Peg Nutcracker Guardsman Complete

 I managed to get another of my peg nutcracker figures done, though I'm beginning to wish I had started these earlier as Christmas looms ever larger on the horizon!

I'm pleased with this little fellow and I'm enjoying this particular project. The slight down side is that I have a lot more of these nutcracker figures to make in time for the 25th of December. Still, onward and upwards.

This character is based on the traditional toy soldier from the ballet 'Nutcracker', a suitably festive story. The uniform is fictional and I tried a new way of making a rifle, simplifying the construction even more. It's just made up of an elongated triangle of lolly stick for the stock and a piece of cocktail stick for the barrel - but I like this stylised shape in this instance as it is suitable toy 'pop gun' like.

Another slight change in my previous construction method for this kind of nutcracker peg is that I did not bother to sand down the 'shoulder' dowel, but left it protruding slightly. I think this looks quite good and it enhances the idea that this is a toy soldier. Less work for me to do! 😁

The only concern I have about this style of peg figure is - being very tall and thin - it's balance. I chose a 3mm thick, 25mm diameter MDF base for these figures and that only just does the job. After I complete this project I will have to think again about basing and stability and I may need to either look at enlarging the diameter of the base or weighting the base (I have been considering adding steel washers to the existing base to give it a bit of weight).

Still, you are always learning. As they are they should look very nice on a mantelpiece for the festive period. 

French 'Chasseurs à pied', 1870 - Part 4

 A long, long time ago I began my Franco-Prussian War project only to then decide to have a hiatus from the hobby for some time. Now up and running again I now am in the position of not only working on new projects but also have several old moth balled projects to dust off - my French 'Chasseurs à pied' are one of these forgotten armies! 😃

Above: Painting 'French Soldiers in the Snow' by Paul Louis Narcisse Grolleron (c. 1880).
Grolleron produced a range of wonderful paintings depicting French troops of the 1870
war. This one caught my imagination and was the basis of my Chasseurs a pied.

It's actually a bit crazy that I stopped where I did with these soldiers as they were quite near completion. However, one of the reasons that I had not completed these sooner - having returned from my 'hobby holiday' - is that these figures were what I call my 'Mk. 1' peg soldier design and I had subsequently moved on to a different design...

Above: Comparison of my early 'Mk. 1' peg soldier construction (left)
with my current 'Mk.2' method (right).

I was of a mind to abandon this project and start again using my revised method of construction but - in the end - did not want to waste the work I had already done. It was a bit frustrating as I really like my newer method for making my soldiers, but I thought it would be a nice way to formally transition from the old to the new by completing this project as intended.

Anyway... Where had I got to? Here's a reminder of where I left off...

As I said, these models were so near completion! The principal job was to do all the outlining of detail - things like the arms and leg division, etc (things that were the very reason that I created my simplified Mk. 2 models , so I didn't have to spend time laboriously outlining things).

Ironically, I ended up producing my prototype Frenchman right along side my prototype Prussian! It's my habit to complete a single example of a unit's figure in order that I can check that I am happy with my colour choices and check for any potential problems before continuing with the rest of the unit's figures...

Indeed, I did come across a little issue, that being the outlining of detail that is base painted with dark colours. An example would be the outlining of the soldiers arms, normally I would outline in black but this just wouldn't show up very well against a dark blue. The solution - obviously enough - was to outline using a lighter version of the base colour, in this case a light blue.

In the above photo you will notice I had to outline (if that's really the appropriate term) the leg division line using a light blue. This is not a method that I am completely happy with and why I ended up changing the way I did the legs of my models.

Anyway, niggley bits out the way, it didn't take long to apply the final details and - finally - I added the facial features. Things like buttons and and eye-pupils were actually applied using acrylic pens.

This all leads to the varnishing. I continue to be a fan of the traditional glossy toy soldier and I think it actually helps produce a better looking peg figure. The application of a gloss layer smooths out some of the imperfections - rough textures - inherent in cheap mass-produced wooden pegs. If you look at the above picture you will notice a mottled texture on the Prussian soldier, the wood was particularly rough on this peg (so much so that even a fair amount of sanding could not get rid of it).

