Fort McHenry Project: Naval officers

US Naval officers, ready to repell and other nautical words!

Naval Officers

I'm getting close to finishing up the Fort McHenry commission project (yay). The rangers have been more than patient with me, as I realized that this was a much bigger project than I thought it would be.

US uniforms, aft view

 These US and British naval officers are the last troops needed; now I have 9 civilians to do up, then focus on the ships, which are already half done. I am excited to see this all in the hands of the fort, and put to work.

British officers- all prim and proper

British stern costume

Fort McHenry Project: US Volunteers

US Volunteers 1812: Baltimore boys

Finished up 24 of these bright and bold lads for the Fort McHenry Project. Overall super happy how they came out. Even better, weather permitting I'll be taking photos of all the troops I've done so far and then packing them up to send off to the Fort. 

Ready for Review

What commanders usually see

These Woodens take about 2 hours each to paint. Most colors are three layers, especially all the Non Mettallic metallic bits, like buttons, gun barrels, etc. 

The over all look gives them a "printed page" effect similar to the period. I'm super happy as to how these guys turned out. 

On the march- Regulars and Volunteer troops side by side

What's next?

I have a few naval officers to paint up, and then 3 sets of 3 civilians do design and cut (and paint), including Mr. Francis Scott Key himself. Then I move on to finishing up the ships for the project. The Hulls are all done, but I am still noodling with the best way to make the masts and sails so that the park rangers can use the models in exhibits and teaching moments without them being too fiddly and fragile. 

Thanks for following along on this adventure! 

Fort McHenry Project: Mounted US officers

 

These last two weeks I've been hot in closing in on finishing all the soldiers for the Fort McHenry Project. I still have to photograph all the ones I've painted up, but here's the US mounted officers

A bit too big for the studio shot

 I only need 3 for the project. The other is a Christmas present. Here's some single shots.

 And lastly the Dramatic shot

Thanks for stopping by and checking them out! 

Fort McHenry Project: US infantry officers

US Infantry Officers: 1812

More exciting work on the Fort McHenry project. I really enjoyed doing the research and painting up these officers!

I have the mounted versions made up and ready to cut. In the mean time I'm finishing up 24 volunteer troops.  After that I have some civilians, then back to the ships- Very exciting to see this coming to completion- even though I am a few months behind schedule as to where I'd like to be.

The fellow on the left is the Volunteer uniform.

Cheers!

Fort McHenry Project: US Regular troops

US Regular troops casting big shade over the British

Been working hard to bring the Fort McHenry National Park commission to a close. Definitely gaining steam, and only have one more unit, some officers and a squadron of ships to go!


These 80mm wooden soldiers represent the US regular troops that helped defend Fort McHenry during it's bombardment and siege in 1812.
 

These guys were a bit of work, but a joy to see them finished. I am still trying to figure out why I thought that painting non metallic metallic was a good choice :)
 Next up are 24 of the volunteer regiments that fought along side the regulars. I've actually got them about half done on the painting table, and have to say adding red is a nice break from all the blue.

Volunteer and Regular infantry

Fort McHenry Project: British Officers

British Officers on foot, 1812

I'm gaining ground on the Fort McHenry commission project! This week I finished up the dismounted and mounted British officers, designed the US volunteer units and have the US regulars mostly painted. Here's some pics of the British.

British officers, mounted 1812

That's all for now- back to the painting table!
Cheers!

Fort McHenry Project: US artillery batteries

US Artillery

I'm a bit behind on my Fort McHenry commissions- especially cataloguing all the stuff I've already done. Was able to be home with daylight this weekend so got some shots of these artillery batteries.

the uniform is a pretty straight up blue jacket, single row of buttons, with yellow trim. The belgic style shako with a slightly broader top than the British can also be seen.

I had a great time researching these uniforms, with the ever patient help of the Park Rangers at Fort McHenry.

Next up British Officers, Ship hulls, and US volunteer/ irregular troops!

Fort McHenry Commission: Marines, Sailors, Gunboats and Ships

British Colonial Marines

Gaining Steam

Fort McHenry commission work continues apace and is picking up steam. These past two weeks I was able to design, cut and paint up some Colonial marines, as well as paint up Royal marines, sailors, a naval officer. On the ship side I designed and cut (and built) gun ships with 4lb cannon, and got the hulls for three frigates cut. 

Colonial Marines

During the first two decades of the 19th Century, escaped American slaves formed a military cadre called Britain's Royal Navy Corps of Colonial Marines.  Although they were of African descent, and many were formerly enslaved, these troops received the same training, uniforms, pay and pensions as their Royal Marine counterparts. 

First cut test of the Colonial Marine

Painting Afro American/ Caribbean skin was a fun challenge on my woodens

Royal Marines

Stalwart troops in any fight, Royal Marines played a part in the siege of Baltimore. 

 Hey Sailor! 

You can't have a navy without some sailors. These guys were really fun to paint up as they have a lot of individuality and personality. I may go back and give a couple of them striped trousers. 

British Naval officer leads the way

Gun Boats

These gun boats are a scaled down version of ones I created a couple of years ago for a Wooden Wars battle. It took a bit of finagling, as I wanted to make sure they could stand up to usage over the years, and I am happy with the results. These are a representative scale to be used on a large map for teaching the flow of the battles.

Complete with crews 

Frigate Ship Yard

The Frigates and gunships are coming along. Here you can see some hulls being built in the layers. I'm designing the masts and sails to be slotted and glued in so I can pack them easier for shipping to the Fort. I'm also giving them pretty sturdy bases for stability and to protect the models.

The hull of these Frigates measures 350mm.

You can see the layers here. with stern castles she'll be 18 mm wide.