Toy Soldiers in Art No. 5

 

Found and appropriated from Facebook 'William Britains Toy Soldier Collector' the November 1939 edition - wonder if the barrage balloons were really filled with Helium ?

Almannia Flying Artillery.

 

I dislike painting limbers and teams - but once done they do look good on the table . I was hoping to photo these outdoors but as the rest of Europe bakes in sunshine the UK is covered in clouds and rain , so I have photographed them on my desk .

I didn't bother with all the complicated horse traces etc . , I do like how the crew fit onto the limber and gun , nice chunky models .

One of the problems with limbers is how they are attached to the horse teams ! , I have thrown authenticity to the wind and simply drilled some holes into the flanks of the horses and glued a pin to join them together . The limber I simply bent the trail around into a hook so it loops around the pin and it can be unlimbered easily.

The gun and crew unlimbered and ready for action . I'm off to paint up some more of the infantry now seeing it's still pouring down ! 

Holmes and Watson on holiday .

 

Sherlock Holmes and his friend Dr Watson are spending some time on holiday in the Patiogonian Alps .

Their walk is interrupted by a fellow guest Professor Moriarty 

They admire the breathtaking views from the edge of the cravasse .

Watson is alarmed !!! . Figures are 54mm from Tradition (click on photo to enlarge)

Almannia Infantry on parade.

 

I've finally got the first unit of infantry done for the Almannia Expeditionary Force (AEF) here seen being inspected by their Commander Karl von Bismark.

The figures painted up better than I thought and have a lot of character .

A contemporary photo from the excellent "Eine vollstandige Geschichte das Expeditionskorps" *

*sadly now out of print , photo care of the University of Felpersham library .

Off -piste reading .

 

Every now and again there is a book sale in our village hall , it started with the introduction of an informal lending library in the church porch during Covid and people bring books they have read/don't want and they are sold for about 50p each and the profits go to the church, I think ? . I usually take a bag full of paperbacks round to lessen the piles of books that threaten to overwhelm the house - with instructions from Mrs K not to bring any back as replacements . This usually works and I return feeling virtuous , however this time I fell into conversation with the vicar and she pointed out the above books as being the literary equivalent of the sad eyed puppy that nobody wants - now they are NOT my taste in literature - I did Thomas Hardy at school (So long winded) and Orwell (who I enjoyed) but scorned what I thought as 19th cent. 'chic lit' . however I started feeling guilty - so I gave the Vicar a £1 for them both and have brought them home to read. I've seen the TV versions of them but it will be interesting to see if I can get into them - wish me luck !.

Almmania Quick Fire Artillery .

 

Made rather slow progress with painting this week and I decided to do the gun and crew for the Almannia Expeditionary Force (AEF) artillery and mounted Officer. 

I had to drill and fit axles to the chassis for the wheels to fit on which was a bit tricky, but once undercoated it looks okay . Based up the crew and they have painted up well in a Germanic uniform .

The C in C of the AEF, Karl von Bismark the cousin of the more famous German statesman . Karl is somewhat of a disappointment to his family having failed in the catering industry (*the great Strudel Disaster) , he used his families influence to gain a position in the army and has been given command of the expeditionary force - how he will fair will be reveled when I get some more Infantry painted and onto the tabletop.

*a failed collaboration with the Kipling Bakery firm which ended in disaster as it became apparent that Karl von Bismark knew nothing about catering or cake baking.

 

Shiny Toy Soldiers.

 

Smelling faintly of 'Detol' the Army of Almannia is ready for basing and painting . Over the last week I have been stripping the figures of their rather gungy paint and now am ready to undercoat them . Once I'd got the paint off I'm even more impressed with the quality of the castings and am looking forward to painting them.

Meanwhile at the Artillery Depot .......