"There's not really a stove involved in this hat at all, you know"
Whenever he decides it would be a good idea to go over the hills and far away, traipsing the length and breadth of Spain and Portugal to oust Napoleon Bonaparte from the Iberian Penisular, Mr Monkey dons his stovepipe shako, picks up his Land Pattern musket and serves with a British Regiment of Foot. Sometimes he patrols the hills in search of the French, other times he charges down narrow streets. The green plume on the shako shows that he's in the Light Company, home of the more independent minded soldiers.
The Stovepipe shako was worn by British infantry from 1800 to 1812 until it was replaced by the Belgic shako.
Source :
Mr Monkey's stovepipe shako is mostly made from felt and card.
The leather peak used to be part of one of Miss Carol's handbags, and the plume is one end of a cotton bud dabbed with a felt tip pen.
The badge is cut out from gold coloured card.
Mr Monkey's musket is made from balsa wood, with a barrel made from a biro barrel and gold and silver card fittings.
The hammer and pan cover are held in place with plastic rod rivets, and the ramrod is a length of plastic rod.
The sling is medical bandage paper, held on by wire catches.
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Copyright Rik Shepherd and Mr Monkey. This page last modified 5 January 2008