Thursday 22 March 2018

Marine Eagle-bearer


Thanks to Ken, who sent me details of the flag carried by the Guard Marines, I have been able to complete my eagle-bearer for the unit. I used a reproduction casting of FN/4 Colour bearer (charging) which is notably flimsy compared to vintage castings however as I’ve now run out of these he’s had to step in.

The whole time that I was tackling the flag I was wishing Wellington Man was doing the job for me as I knew I wouldn’t be able to produce anything like the two amazing flags he painted for me last year. However, I persevered and in the end I’m pretty pleased with the result which is the best hand painted flag I’ve done so far for this project (and yes Ken, I did paint tiny anchors in each corner of the flag!).

I was fortunate this week to receive from Roy a few more engineers including a lovely casting of FN/177 Guard using pickaxe. As with the chap with the spade the pickaxe needed a repair as half the axe head was missing. This was rectified with a lot of cursing and fiddling around with Magic-Sculp but I intend to find room to squeeze him into the ranks.

Finally as you can see, I also repainted the waistcoats on my officers red as I was finding the white jumped out too much. Looking at uniform prints on the web it would appear that both colours were in use for the marines but I thought the red blended in better with the rest of the unit.

17 comments:

Rob said...

Don't do yourself down, the standard is beautifully painted. I have enjoyed watching this unit come to life over the last few posts and look forward to more.

Matt said...

Lovely work again!

I nearly choked when I read the word "reproduction" but I'm feeling better now!

Stryker said...

Thanks Rob - I've enjoyed that too as this unit has evolved beyond what I originally envisaged!

Stryker said...

Matt - yes appalling on a blog entitled "Vintage" but sometimes these things just happen!

Wellington Man said...

You don't need anyone to paint flags for you, Ian. That's stunning work.
I've just finished painting a recast too, if that's any consolation.

Stryker said...

Thanks WM but it's your flags that pushed me to make more effort!

lewisgunner said...

The red waistcoats are stunning Ian. The epitome of sartorial elegance.

Stryker said...

Nothing but the best for my troops LG!

Tony S said...

I agree with WM. Super work, Ian!

Stryker said...

Cheers Tony!

Mark Dudley said...

The Flag looks great. The extra effort spent on the flag brings the unit to life and makes it so much more attractive to the eye.

Of course with this unit they are marines and every one loves a sailor.

Stryker said...

Well, all the nice girls do at least Mark!

James Fisher said...

Man, he looks good!

lewisgunner said...

Why don't those girls love sapeurs? They could take their pick.

Anonymous said...

Quality job there Ian. I'm really impressed that your went all out to make that flag such a good addition to the unit.

Ken

Stryker said...

LG - Boom boom!

Stryker said...

Cheers Ken!