Brainstorming the Polish Winged Hussar project A meandering interview of how two guys, halfway around the world, collaborated on a 1/6th scale project

Hey Ran, did you notice how large I made our 1/6th scale figures in the background?

Oh, it's just compensating for our miserable little egos! LOL

April 2005 - A conversation about worldly things and 17th century Polish wiinged hussars... Ran: So, what's your favourite colour, Ron? Ron: USMC green. LOL Ran: I thought so. I was thinking, you would have to love history to get into this hobby too huh? It's more than just the figurines, that's my opinion anyway. Ron: Undoubtedly a most worthy opinion. And too, as Artists, there are so many artfully clad historical figures. It's like we use 1/6 Man as blank canvases. Now that's genuine creativity, don't you think? It's a thing of beauty to the trained eye of the 1/6 beholder. Like a pearl or a gem. Like we're in awed of the Mystery of Armor, headgear and weapons or uniforms. (or some bullshit like that) .Or are we just in denial of a childhood fantasy? Only our psychiatrists know for sure. My friend: Call them anything but dolls! But really, I'd like to do one of those Winged Hussars. Man, that would be awsome to do. But I do like the Samurai too. Ran:You know, I think we are beginning to be sado-masochists of sorts. The more devilish to customise/scratchbuild a figure, it would appear the more we'll want to do it! Maybe it's a reaction from all the masses of mass-produced goose-stomping WW2 German figures available on the market today! Not that I am complaining. Those are really well made. Almost state-of-the-art compared to what we had six years ago. Ron: It would be a gigantic undertaking. Insane to even think about! LOL Ran:You know, you're the second person to say that this project's an insane understaking. Ron: Well, I’ve been searching on the internet on the Hussars and have a whole bunch of pictures. Amazing! Ran:Okay, let me try to briefly put things in context for our viewers, some of whom may have no idea about what we're talking about. The Polish 'winged' hussars, were the legendary and fascinating warriors of Poland and were a dominant military force from 1500-1775. Most dramatic of all hussar characteristics were the 'wings' worn on the back or on the saddle, although not all hussars wore them: The hussars terrified the Turks, Tatars, Muscovite boyars, Ukrainian Cossacks, and Swedes, who did everything to avoid facing them directly in battle. Below are some reference photos of 15th - 17th century Polish winged hussars taken off the internet, the three photographs of armour on display are actual armour. An account by Mark Allen Cantwell describes how one would feel being on the receiving end of a winged hussar assault: "As your army stands deployed for battle, you scan the enemy's lines across the field. Cavalrymen in crimson riding coats begin their advance toward you, slowly at first, saving their horses' strength for the last moments of the charge. As the oncoming army gathers speed your own horses become skittish and a strange roaring whistle grows in the air above the pounding of hooves. Your stomach tightens and a cold sweat breaks across you. Mounted on horses sixteen to seventeen hands high the approaching horsemen appear even more gigantic as you see sweeping wings of eagle feathers arch high over their steel-clad heads. Above the disciplined ranks of thundering iron figures flutter enormous standards bearing images of a white eagle on a blood red field and others showing the winged Archangel, Michael. Fantastic cloaks and saddle cloths of wolf, tiger, and leopard skins flap around every soldier as they continue their ominous attack. As you begin your counter-charge, the galloping knights lower gold-leaf covered lances with streaming pennons for the final impact. You vow to yourself that if you survive this day you will never forget your encounter with the winged Hussars of Poland. "

Many thanks to Polish Winged Hussar reenactor Rik Fox for the use of these pictures. "Charge of the Winged Hussars",was painted by celebrated American Civil War painter Keith Rocco, as a private commission for a collector in Chicago. Courtesy of Rik Fox's website: The Polish Nobility Commonwealth Guild. http://www.oocities.org/rik_fox/husaria/                   Far left: A non-winged hussar picture was taken from the coffee table book (now out-of-print), "Ogniem i Mieczem-portret filmu" (With Fire and Sword, film portraits) by the set still-photographer Zenon Zyburtowicz. Courtesy of Rik Fox's website: The Polish Nobility Commonwealth Guild. http://www.oocities.org/rik_fox/husaria/     Left: Picture is taken from the book of the U.S. museum tour "Land of the Winged Horsemen, Art in Poland". Courtesy of Rik Fox's website: The Polish Nobility Commonwealth Guild. http://www.oocities.org/rik_fox/husaria/                       Far left and left: These are from the book "Polska Husaria" by Anna Wasilkowska. Courtesy of Rik Fox's website: The Polish Nobility Commonwealth Guild. http://www.oocities.org/rik_fox/husaria/

