Gone too far? **UPDATED PICS**.

[twrchtrwyth]

I like it, but if you want something more Victorian the try using Ramshackle's gasmasked pith helmet heads.

[Chairface]

I think he's gorgeous as is. Keep on going.

[Bullshott]

To remove the WW1 French look try the following:

1 - Remove the badge on the front of the helmet and replace with a new greenstuff badge of similar shape to those on 1880s home service helmets. This is just a small change but it would add to the effect.
2 - As you commented above, changing the eye holes on the gas mask would certainly help, so off some of the detail and replace with a greenstuff rectangular window.
3 - Paint gasmask in any colour but Khaki - perhaps dark grey highlighted with mediumn grey for a rubber mask, or an earth brown highlighted with lighter shades for a canvas effect.
4 - Since your unit is Navy, paint helmet dark blue with brass badge. Possibly paint ridge brass too.

[Justin Buck]

You could paint the helmet like a pith helmet that they used in the 1850s and paint the mask to look like canvas.  Then again, a brass helmet would look cool, maybe a polished steel helmet. Either way, I realy like the figure and I might have to steal the idea

Justin

[Captain Blood]

A British tar in a Froggy helmet???!!! It's a damnable disgrace sir! 

I rather like him, but I do think turning it into a brass fireman's helmet is a lovely (and very VSF-like) idea.

[Red Orc]

I'd paint the gas-mask white, or a kind of canvasy off-white, and I quite like the idea of a brass helmet. I like the Adrian; and I like the rifle. If a new service was set up, they might have new and experimental kit, so I'd not be too concerned that the rifle looks quite modern. Bang up to date 1895, possibly.

My own nef-troopers - 'Aetherines' - from the Royal Aeronautical Corps will be wearing navy blue, but they'll be in 'army' togs. My regulars are the Ironclad ones in home service helmets, but someone pointed out that pickelhaube style helmets wouldn't be good on an airship, just in case, so my chaps will be wearing pith helmets. But I think the Adrian (easpecially a leather one) is a very nice solution.

I think a whole squad painted up and on the table, in context, will stop you thinking 'why has that sailor got a French WWI head?' - at the moment it may be that he just looks wrong because he's on his own. But I think were it me, I would try out some different colours schemes on the helmet and gasmask on the next few minis.

Of course, it may just be that problem is that figure doesn't have enough rivets.

[Skrapwelder]

I like him. Reminds me a bit of this bunch.


How do they ascend from on high? If it was me I would have used Highlanders with a balanced spar of liftwood strapped to their web gear. The kilt would make for a very stable approach and a landing not soon to be forgot. That would be too far.

[Thunderchicken]

Oooooh! Lots more handy advice. I'm being swayed by the brass helmet idea so I might give it a bash and as Bezzo suggested take a pic of the figure on the nef.

I like it, but if you want something more Victorian the try using Ramshackle's gasmasked pith helmet heads.

I've ot a bunch of those but was trying to steer away from pith helmets for this project. I've got plans for them anyway  .

A British tar in a Froggy helmet???!!! It's a damnable disgrace sir! 

I know, I know...... If it makes you feel better I didn't sleep that night.

How do they ascend from on high? If it was me I would have used Highlanders with a balanced spar of liftwood strapped to their web gear. The kilt would make for a very stable approach and a landing not soon to be forgot. That would be too far.

You are naughty but I like you (any Dick Emery fans in the house?) 

[Gluteus Maximus]

I like the figure, but agree the "Adrian" is a little wrong as it is. The suggestion to file down the ridge is a good one and would make it much less WW1 French in appearance. The change to brass would also do a lot to alter it as would the cream/off-white idea for the respirator. I reckon if you do all this it will be much more "Victorian" and a unit of them will look superb.

Whatever, please don't cancel the project as it's only a gnat's knacker away from being spot-on 

[Silent Invader]

Gawd knows what I'm doing contributing tho this thread as I have no knowledge of the boundaries of VSF but, for what it is (or more likely isn't!) worth, here's my colour scheme for what I think is a cracking figure:

Helmet ridge = brass
Helmet body = same colour blue as the uniform
Helmet strap = same colour white as the webbing

Gasmask fittings and canister = brass
Gasmask hose = reddish-brown (same colour as RTV101, rubbery red)
Gasmask hood = off-white (linen)

Feel free to ignore.    

[former user]

not much to add to the above I like it basically
IMHO the adrian is the best choice for Helmet, it looks least modern among the early ones
if you want to keep the adrian, different brass fitting will make it look more classicist and less WWI
either blue or leather body
only thing that bothers me is that the helmet looks too high on top of the head

if you want to try a different approach, I had thought myself of swapping the heads of Pulp rocketeer troopers for something different

[mweaver]

My reaction was that he looked like a WWI fellow, too.  I agree with the advice to paint the helmet a different color - if it isn't metal, it may not look so modern.

The main problem, I think, is that we associate gas masks with WWI. 

[Gluteus Maximus]

...only thing that bothers me is that the helmet looks too high on top of the head

It is a little high, but you can justify that by saying that the helmet is normally adjusted to fit onto a bare head. Wearing it over a thick fabric/leather respirator hood will have the effect of pushing it up higher than normal - as I noted happened when we wore helmets over NBC kit in the 1980s.

[Justin Buck]

Just looked at the figure again and had a thought, paint the helmet like a pith helmet and paint the ridge metal. You could say that in the testing phase the persons gear became seperated from them during the drop and when the trooper landed, their gear landed on top of them. So as a result, the powers that be decided to add extra "protection" to the helmet. Then you can say that the French later stolen the design to make their metal helmet 

Justin

[fastolfrus]

If you paint the helmet as brass with a canvas mask, how about adding some sort of crest on top of the helmet, like a Tarleton, to make it really different ?
Otherwise look at Victorian brass firemen's helmets.