Advance to Arnhem 1/16 scale

[Steve Ski]

RM1601 Resin, 4 figures plus groundwork. www.reedeesminiatures.co.uk/products/1-16-120mm

This excellent vignette, first in a series, was recently sculpted by Steve Reedees and is now available through his website. The historical photo below was used as his guide in creating this scene. It's not too often you find vignettes in 1/16 scale that are directly related to an actual photo and I think Steve pulled this one off superbly.

Using Steve's own words to describe the scene: " The first release is RM1601 which is taken from a photo taken 17 September 1944 during Operation Market Garden at Wolfheze Village. It shows a Bren gun section of R Company 1 Para taking cover in a Bomb crater during their advance along Amsterdamseweg (Leopard Route)."

"Corporal Alfred Reynolds, second from left, who commanded the Bren gun section was seriously wounded a few hours after the photo was taken, he fell into German hands a died from his injuries a day or two later."

The fate of the other three is unknown.

More historical data on this scene and the unit involved was posted on Planetfigure.com by Martin Rohmann, a "fixture" over at Planet Figure, known for his incredible ability to dig up historical information on battles and campaigns. Martin has found a Grave Registration Report Form and a photo of Corporal Reynolds' grave marker.

Personally, I think Steve did an incredible job honoring the memory of these Chaps and the unit involved with this vignette. Now I will attempt to do the same with this SBS and get to "sniffin paint and gluin my fingers together" in the process. This is my first go at British uniforms or camo patterns, so I'll be going through the learning curve as we go along. Buckle up, here we go...........

What's in the kit?

Here's what comes in the kit, four superbly sculpted figures in gray resin, and an excellent rendition of the crater seen in the historical photograph.

What I noticed right off was the clean mold work and the sparse amount of seams that requiring filing. These figures were molded with care and it shows. There's even "locking lugs/ keyways" on all the arms and torsos, as well as a lot of the equipment, which makes for some real easy assembly. Another note of importance is where the arms meet the torso, the uniform folds actually overlap areas of the torso. There really isn't much putty work to do when you have resin that locks together so cleanly. Pretty impressive.

First figure up, Corporal Reynolds!

Here we have the "Corporal Reynolds" figure completed. There wasn't much clean up to be had, really. There will always be some kind of mold lines visible in some locations, but very minor in this case. About the only real clean up for me was scrutinizing every little nook and cranny for any left over resin bits from the molding process. I used a dull dental pick to get any tiny bits that were found, but it wasn't much.

The rifle mold was incredibly clean as well, but you still need to be super careful around the rifle strap so you don't end up breaking it. It's a delicate area and I did have a small amount of slag to remove, but mostly it was just little "feathers" of resin reside. I did bore out each and every rifle muzzle like I always do. Take your time when doing this, it's a delicate area as well.

I added a strap for the Corporal's back pack as seen in the historical photo. I used a strip of pewter for this because it's just much easier to mold and shape than other materials. I dug out a bit of the resin on the pack for the strap ends and super glued them in place. Once the glue was set I formed the strap to a more natural appearance. I'll be readjusting that strap after the paint process, but for now, it's good to go.

And lastly, each figure will be mounted on scrap plywood for ease of handling during the painting process. I always drill deep into the boots and install a sewing pin which will remain for final mounting into the crater when we're all done. Corporal Reynolds is now ready for primer and paint.

One last note for all the figures in this vignette. I used Elmer's wood glue to attach the heads for easy removal after the initial priming. I always like to paint the heads separate from the figures and a lot of times any flesh areas as well, if they can be kept separate without much difficulty. Nothing worse than trying to twist a brush into a tight spot, right?

More to follow soon, Ma Brothas.  Cheers, Ski.

[dogfish7 (R.I.P.)]

Wow! What awesome castings and resin work.

[Steve Ski]

Ya, it's pretty impressive, if you ask me. I've done quite as few resin figs, not many can brag about the lack of slag and seem lines. Steve is a stickler for clean molds. More commin Bruce!

[dogfish7 (R.I.P.)]

Cool. Can't wait to see the methods you use.

