Edward the Black Prince by king derelict - Andrea Models - 54 mm

[king derelict]

Here we go again, another Andrea model in 54 mm. A bit more modern this time. All the way to the 14th century. This will be Edward the Black Prince son of Edward III, highly successful commander of the English armies during the Hundred Years’ War with victories at Crecy and Poitiers to his name. He died of illness before his father resulting in his son taking the throne as Richard II. I had thought that he earned the nickname of the Black Prince because he wore black armor into battle but I gather that is probably not correct and the nickname was not current during his lifetime. It was over two hundred years after his death that the first occurrence of the name is found. It is widely believed that he earned the nickname for his ruthless behavior as commander in the field. So I can put the gloss black paint away and plan on polishing the metal instead.

I think I will be trying to use the decal paper again for his shield and surcoat. Incidentally, my reading notes that the Black Princes shield, gauntlet, helmet and surcoat are displayed in Canterbury cathedral. The helmet does look black but after six hundred years it may have dulled or been restored in line with the black armor theory.

I have prepared the parts for a black primer coat and then I’ll start polishing 

This last bit intrigues me but after studying the pictures on the Andrea Models website I think I have worked out what it is for.

Thanks for looking in.

Alan

[Canute]

I'm following, Alan. Interesting character, for sure.

[king derelict]

9 hours ago, Canute said:

I'm following, Alan. Interesting character, for sure.

Glad to have you here Ken. The Black Prince was an enigmatic character, the king that never was. As I understand it he succumbed to dysentery in the end, I imagine a consequence of armies in the field.

alan

[king derelict]

After priming I polished the armor and chain mail leaving the black in the recesses to add a bit of depth. I used a polishing bit in the mini rotary tool for the plate armor and a cotton bud for the mail. Both were loaded with red polishing compound. The rotary tool is a bit fierce for the mail and can remove a bit of the detail.

 The surcoat was given a coat of white as the base for the decals. Ive found the Black Princes coat of arms (or achievements as we medievalists say😀) online and printed them several times at a suitable size on the decal paper. Ive ordered some acrylic clear coat spray and I’m hoping for better results than using the airbrush and AK acrylic clear coat. 

The face got a brush of white to help me see the details especially the eyes. I can start working on the crown and face while I wait for the clear coat spray.

Thanks for looking in, the likes and comments.

alan

[Jack12477]

That armor came out quite convincing. Nice ! 

[popeye the sailor]

interesting..............is this metal?  sure looks it    I was never the greatest with figures.........the only ones I did were the were the early Aurora offerings.  of course, I was a kid at the time.  if your focus is in figures, you might want to check out oldmodelkits.com.  they have quite a few kits.......some of them are quite old.  nice work thus far! 

[king derelict]

16 hours ago, Jack12477 said:

That armor came out quite convincing. Nice ! 

Thank you very much Jack. Polishing the metal looks more metallic than paint.

alan

[king derelict]

3 hours ago, popeye the sailor said:

interesting..............is this metal?  sure looks it    I was never the greatest with figures.........the only ones I did were the were the early Aurora offerings.  of course, I was a kid at the time.  if your focus is in figures, you might want to check out oldmodelkits.com.  they have quite a few kits.......some of them are quite old.  nice work thus far! 

Hi Popeye, yes these are 54mm white metal kits from Andrea models in Spain. Nicely sculpted and a great range of subjects but now difficult to get because of the international shipping issues.

Alan

[Old Collingwood]

I’m liking  the look of this one Alan.

 

OC. 

[king derelict]

On 10/10/2025 at 4:37 PM, Old Collingwood said:

I’m liking  the look of this one Alan.

 

OC. 

Thank you very much OC. He’s an interesting subject.

alan

[king derelict]

A little more progress over the weekend, mostly fiddling with the decal paper. I’ve printed the Black Prince coat of arms in several different sizes to use for the shield and the surcoat. I used Mod Podge clear acrylic spray to seal the decal paper and it worked really well, no crazing of the design and a good solid coat. It seems to have deepened the color too.

i added the decal to the shield and it fitted nicely with the decal solution taking care of the curves in the shield.

ive put the first two pieces of the surcoat in place, I’m going slow here because I don’t want to mess up the pieces already applied so I’m letting everything set fully.

I’ve started putting the base skin tone on his face and I have started on his helmet. The mascot has been polished and painted with Tamiya clear orange, the main part of the helm has been polished and accented with the clear orange.

Quite a bit more to do to the helm. Andrea models make a bust of the Black Prince wearing the helm and it appeals to me a lot but I don’t think it’s feasible to get one sent to the US.

Thanks for looking in, the likes and comments.

alan

[Canute]

What's the mascot on the helmet? Looks like a she-lion or leopard. Or a hound. I read some book once upon a time that said the Plantagenets had leopards on their crests.

[king derelict]

10 hours ago, Canute said:

What's the mascot on the helmet? Looks like a she-lion or leopard. Or a hound. I read some book once upon a time that said the Plantagenets had leopards on their crests.

Hi Ken. Opinions seem to be divided amongst the historians. It’s been said to be a lion and the animal at his feet on his tomb to be a bulldog. However as you say the Plantagenet emblem was the leopard and most opinions are that his surcoat emblems are leopards, the animal on his tomb is a leopard and the mascot on his helmet is a leopard. I’ve looked at the photos of his helm displayed in Canterbury cathedral and the animal is very similar to the model, not immediately obvious as a leopard but I imagine the craftsmen of the day didn’t have a lot of ready images of leopards to work off.

alan

[king derelict]

I finished the decals on the surcoat to my relief. Trying to shape them and patch the quarters of the devices was frustrating. In the end I think it’s acceptable although the emblems are a bit soft. I gave it all a coat of clear matte finish to look more like cloth and also to seal the decals. I started painting the bottom of the surcoat and the paint was running up behind the decals. The red looks like a good match but the blue needs a bit of work. I added the arms and a dry fit suggests the hands will fit the spacing.

A little bit of gold on his belt, the fixtures for his spurs and I added his mustache.

The face needs the lips and darker skin tones. The hands, sword and scabbard need to be polished or painted.

The helm has been detailed and mow needs the drape attached behind it. That’s the strange looking thing that I showed earlier in the thread. My reading suggests that the helm is actually part of his jousting rig rather than a combat helmet. It does look a bit of a liability.

Thanks for looking in, the likes and comments.

Alan

[king derelict]

A little more progress today. I started work on the base, it’s probably easier now than when the spurs and scabbard are in place.

I polished the gauntlets and sword and painted the gold details. They have been added to the figure and now the remaining details need attention. More work is needed on the face too.

I glued the drape to the back of the helm, I think it’s ready to be added to the base.

Thanks for looking in, the likes and kind comments.

alan

[Old Collingwood]

Looking  So Good Alan.

 

OC