Mad , Bad and Dangerous .

Lord Byron Bygon is not the only celebrity to be attracted to the fledgling Hellenyk Republic , in hot pursuit is his ex girlfriend Lady Caroline Lambe , feeling slighted by his behaviour she is out for revenge ! - she's Mad. Bad and Dangerous to know !!!! ( a Irregular 42mm figure from their Deutsch Homage range)

Lord Bygon.

The 'romantic' poet Lord Byron Bygon has rallied to the cause of the new Hellenyk Republic , here he poses for the camera ( the figure is a 42mm Irregular Miniature ).

He has raised a unit of young men attracted by his charisma to serve as his bodyguard , again Irregular figures .

This flamboyant chap and his merry men should be featuring on the tabletop in the near future .

German Zinnfigur production.

Interesting illustrations from the 1966 German magazine 'Die Zinnfigur' , posted on the Homecasting Facebook page .

The scope of ranges and periods covered by 'Flats' always amazes me .

I suspect that the production of modern 'Flats' is not as labour intensive .

Seen on my walk No. 1

I usually take the dog out early in the morning before people are about and off the beaten track so I rarely see anybody , this morning I went down to a local wood which backs onto a seasonal caravan park owned by the National Trust which is of course  shut now at the moment . The Trust have been doing some work in the wood and have started charcoal burning .

Nowadays they use a metal contraption to burn the wood rather than stacking turf over it as they did in Victorian times , then it had to be manned constantly for several days to get the process right - to much oxygen and it just burnt - to little and it just went out ! 

The modern method doesn't need anybody to man it around the clock and various air holes are blocked - kept open to get the process right . Will have a wander around there in a day or two to see how things are going .

Charcoal burning in the 'old days' 

A nice cup of tea

Next up on the painting tray is Santa Anna , Houston's opponent , again by Boot Hill Miniatures . Another controversial character from this era , lucky not to be hanged by the Texans after his defeat at San Jacinto he bankrupt Mexico with his 'creative accountancy' of it's finances . There are a lot of things me and Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna might disagree about - but I'm all in favour of a cuppa tea ! .

'Big Drunk'

I've been pottering around painting up bits and pieces in between Spring cleaning and walking the dog and this couple of figures have been undercoated for a awhile - the depict General Sam Houston (right) and his pal Moseley Baker having a 'little drop of something' perhaps just before the Battle of San Jacinto , the are by Boot Hill Miniatures and capture the look of Sam in his younger days . He was always a controversial character , beating a political rival up with his walking stick , his behaviour before the battle is still mired in controversy (did he want to fight or not ?) , he lived many years amongst the Cherokee Indians and at one time had an Indian wife , the called him 'Black Raven' and also 'Big Drunk' because of his drinking habit . Admittedly he looks hesitant about having a glass in the above diorama . 

Sam Houston in later years , I must admit I rather like him 'warts and all' 

Lord Bygon .

It has been suggested by a correspondent to this blog that Lord Byron Bygon might be getting involved with the infant Republic Of Hellenyka . So I caste about for a suitable figure based on the romantic portrait of him , I looked amongst the Irregular 40mm  Deutsch Homage range and came up with the figure on the right which looks suitably dashing . (wonder if Lady Caroline Lamb is about ?)