Cromwell’s Cavalry

29Feb
by patmcf

Well here we are in February and it’s supposed to be summer but it’s been raining cats and dogs after the terrible bushfires we had a month or so ago. Thank you all for your wishes in regards to our safety, we were fortunately a long way from them. To my American friends I have to say we Aussies were saddened by the death of three of your countrymen who died fighting the fire in NSW, they won’t be forgotten.

So it’s been an up and down month but I have been working hard in the shed and at the painting station.  I had to do ‘gift job’ for my tech adviser as she has made this blog possible as most of you would know.  It’s a small 9”x3” scene, just like a slice of the English Civil War (ECW) diorama but with only some cavalry.  Unfortunately I can’t share it with you yet as she has moved out and we won’t see her till April when I have my 65th birthday, and I can present it to her then.

But so as not to disappoint I knocked up a little ECW mini using the Waterloo 1815 Cromwell cavalry. As I’m very particular about size, I couldn’t use them on the big one as they are slightly larger and bulkier than the Revell guys.

Just a few notes on them – they are made of hard plastic so you can’t boil and change them as I always do to most sets so one is limited on poses. The bugler and pennant troopers have arms that need to be attached which is a gluing job but as I’m not a flag painting person like our young Marvin, I chose to convert him by adding a sword.  (He is the figure in the lead on the left).  As I say, it’s not a great set but adequate if you are only doing a mini.

The diorama is 6”x3”, a foam board base with a bit of the old hedge left over from the large ECW dio static grass 4mm and some of my home made flowers.

A glimpse into the future, another fantasy diorama, I’m just working on the base and making some really good wire trees, (think swamp like) and I’m painting up some Elves. I started with the Dark Alliance but have switched to the Caesar ones.  The other one is a mini using the Italeri French dragoons that I have just painted, so hopefully I’ll have something up soon.

26 thoughts on “Cromwell’s Cavalry”

  1. theimperfectmodeller

    Very nice little diorama Pat. Not your normal fair in terms of the number of figures involved but just goes to show that you can still put a great model together with just a few figures, especially if it is done as well as you have done here. Here’s to your 65th birthday in a few weeks time. 🍻

    Liked by 3 people

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    1. patmcf

      Thanks Dave, I have so many figures to paint I feel whilst I’m still trying to finish my decoupage work from so long ago I would keep my hand in painting up just a few from each set and popping them onto mini bases . And yes mate, not long now till I roll the date over and become really old ! HA HA !! I will certainly raise a pint to you then cobber !

      Liked by 2 people

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    1. patmcf

      Thanks Pete, yep only in England, that beautiful green country of yours, my kids were amazed at the difference between your light and ours, the light here is just stripped of colour its so harsh whereas yours is so soft making the green foliage so vibrant.

      Liked by 3 people

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      1. ericritter65

        I say inspiring, because I think I’ve been thinking to big for dioramas I have planned in my head. Now I’m thinking of keeping the base just large enough to convey the story of the model(s)

        Liked by 2 people

  6. Dave Stone

    Great work as always Pat, look forward to seeing the gift for your daughter once she’s seen it, and there’s a lot of interesting projects on the horizon as well

    Liked by 4 people

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  8. Marvin

    Excellent scene, Pat! I do like Waterloo 1815 figures, the sculpting is very impressive. The hard plastic does limit conversions but makes for a sturdy figure. Actually, I’ve been painting something similar (a cuirassier with a lobster helmet) for the War of the Spanish Succession. Can I ask what colour you use for the buff coats and how you did the dark metal helmets?

    As a ‘flag painting person’ let me tell you that a conversion is always the best option!

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. patmcf

      Thanks Mate! I sent a reply but Ive no idea were it went ! I’m still old school and use the Humbrol / Revell paint mainly so for the coats it was Revell matt 16 and for the helmets Humbrol Steel 27003. I’m tring some Citadel paint now and realised I could have used Zamesi desert for the coats but not the base Leadbelcher for the helmets as I found it a wee bit shiny for ECW helmets, hope that may be of some help mate . Flag conversions all the way mate!! although I am painting a Nappy French cavalry pennant at the moment, very bold eh! I hope to post them soon but work seems to get in the way !!

      Liked by 1 person

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  9. imperialrebelork

    Awesome Pat! Like Pete said, it’s very animated. Very clever little dio there. It has been a weird summer. Probably the wettest in my memory. It’s caused all sorts of havoc with my work schedule but we need to the rain so I’m not complaining. Plus it meant I could have a bit more random hobby time hehe.

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. patmcf

      Thanks mate, it’s a bit quicker doing these little one and a bit easier on the brain ! You are right on about the summer weirdest that I can recall since we came down from QLD in 1995 🤔but as you say we always need the rain 🌧.

      Liked by 3 people

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  11. patmcf

    Thanks mate , you are right they do make a great figure ! I’m old school mate and still use the Humbrol /Revell paints , for the coats I used the Revell Matt no. 16 and for the helmets are Humbrol steel 27003 . I’m trying out some of the Citadel paints and tried Leadbelcher but I found it a wee bit shiny for ECW helmets , I hope that may be of some help mate.

    Liked by 1 person

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  12. Mark A. Morin

    What a beautiful cavalry dio, very alive with movement! Thanks for mentioning the US firefighters, a tragedy indeed. Sorry for the late response and look as things got absolutely crazy here quickly with COVID-19.

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. patmcf

      Thanks Mark never late mate as I know you like I have a lot going on in our lives at the best of times , yeah you would not believe how badly my fellow Australians are behaving , I’m gutted mate , they are even going into the fire ravaged areas and buying ( pillaging ) from their small grocery shops and bring it back to this terrible city of ours to either hoard or racketeer! A shame that will stain us for a long time .

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