"The parting - Austria 1914" Hecker & Goros 54mm scale

[HamilkarBarkas]

My entry into the WW1 SIG is this figure group from Hecker & Goros in 54mm (1/32 scale). I bought this kit for 20€ at a figure exhibition in May directly from the Bavarian manufacturer. Sadly it is a very common scene at the beginning of the First World War when the soldiers thought they would easily return by Christmas to their families when the war was over. I think this scene illustrates this.

Before we start with the figure i want to share about Austria and WW1.


Alliances in Europe 1914.

As you can see on the map Austria-Hungary was not a hillbilly country like it is today (little pun from a German, please forgive me ), it was actually a pretty big empire on the European theatre. They were strongly allied with Germany and to some degree with Italy and Romania.
The First World War was ignited by a conflict between Austria-Hungary and Serbia due to the assassination of the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in Sarajewo 28th of June 1914. Austro-Hungary was not an actual nation, many different ethnic groups lifed in this empire which led to plenty of conflicts. The assassination is an extreme example for that.


Assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajwo.

The Austrian Army was ill prepared for the World War, so it failed to defeat the Serbians decisively in 1914. The Russian front was occupied with weak forces and the Austrians suffered some severe losses of men and material. All in all it can be said that the army of Austria-Hungary was the worst equipped one in Europe apart from the Russians.

The army was composed of three parts: the joint army (Gemeinsame Armee, "Common Army", recruited from all parts of the country), the Imperial Austrian Landwehr (recruited from Cisleithania), and the Royal Hungarian Honved (recruited from Transleithania).

The joint "Imperial and Royal Army" (kaiserlich und königliche Armee or k.u.k.) units were generally poorly trained and had very limited access to new equipment because the governments of the Austrian and Hungarian parts of the empire often preferred to generously fund their own units instead of outfitting all three army branches equally. All of the Honvédség and the Landwehr regiments were composed of three battalions, while the joint army k.u.k. regiments had four.

The long standing white infantry uniforms were replaced in the latter half of the 19th century with dark blue tunics, which in turn were replaced by a pike grey uniform used in the initial stages of World War I. In September 1915, field gray was adopted as the new official uniform color.

The main fighting theatres were the Eastern Front against the Russians, the Balkans against the Serbians and the Alpes against Italy.


Czechs serving in the Austro-Hungarian army.




Lovely propaganda poster showing Germans and Austrians assaulting Russians.


Those times when a moustache was the most trendy thing.


Later the German helmet was adopted.


Enough of history, let´s take a look at the figure:
I assembled the kit already, it was easy. Some clean up was necessary on the white metal parts, but nothing serious. The few parts were glued with ordinary instant glue.



I really like the detail, especially the faces look nice.


On these pictures you can see some tiny gaps on the joints of the limbs. Removing them as good as possible is obligatory.


I filled the gaps with Mr. Surfacer 500 and 1000. I applied the stuff with a brush. Especially 1000 is nice to create a realistic cloth texture, so i covered the figure with this primer.

[UKguyInUSA]

Interesting history lesson Hamilkar and a nice little figurine set....look forward to seeing this completed

[rodrant]

Must say that your threads are really good , History part ( wele building part also of course ) , reading this one and also I saw your video on WWI , really makes me fell sad for all those guys going to war , all expecting that this will be a quick war , for in the end a war with no sense , with Thousands died just for nothing , only to trigger another WW some years later ...

This kit shows precisely what you mention , the hope to get home soon ...

Great Entry !

[HamilkarBarkas]

Thank you for the encouragement

Let´s move on with the project!


I prepared the base for the figure. It is a wooden block which was covered with magic culpt and a little piece of a branch to represent a stump. Basically i want to build a meadow just like the photograph that comes with the figures shows.


A paper strip was used for the rifle lace. It becomes pretty stiff when gluing it with instant glue. This makes the later painting process easier.


I primed the figure with grey acrylic paint and gave the faces and arms a first coat of flesh paint, in this case Revell Matt35.


After another light coat of Matt35 i painted the eyes. I start with white paint. Don´t worry about the mess, you can paint around the eyes later if you paint offside.


Pupils added with a fine brush, i gave both figures blue eyes.


Then i applied several acrylic washes using the paints in the "flesh paint set" from Lifecolor. Darker washes were used on the chins, ears, the eyes and fingers. The hair was painted with a medium sized brush, it will be accentuated later when we apply a wash over all the figure.

[Coen]

That's an excellent start Michael, and I loved your history lesson. That was a really good read my friend. A simple but very engrossing build.

[HamilkarBarkas]

That's an excellent start Michael, and I loved your history lesson. That was a really good read my friend. A simple but very engrossing build.

Cheers Mike

[Nige201980]

Excellent start mate loved the history to buddy this is going to be a special build I can feel it in me bones

[HamilkarBarkas]

Thank you guys, i´m glad you like it


The painting continues! First of all i painted the clothing on the figures.


Then the detail painting can follow, here i painted the leather straps on the uniform already.

[HamilkarBarkas]

I painted up the rest of the gear. Acrylic washes were used to accentuate the details on the figure.


Then i sprayed on a coat of clear varnish.


I painted the base with dark brown to prepare it for the later application of earth.


After i applied MIG dark wash and let it dry for a while i tested the possible positions of the figure on the base. I drilled a hole into the base so the wire which is glued into the foot of the figure can be plugged in there for better stability.

Here the material needed for the ground cover:


Earth from the garden, wood glue and water are mixed together and are applied to the base with an old brush.


Grass and flower tufts from Fredericus Rex and Noch.


I threw everyting on the base and not it needs to dry for a while

[UKguyInUSA]

Off to a great start and thanks for the tip with the earth, wood glue and water....I've never made a Diorama but want too in the near future. I love those miniature plants/shrubberies...they're killer!

[Jamesday1998]

wow awesome start!
the diorama looks amazing!
youve done amazing paintwork on the figures as well!!
kutgw:)

[GIACOMER]

The terrain looks fantastic!!!!!

[Nige201980]

wow Michael that's stunning

[HamilkarBarkas]

Thank you for your kind words guys

Finally i glued the figure on the base and painted the frame of the base with black acrylic paint.


And here is the finished figure group:

[youtube]mL3IrOP1GZg[/youtube]

[rodrant]

Great modelling here Hamilkar ! Simple but a very nice and touchy Diorama !

[UKguyInUSA]

Very nice indeed!

[Deacon]

Very nicely done mate.

[froppolo93]

Hi Hamilkar I noticed from your video that you do not dilute the colors. You feel comfortable to use Revell (or in general acrylics) clean?
However great work for now!