A Pleasant Mornings Work.

I usually have batches of figures  based and undercoated ready for painting and I found I have finally got the last lot done so I had to consider what to get ready next . I have several project on the go but I thought I would get some more plastic ACW figures done for my 'Sharp Practise' games , I had bought two boxes of Perry plastic infantry and set to gluing the next two units up. A lot of wargamers are not keen on plastics but I like them , they're cheap and I find putting them together very therapeutic - takes me back to making model aircraft in my youth .

The Confederate unit done , I have completed a Union group as well , I'm going to undercoat them with black spray when it stops raining outside and will start painting them next week giving myself a break from all the re-basing I've been doing.

First Fruits .

Have got a production line started for my re-basing , I put the figure in a vice and tap the penny they are based on CAREFULLY ! minding your fingers and the figure and the figure comes away .

I then clean up the figure base and glue them to the new MDF base . I am doing Prussian and Austrian units alternatively and will get enough done for a small scenario using 'Test Of Honour' rules.

My first two Austrian battalions portraying the Regiment Sachsen-Gotha . I found a couple of 'match pots' of the colour I used to paint the table so decided to use this on the bases .

They form line to protect a vital bridge . I'm pleased with the speed I'm getting through these figures and soon will have enough for a game .  

The Mother Of All Re-Basing .

Now I hate re-basing , I've mention this several times before - but sometimes 'a mans gotta do what a mans gotta do'.  My 30mm Spencer Smith SYW figures have been languishing in their boxes for too long , they hardly get used and I've decided that my 40mm home cast Syw-ish collection scratches my single figure based battles itch . So I'm going to re base them ! , a mass of MDF bases have been purchased  and here is the first unit glued up . I'm turning my large forty plus regiments into two smaller battalions each of twenty figures on five bases these can be used for 'Test of Honour' and 'Black Powder' and put back together for 'big battalion' games . I will report on progress …….

Something Old - Something New .

Not wargaming related at all , but the reason for a halt in figure production - we have a new hen house . It came as a flat pack (very quickly - ordered and delivered in three days !) and proudly boasted it slotted together in twenty minutes ! - well I've heard these sort of boasts before - BUT to my great surprise I got it together in under the allotted time - even with the dog helping ! 

The old coup awaiting being turned into fire wood . It has done very well but it would not have seen another winter through and because of the good summer weather is infested with Red Mite - the bane of the hen keepers life and has taken constant cleaning to keep them at bay (unsuccessfully ).

The new one being plastic is easier to keep clean , I plan to raise it up on some brickwork when I get some sand and cement and clean up some of my existing bricks , then their food can be put out of the weather underneath it . Sorry for the rather scraggly hen - she's in moult and not looking her best - I'm hoping she and her fellows take to it and go to bed without a fuss tonight - now back to toy soldiers !.

Getting There ! .

Well I've got the second company of the Prussian Fusilier Regt. Prinz Heinrich Von Prussia .finished and have just been giving them a coat of varnish , this means my backlog of undercoated figures has been finally completed ! - what next to do? 

Does Anybody Have ..............

A spare Maid Marion ?  , I am wanting to portray Mrs Fanny Duberly of Crimean War fame for my plastic Crimean War project . I've been looking for a suitable figure in 20mm for some while and finally came across this figure riding side saddle which I think with a bit of tinkering could be made to work. 

Here is a photo of this distinguished lady . I have in the distant past had this set of figures and sadly long gone . Does anybody have one spare ? , I will of course pay a suitable fee and postage , I can be contacted on - mossdocking@hotmail.com 

We've Been On Holiday.

We've been for a weeks holiday in Northumberland staying on the coast at the small village of Beadnell , in the past we have camped but as we get older a comfortable bed indoors seems more appealing (plus the dog would run riot on a camp site !) . Here we see Bamburgh Castle looking moody and the Farne Islands on the left in the distance.

Think I posted this shot from this location  before but it is one of my favourites , Dunstanburgh Castle looking rather ragged - the years have not been kind to it and very much the ruin now.

At some point in the week me and Charlie past the 750 mile point on our way to 1000 mile challenge .

Mrs K looking windswept on Lindesfarne .

The weather was changeable ! - Beadnell beach .

Moody sky - Embelton Bay with Dunstanburgh in the distance .

I came across this small WW2 pillbox slowly being overwhelmed by the duns (it was full of sand) there are pillboxes at regular intervals all along this coast but this was a very small one - you would have only got a couple of men in it - the dog is for scale !.

NO ! this is NOT what it looks like ! it is me replenishing my store of fine sand which I occasionally use for basing figures and unfortunately had no other receptacle to put it in - I was careful NOT to get it mixed up ! 

This is my attempt to capture on film the only remaining piece of Hadrian's Wall in Newcastle ' it's on a busy dual carriageway and is only about 30 yds long and two courses of stones high - but it has survived ! . My wife was less than impressed and refused to stop the car (being a gal she doesn't understand these things !) . For the Hadrian's Wall nerds (like me) it is the broad wall on the broad foundation - very interesting - half way across the country the found out it was going to cost to much and swapped to a narrower wall - I shall dismount from my 'hobby horse' now . ( there's a jolly interesting bit of narrow wall on a wide foundation near Chollerford ! - okay I'll stop it !).

Onna Bugeisha.

These figures have been sat in the 'corner of shame' awaiting being painted for a while , so I'm very pleased with myself having finally got around to getting them done . I always find it hard to paint female figures and Japanese females even more so , the delicate  faces and dress is a challenge to get right . Again I have borrowed the colour schemes from the 'Warlord' miniature site .

The Lure Of Old School. (Part 2)

As usual with these battles I get carried away with the action and forget to take photos , so the course of this battle is a bit disjointed . Here we see the 20th Foote reaching the crest of the hill and pouring fire down onto the French - but receiving casualties in turn .

The Uhlans charge the Prussian Hussars but are broken and rout back . (they rolled double 1's - bad news in any set of rules) General Camembert fails to  rally them ! .

The situation after the cavalry melee, the centre of the French force is broken and is of great concern to General Camembert .

The gap means the left company of the Orleans has to swing round to cover the open flank.

On the extreme right flank the French Artillery fails to cause any serious casualties on the advancing Brunswickers .

They charge and capture the field piece ! (don't leave your artillery unsupported). Due to circumstances I had to stop the battle there , but it was starting to look like an Allied victory , the French hold the village and the Regt. Du Roi is holding it's own against the British foot , but the Allies can exploit the broken centre . Another interesting battle , the French were a bit unlucky with their initial set up and perhaps would have been better acting more defensively .