I know that I have written this before, but I always seem to find the need to tinker with figures. Sometimes it is because I must have a certain figure that is normally not available, sometimes it is because I need a specific piece for the gaming table and sometimes it is because I am bored. I enjoy looking at things like this online because I use them to get good ideas for myself and have decided to share a set of pictures from different periods and varied manufacturers. Each photo will have a brief description of what was changed and how things were altered. I hope you like the pictures!
Bokkenrijders – Warlord ECW cavalry riding Dixon goats on Litko bases.Retreat from Moscow – Murawski Miniatures Polish “Retreat” figures. Extra scarves, coats and blankets added with ProCreate. A big advantage here is that I can make the clothing do whatever I want as I am not preparing these for casting and do not have to worry about undercuts.Retreat from Moscow – Perry Miniatures. Lots of blankets made with ProCreate, scratch built gun tools , based on a scene from the film “The Duellists”.Retreat from Moscow – Perry Miniatures. A combination of figure conversions, use of ProCreate and scratch building. Based on a scene from the film “The Duellists”. This is the favorite piece in my collection.
Sister of Mercy – Old Glory nun. The bag is an extra piece made with ProCreate for this battlefield nurse.
Comrade Lenin – Dixon Miniatures. This is actually a cowboy figure with an overcoat added, head shaved and facial hair added. Dixon lead is soft, making the “haircut” easy to do.
Russian Civil War – Old Glory Miniatures. Simple changes make very subtle but noticeably different figures. The top has has a strip of 3×5 card stock added to the front of the hat. The bottom three have had the hat brims removed to represent three of the “colorful” White RCW units: Markov, Alexeev and Drozdovsky infantry units. Russian Civil War – Old Glory Miniatures. Just a little Green Stuff added to the cap to make a unique Ukrainian mounted unit.
Alexei Romanov – Old Glory Miniatures. The original figure had the heir to the Romanov dynasty holding a teddy bear, just a little too effete for my liking. The ship is a combo of plastic and ProCreate. The naval cap is ProCreate.
Soviet standard bearers – Warlord Games. These can be used for both the RCW and WWII partisans. Weapons have been removed and a wire inserted with a paper flag. I think the one on the left is from “Flags for the Boys”. The cap on the right has been removed, a fur cap made with ProCreate using a pin to make the fur texture and boots created by trimming the trousers up to the knees (see the group of 5 figures below and you will see the same figure!) Siberian Rifles Command – Old Glory Miniatures. Copplestone Castings makes a beautiful line of RCW/Back of Beyond figures, however, their Siberian Rifle set does not come with command figures. The Old Glory figure on the left has had the weapon removed and flag pole added to replace it. Both figures have had big furry hats added with ProCreate, textured with a pin tip. Because the Copplestone figures are taller, the Old Glory figures were placed on an extra piece of plastic on the the thickest washers I had!RCW Standard Bearer – Copplestone Castings. While the Back of Beyond line is extensive, the White forces do not have standard bearers. This was a very challenging conversion as the metal was difficult to cut and the left arm close to the body. The next time, I will use a Bolshevik standard bearer and add shoulder boards!
Polish Boshevik War – Brigade Games RCW Russian Priest. What is a Polish army without a priest? The head was completely resculpted, the purple piece is ProCreate and the prayer book made of scrap plastic.
Partisans – Footsore Miniatures (they were Musketeer Miniatures at the time). I did not want three identical pistol armed figures so cut the head off another figure, drilled a hole into the head and neck/body, inserted a paper clip and simply glued everything in place.Warsaw Uprising flamethrower – Warlord Games. This was made by removing the weapon and adding plastic pieces from Evergreen or Plastruct and some ProCreate.Partisans – Warlord Games. The next four pictures show how different hats, equipment, “anatomy” (to make females!) and hair can make completely different looking figures. The group of 5 are the same figures but altered to look just a bit differently.
Kriegsmarine Propaganda Cameraman – Warlord Games. A small article is already listed on this website explaining how this was constructed.
WWII Japanese searchlight – Company B. The base holding the searchlight was scratchbuilt with Evergreen/Plastruct and spate wheels. The right arm was simply pushed up by hand to match the new level of the handle. WWII Japanese Army – Brigade Games. The flag is made from the aluminum from a soda can with the edges filed to reduce the sharpness of the metal. Yes, the Japanese writing is historically accurate. And yes, I can be terribly OCD.WWII Japanese Army – Brigade Games. I will admit that I did this one because I was bored. I am not a fan on kneeling figures so played around by removing part of the rifle and adding an Evergreen/Plastruct barrel and magazine. I actually think the barrel details were thin strips of 3×5 card and attached with crazy glue.WWII Japanese gun crews – Brigade Games and Company B. Each of the figures (except the officer and seated figure) were created by using the lower extremity from an infantryman with the torso of a formerly kneeing figure. The officer was a spare RCW figure that had a hat-ectomy and hand replacement with a samurai sword. WWII IJA paratroopers – Brigade Games. This also initially began as something to do while I was in between painting projects. I played around adding some ProCreate to make a Japanese paratrooper and one in winter clothing for grins and giggles. Following prompting from a friend, Ralph Krebs, I decided to make more figures. So, in the final 3-4 months before we PCS’d from Colorado to Washington, I decided to make an entire unit of IJA paratroopers; the entire project took about 6 months to complete. ProCreate was added to the thighs; a dent must be placed into the front so that the pocket can be added later. Cuffs were also added to the wrists. The brim of the helmet was filed down and the individual helmet pad lines were made with a sharp X-Acto blade.Wacht am Rhein, SS Officer and Driver – Company B. This is another grins and giggles project I did in between painting projects to break up the routine and make something neat (note this was done before other companies made similar figures!) The driver had his head turned to the right with smooth needle nose pliers because any marks would be covered with the soft headgear. The officers legs were cut at the back of the knees and front of the hips to reposition them (always cut and reposition the distal or more distant joint first). Gaps were filled with ProCreate and textured with a #5 tool, an X-Acto blade and straight pin. Type 4 Ho Ro and crew – Company B. At one time, Company B had a lot of spare Chi-Ha hulls and tracks. Again, for fun (and before others made this vehicle!) I scratchbuilt the superstructure and other hull parts to make this SPG. The gun is a sIG33 field gun from JTFM/Die Waffenkammer. The standing officer was also converted to stand with a hand on a bar. By accident, I sculpted the hand on the tank first and fit the figure to match it!
