Operation Pickelhaube Part 4

 ...And we get to the last part of the construction of my peg Prussians! 

Funnily enough, I've left one of the most distinctive parts of the Prussian's uniform to last- the Spitze....Er, that's the spike on the helmet! 😊

After a quick think I decided on a good old cocktail stick for the spike,cocktail sticks are great! So, I began by drilling a pilot hole in the top of the helmet to attach my fake spike...

The hole prepared - the exact diameter of a cocktail stick - I began to whittle my little spike. I cut a length of the stick (about 7mm) and glued it into the hole with about 4mm protruding.

Once the glue was dry and the top of the stick was firmly held in place I *carefully* sanded a rounded point to the spike.Then I *gently* filed this into a sort of acorn shape. Remember, these figures are caricatures so it doesn't have to be exact nor does everyone have to be identical - just a rough approximation.

I'm quite pleased with the helmets, though still a little confused about whether this shape of Picklehaulbe is accurate to 1870 - reference illustrations varied, some suggesting that an older taller version was in use and some suggesting that this latter flatter one was. Still, as I say, this is just a caricature and not a 'display model'.

The final job was the addition of the boots. I reverted to my older technique of using Milliput putty to create the toes of the boots. All of this series of models for my Franco-Prussian War set are of what I call my 'Mk. 1 peg soldier' style, as I later changed the way I modelled shoes to a quicker and easier method.

That done and dried it's time to prime the models ready for painting!