TLB Miniatures 120mm Pvt, 3rd Battaliion, 1st Royal Scots, Waterloo

The Battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815, represents one of the great turning points in history. Napoleon Bonaparte, having escaped from exile, leads the Grande Armee. Facing him is the Duke of Wellington, commanding a coalition army of seven nations.

 This particular model represents a Private of the 3rd Battalion, 1st Royal Scots Regiment. The Regiment is considered to be the oldest of the British Army, but at that point in time, the uniform worn by the Regiment had been somewhat standardized with the rest of the British Army. Differences in shoulder strap collars, turnouts on the uniforms, collar colors, and shako insignias individualized units.

At that point in time, the 3rd Battalion had fought in Egypt and Spain, and had a reputation as a very combat capable unit. At Waterloo, the Scots "formed square"- a formation used to repel cavalry or massed infantry. This model is in the kneeling position, suggesting that he is in the front rank. Behind him would be a standing soldier. On that day in June, the discipline of the Scots square held despite attacks by heavy French cavalry (also known as cuirassiers.)

This 120 mm scale kit is manufactured by a small company in Minnesota, and sculpted by Maurice Corry. You can find them on the Net at: http://www.tlbminiatures.com/dreamcatcher/RC/RC.html . The model itself comes in a small package with a photo of the finished product on top, as well as a label on the side with the title of the piece. Inside, resin pieces and the one white metal piece are protected by styrofoam peanuts. All are bagged to prevent loss.

 I've built a few of these models as presents to my in-laws (Scottish descendants) and the parts come fairly clean of resin pouring blocks and filmy flash. I strongly suggest putting parts back in their bags after the initial look and inventory. The force of gravity is strong in my house and there's nothing more undignified than being caught looking for a 120mm Brown Bess bayonet by one's wife.

The very first thing you MUST do with a resin model is clean it using hot water and dishwater soap. I did this, using one of my wifes empty margarine containers (which has become part of the stuff on top of my desk.) Dry the parts carefully using a dry dish rag or a paper towel. I do this because resin release agents, if not cleaned out, don't hold paint.

Next comes removal of pouring blocks and sanding down attachment points. Here is a way I remove small pouring blocks. I stole my wifes floral cutter (and bought her another one). Use the tip of the cutter between the join of the pouring block and the part. Do not attempt to go all the way; a simple start on the part is all that is neccessary. Then sand down the part. Watch out for flying blocks of resin- wear eye protection.

I normally paint all parts before I assemble them, because of the nature of the figure. If you wait until it's all together, you will have a tough time reaching some of the details, but I'll talk about painting later.

I started at the top and worked my way down. Unlike some other companies, the head is provided separately. I used a pin vise to drill holes in the head and the torso, and test fit the match using a small splinter of balsa I had whittled down to hole size to match head to torso. I used Superglue gel to mate the pieces. Then I used the same procedure to mate arms to the torso, legs to the torso, and shoes to the torso.

 This model comes with a knapsack, canteen with ration bag, and white metal bayonet. I attached the knapsack first, canteen next, and gently attached a sanded down bayonet to the Brown Bess musket to the models hands. There is a beautiful stand with some embedded French cannonballs on it. I'm saving this model for a diorama, so I didn't use the stand. If I had, I would have drilled holes using my pin vise, and stabilized the piece using small pins. The only part not provided was the carrying sling for the Brown Bess; I improvised by using correction tape, which was slightly out of scale but makes a good impression.

Although the figure is a 120mm scale model, and huge compared to smaller (i.e. 1/48th or 1/72nd) scales, the level of detail is therefore much more intense. So I would strongly recommend fine (sometimes one hair) brushes. I used enamels although acrylics are just as good and easier to clean. The instructions provided are an excellent reference for painting. As mentioned above, I painted all parts before assembly; it's a great way to pick out details.

 Another technique I have used is to steal a tea candle from my wife (actually, several of them; I am developing a cat burglar reputation in the house), stuck another balsa splinter in the holes I had already drilled, and slowly stuck the other end into the candle at the edge. This is a nice steady platform to paint from.

The head required slow, detailed painting, starting at the top and working down. I painted the shako flat black, let it dry, then painted the white cord across flat white. The regimental badge was painted gold. The plume of the shako, mounted on the left hand side, was painted white over red. The face was done using a combination of warm and light flesh tones; eyes were done using a fine brush of white; hair was painted yellow; and my final touch was blue eyes. (You can get 120mm eyes in decal form.) The final touch was the stock, which was painted black. (In doing my research, I found that the stocks were made of leather and intentionally made to be uncomfortable. This kept the soldiers head up and alert.)

The tunic has a white edged, deep blue collar. (Deep blue was considered the color of royalty, and as this was a Royal regiment, the soldiers had collars and facings of deep blue.) I painted the tunic flat red (cloth is not shiny), let it dry, got out my magnifying glass, and painted cross belts, and the elaborate button catchers white. I painted the turnbacks on the back of the coat again with white edges and deep blue inners. Epaulet straps were edged with white and had dark blue inners. There's one leather belt on the torso, so I painted that leather. The arms followed, again with deep blue cuffs, white button holes, and silver buttons.

 The canteen is also deep blue, with white edges; the canteen cap is gold. I painted the knapsack black, along with the cartridge case.  Trousers were painted flat gray, although in my research I could have gone a little deeper in color. The shoes, with spats, were painted black. The Brown Bess musket was painted using gun metal for barrel and bayonet. The wood stock was painted brown.

 The reason I build Napoleonic models is for the history and color. This model is certainly no exception. It is an action model of a soldier fighting for his life. Not only do I consider it to be a beautifully detailed piece, but a historically accurate one as well.  I recommend it very highly.

http://www.royalscotsgrenadiers.com/uniform.html

http://www.the-black-watch-lha.org/1815/1stuniform.html

Erik Fedde 

October 2011