East Point Cadets on parade.

A couple of posts ago I mention I had got a bargain deal off Ebay ,.: Lucky eBay find . (tonystoysoldiers.blogspot.com) and I was wondering if to re-paint them .Well we have been having some very wet days recently and I used one of these to start repairing , touching up paint on the figures, which morphed into adding cross straps buttons etc and finally another gloss coat of varnish.

Having got them done I then have had to wait for the rain to stop so I could do an outdoor photo shoot.To commemorate their joining the ranks the C in C of 'Red Army' has decided to inspect them 

He is very impressed with their turn out and congratulates them on their smart appearance . There is some mystery about the young woman accompanying him ? - it's definitely not his wife !

We are lucky that a contemporary print of this occasion exists and I'm told it appears in the American edition of Kipling's 'Dispatches from the Patio' although I have not seen this rare book I did a Google search and came up with the above photo , it's rather blurry but in the upper left it says Mathew Brady Jr , Fort Patagonia (?) , We know that Brady Jr did take a series of photographs of the Great Patio War , but of course sadly most have been lost to posterity .

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Another Wargaming related postcard.

Found whilst idly scrolling through the interweb , one I haven't seen before. I think it says ' victory over the Russians' (?), I'm not sure which rules they are using but the Russians seem to have suffered a catastrophic moral failure and fled the table.

 

The Workers are revolting.

Got my latest batch of Copplestone figures painted , they are two units of Workers Militia here seen being lead by their Shop Steward.

These figures are generic and can be used by both sides in the conflict . They are seen in my new scenery bases MDF cacti . I must get back into Nacho Wars as it's been a while since I've had a game.

 

Nacho Wars Dramatis Personae .

Although I've been busy painting other peoples figures I've managed to get these figures done for my Nacho Wars , the are Copplestone Miniatures in 28mm .

The Nursing Sister , reroll failed saving throw if she attends the wounded ?

The Spy and the Film Star (mistress/ lady of mystery)

The Pilot - is it Biggles ? , we know W.E. Johns wrote about his exploits in the Nacho Wars in 'Wings over the Andes' . Hopefully they will all be appearing on the tabletop soon.

 

Impromptu Sunday morning game.

'A' rang me and said-"are you free for a game this morning" ?  , well my wife being at work and the dog already walked I said "yes" (ignoring the gardening I should have been doing).

He had recently taken delivery of some 15mm  Wofun 2D Caesarian Romans and swiftly having based them up he wanted to give them a spin using the free Andrew Callan rules. Here is my force under Pompey deployed, 6 units of Legionaries in the center , some slingers on the far flank and some Gallic cavalry nearest the camera.

'A' deploying his force under Julius Caesar , some Legionaries and a Scorpion bolt thrower.

His Numidian light cavalry on the right flank (he needs to fill in the bases and perhaps ink in the edges.

The rear of my position , the battle being fast and furious I forgot to take any photos of the action - but I lost narrowly - snatching defeat from the jaws of victory ! . A great game and a great way to spend a Sunday morning .

I don't often appear in my blog posts - this is not misplaced vanity , but it's because I'm taking the photos . "A" sent me this one of his.

 

 

Lucky eBay find .

 

Lets face it do I really need anymore 54mm figures - probably not BUT when I saw these on eBay and nobody seemed interested I put a low bid in for the two items and rather forgot about them - thinking that I was not going to get into a bidding war . And guess what ! I won both items at the price of just over a £1 a figure ! - Happy Bunny time ! 

They are Britains hollow cast West Point Cadets first issued in 1926 I think and being a total of 36 gives me three units for 'AGW' rules. The paint job is a bit of a mystery , they are depicted in the 'Winter Dress' (grey trousers) but the cross straps and buttons haven't been painted on ? or has the torso been over painted ? - the bases , rifles and faces are original I think , but maybe the gloves and waist belts could be a later addition ? .

To make them 'combat ready' they need gluing onto bases to prevent them falling over , but I'm not sure about adding paint to the cross straps , buttons and coat tails ? they have a naive charm to them as they are, I wonder if they are 'factory' seconds ? - but the faces are well painted with the standard 'dot' eyes red cheeks and mouths/moustaches , Hmm ! a bit of a mystery ?

Another biography of H.G.

 

Found in a charity bookshop recently - will it mention toy soldiers I wonder ? , I'm eager to start reading it and will let you know .

Affordable Housing comes to Toieland.

 

Found these today whilst out shopping , £4 each , will take a bit of fixing (the large hole in the front)but should do well in my 54mm games when finished.

Friday lunchtime game.

Last year myself and 'A' started gaming on Friday lunchtimes , but so far 'real life' has got in the way this year , however we had a game today of 'Chariot Rampant' a version of the popular 'Lion Rampant' rules , which have been adapted for Bronze Age chariot warfare. 

'A' brought two forces from his 28mm collection . I took the Mycenaean Greeks (nearest the camera) and 'A' took a Hittite force , most of the figures are Foundary . Here we see his chariot unit about to charge my spearmen (it didn't end well for his chariots)

My 'man of the match' - a humble unit of skirmishers who hide in the trees and shot up every enemy unit that came near them.

'A' urges his army forwards . (note he has not removed his coat - my wargaming room is notoriously cold) It was a close run thing , but I managed to seriously damage his chariots and finally rout three of his spear units and won the battle. 'Lion Rampant' is ideal for these short lunchtime games and we hope to make these games a regular occurance.