18th Century Fire engine

Another Little scratch build, this time a Fire engine.
There´s a few designs of  Fire engines made in the period from 1700 - 1800, so taking ideas from a couple of them  I came up with this;

Wheels from the Airfix Waterloo French artillery set the rest, Cocktail sticks, bit´s of Balsa Wood, paper, pin heads and florist wire.

The hoses are made from twisted paper, the nozzle is from the Caeser Ancient Egyptian Chariots set (described at PSR as a bowcase or quiver)

The input/Output Nozzles (front left and right) are heads from Picture Frame tacks.

The Pumping handles, front axle and the towing bar are moveable

It really is tiny compared to the other carriages I´ve built and building it was quite fiddly.

Being so small and delicate, it needs somewhere to Keep it so......a fire Station was next on the list.
1cm thick Insulation foam for the walls with a printed stonework covering, the lintel and quoins (the stonework on the sides) from cut,scored  and painted Card, Stone floor printed, the Roof made from biscuit paper, Gable Ends and sign cut Card, sign printed and the sign post a Cocktail stick.

 Home of the B.F.B, the Bodstonian Fire Brigade

"Unveiling" day of the new Fire Station with attendant onlookers HERE

18th century Post - Chaise

The Mk 4 carriage for Bodstonia, a "post-Chaise"
I didn´t 100% copy the designs I found on the web, most of them have a set of springs  front and back but adding them raised the whole Thing too high so they were removed.

Wheels from various Airfix sets, the nags from Revell´s Imperial artillery set, the rest, cardboard, copperwire, piano wire, staples,  expanded foam and a pinhead for the doorhandle.

The Chaise in situ in the world of Bodstonia - HERE

The collection so far (the cab on the MKI definately needs changing for another)

18th century 2 wheeled chaise (One Horse Shay)

Another bit of scratch built Transport for Bodstonia, a two wheeled Chaise (One-horse shay)
This one is modelled (very roughly) on a pic I found on the web which showed a  Chaise from the era of Louis XV,  (who ruled France from 1715 until 1774 ) so it fits into the time era for Bodstonia

Bod and nag from the Russian Artillery of Peter the Great, wheels from an Airfix WWI british tank

Pic of the Caise in situ HERE

Roman Transport - 4 (Strelets)

Another Addition to the ancients range and some new recruits for the town of  Scalpere Aedificere.
13 Bods,  two Litters,  Two mules, Two Oxen and a parrot.
The 10 Standing bods.....

...and the 3 sitting ones...and Polly the  parrot.

  

They had a couple of species of parrots/Parakeets kept as pets in ancient Rome. My Version is a Ringnecked Parrakeet from India.

A parrakeet Mosiac (from Pergamon  ca 200BC) of an Alexandrine parakeet or Alexandrian parrot (scientific name Psittacula eupatria, ) named after Alexander the Great, who is said to have first sent several of the birds from the Punjab to the west.

Pliny the Elder  wrote  instructions for teaching parrots to talk which included hitting them on the head with an iron bar!!
Probably didn´t work that well and ended up with an ancient Roman forerunner of the dead parrot sketch.

The one on the right. An Amanuensis, ("within Hands reach") a slave who worked in the capacity of personal assistant or secretary to the Dominus /Domina. The one on the right a Baiulus ("porter" or "bearer") a slave who performed tasks similar to that of a normal footman.

Another pair of Baiuli. The one at the front, getting the box bashing into him, looks like he has literally got the "bum deal"

A letica (transportable Couch) and the leticarii (Couch carriers)

So far, so good. Everything is fine. Very Little Flash to be dealt with, nice Details and poses.  The Bods are a bit slimmer (more finely sculpted) than their previous contempories but fit well alongside them.


The other Transport Piece in the set.  Where can I start?
The historical accuracy?
The earliest reference I can find to  horse carried Sedan chairs (or litters) is from the medieval period. The best  reference I found is  a painting by Jean Fouquet about an Event in 1378 called Entrée de l'empereur Charles IV à Saint-Denis,   or Entrée de l'empereur Charles IV devant Saint-Denis painted between 1455- 1460.
I´ve found no  references to Roman litters,  even ones for high Nobility, being carried by horses. That´s not to say the romans couldn´t have come up with the idea but , at time of writing and lacking any references..it´s historically innacurate to portray them doing so.
It doesn´t look like anything from the Roman period, it´s more a 17th / 18th century design.
The construction?
The poles across the doors would mean they would have to be removed to let passengers in or out. Considering the length  and possible weight of the carrying poles, and having to set the cab down and release the poles from the mules,   this would be a difficult Task to say the least.  Virtually every example of a sedan chair has an opening to the front but in this case it would again be impractical. The passengers would have to Exit between the cab and a mule (danger of getting kicked if at the front) and then duck under the pole.

Apart from that, it fits together reasonably well. The width of the carriage means the carrying poles need bending slightly inwards to make it possible to attach them to the mules but when attached they stay put.
The set Comes with three passenger bods. At a squeeze only two would fit and then opposite each other but it looked very uncomfortable.
Still, I like the look of the cab and I like the idea,  so with a bit of Alteration it will be given a use in Bodstonia.


OOB