This is just part and parcel of using pegs for modelling, they are what they are. But varnishing helps alleviate most but the worse blemishes. And here's what we ended up with...

I'm pleased with the result and will crack on with the five remaining figures in this unit (plus the unit base). After that I have to decide which will be the next French regiment that I will model - I'm already had a lot of requests that I do a 'red trousered' infantry of the line! We shall see.

Link to all the posts in this 'Chasseurs à pied' project.

Painting a Peg Soldier

Well, it's Sunday evening (that last bit of relaxation before the work week starts all over again) and I've managed to find time to blaze through - 'blaze' for me that is - my first commission. So, this seems a nice opportunity to do a little photo walk-through of the process (without my usual waffle)!

All that's left is the varnishing.

First Commission - Peg Grenadier

Funny things just happen sometimes. No sooner had I started my latest toy soldier efforts than I had a request to make one up specially on commission.

I was asked to reproduce my initial '42mm' peg Grenadier...So, off we go again! :)

Reproducing an exact copy of one of these peg soldiers does highlight some interesting issues which should be given some consideration, especially if you intend to make a miniature army.

Take the rifles, for example. For an 'army' I will have to make exact copies of the simplified rifle shape so I will have to come up with a easy way to replicate these shapes. Initially, for my prototype, I carved the rifle out of a wooden lolli stick and I don't fancy doing that every time (and that's not the only part I will have to duplicate; there's the hats as well).

Hhhhhmmmmmm...

Anyway, on with the 'job'! LOL (Really flattered somebody likes my stuff!)

Mini-Nutcracker Soldier - Part 2

I'm playing this - as with most everything I do - somewhat by ear. So far I have refined my design for the mini-nutcracker soldier by sketching the figure's proportions onto the pegs that I am using. In the following photo you can see my first attempt on the left - which had balanced proportions - compared to my final attempt with more stretched and stylised proportions...

I have attached the hat and hanging thread on my final design. It actually took a while and several tests to find the 'right' sort of thread to use with this (my original idea of using thin wire just didn't look right).

Additionally, I have these pegs sitting in the custom ring stands. Although I mean these are Xmas tree decorations, I kinda like the idea that they could also be places on the mantlepiece if I so desire (so alternative versions I have on the drawing board are a candleholder or place name holder for the Xmas dinner table).

Priming and Painting
As this is my first test of the nutcracker style of wooden soldier - especially in this miniaturised form - this is where things could go a bit wrong! In fact, I'm pretty sure they will as I will be experimenting  with my own ways of doing things like the facial features...I am not altogether confident. :)

It's bit frustrating that I will only know what has 'worked' once I finish this model, so I have to persevere and carry on to the end. Then I can use what has worked on the next model.

(I'm maybe being a little impatient here!) :)

Anyway, the uniform design is a fantasy 'toy soldier' one (nothing historic about this one) and I'm still using my Vallejo paints. The cheaper craft acrylics I have are OK, but don't apply quite as smoothly as the slightly more expensive modelling ones. I think I will try out some furniture paint next, but in the meantime I have a wide range of Vallejo colours so I will stick with them.

The next tricky issue will be how to make the hair...

The real Christmas Nutcracker Soldiers have a distinctive mop of white 'hair', and the tutorial I have for the mini peg version suggests that you use 'fluff' (soft-toy stuffing flock) to create the rather crazy looking 'powdered wig' look of a 17th century soldier. I was lucky here, as we have a family dog who has a intense grudge against soft toys and so we have a regular supply of newly toy innards to hand!

Left: A traditional Nutcracker Soldier displaying a head of hair. From what I remember this was 'fake fur', which poses the question of how I recreate a similar effect on a smaller scale?

I just had to give some thought on how best to stick the fluff to the peg-soldier. In the end, I decided to finish painting and then apply the gloss varnish to the model *except* on the part of the head that the 'hair' will be attached.

