A Mounted Gendarme, from c1910

That's what I love about this forum - how an innocent comment can end up with helping somebody with another aspect!

I'm sending Michel Marciquet's contact deatils by PM.

Please make sure your friend mentions "les anglais brian et caroline" when he contacts!

Well to my untrained eye, it looks like a horse. Admittedly, a 1:19 or thereabouts scale model of a horse being sat on by a 1:22.5 figure. So, do I continue with this horse, or should I be looking for a model of a more appropriate kind of horse? I do know it's not a Shire as they have big hairy feet, and that was quite a different model on the Schleich stand. I remember Wadworth's the brewers used them (the real ones, that is) to deliver beer to their pubs round the Devizes area up until quite recently.

A tiny bit more progress tonight - just the head and the right arm drilled and pinned to the body with the usual florist's wire. With apologies for the mountain of garbage on the table in the background (which is not mine, by the way ):

I had a go at reshaping the hat so that it resembles a shako:



Still a bit rough around the edges, but we will sharpen that up with a file when it's cured.

Coming along nicely Clive.

Cheers Paul. I have to say I am experiencing a certain frustration with this figure - partly because I haven't progressed it as much as I would like due to work commitments (I know, I should think myself lucky I am working!) - but also, I keep looking at the horse and thinking I am cheating in some way, as it's a store-bought thing... albeit a good quality moulding and all, but the whole thing is a bit sterile, no real soul to it... I will have to ponder this some more I think.

Well i'm happy with it so far clive! Just imagine 1910, summers day.he'd much rather be fishing. He's spoken to the dancing bear lady and is now on his way through the woods to check out the gypsy encampment. wouldnt you look a bit bored. I love the expression on his face. the horse? fantastic, its the rider that will add the character"

mikey

Yeah, you could be right Mikey. Maybe once I've started fleshing the legs out a bit on the rider, I will start to warm to it more. We will see. I have been furthering my experiments with making a saddle blanket today and I have had some interesting results from several sheets of tissue paper (unused, I assure you!) and some watered-down PVA. Pics to follow, hopefully

clive_t wrote:

.....a saddle blanket.....

I've been trying ages to think of the word.

It's called a 'numnah'

Carl Hibbs wrote:

It's called a 'numnah'

Thanks Carl - I am officially, further enlightened!

On that subject I mentioned that I had been experimenting with different materials to make this thing and make it look the part. I tried thin styrene sheet and heated it with a hair-dryer - no joy. I tried some PVC covering from an old table top protector, but I couldn't get it to take paint and in any case it didn't look 'right'.

Then this afternoon I tried thin strips of tissue paper, brushed with dilute PVA glue:



That was a bit more like it! It was thin, and it formed very natural-looking creases with little or no effort on my part - result! All I had to do then was be patient enough to let it dry. This evening, I was able to paint it with some neat acrylics:



I think it will need gluing on when I'm ready as I have already successfully peeled the thing from the horse.

terrific Clive.Exactly how I would have done it! Its a similar method to making the tarpaulins. Looking good

Mikey

Cheers Mikey. Now that I've managed to remove it, I can paint the edges a bit better so there's no white showing. Also, I was able to attend to the tack last night and this morning.

The PVC which had failed in its previous usage, actually came up trumps this time...



The bit is just 2 brass loops drilled and pushed into the side of the horse's mouth. I drilled a reasonably discrete hole through the rider's hand, so as to be able to thread the reins through it. Next is the fun part though... the saddle! Wish me luck, I have a feeling I may need it!

Well impressed with the bridle and reins clive. its got a nice leatherlike grain to it!

Mikey

Cheers Mikey! Last night was the big challenge though - the saddle... I used a whole load of 'Grey Stuff' in the making of it, mainly so as to allow the saddle to flex sufficiently for me to be able to remove it without damaging either it or the horse...



The straps hanging down from the saddle will eventually be the stirrup straps for when I get round to making the stirrup irons.

Finally then, I was able this morning to make a start on the rider's legs. Here's how they look so far, complete with saddle and blanket all together:

Progress update from last night...

Legs are on the way to being fully defined, the tack is all done with stirrup irons made from thin brass wire. The blanket is now glued in place.



It's not obvious from the picture, but I have also trimmed away some of the plastic from the right side of the rider's body, to allow the right arm to sit more comfortably in position. As it was, it made the body look 'unbalanced'.

