#644 Ukrainian Cossack

An heroic pose in a walnut with a figure from the Orion Ukrainian Mounted Cossacks set. No, this is not meant to be political - but if you come and try to steal my nuts, expect to fight this guy!

No electronics in this one.

Build

Notes

When I heard about the the walnut group build, one of the first images that came to mind was of a horse leaping from the shell. From then on, I had my eye out for a suitable figure to use.

I finally found my subject when I stumbled across this old Orion/Haron set of “Ukrainian Mounted Cossacks” in one of our local model shops.

Pretty happy how this worked in the end, although the polythene molding of the figures is a nightmare and they are just a little too large in 1:72 to allow the walnut to close. I’d either need figures in a smaller scale or find some larger walnuts! NB: I did discover that Red Box had planned some new 2021 tool Cossack figures but the war appears to have understandably thrown those plans out the window.

This is the third walnut build I’ve completed. It’s a nutty concept, but having to model within such severe constraints is surprisingly liberating for one’s creativity!

nutz3

The Walnut Challenge

The Walnut Challenge is organised by James and Malcolm of the Just Making Conversation podcast. Essentially:

Make a diorama entirely inside of your Walnut. Opening the walnut will reveal your work. Closing the walnut will hide what is inside.

It sounded like a very niche idea, but amazingly at the time of writing, there are 110 members of the facebook group and at least a dozen finished builds.

The Build

How it started..

build01a

trying to get the most out of these old (2007) figures that are cast that terrible polythene like old recycled plastic bags!

build01b

got my parts ready to assemble

build01c

the resin pour. I’ll do final touches on the figures after I’ve finished the water (even with primer and clear coat, paint just does not like to stay on these figures!)

build01d

WIP! just trying this idea, even though its looking like I’ll want to model this in a way where the nut won’t close hmm, how to make convincing splashes in water?

build01e

coming together (some gel still to cure)

build02a

The Ukrainian flag is cut out from the kit box, softened with glue and moulded into the upper shell. Some touch-ups painted later to make the colours pop.

build02b

Initial Gallery Shots

OK, but not so happy with the water - looks more like a bowl of bee hoon.

build03a

build03b

build03c

build03d

Having another run at the water

Wasn’t happy with my first attempt at the water splashes so touched up with some fake ice and snow. Better … I think? Modelling water splashes is definitely a skill I need to work on.

build04a