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Brunswick's Pipe.

Posted by Graeme on 19 Mar 2019, 19:19

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I bought the Waterloo 1815 Mounted officer set which has excellent figures of general Picton, The Prince of Orange, and The Duke of Brunswick. The Brunswick figure was holding a civilian style cane which I thought was a bit odd. Perhaps he had such a thing but I looked in the books I have here, and looked online, and I couldn't find any reference to it.

What I did find was several references to, and pictures of, Brunswick smoking his pipe. Also Tim Clayton's recent book on Waterloo had a nice passage that described how, at Quatre Bras, The Duke steadied the nerves of his very green troops by riding his horse along the face of their square, calmly puffing on his pipe. I rather liked this immage of the man so I decided to make the conversion.

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The civilian cane was seperated from the hand, and since the Waterloo1815 set has a good mounted figure of Picton, the cane was given to a Strelets Picton, minus the umbrella, to make a figure of the Duke of Richmond, as seen in another post.

I had a spare Italeri Blucher, so he provided the pipe. A tricky three way cut because the stem of the pipe came under the thumb and up the other side, but it came away cleanly. With the moustache shaved of so he looks a little less like Blucher, the italeri figure recieved a sabre from the HaT Prussian Uhlan set and will be a very useful generic Prussian officer of some sort.

The pipe was placed in Brunswick's hand and the long thin stem was made from a nylon brush bristle. Rather than boiling water to bend the stem, I tried to cut corners by heating it above a flame. It immediately started to melt. Fortunately the melted part was exactly the right size and shape to extend the thicker part of the pipe between the bowl and the stem. :-D serendipity is my most impressive modeling technique. :mrgreen: The stem was glued on and then bent into shape using hot water this time.

One other detail. The civilian cane had a tassel on it that I didn't like the look of, so I cut it off before giving the cane to Richmond. When reading about Brunswick I found that his sword was a gift from his favourite niece, Princess Charlotte, and had a lock of her hair fastened to the scabbard. The unwanted tassel became that lock of hair and was duely attached to the scabard. And now I do like it.

Here he is with Orange and picton, I think Wellington is well served with these figures:
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Graeme  Australia
 
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Posted by C M Dodson on 19 Mar 2019, 19:24

Very nice indeed and so much better than the Waterloo 1815 guy.

I am currently painting up his command for a four O'clock debut.

They are a joy to paint after Highlanders.

Best wishes,

Chris
C M Dodson  United Kingdom
 
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Posted by sberry on 20 Mar 2019, 08:17

This conversion is realy cool, but I also like your painting style very much!
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sberry  Germany
 
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Posted by C M Dodson on 20 Mar 2019, 09:43

They say that imitation is the most sincerest form of flattery.

Who are they?

Anyway, I thought your idea was so good for the Duke that I hope you do not mind but I have copied your thoughts.

I already had a Duke but I like different poses to add variety to my pictures.

Unlike your long pipe I have chopped the pipe smoker up from the Italieri ACW kit and stuck the arm on the Waterloo chap.

I was going to use an Art Minituran Landwehr General but your idea was much more in the style of the Duke.

It is a pity I can not paint him to your standard, but thank you for the inspiration Graham.

Best wishes,

Chris
C M Dodson  United Kingdom
 
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Posted by Susofrick on 20 Mar 2019, 10:18

Wow! That looks great! Hmm, before Dali say something I dont think he smokes my tomatoe-leaves!
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Susofrick  Sweden
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Posted by FredG on 20 Mar 2019, 12:24

:shock: Smoking on a battlefield may be hazardous to your health :eh:
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FredG  United Kingdom
 
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Posted by sberry on 20 Mar 2019, 13:13

FredG wrote::shock: Smoking on a battlefield may be hazardous to your health :eh:


Yep. In particular if you're doing it next to the gunpowder storage.
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sberry  Germany
 
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Posted by Bluefalchion on 20 Mar 2019, 13:49

sberry wrote:
Yep. In particular if you're doing it next to the gunpowder storage.


If one does that, it will be hazardous to everyone's health.
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Bluefalchion  United States of America
 
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Posted by Graeme on 20 Mar 2019, 14:04

:lol: Very important point Fred, and one totally ignored by the authorities at the time. I think they put way too much focus on the effects of rapid onset lead poisoning. :mrgreen:
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Graeme  Australia
 
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Posted by Graeme on 20 Mar 2019, 14:16

Gentlemen.

Thank You all for the positive comments, and the likes, and the humour; It's very much appreciated.

C M Dodson wrote:I thought your idea was so good for the Duke that I hope you do not mind but I have copied your thoughts.


Chris.
I consider this a huge compliment because I've iong been an admirer of the converted figures in your refights; I know the painting will look terrific too, I look forward to seeing him at Quatre Bras.

Cheers.

Graeme.
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Graeme  Australia
 
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Posted by Bluefalchion on 20 Mar 2019, 15:53

I think my favorite aspect of your Brunswick, Orange and Picton figures is the way their faces turned out: looking quite human (not always achieved easily at this scale) and expressive. They look like the proud aristocrats that they are in your display.
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Bluefalchion  United States of America
 
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Posted by Peter on 20 Mar 2019, 16:27

FredG wrote: :shock: Smoking on a battlefield may be hazardous to your health :eh:

What isn't good for the health? The smoking or the battlefield? Make your choice! :mrgreen: :-D

Excellent conversion Graeme! :thumbup:
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Peter  Belgium

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Posted by Wiking on 20 Mar 2019, 17:46

Hey ! A smoker.
From a communication unit.
One cloud is for: I feel good.
Two clouds is for: Nelson is the winner.
Three clouds is for: Make from three figures, one as a nice conversion like only Graeme can do.
Two double clouds is for: Napoleon is the ... / (Not used).
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Wiking  Germany
 
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Posted by Santi Pérez on 20 Mar 2019, 19:42

sberry wrote:This conversion is realy cool, but I also like your painting style very much!


I suscribe it completely, Graeme. :yeah:

My best regards.

Santi.
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Santi Pérez  Spain
 
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