Tuesday, May 17, 2011

The Minifigs Chronicles - Part 3

Now for the fun part, the ships themselves. I have repainted with acrylics, fixing masts here and there as needed, but otherwise nothing has been modified.  I was once taken to task on a discussion forum for stripping crude factory paint and reworking some old flats, Heinrichsen Macedonian Phalangites. If I recall correctly, the poster equated my handiwork to "colorizing Citizen Kane".  As if I'd snuck into the Louvre at night and touched up the Mona Lisa or attached arms to the Venus de Milo. ;-) At any rate, these ships are completely lacking in antiquarian value (at least I think so), so viewers may judge for themselves whether I have committed sacrilege or made improvement.  The metal is quite hard, making cleanup of the residual flashing somewhat time consuming (the prior owner hadn't bothered), but I really enjoyed painting them.


Invincible Class Battle Cruiser
  Tripod mast configuration restored with brass wire and styrene crow's nests.

Drake class Armored Cruiser
I have another of these which will be the Good Hope. As I also have the Monmouth, Canopus, and even a liner to serve as the Otranto, a Coronel refight should be upcoming.  Scratch building the Germans to this style will be an interesting challenge.

H Class Destroyers
Weymouth class Scout Cruiser




10 comments:

  1. Very nicely done paint jobs which serve to highlight the "old schoolness" of the models.

    Jim
    http://colcampbell-shipyard.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks, Jim. Yes, I do really like the old school style of the castings.

    Regards,
    Steve

    ReplyDelete
  3. I figure, if I were an old soldier (or ship) I'd appreciate the attention and feel better if I looked better. So unless your intention were an investment or a turnover for profit, I say paint away. But then I'm planning of repainting some vintage Britain's.....

    Those German flat ships look absolutely marvelous!

    -Ross

    ReplyDelete
  4. Very Nice - I had some of these ships and fought many a game with my younger brother. I think I still have them somewhere

    Mark

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks very much, Ross. And good to hear from you again. And repainting vintage Britains, now that's sacrilege !

    Regards,
    Steve

    ReplyDelete
  6. Mark,

    Thanks for your response. Yes, the ships do seem to have nostalgiac appeal, as in "Hey, I used to have some of those".

    Regards,
    Steve

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Steve,

    Lovely job on the models! This will look like a superb collection when complete and the 'old school look is lovely.

    All the best,

    DC

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks very much, David ! They are very nice models: I think the sculptor hit the sweet spot, creating models which are recognizable as individual Royal Navy ships yet with a very pleasing retro appeal.

    Regards,
    Steve

    ReplyDelete
  9. Steve

    I love the ships, they have a real "toy" appeal and appearance. I can imagine young gentlemen playing with these c 1914.

    PD

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thanks, Peter !

    I'll have a few new ships up shortly, I should have time to photograph them tomorrow.

    Regards,
    Steve

    ReplyDelete