This week my favourite worst model. Read on …
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28mm WW1 Mounted Figure – James Newton Langley 1876 to 1935
So who is James Newton Langley?
James was born in Brixton, London in 1876, enlisted in the Middlesex Regiment on the 7th June 1915 and died in 1935. He went through the war until he was demobbed in 1918. With his regiment he saw action at Ypres and the Somme as well as numerous other encounters. James was my Great Grandfather and below is one of a few pictures which were handed down to me.
When I was searching for WW1 figures I came across a 28mm mounted soldier by North Star Military Figures which got me quite excited. The figure itself was of an officer (James was a humble Private) but with a couple of minor alterations I felt I could produce something a little closer to the photo above.
The first change was to remove the upper part of the figures boots and turn them into gaiters. Next up was to add white braiding to the horse harness and to the figures left shoulder. Minor alterations which made a considerable difference but about as much as I could realistically achieve given the casting of the figure and my own ability.
The next thing I did was to take the photo and flip it so that the horse and rider were facing the other way.
Finally all that remained was to paint the figure and add it to a plain base. As a model this falls a long way short of being my best work. As a meaningful figure it sits top of the pile.
TIM
The Imperfect Modeller 
What a great personal project, nice work there Dave!
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Thanks Dave.
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A great personal project Dave.
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Cheers Steve.
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What a wonderful tribute.
Nice work.
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Thank you Jenn.
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This is a work of genius. I always find those old photos so evocative. You have captured the essence of the photograph magnificently old boy!
Genius
Michael
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Not sure about the genius bit Mike but I remembered the photo and when I found the figure it was just meant to be. 😊
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Wow, that’s quite powerful – don’t think I’ve ever painted anything with that much meaning behind it. I reckon the old boy would be pleased.
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I’d like to think so too. As for the meaning behind your figures that will all change for you come the next millennium, just hang on in there! 😉
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Very meaningful and touching tribute to the man. I’m sure he saw his share of hell in service to King and Country, especially at Ypres. I’m sure he’d be honored to be remembered this way.
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Cheers Mark, I would like to think he would.
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This is great mate.
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Thank you.
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I’m having a dim day again! 🙂 It took me a while to work out that you’d flipped the picture round because of the way the miniature rider is looking over to the right of the horse! So I hope you painted his cap badge as a mirror image to keep everything right! 😉 Great idea, and very nicely done!
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Thanks John and glad you worked it out in the end! 😉
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That is great- a very personal tribute which you should be rightly proud of.
Cheers,
Pete.
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Thanks Pete.
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I couldn’t agree more with others on the fact that this project was so personal gives it a lot of meaning. I wouldn’t be too hard on your modeling abilities on this one as you can’t put a price on sentimental value if you know what I mean. This is also a great example of how to capture parts of WWI and avoid the typical trench combat diorama 🙂
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Lovely work – and so nice to have a connection like that (or any kind) with those who came before you…
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It is a long way short of what I consider my best work but it is the most meaningful.
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