Thursday, July 5, 2018

OK Back to Work!

The Zouave mould worked quite well except for one little problem: the bayonet!

The Papal Zouaves that Britain's didn't make!
(in progress)

After about six increasingly drastic vent cutting sessions, I finally got bayonets....and FLASH, major flash.

At first, I almost gave up on the bayonets but what kind of Zouave wants to charge without a bayonet on his rifle? It took some careful snipping, grinding and filing but one has been rescued so far with 2 more started. Hopefully they'll look OK once painted.

You may notice the not very French looking pack but after preparing to make a pack with blanket wrapped around it I noticed that the original Britains' Zouaves don't seem to have the blanket roll, so I'm just using the Fort Henry Guard pack.

I suspect there will be several regiments of Zouaves.  Wallace's Zouaves, also in grey, would be a good choice but I could see doing some simple conversions from kepis to stocking cap/fezzes and doing the classic, possibly erroneous, Louisiana Tiger look in brown jackets and striped pants.

10 comments:

  1. Ross,
    With casting my 40mm Sailor figures with Bayonets- I cut a vent in the mold from the very tip of the bayonet cavity running a channel right up to the top of the mold- to allow air to escape...another precaution was to rub the Bayonet cavity with a 3F Pencil - the graphite helps the flow of metal...also a good dose of Talcum Powder dusting the entire mold before assembling it. Hope this helps you. Cheers. KEV.

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    1. Thanks Kev. Yes my first step was to vent as you described but it didn't help at all, Its a long story that started with a poor choice of layout and an error in mixing the compound which made the rubber softer than intended and went from there.

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  2. Great figures, Britains should definitely have made these, they missed a trick there!

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    1. It took me ages to realize that unlike most Continental companies, Britains normally only did current events figures (like the Russo-Japanese, Spanish American and Boer Wars) not historical ones. Apart from a small number of commemorative sets, and the knights of course, the Civil War range and the Cowboys and Indians were I think, the only exception. Pity.

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  3. Nifty, it's interesting to follow your adventures in the casting process.

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    1. Proof positive that being a clutz at practical things only makes them harder and of lower quality, not impossible!

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  4. I am looking forward to seeing these all painted up...

    All the best. Aly

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  5. Fret not about the bayonet fate.

    I've had to clip and file many back from the brink of being more of a mace than a sword.

    Every one was a success once finished - I envision similar success for you!

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    1. I had no worries once the first one was done but confess that its not my first gaff with bayonets and in one case the bayonets had a weak spot in the middle and tended to break during cleanup. So far so good.

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