Instruction manual for the Tommy's War 9th Lancer, demonstrating how to build this 1/32 resin model kit into a reproduction of a British Lancer charging during the early part of World War One.
1914-1918 in miniature
Instruction Manual
TW32C01
Trooper, 9th (Queens Royal)
Lancers, Elouges 1914
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1914-1918 in miniature
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1914-1918 in miniature
A brief introduction to the
Trooper, 9th (Queens Royal) Lancers, Elouges 1914
The 9th Queens Royal Lancers were a cavalry regiment famous for
their actions in the Indian Mutiny, and their associated nickname,
The Delhi Spearmen.
At the start of World War One the 9th were part of the Lieutenant
General Allenby’s Cavalry Division helping screen the British II Corps
retreat from Mons.
On 24th August (the day after the first action at Mons) the 9th were
with 1st Bn Cheshire Regiment, 1st Bn Norfolk Regiment and ‘L’ Battery
RHA (who we cover with their action at Nery) in the Elouges area,
which is an area roughly 3 miles deep by 2 miles wide near the
Mons-Valenciennes Road.
To check the German advance the 9th were ordered to charge.
This figure, the first in our cavalry range, depicts a Trooper of the
9th Lancers on that day, in full gallop.
The charge was described by Captain Francis Grenfell (later to win
the Victoria Cross):
“We simply galloped about like rabbits in front of a line of guns
Men and horses falling in all directions. Most of one’s time was spent
dodging the horses.
The combined actions of the cavalry, artillery and infantry did their job.
The exhausted II Corps were able to withdraw that evening. Sadly the
Cheshires never received the order to retire and they stood their
ground and fought to the end. That night only 200 of the 1,000 men
were able to get away.
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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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Step 1.1 - Fitting the Lance
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1
3
Find the small sprue shown in the image. The parts for the
lance (when shown in the same order as this image) are 2
(head of lance) and 3 (foot of lance). Part 1 is used as part of
the Lancer’s sabre.
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Step 1.2 - Fitting the Lance
Use a sharp knife to remove parts 2 and 3 from the casting
block carefully. Cut at the base near the casting block to leave
a small amount of resin – this will then slot in to the brass tube
creating a ‘male’ and ‘female’ fit.
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Step 1.3 - Fitting the Lance
Cut a small piece of Tamiya tape from the reel. Lay it on a
cutting mat and cut a length approximately 1mm wide from
the length of the tape. This will form the grip of the lance and
the strap around the Lancer’s wrist.
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1914-1918 in miniature
Step 1.4 - Fitting the Lance
Insert the head of the lance in to the brass tube supplied.
IMPORTANT : you must fit the lance in to the figure’s hand
before you fix both ends. So, only fix the head in to place
with glue – leave off the foot of lance until you are satisfied
with the result of the whole lance
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Step 1.5 - Fitting the Lance
Images show lance not in figure’s hand for illustration
purposes only. The lance must be fitted in to the hand of the
figure before both ends of the lance are glued in to place.
Head and foot will eventually be fixed in to place (glued) at
either end of the lance. By leaving the end of the resin in place
it will slot in to the hollow end of the brass tube (you may need
to trim any ‘flash’ for a smooth fit).
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1914-1918 in miniature
Step 1.6 - Fitting the Lance
When both ends are in place your lance will appear like this.
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1914-1918 in miniature
Step 1.7 - Fitting the Lance
Cut the pennon from the photo-etch sprue and glue in to
place, wrapping a small part of the etch around the brass tube.
You will be able to manipulate the etch in to place to form a
‘moving’ pennon.
With both ends in place your model lance will be
approximately 86mm, which converts to 9’ 1” which was the
length of a Pattern 1894 lance.
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1914-1918 in miniature
Step 1.8 - Fitting the Lance
Wrap the piece of Tamiya tape around the brass tube to form
the grip. Once you are happy with the position of the grip you
can glue in to the hand of the figure and then fix in to place
the remaining end of the lance.
* For best results use a new blade to cut the photo-etch to get
the cleanest cuts.
* Always take care when using knives, use a cutting mat and
cut away from your hand.
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1914-1918 in miniature
Step 2.1 - Fitting the bridle & reins
Fitting the bridle and 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 2.2 - Fitting the bridle & reins
The two parts were cleaned-up and placed ready.
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Step 2.3 - Fitting the bridle & reins
I had already built the horse, note that the front left
and rear right legs, as well as the tail, are all pinned
to give the model more strength.
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1914-1918 in miniature
Step 2.4 - 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 17, fig 1 & 2.
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Step 2.4 - Fitting the bridle & reins
Fig 1
Fig 2
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1914-1918 in miniature
Step 2.5 - Fitting the bridle & reins
I used the reverse side of the slip included with
the photo etch for the reins, they were cut with a
scalpel to less than 1mm lengths
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Step 2.5 - Fitting the bridle & reins
In progress
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1914-1918 in miniature
References and acknowledgements:
I would like to offer my gratitude to Günther Sternberg for
his help with the uniform and equipment research and these
images. I would also like to thank Oliver Dewald for allowing
us to use the images of him and the equipment, and a big
thank you to his horse Daisy.
This was her first time with the complete equipment set,
and she looks magnificent. For research and reference
I referred to:
British Cavalry Equipments 1800-1941, Osprey
Publishing Men at arms series 138, Mike Chappell
ISBN 978-1-84176-471-9
Figure & Horse Sculpture : Nino Pizzichemi
Box art : Günther Sternberg
1 9 1 4 - 1 9 1 8 i n m i n i a t u r e
Tommy’s War Limited, 5 Athens Close
Hinckley, Leicestershire LE10 1FJ United Kingdom
Registered in England number 9000306
Tel: +44 (0) 7958 626236
Email: darren@tommyswar.com
WWW.TOMMYSWAR.COM
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