Want to see my etchings?

In this post I describe how I learnt about, and used, a modelling product; brass etched parts.

Fresh in the mail form, Scale Link Fretcetera

As more of a wargamer than a modeller I am probably ignorant of many, many clever techniques and products that scale modellers probably take for granted.  One of these was brass etched parts.  I was vaguely aware that some elaborate model kits had additions of tiny brass parts, but I never imagined I’d need or want any of them for my tiny fighting men.  Then recently I was reading the marvellous blog of Sir Sidney Roundwood (link, he of Too Fat Lardies fame) when I saw a reference to brass etched oak leaves.  It just so happened that I had been wondering how to model a sprig of oak leaves for one of the figures in my Nightwatch project (see Part 1 here link).  There is a figure in the centre of the picture with a sprig of oak leaves on his helmet and I had been wondering how to model this.  My initial thought was to add a piece of clump foliage as an approximation.  Sir Sidney’s mention of brass etched parts included a reference to Scale Link, a UK supplier, so I went off to their website to investigate.

Included instructions on using the parts.

Scale Link’s site (https://www.scalelink.co.uk) has many many fascinating things on it.  It seems that the brass etched parts have been moved off to as ‘sister’ site Scale Link Fretcetera (https://www.scalelinkfretcetera.co.uk).  I soon found brass etched oak leaves in several scales.  I went for pack SLF042 – Leaves-Oak. They cover many different scales for different model railway gauges. This pack seemed bigger than the N gauge pack, that was too small, and smaller than 1:32 which seemed too big (the site is perhaps a bit obscure on scales!).  I also ordered some reeds and other plants which I’ll experiment with later.

A sprig with the required tools; scissors and tweezers, with penny for scale

The actual ‘sprues’ lived up to the pictures on the site, and the tiny branches and twigs looked amazing. They are super thin and easy to cut with scissors. They come with some simple instructions, but it’s a fairly straightforward process.

Sprig added to figure

I cut out of the frame a suitably sized piece for the helmet. I then super glued one end of the ‘twig’ to the helmet and let that set. I then bent the twig over the helmet and glued it in that position.

Sprig bent and glued to back of helmet.

Once that was set I then used a small pair of tweezers to bend and shape the twig and leaves into a realistic shape. The figure was already painted and this probably worked best as it would be tricky to get to the helmet through the twig and leaves later. Now that it was set in place I gave the brass an undercoat of black, then painted with Vallejo Yellow Olive and highlighted with Vallejo Olive Green.

The sprig painted.

I am very pleased with the result. I think doing a whole tree with this stuff would be very fiddly, but it seems to be the perfect thing for a sprig in a helmet.

I heartily recommend a look around both Scale Link sites. There is some amazing stuff available when you know where to look!

Until next time.

Andy @ FOGH

The Unknown Man from Rembrandt's picture 

NB. My model figure is a representation of the ‘unknown man’ in the Nightwatch, who is a bit of a mystery. He is turned away from the viewer, partly hidden behind another figure, and is wearing slightly anachronistic dress of the late 1500s. With the sprig of oak leaves in his helmet he is believed by some to represent the glories and victories of the militia in the past, as oak leaves were apparently a symbol of victory. More details on the Rijks Museum site here.

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