There'll be no beard. I just had the feeling that gluing fluff on for facial hair would end up looking like the nutcracker was foaming at the mouth! :)

 I would then use PVA glue to stick on patches of fluff until the bald scalp was covered. The tutorial suggests to stick on more than you need, initially, and then trim the hair into a neater style when the glue drys...

I have to admit, I'm not really a fan of the fluffy hair (it's difficult to stick on securely, and too loose and fibrous and pulls out far too easily) so for my next test I may try out something a little different - solid stylised hair. I found a picture of a full-sized nutcracker with this sort of hair-do...

This would entail my making the hair out of modelling putty (Milliput) which sounds like a lot of work, but if I wanted to reproduce lots of these I would probably cast and mould copies from resin.

But, now, the finished mini-nutcracker test model...

Obviously, I've had to stand the soldier up using a ring base, but it would
look far better hanging from a Christmas tree, as intended (I just wasn't
willing to put up a tree just for this photo)! :)

I have a few niggles with this prototype, but it's nearly there so I'm confident I'll rectify the problems with my next attempt. It's all good and I'm getting better with each new test model.

Anyway, onto the next project test...

Next up: More 'Midi' Peg Soldiers (my mid-sized pegs, but in historical uniforms).

Peg Soldier Mk.III - Nutcracker

As much as I would like to bang on with more of my shorter peg soldiers (really would like to do a 'regiment') I will adhere to my original plan and make a 'nutcracker' style soldier. In fact, these Christmas themed little decorations are the whole reason I got into the whole wooden toy soldier project in the first place.

As my kids get older (they are in their mid-20s now) it does get harder and harder to know just what to give them at Christmas, so I have been trying to come up with ideas for little gifts I can actually make for them. My youngest daughter is a real Christmas fan and loves all those little trimmings and touches that go into decorating the home at the festive season...And she particularly loves traditional Christmas nutcrackers...

Now, obviously, I'm not ready to take on such an advanced woodworking project! But, I happened to see a few examples of some mini-nutcracker tree decorations and was really taken by these designs...

In this case, naturally, these models use the full dolly peg and have stylised long 'legs' and a body roughly the same height as the previous peg tests that I have done. These are very simplified models without even arms, but do have a 'hair' and a hat that contains the decoration string.

The mini-nutcrackers I reference above have a full tutorial that can be found here: Kate's Creative Space - Nutcracker Peg Doll Decorations

Although, these are not gaming figures they are useful practise for me as I still have to work out my painting process properly, particularly as I had some problems with the pens and the paints I have been using. The main snag was that I did not have proper permanent ink markers, well I have solved this issue now with the purchase of some thin-nibbed and metallic Sharpie pens...

Hopefully these will draw well over acrylic paints and not run if they come into contact with wet paint. The metallic will be useful for drawing fiddly details like buttons and buckles.

Making a Hat
While the tutorial I referenced make mention of small candle stick holders which it used for the peg doll's hats, I cannot seem to source these in the UK so I will have to come up with my own design for a hat.

I did have a look around for an alternative wooden items that I could use as a soldier's hat - and considered things like wooden beads - I am after very specific shapes ('busby' or bearskin type hats, and slightly more pointed Victorian 'home service' helmets, and finally soft hats like 'slouch' hats and kepis) so decided to use the same sort of approach that I used with my last test soldier and modify left over sections of cylindrical pegs. Now I have a circular sander I have some additional flexibility in creating my own wooden shapes...

And, as you can see, I have also been looking round for any other objects that I could use as headgear for my pegs. In this case, I found that the needle cover from my diabetic insulin 'pen' makes a rather natty top hat when cut down! :)

Which Peg?
I have two different styles of the 'Dolly Peg'. A real peg, the 'body' of which is gently tapered, and a custom craft 'dolly peg' blank, which has a higher and more rounder 'shoulder'...

The nutcracker tutorial I found uses a real (tapered) peg, but I suppose the rounded shoulder version looks a little more like the real nutcracker wooden ornaments. I could mix and match, for variation, but I would have to shorten the real peg's legs somewhat to make both style of pegs the same height.

We shall see...

