Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Hae ye seen ma hairy coo?*


One of the scenarios in Dux Britanniarum is for the cattle raid, where those naughty Saxons try to make off with the British peasant farmers' livestock/portable cash. The rules call for three bases of two cattle each. It's generally thought that the cattle found in Early Middle Ages Britain resembled the Highland cattle of today. Archeological excavations seem to bear this out. 

Not having any cattle I looked for suitable models online. The only matches I could find were those intended for model railways and they are expensive, so I decided to make my own.

A truculent looking fellow - has he heard the rustle of Saxon raiders in the bushes?
bit of Sculpey and some work later and I had six bovine beasties...  

The lowing herd wanders slowly o'er the lea - and Crapulus Maximus is right there to collect their offerings for his vegetable patch.
I gave them a lick of ordinary acrylic craft paint and a dip in varnish/ink mix. This was followed by mounting them in pairs on the metal caps found on Pilsbury dough cannisters. Liquid Nails sprinkled with sand made the ground effect, with coffee grounds for strategically-placed piles of manure, the whole being finished off with more craft paint.

On the whole I'm pleased with the result. The photo was taken under fluorescent light and it made them look far more orange than they are in real life. Now all I need do for the Dux B Project is make the church and buy some Saxons.

*Have you seen my hairy cow? as rendered in the Scottish Highland dialect.

6 comments:

Fitz-Badger said...

Cool! Nice work.

I sculpted some myself several years ago, and created a mold so I could make as many as I wanted. Also did a calf (and a mold for it, as well). Although mine are much more cartoon-y. :)

I learned last year while traveling around Scotland that they come in other colors, too. In addition to that reddish color there are also dark brown ones and tan colored ones.

Michael Awdry said...

What splendid beasties.

tradgardmastare said...

Braw work!

A J said...

Thank you gentlemen! They were relatively easy to make, and I found it rather like the American saying about peanuts - you can't stop at just one.

Carlo said...

Nice work AJ and the hairy beauties very much look the part!

A J said...

Cheers, Carlo! Although the Dux B rules only call for six or so cattle, I'm tempted to make more. They're quite quick and easy.

 

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