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 .