To get started I shall try out the tapered peg. So, it's back to the sander for a bit of a hair cut!

On my previous peg tests I had to saw off the top of the peg's 'head', laborious (with my small hand saw) and uneven work, but with my new sander I can flatten the head perfectly straight and with great ease. This now makes a lovely level platform for the hats I have made. I think I will try out the stylised 'busby'.

Now, bear in mind that this will be a Christmas tree decoration - to be hung from a branch - so I will have to attach a loop of wire or cord. The most secure way to do this may be to drill a small hole down through the centre of the hat through which I can thread the loop (knotted underneath for a security)...

Now, unfortunately, I do not have a drill press (yet) so I had to hand drill the hole through the wooden hat and hope that I had gotten it nice and straight through the middle. As it tuned out, I didn't do too bad a job...But a drill-press accessory for my Dremel multi-tool is top of next months pay-day shopping list!

All I have to do now if thread some of my festive thread through the hole and knot it underneath (and for extra strength I will probably add a drop of superglue). I'll colour the hole black before I do so with some ink, so the bare wood colour doesn't show once the busby is painted black later.

Down to the nitty-gritty...
Let's get started creating out soldier's uniform. I start this by doing some sketches on the bare peg. I want to work out how I am going to design the uniform while stretching the proportions to work with the exceptionally tall and thin peg body...

This is just my initial thinking. I'll need to re-sketch the final design onto the prime coated peg, but at this point I want to decide on how stretched - or shrunken - features will be. Do I make a very small body (and arms) in comparison to the very long legs? Or do I try and balance the features equally?

I'll probably erase and re-sketch this figure drawing several times before I settle on the final design!

Next: I paint my test nutcracker.

Wooden Toy Soldier - Part 3

My painting test is near complete...

I hit a few snags and as a result some of the painting is a little raggy. One of the main things is that I need to buy a set of proper thin nibbed Sharpie markers. The drawing pens I have use non-permanent ink which - obviously - runs when you try to touch up with wet acrylic paint! (Du-oh on my part!)

Acrylics can also be a little hit and miss sometimes - some colour cover beautifully (that blue and red were great) but others are a real pain and require several thin coats to get the same effect. I've tried both the premium Vallejo modelling paints and cheaper craft acrylics and, to be honest, there ain't all that much difference. So, as I don't fancy the hassle of trying enamels instead, I shall just have to persevere and work out which are the 'good' colours and which are the troublesome ones.

Still, that's why we do painting tests.

Once again, I chose to varnish with the budget Wilko's spray lacquer. It seems to do the job (but only time will tell if it will crack or yellow)...

Debrief and Conclusions
This was a fun little project but it could be improved upon. For variety sake - should I wish to try these out as wargaming figures - I think I will look into a means to make proper separate arms (so I can pose the figure better). Also, I need to do something about his feet - as in, he needs some!

I'm OK with painting on the face and I do quite like the cartoony look and the same goes for uniform details. I don't want to start adding additional small parts as separate components, that would just start to get too fiddly.

Finally, the 25mm bases work fine, though this figure isn't really any specific scale. Is that a problem? Well, if I want to use other third party accessories - like terrain or artillery pieces - it might be, but at 47mm tall from head to foot I may be able to get away with some 54mm props.

These lovely wooden toy trees are just the sort of simple 'toy town' style that I
think would go with my peg soldier. Perhaps another good reason for me to look
into buying my own hobby lathe?

In any case, because of the unique look I would probably not want to mix these figures with other types and make my own similar looking props myself.

Well, onto my next test piece...This time I will be experimenting with a full sized peg doll soldier in the style of a traditional Christmas 'nutcracker' toy soldier.

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Featured Work - Dale's Wooden Warriors

Nice to find some other examples of small wooden toy soldiers for wargaming. I stumbled across an entry on the TMP [The Miniatures Page] forum showing some really nicely done wooden 'toy soldiers'...

These wonderful little fellows are made by a chap called Dale and many more examples can be viewed on his terrific blog, 'Wooden Warriors'. 

They are a slightly different style from my 'peg doll' soldier as they are made from prefabricated wooden components especially made for wooden toy projects...

