The Perry's Rifleman Project

When Perry Miniatures introduced their plastic British Napoleonic riflemen in 28mm I was so pleased with the quality and price of the models that I grabbed as many of the two-man sprues as I could and began building a squad. Pretty soon, however, I realised that with two sets of arms and two sets of bodies available then some conversion was going to be required for the sake of variety. Although I didn't know it, this was the start of a lengthy project, at the end of which I would have ... a single rifleman. Oh well, it kept me busy and at least I can honestly say he's completely unique!

Fairly early in the project I decided to sculpt a kneeling figure, but doing what? Perry's already sell kneeling firing and reloading riflemen in metal, so there was no point recreating that. In the end I plumped for a rifleman swigging from his water bottle, perhaps with his shako removed to wipe his forehead under the baking sun.

 Stage 1 - Yes, you're right, it's a 1:32nd Airfix British 8th Army soldier. Why? Well I wanted a kneeling figure to copy so I could get the positioning and proportions right. On the right is the Perry's plastic torso and legs I chose, cut carefully across the hips with a thin saw blade, taking care to leave the kit dangling from his belt.

  Stage 2 - the left leg was already conveniently bent in the correct position, which is why I chose that sprue, so all I did was cut a rough tenon joint so the two parts would slot together fairly firmly. The right leg was chopped off below the knee, the boot was slightly bent and the toe cut off (but retained for use later). The flexible wire thigh and knee can be clearly seen glued into its drilled holes, with the toe of the boot glued in place to depict a bent foot. I also cut off, then reglued, the bayonet scabbard to show it hanging down straight.

Stage 3 - the shako was cut off the head, as was the lower lip. A shallow hole was drilled in the mouth and the head tilted back as if taking a drink. The left hand has been removed and a hole drilled into the wrist to take a wire. Holes were drilled into the shoulder and the top of the arm in order to secure it in place, but no glue was used yet (luckily). The water bottle has been cut off the backpack and straps cut from thin metal sheeting (from a tomato puree tube) glued in place. A short spout made from a length of pin has been pushed into a hole drilled in the bottle and another hole drilled, to take the wrist wire, on the rim. Next came the tricky bit. There was a long, long process of wiggling and adjusting, removing the wire bits and bending them, to try to get a natural looking pose with the spout aimed at the mouth. Only then was it all glued in place.

Stage 4 - now the greenstuff goes on. Taking care to do each bit carefully, slowly, and allowing each stage to dry thoroughly overnight, the model begins to take shape. The legs and trouser creases were added, along with general gap filling at joints and giving the boot a new heel. The buttocks and thighs have been fleshed out, as has the shoulder. The top half of the head was given a basic skull shape, allowed to dry and then the (closed) eyes were added along with some straggly hair. The ends of the bottle straps were glued in place on the body, some more greenstuff hid the joins and the mouth was sculpted around the nozzle.

Stage 5 - this is simply another angle to better show the shoulder epaulette resculpt. I had to remove the original plastic one because the new arm angle had it in his armpit! Note the ends of the bottle straps glued securely round the back, where they'll eventually be covered by the packback.

Stage 6 - here he is, completely resculpted and ready for undercoating. The right arm has been added with the rifle resting on his knee and a new section of strap dangling loose in front of the trigger guard. On the final version, I eventually decided to resculpt the section of strap right next to the trigger guard, too, since it looked a little odd with a wild kink in the middle. The backpack is glued in place, covering the straps and the drilled-out shako sits next to the rifleman on the sand.

Here he is all painted up. You can see the new section of rifle strap I decided to add during the painting process. I wanted his face to be set in a semi-blissful state as he swigs a welcome mouthful on a hot day. Note the lick of sweaty hair flopped over his forehead.

The satchel needed slight remodelling because the original was partially covered by the water bottle and the paintjob hides any major sins.

I was keen to get a little dirt around the bottom of the backpack to show where it had been rested on the ground from time to time.

This angle is all about the hair. I hate painting hair, it's so hard to get a realistic finish, but I'm happy enough with the finished result of the sculpt and paintjob. Overall this was a fun project to do and, as with all new ventures, I learned plenty of valuable lessons that will hopefully stand me in good stead in future. Remember your errors will teach you a hell of a lot more than your successes, so welcome those mistakes!