Cpt Nathan Brittles, U.S. Cavalry, 1876 ** Finished **

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JohnRatzenberger
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Cpt Nathan Brittles, U.S. Cavalry, 1876 ** Finished **

Post by JohnRatzenberger »

OK, two of my five all-time favorite movies star John Wayne, directed by John Ford. One of these is the middle film of what is called John Ford's Cavalry Trilogy (and John Wayne stars in all three), in order Fort Apache, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, and Rio Grande, released in the late 40's, early 50's.

These are not a true "trilogy" other than they cover the same period of history and are roughly sequential, John Wayne plays different characters in the 1st & 3rd, than in SWAYR. No matter, for a number of reasons, to include my service, the "Ford Trilogy" has meaning for me and I have a number of references on the Army in the West.

That my phone ring-tone is Garry Owen, should tell you something.

Anyway, SWAYR is IMHO just a wonderful movie - I cannot watch it enough - and John Wayne does a wonderful job.

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It's 1876. John Wayne plays, of course, Captain Nathan Brittles, an aging Cavalry officer on the verge of retirement unless he gets promoted. After Custer and the 7th Cavalry are wiped out by Indians, everyone expects the worst. Capt. Brittles is ordered out on patrol but is also required to take along the wife of the Fort's commanding officer, and her niece, the pretty Olivia Dandridge, who are being evacuated for their own safety to meet the stage coach. Brittles is only a few days away from retirement and Olivia has caught the eye of two of the young officers in the Company, Lt. Flint Cohill and 2nd Lt. Ross Pennell. She's taken to wearing a yellow ribbon in her hair, a sign that she has a beau in the Cavalry, but refuses to say for whom she is wearing it.

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Watch the movie.

Here's my kit - a figure bust of Captain Nathan Brittles, in resin.

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I've had the kit (it has 2 parts therefore is a kit) for a number of years, but I've never done a figure - this GB will be my opportunity to do my first one. I have a lot to learn about figure painting in general, and with Vallejo acrylics specifically, but it is an area of modeling that I have long wanted to add to my repertoire.

Now, I bought this because it says Nathan Brittles, but it wasn't until I got it home that I found the caveat that "it isn't John Wayne but representative of a Cavalry officer of that period". Bummer, but I'll survive with some imagination.

It is that far off, here's a collage of pix from the movie.

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Not that far off. The mustache is too big and bushy and the chin doesn't work; we'll ignore that John Wayne has a fuller face. I have been over the bust with a flashlight - there are 6 or 7 holes that need to be filled - two of them make it look like he had pierced ears, and one is in the chin. The latter may not be a problem as I'm seriously considering sanding the chin down do it doesn't jut so prominently.

The mustache is another matter. I'd like to shorten & trim it a bit but a) I'm afraid I'll screw up, b) I'll then have to make some lips, and c) see a). Remember this is my first figure and there is a reason for that - no creativity or artistry.

So, off we go, into a new area, with maybe some side trips into the history and traditions of the US Army ….
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Re: Cpt Nathan Brittles, U.S. Cavalry, 1876

Post by SJPONeill »

One of my all time favorites too...the non resemblance notwithstanding, this is a build I'll be watching closely as I too aspire to do a figure one day...
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Re: Cpt Nathan Brittles, U.S. Cavalry, 1876

Post by DazDaMan »

Good luck with him!
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Re: Cpt Nathan Brittles, U.S. Cavalry, 1876

Post by Molly-new »

Should be interesting to watch.
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Re: Cpt Nathan Brittles, U.S. Cavalry, 1876

Post by montessa315 »

Been very many years since I tried to paint figures (partially successful) and must have another go sometime.

Very basically...
Always use to prime in white.
Done the face and skin first. Starting with the eyes.
Lay down the basic colours (lightest first) with thinned paint so a few layers are necessary.
Matt varnished after each different colour. A good sharp chisel pointed cocktail stick to scrape away over painting.
Dry brushed in the highlights.
Then used washes for the shadows.
Very much in that order.

It really is an art form in itself and hats off to anybody that can do a good job.

Best of luck, looking forward to seeing this.


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Re: Cpt Nathan Brittles, U.S. Cavalry, 1876

Post by Clashcityrocker »

I used to do a fair bit of figure painting, badly :) Always used to paint and add the crew to Tamiyas 35th scale armour. If the enemies CO had said "Don't shoot 'til you see the whites of their eyes." My guys would have been goners. :shock: They all looked like deers in the headlights, but I enjoyed it :)
Good luck with this.

