18th century crew figures

[dvm27]

Rather than corrupt Chucks Winchelsia folder I am adding a new one for photos of ships crew members. I commissioned the ones below several years ago and am in contact with the artist to see if he would be open to creating a bunch for us. He casts them then hand paints them. I have a couple of them on each of my models and I believe they enhance the appearance, especially for non-modelers. Keep in mind these are 1:48 scale and extremely hi-resolution photos. Actual figures are only 1.5" or so. I encourage others to post photos of high quality crew members here as well.

 

[Old Collingwood]

Very close in scale to my Waterloo figures  at 28mm.

 

OC.

[Louie da fly]

Beautiful figures. Better than mine, about the same scale.

 

 

Steven

Edited May 12, 2021 by Louie da fly

[allanyed]

I was never a fan of using these, but if they are as well made as you show Greg, I have changed my mind.  The best small military figures I have ever seen in person were made by Ed Tosti (Naiad and Young America books and builds).  If I recall correctly, when I saw them in his display at home, he told me this was his passion before ship modeling took over.        

 

[AJohnson]

These are not a patch on the artist ones above, but here are my 1/64 scale (25mm / 1 inch) Amati white metal figures I have just finished painting for my current "Bounty" build.

 

[Ras Ambrioso]

Happy to see this post. I have been looking for 1/64 scale figures for my Amapá. I found some railroad figures at Michael's and I intend to convert them to Brazilian Navy seamen for my gunboat. Good to see another potential supplier of scale figures. I need one officer, a helmsman and maybe 2 seamen for the gun. I will follow this post.

[allanyed]

Ras, 

This topic has not had an entry in four months so may not get fast or many responses.  You might want to consider PMing Greg, who started this topic, for contact information.

Allan

Edited September 3, 2021 by allanyed

[Ras Ambrioso]

Thanks Allan. I will look for PMing Greg.

[Lieste]

A source of STLs for 3d printing which might be of use are here: https://www.myminifactory.com/object/3d-print-cannon-crew-for-model-ships-1750-1820-165771

 

plus some other items he has for medieval and Anglo Dutch period sailors, and some ordnance items.

Not sure what his future plans are, but he is quite responsive to reasonable requests if they make sense and fit in with his interests

[georgeband]

I like to add a couple of crew figures to any model for two reasons - to give a sense of the scale, and to humanize it so that it is not just a machine. 

In 1/64 scale we appear to be limited to Captain Amati and his crew. Andrew in #5 above gives his captain more detail in the eyes than I have managed with mine. Amati are nicely cast but pricey, and the metal is hard to file so that parts of the figure which require an undercut take a lot of work. The captain's telescope is one example where a fillet of metal has to be removed. I drill a hole into one foot of the figure and glue in a wire so there is something to hold while painting. 

 

 

There is more choice in 1/72 scale and at reasonable prices. HaT make a set of sailors and marines in plastic, and Newline Designs make white metal figures that have realistic proportions. A lot of the wargames figures follow a convention of big hands and big heads so check them before you buy. https://newlinedesigns.co.uk/product-category/newline-designs-20mm-ranges/newline-designs-20mm-ranges-napoleonics/newline-designs-20mm-ranges-napoleonics-naval/

 

I do not know about other scales such as 1/48. 

 

George

 

 

[GioMun]

Hello!

 

Finishing my Le Coureur i decided to give a chance of having a scale "sensor".

 

So i gave a shot on some WWII 1:48 plastic kits i had. So i converted Soviet ground personel into XVIII's Century french sailors and officers.

 

Here are some pictures.

 

 

Maybe with some better painting skills the resaults are better.

 

Greetings.

 

Giorgio.

[Roger Pellett]

 

 

Model Railroad “S” scale is 1/64.  The old American Flyer electric trains were S scale and still have a devoted following.  Check specialty model railroad suppliers.

[tlevine]

Here are some new options.

 

https://thenrgstore.org/collections/model-figurines

[RichardG]

Thanks Toni. I may order one to help me with a sense of scale.

[mtaylor]

3 hours ago, tlevine said:

Here are some new options.

 

https://thenrgstore.org/collections/model-figurines

Any possibility of the NRG offering those figures as 1:64 scale?  

[RichardG]

Mark,

 

Some of them are available in 1:64. E.g. https://thenrgstore.org/collections/model-figurines/products/seaman-5 and https://thenrgstore.org/collections/model-figurines/products/american-officer-pose-2

 

[mtaylor]

Thanks, Richard.  I just "spot" looked and didn't see any.

[Snug Harbor Johnny]

5 hours ago, Roger Pellett said:

 

 

Model Railroad “S” scale is 1/64.  The old American Flyer electric trains were S scale and still have a devoted following.  Check specialty model railroad suppliers.

  Incidentally, Marx 'scale tinplate' has S gauge bodies on O gauge trucks.  This is why some S scale train operators drill out the trucks of Marx rolling stock and replace them with S scale trucks.  Great idea for figures, and I found a hobby store with 'old' stock figures in several sizes ... such stores are still 'here and there' but growing fewer as the years pass.  'Just viewed 'Master and Commander' again on cable streaming ... good to see once in a while.  Now there was a flogging in the film (not uncommon in the British Navy back in the day), and I wonder if anyone put figures on a sailing ship model representing such a punishment witnessed by the crew (standard procedure).