Ron: Read about the Battle of Venice against the Turks who had 110,000 man army defeated by the 75,000 man allied Polish German and Austrian Army. All because of the tenacity of the Hussars Cavalry. Ran:It's been said they were akin to the panzers of WW2. Ron: Anyway until you showed me those Hussar pics a while back, I didn't know or ever hear of them. Ran: I bought a metal figurine many years back, it was an Almond Sculpture Winged Hussar, it's pretty rare now but what a figure, first time I had seen such a warrior. Amazing. But frankly I kept thinking to myself, like "How do they fight with all that feathers?" Oh, this was way back before the advent of the internet, so researching was a most tedious affair. Still it was a facinating figure. Ron: Especially liked the way they draped the animal skins like the leopard skin above. Ran:Yeah, clever use of psychology - the animal skins - leopard, wolf, bear - were to frighten the enemy's horses when the hussars were charging in on them (What about the scent of the animals too?). And the rustling of the eagle feathers created an abnormal sound - largely psychological the effects on both humans and animals. Ron: Yeah, I did read that the animal skins were to frighten the enemy's horses when the hussars were charging in on them. The Greeks used to do that too. Remember Richard Burton from Cleopatra wore a leopard skin trimmed outfit. I think Alexander might have got the Idea from the Syrians. Especially liked the leopard skin. I was thinking maybe cut out the shape from some kind of short haired rodent or rabbit fur would work. then dye it Leopard gold and airbrush the spots on so it would have real leather on the backside. LOL Or some faux fur. LOL And I think the real secret will be to make a pattern from paper to fit then draw right on the paper that's on the figure, that's how I did my Jap shin boots. So when you cut everything out it will fit properly together. Ran: I always thought Richard Burton looked kind of poofy in that leopard skin trimmed outfit. LOL! But it's obvious to see the immediate association with such icons whether or not Mark Anthony really wore them. A way to resolve the leopard head or cheetah head is to buy one of those kiddy toy zoo packs, the kind that comes with a multitute of animals. I've found one with an approximate 1/6 scale head suitable for a cheetah. Well, let's see how it goes. Ron: Hehehe!These guys were really loaded with all kinds of weapons. Not to mention that their lances were 18 - 20 feet long: and that translates to more than 30 inches in 1/6 scale. Whoa! That's long! Ran: Yes, these lances were very expensive, they were hollow-centered because the center of a cylinder doesn't add much strength but adds weight, thus the weight was got rid of by making the lance hollow. Pretty clever huh? Unlike the rest of the gear, the cost of the lance was borne by the State. That's smart too, getting the Government to foot the bill for that. The hussars also carried a great variety of weapons, two swords - a sabre that hung from their waist, and a long sword that hung from the saddle, axe, mace, bow and arrows, and a couple of pistols too. Did you know there was a Polish movie made that had winged hussars re-enacted? It's called "With Fire and Sword "and was made in 1999, it was so popular when released in Poland that it even topped Titanic. Here are some photographs taken from that movie. Don't they look resplendant? I got thesse photographs from Rik Fox's The Polish Nobility Commonwealth Guildwebsite: http://www.oocities.org/rik_fox/husaria/

This facinating assemblage of Polish Winged hussars is from the book "Sto dni Hoffmana" (100 Days of Jerzy Hoffman), [production notes from the director on the making of Ogniem i Mieczem-With Fire & Sword], photo credit Zenon Zyburtowicz.   Hussars on the march, also from the coffee table book, "Ogniem i Mieczem-portret filmu" (With Fire and Sword, film portraits). Both photographs courtesy of Rik Fox's website: The Polish Nobility Commonwealth Guild. http://www.oocities.org/rik_fox/husaria/

