1914-1918 in miniature

Instruction Manual

TW32C02

Trooper, Warwickshire

Yeomanry

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1914-1918 in miniature

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1914-1918 in miniature

A brief introduction to the

Trooper, Warwickshire Yeomanry

During the 3rd battle of Gaza, the British army had advanced on the

Palestinian Arab village of Huj where the Ottoman army (consisting of

mainly Turkish troops with Austrian and German support).

On the 8th November 1917 the offensive against the Ottomans had

stalled due to artillery fire from a ridge of high ground to the south.

The position was heavily defended with artillery, 300 infantry and

6 machine guns. Unable to take the ground with infantry, the cavalry

units available were called for.

Elements of the Warwickshire Yeomanry and Worcestershire Yeomanry

formed-up and advanced toward the enemy, charging from 300 yards

in to a storm of artillery and machine gun fire.

There were three separate charges that day, resulting in the capture of

eleven artillery pieces, four machine guns and seventy prisoners for the

loss of twenty six men and three officers. One hundred horses were

lost that day.

The charge allowed the British to press home their main attack

unhindered.

Major Oscar Teichman, the Medical Officer for the Worcestershire

Yeomanry wrote in 1936*;

“The Charge at Huj had it occurred in a minor war would have gone

down in history like the Charge of the Light Brigade at Balaclave.

In the Great War when gallant deeds were being enacted on all fronts

almost daily it was merely an episode, but as the Official Historian

remarks, for sheer bravery the episode remains unmatched”

*Rickard, J (3 September 2007), Affair of Huj, 8 November 1917,

http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/affair_huj.html

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1914-1918 in miniature

Set Up

Before you begin

You will need a few tools, I recommend a scalpel with new

blade, small tweezers, glue (I used super glue) and a glue

applicator. The parts are very small so I wore optivisors for

fixing the parts and I cut the photo etch on a glass board (as

traditional cutting mats tend to bend with the part meaning

that the etch can bend with the cut).

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1914-1918 in miniature

Step 1 - Prepare the horse

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You will note that the left portion of the horse has wire

protruding from the hoof (1), it is important to cut around that

wire and leave it in the foot as it is moulded in to the horse

to provide stability when based.

I have now cut away

the resin casting block

around the hoof.

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1914-1918 in miniature

Step 1.2 - Prepare the horse

A

B

(A) By scoring around the hoof I have then worked away the

resin to leave the rod inserted in to the horse intact. This can

be trimmed later when you base the horse, but leave enough

that it can be inserted in to your groundwork. Only his leg of

the horse is planted, so this needs to support horse and rider.

(B) I now prepare the two halves of the horse to be glued, here

I’m using Roket glue by Deluxe (other adhesives are available)

with an applicator. I find this helps accuracy when applying the

glue. The plastic dish here is the lid off a long discarded tube

of Pringles. This can be disposed of, I always keep pieces of

plastic as temporary glue holders.

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1914-1918 in miniature

Step 2 - Fitting the bridle & reins

In 1914 the British army were using a mix of equipment. The

saddle was in the main the 1912 universal pattern saddle. The

bridle and bit were part of the 1902 pattern equipment.

This additional part is shown in the small photo-etch fret

provided with your kit.

I trimmed the two parts from the sprue with a scalpel

with a new blade.

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1914-1918 in miniature

Step 2.1 - Fitting the bridle & reins

The two parts were cleaned-up and placed ready.

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1914-1918 in miniature

Step 2.2 - Fitting the bridle & reins

I did trim the part to allow a better fit, see the images of

the actual horse , you can see how the individual parts fit

together - see page 10, fig 1 & 2.

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1914-1918 in miniature

Step 2.3 - Fitting the bridle & reins

Fig 1

Fig 2

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1914-1918 in miniature

Step 2.4 - Fitting the bridle & reins

There are several ways to make the reins, you can use paper

cut to size. I prefer to use Tamiya tape as it forms in to shape

quite easily. Cut on a glass chopping board with a sharp knife

and place in to shape. The string (included in this kit) creates

the tether.

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1914-1918 in miniature

Step 3 - Fix the equipment

You can see from this angle how I have applied all of the

parts. Here I used the same Roket glue, fixing the equipment

first but all the time testing the position of the rider. It is

important that the rider is shown standing in his stirrups, he

is not sitting.

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1914-1918 in miniature

Step 3.1 - Fix the equipment

Here you can see the satchel has been applied, this is

designed to look as if it is moving with the horse, so the

pack itself is not clued to the body. This gives the figure a

feeling of motion.

Note, I have not at this point fixed the water bottle (with

strap formed from Tamiya tape) or the neck protector to

the helmet.

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