[embojo]

My first attempt at crew figures. These are somewhat later period of course,  trying to represent RN uniform of 1830s for Occre HMS Beagle. I'll try again with different pose and more work on the heads/faces. These are 25mm figures. I made2 piece wire armatures (0.7mm wire) then experimented with building up with Greenstuff, Fimo and Milliput. I actually found the latter 2 clays easier to use, although Greenstuff sticks more easily to the wire armature. 

[wefalck]

What is the scale?

[embojo]

Mine are 1:60th scale.

[embojo]

Second attempt at Captain Fitzroy. Two piece wire armature fixed with superglue. I coated the wire armature with thin layer of Greenstuff. I don't like the texture of Greenstuff and found it difficult to sculpt detail, although it seems to be widely used for making fantasy figures. The thin coating of Greenstuff then coated with Fimo Professional.This doesn't stick well to the wire but adheres better to the Greenstuff layer. This is much better for sculpting. You just bake it in normal oven at 110 degrees C for 30 mins. Then I added for Fimo and sculpted the head, baked again, then added Fimo for hat. Once again 25mm high, 1:60 scale. This took several hours last night and then painting this morning. But should be doable to produce a Darwin figure and a few representative crew and marines.

[Chuck]

That looks wonderful.  Really nice job on that.

[embojo]

Thankyou. Just looking forward to starting work on the Beagle!

[wefalck]

Nice sculpting indeed!

 

Somehow I had the same experience with 'Greenstuff'. It didn't seem to stick to polystyren figures, which I used as a basis very well at all. Got some, as most figure sculpturers seem to use it and I have seen great results with it. Perhaps it is a matter of technique? I don't do sculpting very often.

 

Some people use twisted wire armatures, to which the sculpting material should adhere a bit better. On the other hand, this means a softer armature.

[embojo]

A couple more pics to show colour better... but I just realised, it looks as though Captain Fitzroy is wearing jeans! I would be interested to hear if anyone has had better experience modelling figures with Greenstuff? Otherwise, my crewman dressed in white slops was sculpted in terracotta Milliput directly onto wire frame, or Fitzroy (mark 2) in Fimo Professional over a thin layer of Greenstuff over wire are worth trying.

[tmj]

This thread has piqued my curiosity in possibly trying my hand at sculpting some 1:24 scale miniatures.

 

I'm building a 1:24 scale Gunboat Philadelphia and would rather it 'not' look like an abandoned ghost ship when completed. I'd like to have two or three scale figures aboard to give my build a more lifelike appearance. Problem is, I cannot find any 1:24 scale figures for sale that would be period correct for a Continental Gunboat built in 1776. Plenty of British pieces found, but not American. I'll need to try and make my own. Fingers are crossed as to the outcome. 

 

I've purchased some polymer clay and wire. The only thing missing is a few period correct drawings, images, etc. of some 'Ordinary Seaman' types of crew members. 1776 Continental Officers and their uniforms are easy to find. I don't need officers. I need to know what the lower ranking Continental sailors dressed like in 1776. 

 

If anyone has any images or links to share, I'd be grateful!

 

    

[embojo]

Hi tmj,

That sounds like a good project. I think 1:24 will be a nice scale to sculpt in. You have a similar issue to me... I couldn't find any 1:64/1:60 scale figures of Royal Navy crew from 1830s. Online I found images of uniforms, although mainly for officers. RN crewmen wore less formal uniforms, slops, even in 1830s. Was it the same on American ships? I found it harder to find images of 1830s pattern Royal Marine other ranks uniforms.

 

For your armatures, what gauge/diameter wire will you use? At your larger scale, you will probably need thicker wire than me, or twist strands together. Good luck and I look forward to seeing your results

[tmj]

On 8/27/2024 at 3:25 AM, embojo said:

For your armatures, what gauge/diameter wire will you use? At your larger scale, you will probably need thicker wire than me, or twist strands together

Not sure about the wire just yet. I have some 1mm aluminum wire and also some 1.5mm steel wire to work with. I'm thinking that I'll go with the thicker steel wire for much more rigidity without doubling it up, twisting etc. I'll either solder, or TIG weld the shoulders and the hips to the spine for a solid connection. This is something totally new to me. I'll do what I need to do to put a good armature together, however. The true test will come when it's time to start adding putty, clay and details. Fingers are crossed. I've also been studying videos of sculpting miniatures on YouTube, concerning how to build an accurate armature with proper proportions. The image below is an example of how I will begin with a 1:24 scale figure. I downloaded an armature chart and resized it, in Cad, to reflect the actual size(s) of 3 different 1:24 scale armatures that I will need to construct... one figure will be 5'-3" in height, one figure at 5'-6", and one figure at 6'-0" tall. I'll be able to use my scaled CAD drawings as full-sized templates for cutting the wire(s) to proper lengths and also for properly measuring/locating the hips and shoulders along the spine. Pass or fail, this should prove to be a fun attempt at sculping miniatures.

 

If you have any hints, tips, etc. for someone who has never tried this before... "Please chime in!" I'll need all the help I can get! 🙂 

        

Edited August 28 by tmj

[Louie da fly]

I haven't tried sculpting figures - the ones above are amazing. But I do carve them out of wood. Here are a couple I'm putting on my latest build, a mediaeval (c. 1150 AD) merchant ship at 1:75 scale. They are the owners of the ship, and IIRC are carved from pear wood.

 

  

Steven

 

Edited August 29 by Louie da fly