Modelling the Perry Plastics (UPDATE: lots of pics 28.06.2015 p.7)

[janner]

another one to watch 

[valleyboy]

There's some brilliant & inspirational stuff going on in Medieval adventures these days
Superb idea with the crew

[Dalauppror]

Perfect inspiration !

best regards Michael

[Blackwolf]

Lovely work Admiral.

 I too collected the Airfix and MilMod(I guess I am also of an certain age....)  mags,I remember in particular a box diorama that won the Euro Militaire in the late 70s set inside a tavern with a Norman knight and an fighting bear,it had cobwebs the whole bit; the modeller even made his own chainmail. I tried to emulate this,failed......But then came upon a technique using ladies stockings as chainmail, (I was a very naughty young man),very realistic; I converted an Historex Napoleonic French aide de camp into a rider of Rohan,carved his hat into a helm,nasal from plasticard,bamboo spear the whole bit. Sad to say I think I have lost the skill/patience for such things now.
     And those mags were so practical,really taught me a lot.

  Thanks for the nostalgia trip

  Guy

[Faber]

brilliant work Michael! 
They are absolutely believable. Interesting thread to follow! Keep going!

[Arlequín]

Yet another excellent thread on these miniatures, which have pushed the boundaries imo. Not bad for 'just plastics'. 

[CyberAlien312]

You did a very nice job on those, well done!

[Admiral Benbow]

I too have fond memories of Military Modelling and plastic conversions (though my efforts were far from your standard). Could it be that many of those enjoying the possibilities of Perry Plastics are ..... ahem .... of a certain age?!

Oh yes, absolutely ...

I must say though (in amongst all this Perry plastic excellence) there are a couple of slightly dodgy components in the Mercenaries box. The figure lifting the tail of your gun has one of them. The shoulder on his right arm is distorted at the top. It's out of proportion. I've tried this arm on a number of figures - and it always looks slightly wrong... 

Thanks for that hint, Richard, I wouldn't have noticed it or maybe only when already started painting. I tried to correct the shoulder area by cutting it down a bit and smooth over with sandpaper.

One comment I would make is that I think one or two more of the gun crew should have their heads down, I've moved a gun of a similar size and you do spend a lot of time looking downwards for obstacles etc.

Can imagine that, James, but then you wouldn't see the painted faces, so that's some artistic licence then ...

Lovely work Admiral.

 I too collected the Airfix and MilMod(I guess I am also of an certain age....)  mags,I remember in particular a box diorama that won the Euro Militaire in the late 70s set inside a tavern with a Norman knight and an fighting bear,it had cobwebs the whole bit; the modeller even made his own chainmail. I tried to emulate this,failed......But then came upon a technique using ladies stockings as chainmail, (I was a very naughty young man),very realistic; I converted an Historex Napoleonic French aide de camp into a rider of Rohan,carved his hat into a helm,nasal from plasticard,bamboo spear the whole bit. Sad to say I think I have lost the skill/patience for such things now.
     And those mags were so practical,really taught me a lot.

  Thanks for the nostalgia trip

  Guy

Those were the days, Guy, no internet for research, only libraries (!), Humbrol enamels or oils instead of Acrylics and those monthly mags to drool over ...

Thanks to everybody for your nice words.
 

[oxiana]

From 1972 to 1974 the great Sid Horton published a series of modelling articles in Airfix magazine: "Charge of the Light Brigade" and "Return from Balaclava". He used the then new 54 mm Airfix plastic figure kits - mostly napoleonics - and converted them to new crimean war miniatures. I had a subscription for the magazine (mainly for tank and aircraft modelling) and was hooked to Horton's work from the very first moment. It was my start into the miniature world, and I learned to convert plastic figures with those brilliant articles. The famous "Return from Balaclava" painting by Lady Butler fascinated me and I started to recreate it as a diorama with the Airfix conversions.

Brilliant – I can remember being given a pile of those Airfix magazines and being transfixed by those conversions! A few years later the National Army Museum had an amazing exhibition of Lady Butler's paintings – both those you mention were there of course, plus the Scots Greys (or was it the Life Guards?) at Waterloo, Rorke's Drift, and Remnants of an Army, with poor Dr Bryodn limping into Jalalabad after the retreat from Kabul.

But I digress... 

I never tried any of those conversions myself, but I do remember trying to make 'plastic soup' – cut up ends of sprue dissolved in turps or something similar, and then painted on to cover joins. A bit like the new liquid green stuff I guess. Did anyone else ever make that? I just remember making a terrible mess... 

[Captain Blood]

Thanks for that hint, Richard, I wouldn't have noticed it or maybe only when already started painting. I tried to correct the shoulder area by cutting it down a bit and smooth over with sandpaper.

Maybe I'm being hyper-critical, but there's definitely something amiss with that shoulder... Just a bit too lumpen 

Airfix magazine and Military Modelling. Gosh yes, I grew up with those in the 70's 
The one that sticks in my mind is the Rorke's Drift diorama... Those Hinchliffe 54mm Zulus, remember them? Now that's what Zulus should look like... Huge, gleaming, muscular and deadly... Nobody else's have ever really measured up since...

Anyway. Sorry. Back on topic! Looking forward to giving the fore-and-aft horse conversions a try later this week... Brilliant idea.

[Malamute]

Airfix magazine and Military Modelling. Gosh yes, I grew up with those in the 70's 
The one that sticks in my mind is the Rorke's Drift diorama... Those Hinchliffe 54mm Zulus, remember them? Now that's what Zulus should look like... Huge, gleaming, muscular and deadly... Nobody else's have ever really measured up since...

I still have the Military Modelling two issue article on the Isandlwana diorama using those figures.(The actual model is at the South Wales Borderers museum in Brecon, it looks just as good in the flesh) I also have some of the figures somewhere too, now that would be a great skirmish game..

Sorry to derail a great thread Admiral, you have certainly stirred some old memories.

[Centaur_Seducer]

Great stuff as usual, Admiral!
Really look forward to seeing more in this thread

[Bugsda]

Tremendous  As someone who does not even have the patience to build them straight from the sprue I am both jealous and in awe

Me too 

As Ian Asbury once said "plastic fantastic, Napoleon machine gun" 

[Kingscarbine]

  Excellent conversions. Plastic is much easier to work with than metal and there's no fear of trashing the minis. Those old master modellers are a huge source of inspiration and cool ideas.

[redzed]

looking good so far. Historex in 28mm