Easterling Kataphrakt Build II
Easterling Kataphrakts model from Games Workshop’s The Lord of the Rings series
Continuing the Build
Entering another day into quarantine, I was pretty excited to continue on this build. Another positive surprise came from joining a social media group dedicated to this particular line of tabletop miniatures. The sense of community was very strong, as there was a lot of conversation in the comments - something that seems lacking for most social media posts. Typically it’s a like or a heart or some quick acknowledgement button, but full conversations don’t rarely make an appearance unless its on a heated debate about something political. So that was a really welcome change.
All models with multiple components will inherently have gaps. How to deal with those has been a particular thorn ever since I began modeling around the age of ten or so. However, this putty from AK Interactive nailed it. It’s liquid out of the tube, applies well, dries quickly, and sands perfectly smooth. I love this stuff.
I applied the putty with a rubber-tipped brush at all the seam lines. Once dry, I applied another coat to even everything out. I also found myself unhappy with how incredibly smooth the plastic was. Even at such a small scale, the horse’s coat, the saddle, the cloth, none of it would be as polished as the model’s plastic. So I used the AK Interactive putty to stipple some texture over the surface.
To update some of the areas where I wasn’t happy with the detail quality, I needed to do some sculpting. Green Stuff, which is available through hardware retail as well as modeling specific (it’s the same stuff), is fantastic for this. It’s a two-part epoxy that turns green once thoroughly mixed and activated. Then you have about 20-30 minutes working time to sculpt before it begins to cure to a hard finish.
Once mixed, I ripped small pieces and stretched them out over the areas I wanted to sculpt on. The Green Stuff adheres perfectly to the plastic. Using dental tools dipped in water, I pushed it in tightly and began roughing out shapes. I used Green Stuff to improve the tail, properly shape out the ears, give the saddle more volume and add cloth movement.
This was the banner included with the kit. The staff and the flag itself felt way too thick for the scale of the miniature.
I clipped off the staff and used a pin-vice to drill out the hand. For the staff, I cut down a small brass rod from K&S Precision Metals, reattached the ornamentation on top. Foil was cut to shape, and for the main banner decorated with putty around the edges. Ammo of Mig Slow-Dry Super Glue was used to secure the foil to the brass.
I had a fret of small brass photo-etch details for 1/35 military miniatures lying around. I figured the slings could be used at reins and straps to give the cavalry figure more detail. Cutting them to size, I attached them using tweezers and Slow-Dry Super Glue.
The kit had the shield on the figure’s arm, but I didn’t want to hide the reins. Since some of the shield back would be visible, I used a dental pick to scribe out wooden paneling on the back. A photo-etch handle was bent into shape and a strap added.
The built figure, which stands to the top of the head just over two inches tall. Working this small was definitely a challenge.
What’s Next
That’s one mounted figure built. It’s definitely a very different experience than working with 1/35 military models. The next step is getting the figure primed and ready for painting. One of the things working on this project has made me itch to do is build some of the larger and more involved models from Game's Workshop. Who knows, another Lord of the Rings miniature build may be in my list of things I’d like to do.