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Re: Cpt Nathan Brittles, U.S. Cavalry, 1876

Post by JohnRatzenberger »

Finally started. I went over the whole thing, filling tiny holes, seams, etc.

I did some careful whittling around collars, lapels, etc, to get rid of resin and open them up a bit more naturally.

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And I started on the mustache. My first effort is to simply lose the walrus look and have the mustache end more along the jaw line. I've stopped here and will go look at again tomorrow - this is a bit-by-bit effort as I don't want to take too much or stress the resin and have the whole thing crack on me.

Image

I will round down the chin a bit now that I can see it better.

So far so good. I really want to have all modifications finished this weekend so I can prime and start painting.
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Re: Cpt Nathan Brittles, U.S. Cavalry, 1876

Post by JohnRatzenberger »

Round 2 of re-sculpting. I further cut back, or rather up, the mustache to have the tip/end near the corner of the mouth. I also rounded the chin some and smoothed the side of the face where the mustache had been.

Image

Not to be over confidant, but I'm quite happy with the way things are going and, to me, it's starting to look a bit more like the John Wayne Nathan Brittles.

However, reducing the mustache shows that the bottom lip underneath sticks out quite a bit. Some of this is "fixed" by rounding the chin, but not all as you can see here.

Image

Now, I don't want to get myself in trouble here by trying too much, but:
-- I need to un-bushy the mustache a bit; that will involve some interesting sanding and then scribing.
-- I need to hide/reduce the lower lip and one way may be to fill between the chin and lip, a bit.
-- I may need to fill, a bit, some of the hollows in the cheeks - depends on the chin.

Anyway, lots of things to think about and I do not want to push my luck on any one day, so that's it for now.

Suggestions are more than welcome …

I now see, in the pictures, that I have the center of the mustaches uneven - must fix that.
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Re: Cpt Nathan Brittles, U.S. Cavalry, 1876

Post by fredk »

Thats coming along just grand.
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Re: Cpt Nathan Brittles, U.S. Cavalry, 1876

Post by JohnRatzenberger »

02 Jan 2015

Here we are, all done ….

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Just kidding, but if I'd defined my project to be a white plaster bust :-D …..

Anyway, I have whittled away at the moustache and things as much as I care to. The figure has lost the bushy walrus-like moustache and I have cleaned up various holes, nicks, and things.

It has just come back from being hosed down in Tamiya white primer and we are ready to go ….

I can see that I'm going to have to find a better way to photograph work from now on, the hat is (doing it's job) keeping the (sun) light off the face ....
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Re: Cpt Nathan Brittles, U.S. Cavalry, 1876

Post by lancfan »

John, you could stand the figure on a piece of paper which should reflect the light upwards onto the face.

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Re: Cpt Nathan Brittles, U.S. Cavalry, 1876

Post by fredk »

That looks fine. I think its better than the original for a cavalry officer. The original suits an out-law more.

For photos; crumple up some ordinary aluminum foil, then flatten it out. Place on the base ground, just out of shot, angle a bit upwards. It will act as a diffused mirror and reflect light upwards into the shadows. If you glue the ally foil to card it'll make it a bit more robust and re-useable.
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Re: Cpt Nathan Brittles, U.S. Cavalry, 1876

Post by DazDaMan »

He looks rather moody in that last shot!
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Re: Cpt Nathan Brittles, U.S. Cavalry, 1876

Post by JohnRatzenberger »

Here is a face base coat - too dark I think, even though I would assume deeply tanned.

Image

I used Vallejo Panzer Aces 341 Flesh Base, then tried to tone it down with Vallejo Model Color 927, Dark Flesh, which is really lighter than the PA341 - some help. I then mixed up 1:1 Model Color 815, Skin Tone, and 845, Sunny Skin Tone, and put one coat on.

I'm going th wait until tomorrow, but I might have it, if I go back and check for dark/shadow areas, then build highlighting. I really don't know what I'm doing, but I'm doing something ….

And somehow I chipped some off the nose so will have to fix that - maybe didn't wait long enough to dry …
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Re: Cpt Nathan Brittles, U.S. Cavalry, 1876

Post by Old_Tonto »

Watching closely John. I have no idea what I am doing with figures either!

Maybe I can learn from your mistakes. :lol:
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