Fiddly Building Finished

So I think I have finished the assembly of the elephant team and limber. It's been an infuriating final run in to completion, with little bits of wire that need twisting after they're on the model, and ditto for small lengths of chain.

As I mentioned in the last post on these beasties, I intended to undercoat with auto primer. As discussed as well, I based all the bits on pieces of mdf or thick mounting board to make them easier to handle.

I set up my impromptu spraying booth in the garage and went to it. It is hard to spray under things with cans of spray.

Auto primer is a good base for metals of this size, however, even when working with acrylics. Nice bold colours for these, I think. I'm trying to replicate a painting style I had in the late 80s, so no magic dip varnish.

Once I'd blocked them in I found a piece of suitable mdf and cut it to shape for a base, and UHU'd the elephants to it, then finished off with some polyfilla. I'm now of the view that I got the heads on the wrong elephants, but there's nothing for it than to make it work. I'm not taking them apart now.

My bases for my IM figures are painted in what I fondly thought of as a sand colour from a Dulux matchpot, long since consigned to oblivion. Luckily I had a bit left from painting the crop patterns on my Edgcote 6mm board, so that did the job nicely.

Having got them firmly glued and dry, I next had to add the limber and chains.

This is how it ended up. The wire traces feed through a loop on the back of the saddle on the foremost elephant. They then have to be bent into loops at either end for the chain to hook on to. You have to do this afterwards, as they're too big to fit if you do both ends beforehand. Then you have to size the bits of chain and cut then, fitting them on the trace loops, and running round the support pins on the elephant harness. This has to be done front and back, then the rear one has to be attached by chain to the limber on both sides. Thank goodness for super glue I say again.

Hopefully you can make out the interconnected bits of chain on this elephant...

...and this one too.

Once they're dry and fixed I'll run some gun metal over the traces and chains, so they look a little less wire-y and  brass-y.

I had a bit of heart searching over the mahouts and crew on the limber. They're not Peter Gilders best ever work, and do look a little "wooden" if you can say that for metal figures.

The gun is currently off to one side, whilst I work out exactly what I'm going to do with it, but these fellows are pretty much ready to go.

So, coming soon to a wargames table near me....

Edit: Here is a photo of one of these things in actual use. The only difference is the positioning of the limber trails, which I've got slightly wrong (although I followed the instructions).

Dammit, even the elephant heads are the same