Ron: I found where to get "With Fire and Sword " but thanks for the link. They have a Media Play that sells them with English subtitles.I will be getting that movie. Looking at how these hussars were attired I would have to say they had some pretty darn nice designs. LOL Ran: They were ornate stuff, weren't they? Must be the result of Eastern and Turkish influences. So, do you think they can be done? Ron: Yeah, I agree with the Eastern influence. Can they be done? Of course! I would mold a Sculpy breast plate right on a 1/6th over saran wrap then bake it. Then add some metallic rope thread to it and of course sculpt it in pieces front and back. (I'd need some good pics of the back. Even the feathers I think can be bought cause I've seen those little feathers at the hobby store. They're like sparrow feathers. A little hunting at a fabric store and I think I could come up with some metalic material or something ornate for the cloth parts then use leather for everything leather. The helmet of course would be a little tough but I would mold that on a tin foiled head so it would have space to pull off and on. The weapons? well there's a lot of sites with 1/6th swords, maybe even have to make them too. What kind of pistols do you think they would carry in the 16 century? I'd like to do one from the Battle of Venice period. And with the horse too! The saddle looks easy enough. It will be the ornate bridle that will be a little harder. I liked your idea using credit card plastic for your horse bridle. That could be a good way to approach this. You know they have some pretty good metallic acrylics in hobby stores too these days, thin layers might be possible.  Anyway I'll get a better idea when I get that movie. LOL Just brainstorming the possibilities. Cause I feel if I could do a Hussar then the more difficult Samurai's would be next. LOL They are really complicated compared to the Hussars. Just because of the way it's made with so many pieces. But once you had a pattern it would just be work. LOL Okay and I say we collaborate then. Brainstorm them a little and figure out the best way to do each piece of armor. Even though our figures could be different. For instance I was going to try out some chest armor using soda cans. They could I believe be riveted with straight pins. It worked well on my saddles and they look like rivets. You poke them through and clip them short and bend the back side to hold. But if we could think of a material to use like a tiny push on washer it would be nearly flush and even super glued into place on the underside of the armor strips. Then the armor would act like real armor for a pose. Poseable Armor! That's the goal. Shoulder pieces too. Hinged someway to work. Anyway that's my idea. Then when we do the Samurai  we can approach it with the same vigor. Ran: Sheet metal has a better memory, thus its easier to bend the panels or girdles to shape and they stay so immediately. There's less fuss compared to working with card - which might have to be presoaked in hot water, or dampened and then dried out using a hair dryer while fitted over some kind of form. You can glue strips of leather with 2-part epoxy glue to the back of the sheet metal as a form of restraining straps, this is quite effective. Styrene or thin plastic card can also be considered and might be a better alternative to card, the plastic card could be formed to shape by heating near a lighten candle. In fact I'm wondering if the breastplate could be cut out using a template and then fitted over the chest of a 1/6th figure, this is then closely placed over the slots of a heated up toaster. Of course ensure that there are no slices of bread within being toasted! LOL So far this is my favorite design. look how the lepoards head peeks over the shoulder. Pretty nice outfit. And color scheme.

