Rooster Cogburn – 54mm Andrea Miniature (September Neglected Challenge)

by theimperfectmodeller, posted in Old West, Uncategorized

It was touch and go whether I made this post in time as I had been waiting for the base to arrive in the post for the best part of two weeks.  Fortunately I got there in the end!

The figure is by Andrea miniatures and is based on the Rooster Cogburn figure played by John Wayne in the film True Grit for which he won his only Oscar.  A fantastic sculpture in my opinion but anyone who is familiar with their work will know that Andrea set the quality bar very high.  It’s been a while since I’ve done a 54mm figure, despite the scale being where my modelling roots lie.  I’d forgotten how different it is to paint them after doing so much in 28mm scale.  Hopefully I’ve managed to do it justice.

So how did it become a neglected model?  In truth it’s less a case of neglected and more a case of forgotten.  The copyright date on the box was 2006 and I reckon I bought it about a year or so after that which puts it at about 10 or 11 years old.  As best I can remember I had problems pinning the front legs to the base, a pretty crucial aspect of the model given the scale and its weight (it’s a metal model).  I then put it to one side with the aim of doing it at some later date only for it to be submerged underneath various models subsequently bought but waiting to be done.

While She Who Must Be Obeyed has been away I decided a modelling tidy up was required and thus the fruits of my labour were rewarded by finding this forgotten piece.  After much deliberation between washing, cleaning and cooking for the kids in her absence or starting on neglected Rooster I decided it was time the kids learnt to be more self-sufficient.

A modest amount of acrylics were used in painting the figure, mainly as undercoat.  When it comes to 54mm figures, and horses in particular, I’m an oils guy.

Pictures of the finished figure below.

TIM

DSC_0005DSC_0009DSC_0011DSC_0006DSC_0007DSC_0010DSC_0012

41 thoughts on “Rooster Cogburn – 54mm Andrea Miniature (September Neglected Challenge)”

      1. That’s interesting, using oils on miniatures isn’t something I know anything about. How does it compare to traditional oil painting on canvas (which I’m told is quite complicated)?

        Liked by 1 person

      2. I would say oils on canvas is very different. With a lot of oil painting the paint can be applied quite thickly and the image painted often only becomes clear when standing back to view it. Neither applies to using oils on figures. The amount of paint used is minimal and spread thinly. The big plus is oils do not dry as quickly and can be blended so much more easily than acrylics. I did a post a while back which might be of interest. Link below.

        https://theimperfectmodeller.wordpress.com/2018/05/16/oil-paints-hit-or-myth-a-news-at-tim-mid-week-musings-special/

        Liked by 1 person

  7. This is award winning stuff mate. Absolutely brilliant. What a fantastic model too. I love the reign in the mouth hehe. I watched True Grit at the beginning of this year. Great movie! John Wayne was always my hero until I watched Commando starring Arnie hehe. Again, fantastic work mate. One of my faves of yours.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  10. Hmm, I don’t know….I think I need to see it in person. Like maybe if it was right here, on my shelf…

    Amazing job, TIM. Most people got all the good comments in already. I’m still amazed at how your denim turns out though. Azazel might be the king of fur, but you seem to be the king of denim. You two could probably open your own swanky Club. I’ll let IRO come up with the name.

    Anyways, the one thing nobody mentioned is the base! So, I’ll ask “Was the base ad hoc or did you reference a scene from the movie?”. Once again, spectacular job. Love the horse and John.

    Like

    Reply

    1. Thanks Faust, appreciate the comments as always. The figure came with a small section of base which I extended using miliput. I used tweezers on the miliput to spike it up a little to try and achieve a result of some stubby looking grass. I added a few tufts and a piece of wood just to make it a little more interesting. In the film he charges across a grassy plain so I didn’t want to be to far off of that image. Hopefully it looks OK!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  13. Pingback: Neglected Model September ’18 Painting Challenge – Community Round-Up | Azazel's Bitz Box.
  15. Pingback: TIM’s Miniatures & Musings (No: 3) – The Imperfect Modeller

  16. I can’t tell you just how good that model is, your rendition of it is brilliant and your photos really do it justice, stunning. Have you tried using liquin to thin your oil paint , I find it better than spirit and it helps dry the oil paint within about 12 hours to allow for more layers should you need them.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  17. Pingback: Scale Model World – IPMS Telford – TIM’s competition Results – The Imperfect Modeller

Leave a comment