Antietam 17th September 1862

[santifernandez]

Chris,I follow his diorama closely, I like it more every step of the way.
What is your opinion of the latest Hat figures?
They're worth it?
Santi.

[C M Dodson]

Hi Santi, I hope that you are much better.

It’s probably best to see what PSR has to say about these figures.

I like them but mine had a lot of flash especially around the legs and where the musket and head ‘meet’.

One of the officers has no sword scabbard and the mounted guy is very small.

The annoying thing is that the paint will not adhere to the plastic very well despite washing in detergent.

I will try PVA / undercoat to see if I can get a better result.

They as stated are very Perry, with lovely faces which brings them alive.

I have lots to paint as a result.

Best wishes,

Chris

I like the

[CPN]

Hi Santi, I hope that you are much better.

It’s probably best to see what PSR has to say about these figures.

I like them but mine had a lot of flash especially around the legs and where the musket and head ‘meet’.

One of the officers has no sword scabbard and the mounted guy is very small.

The annoying thing is that the paint will not adhere to the plastic very well despite washing in detergent.

I will try PVA / undercoat to see if I can get a better result.

They as stated are very Perry, with lovely faces which brings them alive.

I have lots to paint as a result.

Best wishes,

Chris

I like the

Hi
For difficult plastic such as Zvezda for example I use PVA tacky as a basecoat and then I prime them Vallejo polyurethane Primer. Eventually once the figures are painted I varnish them with vallejo mat polyurethane. So this is the best that worked for me.
I hope this helps.
CPN

[C M Dodson]

Hello CPN and thank you for your tip.

I shall give it a go.

Best wishes,

Chris

[Bessiere]

Sorry to bother you but I'm stuck Mr. D, I have all my figures painted and ready to go for a diorama but having never built one I don't know where to start so far as what to use for a base then covering it. I know the layout of everyone but any quick tips you could share would be immensely helpful and gratefully received.
Cheers, Bessiere.

[C M Dodson]

Hello Mr B and thank you for asking about dioramas.

As you are probably aware, I use a sand table so sculpting terrain etc is easy for me.

Most diorama makers use styrofoam it seems, cut, shaped, sealed and dressed.

The Bennoes forum is full of skilled modellers and is well worth a look at the WIP section.

I have also attached a couple of links that you may find useful.

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=20932

U tube is a treasure trove of ideas and our railway modelling friends are always leading the way with superb realism.

https://youtu.be/bO6K1eBFVsc

Wolfgang Meyer is my hero and Gerschite in Miniturian is a wonderful resource.

https://www.geschichte-in-miniaturen.de ... 1&start=50

Thank you for thinking about me and I hope that this is of help.

Best wishes,

Chris

[Huggy]

Hey, I have bought some Italeri ACW and whilst they are superb figurines I'd like to mix in some other ranges to get some variety. What other ranges would work well with them?

[C M Dodson]

Hello and thank you for your question.

The best arbitrator for your question would be the Plastic Soldier review who have an unbiased opinion and actually display the figure heights making comparisons easier.

Personally, the Itallieri seem to go well with the Revel/Accurate figures along with Imex, Hat and Stretlets.

The Call to Arms are great but are quite small in comparison.

As for metals, I like the Kennington range through SHQ miniatures and also, although they are a bit smaller the Newline figures from their vast range. The bareheaded gunners are great for conversions.

Best wishes,

Chris

[Huggy]

Thanks! Just the answers I need. PSR is probably my most visited site in the last month. But it is hard to compare pictures.
SHQ and Newline were also on my radar, together with Jacklex. But again hard to find pictures of them side to side with soft plastic figures.

[Huggy]

Man this topic is great. You are a talented man mister Dobson. I'll spending some time here to prep for my own ACW project.

[C M Dodson]

Just a thought regarding the Jacklex troops.

They are advertised as ‘old school’ and indeed they are in that style.

I want troops to be as lifelike as possible and whilst Jacklex were very generous when I ordered some cannon their figures are not, unfortunately to my personal taste.

Best wishes,

Chris

[Bessiere]

Very kind of you Mr D, many thanks! I think I like the idea ofusing rolled flat clay, putting that down moist so I can impress the figure bases. This will be showing Bavaria in mid-April so growth won't be very tall and not much to hide the join. I did manage to run the wires for 2 led's down through a cannon barrel and out an opening on the bottom side so I can completely hide the wiring. Working on the fire/smoke billow now so the final pieces are starting to come together at last. This whole experience has done nothing more than give even more respect to those like yourself who build massive dioramas with 10 or even 100 times what I am attempting.
Gratefully yours,
Bessiere

[C M Dodson]

Sounds interesting Mr B.

Best wishes,

Chris

[C M Dodson]

Texas Brigade

Forming half of John Bell Hoods Division under the command of Colonel William T. Wofford the Texas Brigade had earned itself a reputation as the Confederacy’s shock troops.

The original unit reported some of the highest unit casualties at Antietam and the First Texas lost its flag along with nine standard bearers.

This flag, known as ‘ Mrs Wigfall’s wedding dress’ ( the original Colonel’s wife and daughter made it) was inscribed with the battle honours of Gaines Mill and Seven Pines.

I have used a generic Texas State flag along with a battle flag to represent the brigade rather than an individual regiment.

The troops are a mixture from various manufacturers along with head swaps.





Lots to do.

Chris

[Peter]

Great!

Lots to see!

[Susofrick]

Agree with Peter! This is better than TV! By a lot!

[dombom]

Wow, looks like a hugh project. Nicely done so far, looking forward for the final results.

[C M Dodson]

Casualties and conversions

I have been clearing away my Quatre Bras re-fight and I wondered about using Hagen Dutch Belgians as Union casualties.

Essentially to my mind, after chopping off the cuffs they make a good conversion.



The Schilling couple required a simple Italieri head swap whilst the crawling wounded are from my British WW11 wounded, repainted with Kepis.

The Italieri WW11 walking wounded couple were once again a head swap.

Art Miniturian ‘struck’ in action figures benefited from Master Massimo’s Springfields from his excellent US wounded pack through Hagen.

There is also a sprinkling of Yekerol dead painted up as Federals.

I like the smoking Italieri fellow, sliced and mounted on a cavalry torso.

He seems to be happy with his pipe.



Mansfield’s Corps is nearing completion.

Then it’s onto ‘Bull’ Summers enormous Corps featuring Baxter’s Fire Zouaves and the Irish Brigade amongst others.

Lots to do but moving in the right direction at last.

Best wishes,

Chris

[Peter]

Great conversions Chris!

Lots to see!

[huib]

Quite a carnage, Chris! Good work.