This is really inspiring me as I love the stylised and simplified look of these. His soldiers are bigger than my peg soldier so there is more room to paint a more expressive face. He also makes little arms and feet which adds to the charm for the models.

Making arms is something I've been considering for my next test. while painting on features like arms  makes my modeller simpler to build it does have it's drawbacks. For example, you are a little restricted on the kind of poses you make because the painted on arms have to be depicted firmly at the side or against the body. Poses like 'at ease' is easy, but holding a gun in a firing position isn't really doable. So maybe simple little stick arms is the way to go (these also make painting easier).

Dale also has a real knack for doing great hats, as this Napoleonic Spanish infantryman illustrates...

The hat, arms and feet really give this little fellow a lot of character, but at the same time still keep things simple. However, they also show that you can do a passable historic uniform without including a lot of three dimensional ornamentation.

Do take a look at Dale's blog - there's lots of different types of gaming pieces on display (I especially liked his trees)!

Wooden Toy Soldier - Part 2

(I guess the subtitle should be 'Project Peg Mk. 2'...)

Still concentrating on simplicity or a highly stylised toy soldier, I've made my model from just four parts; the peg body, the hat, a rifle and an MDF base. (All glued together with PVA wood glue for larger parts but superglue for the rifle as I needed 'instant tack'...Hope it will hold.)

The rifle is very simple and toylike and is just made from two matchsticks glued together and carved into shape with a craft knife, then sanded smooth...

It's crude, but as it's supposed to be a toy this kinda suits the purpose. My figure does not have arms or hands so I will just glue it to the side - in an 'at ease' pose - and paint a hand onto the rifle stock as if the soldier is holding the gun.

 As this is intended as a game marker I have glued the figure to a standard 25mm circular MDF gaming base...

The hat is on a little crooked, but lots quite 'jaunty' so I will leave that (this is just another test after all). Incidentally, this would be another good reason to consider turning these model in a lathe.

And now it's on with the primer and then the painting. Now is crunch time regarding the design - historic uniform of fantasy one?

I am unsure whether I might have been better to have primed with a brilliant white rather than grey. For one thing, as the primary colours I am using are very bright a white base will help to make the colours 'pop'. But, also, it means I have a good foundation for any of the white parts I intend to have, particularly as my Vallejo acrylic white seems to need a couple of coats get get a good opaque coverage.

Well, for now I'll make do with what I have and I have to say that the grey primer does make it easy to pencil in the design on the figure (and, yes, I went for a fantasy 'toy soldier' uniform design)...

The face isn't exactly 'traditional' but this is just a test. Though even though what detail there is is stylised and simplified I hope my shake brush work is up to painting the uniform by hand...

Is it me or does the grey primer coat dull down the bright top coats? Maybe
another reason to try a white primer next time.

Looking at my design I am thinking that if I do prime with white I could mask out certain regular design features - like stripes - so that they are not only straight but also provide an easy way to pick out fine painted details (guess I will save that for yet another test).

I will also have to expand my collection of craft acrylic paints. It's funny how some of my Vallejo paints cover beautifully - like the red and the blue I used - but other are a pain in the butt (like the flesh colour and white - and I happen to know that yellow is a nightmare to get a nice flat coat). Luckily, the craft paints are quite cheap. (I did wonder if I should try enamels, but they bring their own problems and are smelly!)

Next: The finished test model.

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Wooden Toy Soldier - Part 1

Now that I've tested the materials for my 'Peg Doll' toy soldier project I have to put some thought into the design. I actually have several projects based on the wooden soldier idea in mind, including; tabletop game markers of various sizes, traditional Christmas tree decorations and Christmas dinner table place-name holders.

Googling 'wooden toy soldier' provided me with plenty of inspiration for
painting schemes and construction ideas for my peg dolls.

Wooden toy soldiers seem so synonymous with the festive season that it hard to avoid ideas that don't include Christmas themed projects!

However, I am also interested to see if it is feasible to create useful game markers. This isn't an a new idea, I saw something similar when I visited the Triples War Game Show at Sheffield in 2013...

