All that is left is to change the colour (hue) of the horse’s mane and tail, and add highlights on its flanks.

My next two projects are being planned.
Both Napoleonic, but both very different from each other…………

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 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.

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!

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:

Then, along came an airbrush and compressor that forced us to buy it.
The horse has been airbrushed in a mixture of diluted Vallejo acrylics. This is the first coat. Highlights of light and dark still to follow. I am amazed at how accurate you can get with an airbrush. And with lots of practice, no doubt a lot better than this, my first attempt.

The horse needs lots of tidying up, but this is a good, solid base coat to build on.

The lines that you can see on one of his legs are not casting marks, they are slightly raised relief lines for painting the uniform trousers stripe.

The plume has been fitted to the square shaped Polish cap (czapka) and again, the metal casting has been cleaned up and undercoated.

I had to use quite a lot of flour paper in order to remove all the scratches caused by the extensive filing needed to get rid of the casting marks etc. This morning was also spent re-carving some of the saddle and saddle cloth detail removed when getting rid of joins.
The white primer, applied just a couple of hours ago, has a slight texture and this gives the horse a slightly rough (and natural looking) coat.Now the undercoat will be left for at least 24 hours to dry and set before painting. At this stage I am not sure what colour the horse is going to be. Probably one of the many shades of brown, but I also need to carry on looking at pictures of horses in order to get a feel for how the light shows on the the body.

Not only will it be my first figure on horseback, it will be painted as if he is on parade. Unlike the previous 4 models which I have painted as though they were either still in battle or were retreating from battle with damaged and dirty uniforms.

The quality of the metal casting is very good, but unlike previous ones I have completed, this does not have so much detail cast into it. Lots of the detail will have to be added by painting.

It looks as though a fair bit of work will be needed with thin lead sheet to make horse reins, stirrups, etc. which will also be a challenge – one I look forwards to.

Here are the two halves of the horse offered up together. There is quite a gap which will need to be filed square and then filled with milliput (or similar compound).
I have already removed some of the few casting marks. This having to fill and file to get a good result has an advantage that you really get to see, feel and know the model that you are working on. This better knowledge of your model’s surface, texture and detail means you produce a better result when you get to the painting stage.