April 2005: Ron does more intensive research... Ron: Got the DVD yesterday afternoon. Actually it's two DVDs cause it's a three hour movie. I wasn't disappointed. Except with some the battle scenes where the Winged Hussars were cut down by the Cossack small arms fire. (LOL) Just hated to see them fall. But later on they kick some ass. But I won't spoil it for you. LOL All in all it's pretty damn good. Each DVD has 2 parts. So when the first part is over, they run the credits again and I thought it was over so I went to the second disk. Well there seemed to be a big jump in time but I figured maybe something was wrong with the DVD but then I checked the scene menu and found that each DVD has two parts so I stopped the 2nd one and put the first one back in and found part two. Kind of confusing? LOL Well that's how it went. With the English subtitles it was kinda hard to keep up cause they talk fast and the subtitles kept up so there you are looking at the scene and trying to read what they're saying and I'm trying to see the Uniform details and....LOL well you have to watch it twice to really see everything. LOL To add to the confusion the Cossacks were also speaking in Ukranian (Thanks to Rik Fox for clarifying this) and they had simultaneous audio overdubs in Polish. But then the English titles went on at the same time. 3 things at once. But once you know what's happening it works OK. The costumes were superb and the story was good and the acting was well done.  It is an epic. Ran: Thanks for the review. Can't wait to see it. Ron: So anyway I went looking around in a fabric store yesterday and found some real nice material. Even found some small leopard skin looking fabric. Oh, man you gonna be so jealous.   LOL. Also was at the Hardware store looking for other stuff like some foil tape. It's the kind they use for heating vent sealer. Well I found it and also some dryer vents with 4" diameter tubes that were made of aluminum and it is really thin. Perfect for the Hussar project like for the arms and segmented parts. Okay now don't worry thinking I'm trying to rush and have one of these done anytime soon. LOL No I'm just out there looking at what might work for this and that. One thing I was looking at was a little bag of tiny beads and I thought Hummm these could be used for the decorative trim work on the armor if I made it from sculpy. But then I don't know if sculpy would look as good as using real metal so there's lots of things to think about. But I did find some really good fabric pieces. All in all I spent 50 bucks on these supplies cause some of the metallic material was like really expensive at 24 bucks a yard. I only got a foot so that was 8 bucks but I got four different kinds. Anyway it all adds up and I was thinking, Damn I could have got two of those SST cavalry officers I wanted! LOL. Then I thought: "How did Ran talk me into this!" LOL. Man, there's still all the horse trimmings to get and I don't even really know exactly what that's going to involve cause according to the pics I've seen of the horses, well they're just as well decorated as the riders! So now here I am up to my neck in another crazy Ran project! LOL. And then I'm thinking "How clever Ran was to make this project a public announcement knowing, I have to follow through cause Marines never quit. LOL, Just kidding. LOL I am really happy to be involved. April 2005: Helmets - Aluminium foil bright idea ... session 1 Ron: Here's a little idea I thought of. I was cooking breakfast when I noticed in the pots and pans cupboard one of those thick aluminum turkey roasting pans. The kind you throw away. Anyway that got me to thinking how shiny they looked. Well before you know it I was cutting and taping a big piece to an old broken 21C figure I had and started to form it to the figure then used a spoon to burnish it to a high shine. After that I removed it and turned it face down on a piece of papered plasterboard (drywall). Then I used a ball point pen to make indentations, and that looked like beadwork when viewed from the other side. I also used a Pounce wheel for the tiny decorations. Now this was only an experiment to see the effect. But it worked pretty good. Then I tried a piece of it on a 21C helmet. I sanded down the WWII helmet to get rid of the rim then started to form the metal to it. After several tries (3) well it took a long time to figure out how to make it work but I kinda figured it out. Anyway these roasting pans are real cheap but pretty heavy aluminum and I think they might work.