Obviously, my 'peg soldiers' will be even simpler in design than the wonderful toy solders I saw at Triples, but they provide a guide to the style that I'm looking for.

My main quandary is whether to do a 'short' peg figure (similar to my test model) or to try a 'long legged' version using all of the dolly peg? ...I may do both...

The other thing that's got me a bit puzzled is hats! The big hat is one of the defining features of the toy soldier and there are a few ways to create one, you could make one from some wood or perhaps go down the felt or fake fur route.

I prefer the idea of a wooden hat as that's more akin to the Nutcracker type toy soldiers I remember fro my childhood.

I found a tutorial that suggested that you try using wooden candle holders (see left), but while these seem ideal they are actually very hard to find in the UK so I will probably have to make my own alternative versions.

This actually won't be so bad as I'd like to do create different regimental uniforms based on historic ones and one of the most iconic pieces of uniform is the distinctive and often times unique headwear of the various regiments and nations.

So, my first idea is to create hats from a second peg. This seems a quick and cheap way to do this and I think I can create different shapes of hats depending on hot I cut the peg down.

And finally, how many parts do I make? My initial test figure was a single piece design with features painted on, but for the actual soldiers I may want to add extra pieces made of wood like rifles or swords. If I do this, how do I attach them - do I also need to make arms for the soldier?

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Shops...

Being new to this 'peg doll' making business, I'm still working out some of the crafty 'props' and shortcuts. But, completely by chance, I happened across a bespoke 'peg doll making kit' at my local general store (of all places)!

Now, these look like pegs, but they aren't really proper pegs, not like the ones I bought from Amazon. These are specifically made for creating peg dolls and they come with special base rings so you can make your doll free standing.

Having sawn through both these and the real beechwood pegs I can say that these faux-pegs are made of a softer wood (so wouldn't last on a clothesline in the rain for long). The pack is the same price as the real pegs I bought - about £2.50 - BUT you only get 10 'pegs' in this bag as opposed to 24 in the real peg pack.

Still, I do like the little stands, and this all got me thinking that IF I ever got into this peg doll making thing I would probably invest in a small wood-turning lathe and make my own pegs and accessories (this would solve the 'hat' problem). The softer pegs do make it easy for me to cut them up into accessories of the same diameter as the pegs themselves just using a simple hand saw though. SO they were a nice find.

The Creation Station 'faux-pegs' - with ring stands.

One small detail I prefer about the fake pegs is that the 'shoulders' are less flared. The real pegs I have have a tapered 'shoulder' that narrows towards the 'head'. You will also note - from the accompanying photo - that the real pegs aren't exactly uniformly or symmetrically cut, whereas the fake pegs are. And finally, though you can't see in my photo, real pegs have tapered feet - to allow them to fasten to a clothes line - while the fake pegs are flatly cut as the bottom and the space between the 'legs' is narrower...

Real peg left, fake peg right.

Unfortunately, because the fake pegs are overall a shorter length than real dolly pegs you cannot mix and match if you want that uniform look. But I like the variation in detail between the two as it means  I can try out different effect when painting and it adds some character to the little figures I will make.

So, let's try one out...

I used two pegs here, one of each type to create this soldier and his buzzby hat! The cut-offs will be worth keeping so I can carve other accessories. The above photo also shows a couple of matchsticks glued together, from which I hope to carve the soldiers rifle.

This, of course, is the shorter 'game marker' style peg that I will be trying out, as opposed to the full sized peg doll (but I will be making one of these later as well). They don't really conform to a standard scale, though I could cut him down to an even shorter size to make him roughly 28mm scale I suppose. But true scale isn't ugly important here, as long as he's being used in conjunction with other peg dolls of a similar size.

Well, on to the carving and sanding (there are some rough cuts which I want to smooth off) before I prime and start to paint my little soldier. The big question is; do I paint a simplified historic uniform (his busby suggests a British Guardsman) OR do I give him a fantasy 'toy' uniform? Hmmmm...

Next: Painting my soldier.

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