Tuesday 12 January 2021

Silesian Verkehrspolizist

Just before Christmas I received a box of Prussians. I have now finished restoring and painting the first of these Prussians as a Silisian Landwehr unit.


The rank and file and officer are all original Hinton Hunt figures and are in the classic HH firing pose. As this a classic unit the uniforms are neat and tidy and the unit is well dressed. 


The standard bearer and drummer are David Clayton copies. The drummer is based on a French figure so required some filing to remove the lace on his sleeves.



I had hoped that these would be quick to finish. However a combination of  the detail painted on the cap,  3 coats of yellow to get the right depth of colour, meant they took longer than planned to finish. Still in all less than 4 weeks is to too bad.


For the flag I used the thin metal foil from a bottle of wine. I folded this over and stuck it together with super glue. Even with the thickness doubled the flag was easy to bend and manipulate with no cracking of the paint. Once shaped I applied two coats of varnish.


So I has started 2021 with another unit. Looking back on last year I painted a total of 121 infantry, 12 cavalry, 4 mounted generals, 8 gunners and 2 guns. 

I need to concentrate on some more cavalry over the coming months.  



21 comments:

Jim Duncan Wargamer said...

Marvellous work Mark.

There seems to be no end to the quality of your units.

The Good Soldier Svjek said...

Great looking classic figures to start the year with

Peter Douglas said...

Lovely old school figures. Always tough when one has to sacrifice a bottle of wine to make something.

Rob said...

A gorgeous unit - your standard, especially the lettering, is a triumph. WM will have to look to his laurels as the competition is in town.

tradgardmastare said...

Fantastic figures, great start to the new year.

'Lee. said...

Lovely crisp paintwork on those mark.

David said...

I find nothing more rewarding than bringing tired older figures back to life, and you have done a masterful job here. Really nice work on them all and especially the flag. Well done sir!

Wellington Man said...

Absolutely superb. This is real artistry, Mark. I love the flag!
Best regards
WM

Aly Morrison said...

Splendid looking Prussians Mark...
I suspect I will really need a unit of these chaps for my own collection.

All the best. Aly

Mark Dudley said...

Hi Jim

It takes longer to paint these figures in this style than using block painting and washes. The key is depth of colour and clean lines between colours.

Mark Dudley said...

Thanks Tony. They were planned to be the last unit of 2020 rather than the first of 2021.

Mark Dudley said...

Hi Peter

A sacrifice willing made.

Mark Dudley said...

Hi Rob

I have a long way to go to match WM standards.

Mark Dudley said...

I hope to at least match the number of figures I painted last year.

Mark Dudley said...

Hi Lee

I find the clean, crisp lines are enhanced with 2 coats of gloss varnish.

Mark Dudley said...

Hi David

In some ways it's like restoring an old master piece. I find a sympathetic painting style is the key with these figures.

Mark Dudley said...

Hi Matt

Your flags inspired me to have a go myself. On the flag I used a super fine permament marker for the lettering. I careful sealed it with varnish.

Mark Dudley said...

Hi Aly

You really must have a unit of Landwehr on your collection. Have you got any to paint ?

Aly Morrison said...

Hi Mark...
S Range Landwehr are one of those troop types that don’t come up on eBay that often... a bit like Hinton Hunt A.C.W....
I have however got plenty of other toys to be getting on with...

All the best. Aly

Purple said...

Magnificent Good Guys!
I love your collection

James Fisher said...

These look brilliant. The landwehr may well not have had flags, but look much better with them. I really like the wine bottle metal or similar as well. In my case I fold them a bit more to hide blemishes; not a problem for you!
Regards, James