Saka Light Cavalry

Saka Light Cavalry

Wednesday 26 February 2014

54mm Aftermath of the Charge of the Light Brigade

I bought this set of three figures around two years ago off of E-Bay knowing it was just for the fun of painting them. Fast forward too the a few weeks ago and little had been done to get them done, too many other must do projects.

As soon as the bonus round was declared I knew I finally had a great reason to do them. So I pulled together as many pictures of this model and paintings etc so as to have a good stock of ideas to draw from.

This is an old set and as such the detail is a little flat in places but still enough to work with. I did get this part painted when I knocked it and a box of finished models with my elbow. I still have a fair amount of touching up to do to get the finished stuff fully repaired (some I will chuck) and had to reassemble this one and take it back to base coat and start again. That took some of the shine off it for me but at least I had not added the swords as that would have probably caused me to just bin it, oh well it happens to us all....

I wanted the casualty to look like he was suffering so painted the eye area fairly dark but the rest of the face was a few shades paler than the two Lancers carrying him. Overall I was happy with the result. 

The belts that hold the swords in place are all the same size on the trees and needed to be cut to length which was fun given I had no instructions. Same actually for the canteens as these have to be glued in place and straps cut so that they fit to match the sculptured ones.

The braids on the hats also needed to be added, including the one on the floor. Missing was the spurs which I was trying to add with fuse fire but had to accept defeat as they just did not want to stay attached looking anything but spur like.

Close up of the faces, these guys won't win any beauty contests will they? Some of the detail was so thin that I really struggled in working out what each bit should be so it's no perfect finish for sure.

I had big hopes that this would show well in the bonus round but with so many great entries I have been placed rather low, though I will admit I am surprised I have had so few votes (mumble grumble) though I am very happy to report that the six I voted for are all in the lead so I have excellent taste  ;-)

9 comments:

  1. Outstanding vignette! I, for one, am happy that you persevered with the piece. Excellent! What are your plans for it now?

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  2. That looks fantastic - who made the model?

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  3. Great work on this group Ian. The two lancers look as though they might be brothers

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  4. It's a lovely piece Ian. These bonus rounds are certainly providing some interesting entries.

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  5. You managed to create an excellent result despite the trouble you encountered.
    cheers

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  6. You're a brave man taking these on as there is nowhere to hide with 54mm. I love what you have done with it Ian, especially the faces, which convey such grim determination.

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  7. I really like this piece, and I haven't voted yet! Although I initially thouht the highlights and color could have been more extreme due to the scale, I appreciated the care given to the faces as the poses draw you in there like a photogragh where the faces are the target the rest somewhat blurred. It's really shocking that you found the faces to be soft in the detail as you painted them so well!

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  8. @ Jonathan, that's a good question. Originally it was going to go to work, now I don't have space for it. Maybe I will create space some place at home.

    @ Conrad, Benito, though I don't think it's still available, but I may be wrong there.

    @ Captain LOL thanks, I wish I had spent more time on it though as it could have been better.

    @ Tamsin, they do, or fell out of the same ugly tree?

    @ Dave, thanks, I think this round brought a good crop, makes you wonder what's coming up this weekend

    @ The Kiwi, thanks, the accident would have been devastating if it happened that bit later

    @ Michael, I know what you mean, it would have looked much better from further away ;-) The weight of three figures at once made it a bit tougher as well.

    @ David, why thank you, I started with the shading a bit harder but added a few watered down layers over to soften the finish mainly because it was a larger scale. Nothing more arty than that though.

    Ian

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