Now that summer is in full swing, I was inspired by an inquiry from one of my readers to add to my collection of wooden clothespin soldiers. His question helped me make the connection to the "Funny Little Wars" rules that I have been interested in but not really had the resources to pursue. But sitting under my nose were these clothespin soldiers that I had made for my son (who is 5) and had not really built past a unit of 20 infantry and 3 horse. But today I decided that since I was in a bit of a lull in my metal figure painting, (resources have dried up a bit...as they probably have for most of us...) that I might throw myself in to creating two viable armies for FLW made of wooden clothespins.
I constructed another unit of 20 infantry and added 3 cavalry to the horse to make a unit of 6, plus a gun and crew to make a small army (Army Red) of 2 units of 20 infantry, 6 cavalry, and 1 gun that will be opposed by another (Army Blue) soon....and here are a few construction pics and ideas to illustrate the cheap and fun madness!
here are the parts that go in to a cavalryman...3 ice cream spoons, 2 large clothespins, 1 1/2 small clothespins...plus a round toothpick and a wood bead for the sword.
the horse body is made of 3 spoons laminated and clamped by the clothespin rider...
then come the legs...which are the legs of a large spring clothespin taken apart...
the horse head and tail are made of small clothespins again taken apart...
a squadron of 6 takes shape...I decided to remove the pin on the helmet and figure out some other way to make a pom pom for the headgear
Though I plan to design a cannon made of clothespins, this pre-made wood kit I found for $1.00 USD was a short cut I was willing to take.
here is a simple sword for the cavalrymen...made of a wood bead and a round toothpick
the wooden gun and crew
and finally my "weapon of choice" with regard to white glue..."Weldbond"...sets incredibly fast, strong and has "sealing" properties when thinned...great stuff for modeling in wood and styrofoam.
6 comments:
Very nice! Just curious, did you design these yourself or did you find instructions or other inspiration somewhere?
Always good to see the variety of creativity on these wargaming blogs.
These guys are my own designs...especially the cavalry...they took a bit of thinking to work out a simple, fast way to make a horse and rider out of clothespins and ice cream spoons. I've got a basic idea for a gun worked out... but I've got to work out a prototype in a few days...until then the store-bought gun will suffice.
Cool! And very creative! :)
Wonderfully inventive, sir! Very clever indeed . . . and they will make great little armies (besides being a lot cheaper than lead.
Perfect for "garden gaming" with the little ones.
-- Jeff
such a simple design but really effective - the wooden artillery piece looks great
-- Allan
I like your clothespin figures. I have been experimenting myself with the clothespin as a palette for figures.
Keep up the imaginative work.
Ken
Post a Comment