A close-up of Stuart Lecrerar's work (Photo Courtesy Ross Lavigne)

By Gates Guarin

SMILE SUNDAY

Local miniatures painter eager to showcase displays

May 6, 2022 | 4:53 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – A local hobbyist has been keeping busy during the pandemic, having recently completed a large-scale model of a historic battle.

Stuart Lecrerar has been painting model soldiers for more than 40 years, with dioramas ranging from the Custer’s Last Stand at the Alamo, to the largest scale model of the Battle of Gettysburg.

“I’ve always had toy soldiers, even as a child,” Lecrerar says. “About 40 years ago, I bought a set of soldiers and I painted them and I thought ‘I’ll buy a second set and see if I can reproduce that.'”

When the pandemic forced everyone indoors, Lecrerar picked up his paintbrush and began painting.

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“What can I do that I haven’t done? I’ll go back to the basics of the Napoleonic Wars and I’ll do the Battle of Borodino,” Lecrerar says. “It took me a year and a half or so to paint the 4,400 that are on this new model.”

Lecrerar says the project kept him busy throughout all that downtime.

“It wasn’t a race. You know, I had lots of time, so I would paint 12 to 15 men a day, every day, as well as artillery, cavalry. Then you had to work out what you’re going to put where,” Lecrerar says. “Then in the meantime, you know in the evenings, I would do the research on the battles. So when it comes to putting it all together, and if it can be displayed somewhere, I can give an entire talk on the battle itself.”

Lecrerar says he continues to paint these miniatures with the hopes they will be displayed for the community to see.

“When [people] put things on for charity, they just want donations. Here, you can see something…it’s just a way of helping out.”

Lecrerar has two more projects he would like to start: a medieval battle, and a collage of Napoleonic cavalry.