...

I think I love the cows more than the figures, and the figures are rather nice. :)

tim said...

That's a fine looking jock you got there. Is he done or is he to get a broadsword yet? I am currently anguishing about how to add swords to my current lot that will actually be castable...! Urrrr...

The herd looks great too!

Fitz-Badger said...

Thanks for the comments!
I'm a bit bemused that people like the cattle given the disdain many gamers seem to hold towards cartoony figures. Maybe these are so obviously cartoony that it's okay? (I have a few other animals similar in style sculpted, as well - I'll see about posting pics soon)
I did sculpt and cast broadswords for the jock, but I am sculpting new masters (for the figures and weapons and such), so I probably won't go much further with him. I decided the originals were too chunky even compared to my Foundry minis, but they made a good practice run and I learned some stuff along the way.
I've already sculpted a new musket and broadsword of somewhat less chunky proportions, along with the beginnings of new base figures and a few odds and ends. I'll see about making a mold and casting some soon.
As for attaching the sword, I'm thinking the final lads will all be built with greenstuff/brownstuff/procreate and some cast parts (such as muskets and swords) added to the cast bases. This means they will each be individual and there will be no need to worry about cating the resulting finished minis. Of course it also means it will take a bit longer than sculpting a few variations and casting multiples, but I'm not planning on doing large units (I tend to go for 16-20figure infantry units these days).

abdul666 said...

Wow! Can't wait to see the 1st painted Highlander (Saxe-Urquhart regiment?).
Compliments,
Jean-Louis

tradgardmastare said...

I must confess to having not been on your blog for a wee while - I wish I had ! Fascinating casting things going on - I have learned a great deal and look forward to learning much more . Keep up the good work!
Alan

Martin said...

Hello Fitz,

Great looking job! I found the cattle to be a "Mooooving" experience. (Are they to be the object of many a Rob Roy-like raid?) Keep up the good work and please keep us posted on this interesting project.

Yours,

Martin

Oldpaw said...

Love these highland cattle.

SteveI said...

Fitz
Quick question for you with regarde to your molding. OK two questions - how do you find the molds hold up ( number of casts etc) and which metal are you using?
I've found a supplier for the Quick-Sil over here and thought I'd try to get review of the product first.
Cheers
Steve

Fitz-Badger said...

Steve,
The most I have cast in any one mold so far is probably less than 40 (including miscasts that got recycled). The molds seem to be holding up fine so far. The rubber turns out fairly hard/stiff (I don't know enough about other mold rubbers to give any true comparisons).
For metal I used a bar of white metal that came with the set (not sure of the composition, but I believe it was lead-free pewter of some sort). I have also recycled quite a few old minis and bits that I decided after decades of holding onto them I would never use, and probably nothing anyone would care to buy and pay for shipping, so there's probably some lead in there, too.
Sorry to be so unclear about details, but I hope it helps a little anyway.
You're doing the de Saxe (and violins?) guys, right? I look forward to following another home-caster sculptor's progress!

SteveI said...

Thanks for that, any information is greatly appreciated.
My plan is also to use a few lefover castings that I seem to have aquired over the years.
Sax and Fiddle instead of drum and fife, interesting thought!!!!
Steve