Please post pics when you assemble the rest of the Kit.
I expect the Kit will make the rifle seem inexpensive ......
Captain Dan:
Yes, I'll be trying to assemble the rest of the kit over the winter. I realize that the period photo above doesn't reveal much detail, but here is a colour artist's impression of Queen's Own Rifles kit circa 1866:
The tunic and trousers are very similar to the circa-1885 uniform I already have, although there are a few subtle differences .... the most noticeable being the cuff facings - which are solid green on the later uniform, rather than red as on this version. I have long wanted to get a better QOR uniform anyway .... because in asking for a lightweight material for my present uniform (.... I was hoping for comfort, temperature-wise ....) I ended up with a polyester-blend material used for making modern Rifles dress uniforms. The synthetic component makes it hot anyway .... and the damn stuff actually "glistens" in bright light! This time, I'll insist on pure wool!
It is likely that my biggest problem will be acquiring a suitable reproduction British Pattern 1861 shako - also referred to as the "Quilted Shako", because the felt covering was secured to the cork body with criss-cross lines of stitching which gave it something of a 'quilted' appearance, as can be seen in these images -
(Officer's shako on left, reproduction Other Ranks shako on the right. I believe that the air vent on the latter is a modern effort toward comfort, as I haven't seen such a device in any photos of original shakos.)
My shako would need to be rifle green, of course, with a green ball ornament. I was able to recently acquire on Ebay a reproduction (quite possibly home-made) of a US Pattern 1855 shako .... from Australia of all places, and for the unbelievable low price of only AUS$10 .... because nobody else bid on it! (The shipping cost ended up being twice as much as the shako, in fact!) I believe I can re-work it into a reasonable facsimile of a British P'61 shako .... although I am literally going to have to take it back to the basic body and rebuild it from there. Extensive reworking would have been necessary, anyway, if only because the visor was made of black-painted wood (hobby plywood, I'd call it) rather than leather. It actually didn't look too bad, and it might have been possible to cover it with leather, but being so rigid it wasn't letting me re-shape the body to fit my forehead better. I am thinking that if I can get suitable green felt or wool cloth (possibly even pieces of the same material my new uniform gets made of) I could have the diagonal stitching done on it before I adhere it to the shako body, to get the "proper" appearance .....