Mounted Militia with rifle (Accurate)

In the Southern campaigns of the American Revolution, mounted militia was an asset to the Americans.  Unfortunately, figures to cover these men are few and far between.

After a significant amount of conversion work, I finally have my first mounted militiaman.   He used parts from three different figures.  His body and head were from an Accurate militiaman, but the standing legs were removed and replaced with mounted legs from a Marx Paul Revere.  The long rifle was trimmed from a stack of such weapons and added with a little sculpting of his right hand.

His horse is an excellently sculpted one from  Classic Toy Soldiers.


The checked shirt was fun to paint and helps him stand out on the tabletop.

Ready to patrol the woods for signs of British or Loyalist troops!

"Liberty's Kids" Character James Hiller (Marx)

This figure is based on one of the main characters from the television show Liberty's Kids.  James Hiller is an orphan who works as a reporter for Benjamin Franklin's newspaper.  He and his two comrades (one of which has been painted already; see https://redcoatsandruffles.blogspot.com/2018/01/sarah-phillips.html) view the great events of the American Revolution, from the Boston Tea Party to the signing of the United States Constitution.  Mysteriously, the characters never seem to get any older...

The original figure was a recast Marx "Johnny Tremaine."  The original head was swapped for the head from a Marx recast "Rab Silsbee."  After this rather drastic change, the character's pigtail was sculpted, a quill pen was sculpted in his right hand.  His left hand had been removed for another conversion(see https://redcoatsandruffles.blogspot.com/2017/02/young-philadelphia-gentleman.html), which necessitated sculpting another hand.  I chose to give this hand a piece of paper.  Now James Hiller and his companion Sarah Philips are ready to jot down all the latest news from the Revolution as it happens.

"Liberty's Kids" Character Sarah Phillips (Marx)



Miss Sarah Phillips scouts for news in a colonial town.
(click picture to enlarge)

This figure is based on one of the main characters from the television show Liberty's Kids.  In the show, three youngsters serve as journalists for Benjamin Franklin and report on the major--and sometimes minor--events of the American Revolution.  This figure, Miss Sarah Phillips, is the daughter of a British Army officer serving in America.  In the first episode, Sarah comes to America to find him.  During the ongoing show, she provides a British/Loyalist perspective to much of the reporting done.

The figure herself began as a recast Marx "Cilia" figure.  Much change was required to transform her into Sarah Phillips.  From top to bottom: the cap was removed and hair sculpted, golden locket added, neckline squared off, shawl removed, quill pen sculpted, flair and length added to sleeves, pointed bodice, piping down front of dress, and paper to record news.  Whew!  This is some of the most work I have ever done to convert a figure.  However, I believe that the final product was well worth the effort.



Original figure on left; Sarah Phillips on right.
(click picture to enlarge)

Young Philadelphia Gentleman

This figure represents a young gentleman in the 18th century meaning of the term.  A gentleman was a man who owned property and was financially well-off.  This young gentleman certainly fits that description.  Wearing a silver-laced hat, a ruffled cravat, and large silver buckles on his shoes, he shows that he is well-to-do.  While his coat, waistcoat, and breeches may look like they are all the same color, the coat is actually slightly lighter than the breeches and waistcoat.

The figure is converted from two Marx recast colonial "Johnny Tremaine" characters.  "Sam Adams" provided the entire body, while "Johnny Tremaine" provided the head and cupped left hand (the figure's left is on the viewer's right).  The head was sculpted to look like a younger person, and the hand was changed because the original figure carried a tricorne hat in his left hand. 

Just like in a previous post, in which I copied a costume my sister wore, he wears a costume which my brother wore during the filming of Beyond the Mask, a Christian movie set in the American Revolution.  The last picture shows both of them walking near a colonial house.  But there are still more family members to be created...

 

Female Civilian

Click on the picture to enlarge it

This figure is a female civilian during the American Revolution.  But this figure is slightly different than any figure I have painted so far because she represents my sister in her time as a extra for the movie Beyond the Mask. 

She (my sister, not the figure) has recently written a charming two-part account of her time on set.

Part 1 can be found at https://castlesinclouds.wordpress.com/2016/04/19/as-an-extra-for-beyond-the-mask-part-1/

And Part 2 at https://castlesinclouds.wordpress.com/2016/04/20/as-an-extra-for-beyond-the-mask-part-2/

The figure is a Marx recast.  The figure was originally supposed to represent a character from Johnny Tremaine, but has been recast and is a useful colonial-era young girl.  No conversion was required.  Figure painted with Testors paints.

Mr. Edmund Bentley

This figure is painted up as Edmund Bentley, a Philadelphia Loyalist who appears in the Christian movie Beyond the Mask.  Beyond the Mask is set in the world of the 1770s as tumult and war erupt in Great Britain’s North American colonies.  Mr. Bentley works for Ben Franklin before he is fired for incompetence.  He then joins a group of Loyalists who are working for Charles Kemp against the American rebels.  Mr. Bentley appears to be an assistant to the Loyalist leader Mr. Richard Harrison.  This figure recreates one of his outfits.  To learn more about the movie, visit www.BeyondTheMaskMovie.com

The original figure was made by Marx as a character figure of Johnny Tremain in the 1950s.  Thankfully this figure was recast in the 2000s so that I could acquire one.   

 

Edmund Bentley (left) and Richard Harrison (right)

This outfit is worn by Mr. Edmund Bentley when he meets Charles Kemp, the Director of the East India Company.  It consists of a cream-colored waistcoat and light blue breeches. In the movie he also wears a brown coat with this outfit.  However, because he is often seen in a brown waistcoat without a coat, it seems reasonable to assume that he wore his cream-colored waistcoat without a coat sometimes.   He was the first figure that I painted with a grey tricorne hat.