Military Miniatures

A strip of thin lead has been cut to the correct width for making the reins, harness and the ‘hangers’ or straps which will hold the Lancer’s sword scabbard.

I have made the strips much longer than needed to allow for measuring errors and so that the items can be finally cut to size on the model.

When offering up the strips of lead to the model for final fitting and cutting, be careful that the paint finish is not damaged. Although the lead is soft, any sharp corners or points could scratch the acrylic paint

Here is the scabbard in place on the Polish Lancer’s left side. The straps have been made to follow the contours of the Lancer’s trousers a little. After all, the scabbard is empty and does not have the weight of the sabre pulling the straps taught.

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Now there are just the reins and final parts of the horse harness to make and fit - and then tidy up the horse’s mane and tail, and highlights / shadows to enhance.

The Polish Lancer is just about complete - apart from a few minor additions such as painting the sword scabbard and associated hanging straps (which are still to be cut out of thin strip lead).

The horse is nearly complete, but still needs a lot of work - not in actual work content, but in time. The reins and some of the harness are still to be cut out of thin sheet lead. Some harness will be left ’silver’ in colour and some will be painted black.
His horse still needs some more detailing in light and shadows as well as his mouth and ears painting in the correct colour. I will have to lighten the mane and the tail in order to provide more of a contrast with the body.

The Polish Lancer is test fixed into the saddle to check the fit and to see if he sits upright. I will have to measure his legs so that the stirrup straps can be cut and set to the correct height in order that they look and hang naturally.

After a minor adjustment to his left arm the fit in the saddle is OK so he is glued in place.

This is how the model now looks at present.

It is beginning to look more like the finished product.
Note that the left hand side of the Lancer still needs the scabbard to be fitted and straps to be made up out of thin lead.

More work on the Polish Lancer this evening. His sword hand is completed as are his legs.

Fine detail has been added to his belt and cross belt in the form of brass painted buckles, links and emblems. The cartridge case has been painted with brass coloured detail too.

The cummerband is silver material with a red fleck in it.

The Lancer is leaning up against a bottle of Vellejo white acrylic paint. Obviously he was tired!

After quite a long break, I have at last started painting again. The British weather is foul at the moment so a planned trip to Wales was cancelled. Instead I have cleared the table, picked up my model paints and have started to complete the Polish Lancer.

The head has been completed now, but I am not happy with the top of his hat - Czapska - (the top surface cannot be seen in this picture). There should be a white Maltese Cross, outlined in black, with a red circle, but this is proving to be too difficult for me to model acurately. So I have cheated and have painted the top of the Czapska in red.
Side view:

More details of Czapska: