De Kalb Zouaves

Here's the 41st NYV done.  (For more information on the regiment, please see this previous post.

The light is a bit tricky at this time of year, and it brings out the glossiness of the miniatures - there was an "accident" with Krylon Matte Finish (won't be using that anymore!) that left them shinier rather than duller, and Testors Dullcote couldn't quite remedy the problem.

Company A in their zouave uniforms.

I couldn't get the colors to flap very convincingly, and I'm also not sure they're "correct."  To my knowledge the regiment's colors were not preserved or documented, so I gave them a generic NYSV color and a Union color with a fairly common variation on the stars in the Union (the blue part).

All in all I'm quite pleased with them.  I'm also very glad to be done with them, since I was really getting tired of sculpting the boots.

Next up is the 27th Pennsylvania (about half done).

Do Not Meddle in the Affairs of Wizards

At long last, I can present the three wizards of the Northern World: Gandalf the Grey, Saruman the White (in his guise as Sharkey), and Radagast the Brown.

Rather than show Saruman in his more formal get-up, I tried to portray him as he might look while exploring the banks of the Anduin, searching for information about the Ring.  These expeditions were secret affairs, so Saruman is hooded and cloaked - much as he must have been when he encountered the Three Hunters six decades later.

Sharkey is accompanied by a grackle, a bird I see frequently in my yard.  They have a cunning look and iridescent feathers that always remind me of Saruman's cloak of many colors.  I tried to create a shimmering effect on Saruman's robes as well, though it didn't turn out the way I'd hoped.

I loved the moth that appears from time to time in the LotR films - a departure from the books, of course, but a clever idea nonetheless, I thought.