I will be turning my attention to the uniform bit next, in particular of course the tunic.

Also, looking at the old photo of the rider standing next to his mount, I see that:

1. He appears to be wearing some sort of spur arrangement on his boots
2. There appears to be a sabre hanging from his left side.

Mikey, is that something that you would like to see on this model?

Sorry late in replying Clive. Computerless for 24 hrs after ie8 crashed on me!. not bothered about spurs or sabre (maybe a bit fragile?) its looking good so far.

Mikey

Thanks Mikey! Welcome back btw - sounds like a very good reason for me to continue using Firefox then...

OK a bit more progress: Right arm and head are now Milliput'ed in place, and stiff collar added to the top of the tunic. Tunic front, sam browne and boots added:

More, albeit modest, progress - The saddle is now painted, and the rider is primed:



Not ready to be painted yet, I just wanted to see if there were any surfaces which needed tidying up before I go any further... and there are!

More progress:



Still not painted yet, but at least he now has a few more embellishments to the tunic. I also made something that represents his rain cape, rolled up and tied to his saddle behind him. Mikey, would you say dark blue again for the rolled-up cape, same as the blanket or a different shade - or maybe even a different colour ?

Also, I have taken another small liberty, and introduced a third character to this little vignette (if one can count the horse as a character) - a small gypsy girl...



She started life as a Preisser 1:24 scale female passenger (standing), but with limbs shortened slightly and some bulking up for the dress, she could pass for a child of about 11 or 12?

Excellent Clive! Would have thought cape would be same colour as uniform (a bit darker blue than the blanket)

Mikey

The gendarme and girl pose are just like what I have seen in Paris....

Although more recently, motorbike mounted and some typically Romanian young girl exclaiming her rights to beg for money in return for a little colourful street entertainment.


...or is she just trying to stroke the horse?

I guess she could be reaching up to pat the horse on the muzzle... My original intention however was to give her a G-scale apple with which to feed it. I've made two so far, and managed to lose them both!

Well it's been a while since my last post on this, mainly because I was waiting until the Wickham Show to continue progress.

Well as intimated in the thread on that subject, I was able to make some progress, in painting the copper, which was completed last night. I had hoped to take some pics outside today, but as we appear to be right in the middle of the Monsoon season I decided instead to take some indoors. Of course, the downside of that is the light is rubbish. But anyway, here's where we are with it:



Here's a gypsy-girl's-eye view of the copper and his mount:



Observant persons will have noticed a small addition to the girl figure - a small hand-basket of apples: made from GS and a bit of thin brass wire for the handle:



Sod's law it is, that I should notice some defective painting on the girl once I'd taken the pic (the hand holding the basket is a bit dodgy - I will attend to that in due course)

Mikey, a question: I haven't yet done a saddle-mounted holster for the copper - would that be a pistol holster, or a rifle holster? Would there be one on each side of the saddle or just the one? I was looking at the old photo, and it sort of suggests a rifle holster - but I'd take your advice on it!

The model is looking superb Clive. Re the holster I dont honestly know, but from my previous hobby of Western history the 7 th cavalry didnt carry rifles but carbines (much shorter barrel and easier to fire from horseback. I would just do one (if its not too much bother). Very pleased with that!

Mikey (can I put your pic on my site?)

Cheers for the info Mikey - will get on it soon as.

Yes, by all means put that pic of me on your site - should scare the kids away!

Evening all... I've spent the last few evenings conjuring up something approximating to a carbine in a holster for our law man friend. Interestingly enough, the REME Museum of Technology came up trumps! I found a photo of a weapon which would probably have been in existence in France in the year 1910 - http://www.rememuseum.org.uk/arms/rifles/armfrc.htm will tell you all you want to know and more! Anyway, here is my interpretation:



The gun is made from a piece of thin styrene sheet, cut to a basic shape then fleshed out with Milliput. The barrel is a thin piece of brass wire. The holster is a lump of GS initially stretched gently over a the 'handle' end of a small paint-brush, then gently removed and widened to accommodate the gun.

Here's how the look painted up, and with some strapping with which to secure it to the saddle:



Finally, with the thing in situ, taken in predictably poor light (being as I was indoors, at night)...



I promise I will take a better pic outside, just as soon as this infernal rain stops.