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| Indian Chariots led by their commander advance along a river bank |
I've recently added a unit of Indian chariots to the Indian contingent of my Persian army. I've wanted to get my hands on some of these chariots for a while. When these came up on e-bay I bought them at once, not worrying too much about their condition.
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| As they turned up |
And lo and behold they duely arrived! I confess that the Minifigs 'S' range chariots are a bit of a mystery to me, and I can only assume this is 'Chariot 6 - Indian chariot' from the 72/73 catalogue. If these were ever supplied with a specific crew they have long since abandoned their duty and been replaced by the ever willing PB archer figure.
The horses have been drilled and the yokes affixed into their flanks in imitation of the Airfix Britons. Much Araldite epoxy glue is in evidence! I removed the card bases before remembering to take a pic.
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| In hot water! |
So how do you disassemble models stuck together with epoxy glue fifty years ago? You drop them into boiling water! The hot water melts the expoxy glue and you can pull the pieces apart with a little effort, being careful not to get scalded!
I was really trying to remove the horses and riders, leaving the chariots intact with the wheels and quivers in place. The axles had been cut down and wheels fastened hard against the chariot body. This wasn't going to be a perfect restoration by any means, so I decided against stripping out the wheels and replacing the axles. I know. So, lax. So, idle.
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| Bits and pieces |
So much Araldite! Still, it all came apart in the end. I guess the original owner had crammed in the archers to conform to the vogue ruleset of the day. I was going to have to come up with a driver for each chariot and I wanted to convert one into a general's chariot with a suitable commander figure.
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| ACH 9 it is |
But first check the horse for the usual Minifigs 'S' range code under the base. ACH 9 Ancient Chariot Horse 9. This is simply listed as 'chariot horse' rather than any specific nationality, but it looks the part and I imagine it was the horse originally supplied. There is only the one design. We are talking Minifigs here - uniformity is the name of the game!
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| A good Dettoling |
Into the Dettol they go! Dettol is my 'go to' paint stripper and I've never found anything better. Old Humbrol enamel without undercoat comes away fairly easily after a couple of days in soak. Undercoats and some colours might take a bit longer and require repeat scrubbing with a tooth brush. Stubborn bits are picked out with a hefty needle. Glues and some undercoats can go sticky and need a bit more effort to wipe off, but most things just drop away given time. Rubber gloves, decorator's apron, and face mask recommended!
The Dettol doesn't seem to harm the metal in anyway, but it's a good idea to give the figure a good scrub in hot soapy water to try (try...) and remove the inevitable Dettol pong.
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| As good as new |
And as if by magic! As you can see, I've taken one of the chariots apart because parts were either especially lathered in glue or bits simply fell off along the way. I've also stripped some Greek slingers and a Poros figure that I had waiting in the wings.
All the figures were cleaned up, removing mould lines and the usual 'clag' that no-one seemed to worry about much in those days. Such innocent times!
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| Charioteers |
Remember those Greek slingers? Well, here they are after a good de-slinging and green-stuffing in their new guise as charioteers. I've no idea what the original charioteer looked like, if indeed such a thing ever existed, but these chaps are very similar in overall build and appearance to the Indian PB infantry. I've tried to match the greenstuff to the Minifigs pre-putty sculpting style - not entirely successfully but it will pass.
The lashes are just wire and I've rather overdone them to get the idea across.
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| Minifigs PBP Poros |
The commander's chariot will provide a mount for my Indian 'sub-general' in the form of this PBP Poros model. This example came without a spear, so I've re-fashioned something like the original in the contemporary 'chunky' style.
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| He is for the chop |
No self-respecting Indian commander goes anywhere without an attendant parasol bearer. This Greek staff slinger looks like he will provide a good basis for a suitable conversion.
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| Attendant attending |
And here he is post surgery with greenstuff additions. I've tried to keep the changes in the Minifigs style as far as possible. These figures were originally carved from solder, which gives them a distinctive look that is hard to replicate using a soft putty. Still, we're not looking for museum quality here are we? Are we!
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| Indian Commander |
The sub-general assembled and painted up. With these early Minifigs, I like to keep the schemes simple, and this seems to work well enough. I've not added reins and probably won't. We imagine reins don't we.
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| Poros surveys the battlefield |
Based in my traditional mid-green on plain bases with no attempt to blend in the horses' bases. In the old school manner. For these larger and heavier pieces I prefer to use mdf bases rather than card - in this case from Warbases.
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| Blue chariot |
The remaining three chariots each got painted in a distinct trim colour with different matched horses and a single archer. This is the blue one.
The red one.
And lastly the yellow one.
The commander's chariot crew painted up before I super-glued them into position.
The three chariots finished bar a coat of gloss varnish in the old-school manner.
Now all I need is a few more. The search contnues.
