Butternut Rebel

Butternut Rebel

1. Print out this design. (Click Here). Put a few drops of glue onto a piece of scrap cardboard and use it with a toothpick to make this model.
2. Cut out everything.
3. Make the rifle first. This way it can dry while you are making evrything else. Cut it out and fold it sharply down the middle. Fold the bayonet down the middle. Glue the two sides of the tang together inside the rifle halves. Put a smear of glue on a toothpick and run it down the length of the rifle, twirling as you go. Fold over. Cut out notch at the grip. Glue on the percussion lock. Fold bayonet up at the right side.
4. Fold him forward in two along the back. Fasten halves of head together with a tape loop and glue the nose and chin together with a bit of glue on a toothpick.
5. Cut the trousers away from the coat a little in the front and back and then roll the trousers in and fasten with a tape loop. Bend coat around and overlap at belt buckle. Tape or glue in place. Fold blanket roll across chest and glue or tape in place. Bend base loop around the front and staple or tape together. Fold tops of brogans over.
6. Fasten the arm halves together with tape loops in the forearms. Then fold the end over and glue or tape it at the angle you want at the shoulder.This will allow you to bend the arms into realistic positions. Put realistic bends into the elbows shoulders and wrists and then tape or glue the rifle in his hands.
7. Make the hat. Just cut out the brim, cut a slit in the middle (use an x-acto knife), and work it over the top of his slouch hat. Tape or glue in place.

"Butternut" referred to the color of Confederate uniforms toward the end of the Civil War when the Confederacy was running out of grey cloth and had to resort to home dyes made from butternut bark, black walnut hulls, and rust. The result was a range of brownish-reddish colors. Late in the war blanket rolls would have replaced backpacks. Instead of gaiters, soldiers simply tucked their trousers into their socks. A captured Union belt would be worn with the buckle upside down

Back to Paper Models of Civil War Soldiers. For Civil War maps and photos, click here!

Back to Paper Models of Civil War Soldiers.

For Civil War maps and photos, click here!