Referenced cuirass on right

April 2005: Helmets - Lots of burnishing and cursing... session 2 Ron: So you tried the helmet eh? Ran:Yeah, not too sure whether the brand -Reynolds - I used is similiar. Anyway, this one is slightly more rigid. Ron: Another tip: Set the helmet (Already sanded down to size) on a 3'' long piece of duct tape then lay a 3'' square piece on top of the helmet so that it just touches the tape, but don't press the sides down to the helmet. That will keep it in place. Then start at the very top and work your way down with the spoon while you keep a downward tension on the foil. Ran: That's exactly what I did. The problem with mine is that the aluminium foil is not so plyable. I've only managed to get half the crown - the top part, that is. The bottom part is just too exhausting to do. But when burnished it does look metallic good. But I have to hand it to you, your burnished aluminium foil helmet certainly deserves credit. Ron: It took me three times and I try to keep the folds near the sides and back cause remember you have to do those armor plates at the back. And I'm going to maybe  do the metal wing things on the sides. Just try to concentrate on keeping the front half smooth as you can. Besides if you add bands of metal like a criss cross over the top then it'll be fine. Keep the bottom edges long so you can tuck them under. When I was finished I super glued the bottom inside the helmet. Once you get there you can go back and burnish really hard all over. then burnish from the top again. The more you burnish with the spoon the shinier it'll get, Gee's that's a lot of tips! Ron: LOL It took me about two hours to get it like I wanted it. A little at a time. But the nice thing is it's the right oblong shape and it'll fit the head well. Oh yeah and make sure you check the Helmet fit in the figure before you start. I'm doing a resculpt on the SOTW Navy seal figure body with the multi part mid section. Cause it fits on the Power team horse well. I'm giving him high Polish cheek bones with another innovative idea I got. a mustache made from steel wool. That's right I said steel wool cause you can shape it and when dry brush painted it really looks like 1/6 hair. Haven't tried it yet but I think it will work. My mind is still working. LOL Ran: Thanks for the load of metal-tooling tips, but I'll be taking a different course. I'm going to sculpt the dang thing with modelling clay. I've already sculpted the initial part and it looks fine, I'll be bulking the sides and back more, then adding the frontal brim and the two cheekpieces. Ron: OK, now I did find at a grocery store in the baking section, some real cheap aluminum bread baking pans... ( 3 for 99cents ) made in USA. They're the same kind of aluminum as the old one I had. You can tell that, if you can easily score it with your fingernail. If you want some, but can't find any, let me know. Maybe I can squash some down and send it with the movie. Course it'll set off all the metal detectors everywhere it goes and it might take two months for your package. Who would want squashed pans? LOL They might think it could contain some kind of new fan dangled coded message. LOL   April 2005: Helmets - Going for a multi-medium approach session 3 Ron: Your right about the foil. I went to get some more foil pans just to have extra and found out your right there are different types and the one I got was too stiff and I couldn't anything with it. Man I'm sorry, I bet you were real frustrated trying to make it work like it was some kind of Spanish secret or something. LOL. Ran: Oh, you should have heard me cursing that Ron Escudero! LOL Ron: LOL. I could sense that after I tried the new stuff I got. LOL. Well live and learn. The one I was using was in the cupboard for years! I have been checking at different stores to try and match it but no success. I did find some cupcake pans that work. LOL Anyway they were in the cupboard too. They must be using some kind of Chinese aluminum in the new ones. Ran: LOL. I think the softer foil is the Chinese one! LOLOL! Well, some progress has been made on my sculpt of the helmet. I've used Jovi (an Italian brand) air-dried modelling clay (what to do, i'm an amateur! LOL) for the crown and spent some time sandpapering it smooth. I then bulked the areas I thought that needed it, then spent more time sandpapering it again. I've finally decided on a combination of clay and card - with card pieces used for the brim, cheekguards and neckguards. Dropped the idea of using the aluminium foil for the brim, cheekguards and neckguards. Here's what I came up with. When everything was dusted off for dust, I Krylon chrome-sprayed the helmet.

Ran: I sculpted me a headculpt without ears so that the cheekguards fit nicely on both sides. Rigid ears on commercial headsculpts just make the cheekguards pop outwards. Very unmilitary-like. LOL. I gave the sculpt a very manly moustache, then realised in the photograph that it looks very much like Saddam Hussein! The helmet was embellished with some earring accessory bits and the faceguard was simply cut out of aluminium sheet. What I'll need to do later is ascertain the correct position of the faceguard on the helmet, drill a tiny hole and secure it to the front of the helmet with a tiny screw, just like the real thing. Ron: Nice job on that helmet.Very clean! Here's my works in progress; Everything is hinged with gold pins. The head is not on yet cause I still have to paint it and add the steel wool mustache hair. This just shows my work in progress of many many many hours of trial and error. Anyway hope you likey lot. LOL . I'm working on the collar, shoulder and arm pieces. Ran: Splutter!!! Is that for real? Omigosh... Well done!

April 2005: Cuirass / Breastplate - session 1 Ron: I have already sculpted the breast work from sculpy in two parts (Front and back). I did this right on the figure that I covered with tin foil so it keeps it's shape in the oven. Then I'm going to use the foil for the top part and the stiff foil for the bottom sections. And here's another Idea: You know at scrapbook stores and some fabric shops they have scissors they use to cut fancy borders on paper kinda like they used to do on old black and white photos with scalloped edges. Anyway my daughter had some and they cut through the aluminum pretty good. In the "Movie" the armor was the same kind of design exactly like the pic I sent. With the fancy chest disks and the sectioned stomach areas with the scalloped edges. So I decided to sculpt the armor and over lay it with the cut pieces. I also found some beads that are close to the flower looking designs on the bottom sections. Anyway since the sculpy is sculped to the figure that way I won't have any problems with lining up the front and back. And that also means it will be strong and won't dent if I drop it. (which would have probably happened some time or another.) LOL  And I can attach all the shoulder armor dangles and use pins for rivets secured to the Sculpy. And also add any raised decorations without denting anything. It's working out pretty good so far cause I have the exact shape I need to make it kinda like the Pic below... So progress is being made.   Next...