[JCON]

Awesome figures and looking forward to you slinging some paint soon!!!

[Steve Ski]

Thanks Bruce, I'm an oiler if you remember, never crossed over to the dark side, ......acrylics!!!!!

Tanks Joe, paint slingin within a week or so!

[dogfish7 (R.I.P.)]

I remember, just want to watch your techniques.

[Steve Ski]

No worries Bruce, we'll get er done together!

[Steve Ski]

The Second Figure

As mentioned in the intro, we don't know the names of the remaining paratroopers, so we'll number them as we go along.

Figure two was a straight forward build with minor clean-up. I like to keep the parts in this plastic tub lid so I don't have them flying all over the bench when I'm working. I really am tired of the carpet monster eating my resin parts, so this lid works wonders, lol.

Once the figure was cleaned and assembled I mounted him on the plywood. He is now ready for priming and painting.

More to follow and thanks for watchin.  Cheers, Ski.

[JCON]

Joe, John and Steve come to mind for the other three, ha, ha!!!

[dogfish7 (R.I.P.)]

What is your favorite primer, when using oils?

[Steve Ski]

Yo Bruce,

I'm using the old Floquil Primer, which I believe is no longer available. I might be wrong, but I haven't looked for it either.  I seem to remember back about 6-7yrs ago hearing it was going away, so I snagged every bottle available at a train hobby shop in Spokane. I don't think that shop is even there anymore either. I have 4 new bottle and one in use. I thin just a bit and then brush with a really high quality brush, fat and fluffy. I'm trying to avoid all the dust particles and any snubs when brushing on. It's faster for me than airbrushing. Floquil gives a good base, IMHO.

P.S.  Not sure who'd pay this, but it's on ebay, lol.  www.ebay.com/c/1407696525

[JED]

Well I'm in for the duration of these Steve,looking forward to seeing your results

[dogfish7 (R.I.P.)]

I'm sure there are several primers, which are just as good and less expensive, out there. Thanks for the info though.

[Steve Ski]

I've used this Floquil primer ever since I started "sniffin paint" in a serious way. I like the quality, but even Mr. Surfacer is a great primer. Old habits, ya know.................

[Steve Ski]

Third Figure in the Line-up

The third figure has been cleaned and is ready for assembly. As you can see, the " locking lugs/keyways " are visible on most any part needing to be attached. This really does make for ease of assembly. Steve says it doesn't take much more time to add these in the molding process and feels this little added bit makes a difference. I agree with that and I'm glad he's making the extra effort to add them into the process.



What I did not mention earlier is the use of Testors Grey Contour Putty. Why am I using this you ask? Experimenting with this I found that just a "very small" dab near the edges of the arms and gear will ooze out at any visible joint location. An example would be where the shoulders and arms meet. Such a small amount comes out and makes for easy, clean, joints without having to try to putty up any troubled areas. This also makes for a really solid firm adhesion of the joints and torsos. I used this for most of the gear attached to the figures and this also makes the transitions of straps easier to complete.



The molds are so clean on this set that there wasn't much putty work to be had, but this Testors Putty did the trick for me. "A little dab'll do ya", as they say, lol.

The first pic shows just how the uniform folds actually overlap the torso, right there above the armpit area, beauty! Also, this is how I add the Testors putty to the arms, third photo.



Notice the slight bit of oozing out of the putty in small areas like the shoulder and wrist. Once this stuff sets up it easy to wipe or scrape off leaving a smooth transition. So, why haven't I done this before, seems to work quite well.



Ok, figure numero tres es finito! He is now ready for a primer coat as well.



Here's the trio so far. One more figure to go, the Bren gunner.



More to follow and thanks for watchin. Cheers, Ski.

[JCON]

Nice assemblage!!!

[Steve Ski]

Tanks Man!

[dogfish7 (R.I.P.)]

What a great idea and Tamiya thin glue also helps give it extra bonding and stability.

[ARMORGUY]

What an impressive set of figures this is, completed with the same foxhole as seen on the well known image.
This is without a doubt a serious project with 4 figures to assemble and paint.
Count me in Steve.