A Greate Gunne .

Been plugging away at my plastic ECW 54mm figures and got this gun and crew done . The gun is a metal pencil sharpener with the sharpener removed , painted and varnished . Am finding this hot weather not very conducive to painting so my productivity has dropped - roll on the wet weather ! .

 

Patio-gonian Indians .

Well I've got the hollow-cast Red Indian figures re-painted and varnished and with the absence of the dog and a spell of fine weather I thought an outdoor photo shoot was just the ticket .

Here we see them cautiously emerging from the dense forest that boarders the Great Patio .

Lead by their great Warchief Escargot Killer they are armed with obsolete rifles supplied by the 'Red Army' with whom they  have a fragile alliance  .

Suddenly they spot one of their main food sources , a giant snail ! - this is swiftly dispatched and they melt back into the thick terrain carrying it away with them . Click on photos to enlarge them .

 

A photographic aside .

Been painting up mainly 54mm Red Indians this week but in between I finished of this figure and camera , I'm not sure of the manufacturer but it portrays the American Mathew Brady famous for his ACW photography (I would argue Alexander Gardener was more relevant and a better one - but don't get me going off on that hobby-horse !)

Whilst doing my research about the English Civil War in Borsetshire I visited the University of Felpersham and was lucky enough to be able to view some of the almost unknown collection of Brady's photos of rural Borsetshire life , although doing the maths I believe they are the work of his son Mathew Brady Jr . as they portray life many years after the 1860's .

A photo of the photographer at work somewhere in Borsetshire , unfortunately Brady Jr got into trouble with the police as he started producing a series of ,shall we say 'risque' portraits of young ladies in states of dishabille in rural settings which he claimed ti be 'Art' - the Borchester Courts thought different and he left for Paris where he claimed his genre would be appreciated . I was also lucky enough to see his series of photos of 'The Great Patio War' which I believe have generally not been seen before . 

P.S there is an argument that some of the photos in the Almark book 'With the Guns to The Patio' should be credited to Brady Jr . - but there's another can of worms ! 

 

Renovating Redskins .

Like an number of my fellow bloggers I'm busy renovating old hollow cast 54mm figures , these are some Britains (?) Red Indians . When I stripped the rather grungy paint job I found that they have had their rifles repaired using matchsticks , unfortunately several came off in the cleaning process and I've been busy whittling matchsticks and gluing them onto the figures . Here's the first batch taking cover behind the Malted Milk biscuits .

I've also started adding feathers to the standing warriors , in front some Indians from a different purchase , one of which refused to shed it's paint ! . Next to glue them to bases and give them a undercoat . I will report back on progress ......

 

Finally done !

About six months ago I started painting this unit of Cimmerian Warriors for my Hyborian collection and they have sat in the cupboard waiting patiently to get finished . However this week I felt like painting something different so I got them out and they are now completed . They came with a 'factory paint job' and I have added shading and highlights, spruced them up and painted various shield designs and given them a coat off gloss varnish to protect them . Now to get them in action on the tabletop .

 

Redskins .

The other week my wife who was looking for knitting related items on eBay said - "there's somebody selling toy soldiers here" ! . I had a look at the dealer and as well as the aforesaid knitting items , a collection of old plastic phones (?) and other bric a brac there where 16 Britains 54mm Red Indians !? - going rather cheaply - so I made an offer and duly received them . To boost their number to 20 I bought a few more and dumped the whole lot into bleach to strip the paint off .

This removed the rather grungy paint from the original figures and revealed that their rifles had been repaired using match sticks (?)  . However several of the others where painted in a metallic copper colour for their flesh - this has withstood multiple immersions in bleach/paint stripper - I hate to think of the toxicity of this pain job - they must  have use similar to paint the bottom of warships or the coating of the inside of nuclear plants , so it's going to have to stay and I've decided to paint the flesh of the others in a copper metallic Vallejo acrylic to match . Further updates when the painting starts .

 

A game completed .

I realise I have a bad habit of only posting the initial parts of battles and then attracted by other things go off on a tangent . I posted the start of this battle here Tin Soldiering On: Cleansing the wargaming room . (tonystoysoldiers.blogspot.com) took more photos, then forgot about it as my mind fluttered onto other distractions - however I have retrieved the photos and here's the completion . The 'Red' Army Hussars having been shot to pieces from the redoubt and the artillery but passing all there morale checks charged the 'Blue' Army Hussars 2-6 odds and routed them ! - they failed to rally and fled the table ! .

Worse was to follow for the 'Blue' Army - the Ghurkas stormed the Artillery position slaughtering the gunners .

While this was going on the 'Blue' Army Spy (in the guise of a clergyman) was busy stealing bonus activation cards from the 'Red' Army H.Q. 

Ultimately he was found out and lead away to an uncertain fate .

In the center the Highlanders stormed the redoubt , 'Blue' Army was hampered by a poor run of activation cards which allowed the enemy to move at will .

This allowed the Naval Brigade party to place the 'Infernal Device' 

And scurry away before it explodes ! , at this point 'Blue' Army reinforcements arrived - far to late to do anything though .

It explodes demolishing the fortification ! 

The 'Blue' Army Infantry manage to drive off the Ghurkas and recapture the gun , but after a successful mission the 'Red' Army slips away unhindered . Another great game using 'A Gentleman's War' rules , the 'Blue' Army was unlucky with the activation cards and the tardiness of their reinforcements which gave an easy win to the 'Reds' .