"find the odd pose..." Topic

Check out this link. Look it over carefully. I wasn't going to bring this up but a friend made me do it.

link

Notice the #4 man? What's wrong or… at least odd about him?

Wow, I've looked and looked, I must be missing it! Now it's driving me crazy! What am I not seeing?

Forth man in the front row or the second row?

Only thing I see out of place is that the farthest soldier on the left, his horse is standing still while the others are all at a gallop, but I don't think this is it!

Wait, are you looking at the cavalry painting, or the picture of the mini sprue?

When you say the #4 man, do you mean the 4th from the left or 4th from the right?

This is driving me nuts, I don't see anything wrong with any of them!

If it's the mounted trooper right between the officer and bugler, his leg appears to be coming out of his blanket roll instead of his hip.

Nah, his leg looks right to me. I can't see anything wrong.

There are 12 guys on the box cover. Counting from the left, the #1 guy is on a horse that is standing. But the troop could just have been given the orders to ride, and some horses are jumping into motion, his hores has not.

#2 guy does not appear to be on a horse (I can't make one out). But who says he's gotta be on his mount?

#3 looks fine.

The #4 guy almost looks like he's just pointing to the sky, but he's actually holding a gun.

#5 is almost totally covered by the bugler, so no comment.

#6 (bugler) looks fine.

#7 is fine.

#8 (officer with sword) is fine.

#9 totally blocked by officer, so no comment.

#10 looks okay.

#11 (flag) is okay. I think there may be too many stars on that flag, but it's hard to say with it fluttering like that.

#12 (shooting) looks okay.

So what did we miss?

Oh crap… that link was supposed to connect to the shot of the artillery gunners. The painted ones with the soldier with the red shirt… that shot.

It's the guy (the Number 4) pulling the lanyard. Sorry about that.

He looks alright to me.

It's the pack: ACW5

the guy pulling the lanyard, is his right hand round the wrong way, it looks a bit odd to me ?

Bingo! old smokie got it. It is a very weird pose.

First you'd rather face AWAY from the gun so your back is to the gun, that's natural. Second you want to pull in a natural way and get muscle force behind it. Granted you don't have to be the Hulk but the pull shown is not natural across your body.

I just thought it was strange…. maybe it's just me. :)

link

Avid,

I got it now, yep the lanyard would be pulled with the arm closest to the breech, not the farther arm. And typically the lanyard man would be facing away with the lanyard in the closest hand to the breech, hence the closest arm.

The way the figure is posed in the scene, he has to pull the lanyard all the way across his body, which is the weakest possible position to get proper muscle pull. And he's exposing his face to the vent hole blast.

That's it!

LOAD-At this command, N0.4 inserts the lanyard hook into the ring of a primer and stands fast.
READY-At this command, he steps in with the right foot, drops the tube in the vent, takes the lanyard in his right hand, moves to the rear so far as to keep the lanyard slack, but capable of being stretched, without altering his position, which should be clear of the wheel, left foot broken to the left and rear.
FIRE-As soon as No.3 is clear of the wheel, No.4 pulls the lanyard briskly and firmly, passing the hand, back up, in a downward direction to the rear, so as to keep the lanyard hook from flying back in the direction of the face.

Page 78, School of the Piece, 1864 Field Artillery Tactics.

So the figure should be turned the other way around, to the left rear of the wheel.

In Don Troiani's RETREAT By RECOIL, you can see two No.4's in this position, one left of centre and one far left.

Yup and that would mean the figure is facing the wrong way.

And as I said besides it not being the correct way according to the drill it is also VERY unnatural to do it that way. Your basic instincts are to protect your face and have a smooth pull.

Poor research on ACW figures? Huh. Who'd a thunk it?

Allen

I'm not saying nuthin'. :)

I think its just how the figure is based, if he was positioned properly it would look OK.

I don't know about that. If you spin him around he's pulling from the wrong direction, some place near the limbers. If you place him on the wrong side of the gun it's even MORE awkward.

What if the lanyard guy is left-handed? Would that change anything? Or were the regulations such that you always pulled with your right hand, regardless?

Or what if he switched positions with the other guy in the back, facing the viewer?

"What if the lanyard guy is left-handed? Would that change anything? Or were the regulations such that you always pulled with your right hand, regardless?"

I would think the Regs are the Regs. It says you do it with the right hand so that's how you do it. Even when firing the rifle. EVERYONE is right handed. If you are left handed you CAN NOT be left handed for drill and saftey sake. Learn righty by doing it that way.

"Or what if he switched positions with the other guy in the back, facing the viewer?"

I doubt it. This is the way it was done and again when the noise, shells & bullets flying, smoke, confusion and dying starts you have to have a constant to fall back on. You know what everyone will do and how. Repetition. It's the only way.

Should have been "safety".