SKREEEEEECH... VROOOM!

 

The world didn’t end clean. It coughed, choked, and burned itself out under a sky the colour of old blood and dust. Cities cracked, the seas went sour, and what was left baked hard under a merciless sun. Out here, there’s only two things that matter now—petrol… and the lunatics willing to spill blood for it.

This is Gaslands.

The highways are long dead, but the roads still remember. They’ve become killing grounds—twisted tracks of rust, wreckage, and roaring engines. Every driver’s a scavenger. Every vehicle’s a weapon. You weld together whatever you can find—scrap metal, old guns, bits of forgotten machines—and call it a car. Then you point it at the horizon and pray it holds together longer than you do.

There’s always someone watching. Sponsors, they call ’em. Big names with bigger egos, beaming the chaos out to whoever’s still alive to care. They want speed. They want fire. They want a show.

And you? You’re the show.

You’ll drift through choking dust, slam through wrecks, and trade shots at full throttle. Maybe you’ll make a name for yourself. Maybe you’ll just make a mess.

Doesn’t matter much either way.

Because out here, there’s no finish line. Just the next run… and the next poor bastard trying to take your wheels off.

So fire it up, keep it straight—if you can—and don’t ease off.

Not ever.

Painting update

 

So, firstly, while I resolve blockhouse roofing, these fellows have crept into the painting queue.Some of them have separate parts (swords, muskets and so on) that need to be added and so, technically are not quite complete.

Meanwhile, maintaining a firm-ish focus on the main body of work, these fellows are getting closer to being done. Just another four figures. I recall at la Belle Famille, the French column was noted to have a couple of white ensigns at it's head, thus the solitary (so far) brave officer out front of the burgeoning unit.

Please enjoy.

Blockhouse Roofing

 

Nearly there.... Let it dry.... don't mess with it.....

So, now, I can allow my hands to shake. 

The next step is to trim them to length and gently sand their apexes to the right profile. Then I will frame within the long 'arms' so I have something to attach shingles to.

Minuscule Blockhouse Progress

 

I am starting to put together the roof framing for my blockhouse. As I am making two, I decided to get both sets dome together for the sake of relative uniformity.

The frames have been butt-jointed, but those that will meet them at 90 degrees have been fattened up with matchsticks to give a broader gluing area.

When it's all solid, they will be trimmed off and then the beams will be gut to length as they are over-sized.

Painted Willies

 

This is where my current folly began. I had a few figures left over from earlier parts of the larger French and Indian War project. I also had an itch to build a smaller frontier fort, hence the blockhouse. And of course, a blockhouse needs a garrison.

Then I ran across 20 Willies on eBay which fitted perfectly with my evolving ideas. So, I am slowly stripping and repainting them. Their rosy little cheeks are a nod back to their original painting which has a charm that I can't deny. So, I can see myself painting three companies/Grand Divisions of them per Bill Protz's "Drums of War Along the Mohawk". They are good units to have for the petite guerre that grumbled up and down the Ohio Valley and I always have my eye on one day fighting la Belle Famille.

Lastly, allow my to tease the project that I hope to get underway in the second half of the year, the Gardes Francaises. It's always struck me that the Suren 18th mid-Century range was always geared around just a few battles. Carillion/Ticonderoga, Quebec, Culloden and, of course, Fontenoy. I have the Arquebusiers de Grassin in my collection, so I really ought to add the Gardes Francaises, I think. I bought about half the required figures 5 or 6 years ago, forgot them and then rediscovered them recently, do hopefully I will keep my head of steam up and get stuck in. If I was to be honest, I would also like to add the Regiment d'Eu to the collection as well!

For Stokes

 

The 'Before' shot

As you can see, fairly roughly painted. although the faces are nicely done. I was surprised by the officer as I have not seen this one in the current catalogue. When he is stripped, I'll be looking for a catalogue number on his base.

I do enjoy this pose; very Holger Ericsson.

There were 20 in total on green-painted card bases, four to a base. I will follow up with an 'after' photo later on today.

Making Blockhouses

 Heaven's above, it's been quite a while since I last posted.

Let me atone.

For context, I am back in French and Indian War mode after winning an auction on eBay of 20 or so Willie figures, old enough that their weapons were soldered on (hurrah!) and have been thinking about building some timber block houses from 6mm square-section dowel.

So, here is where I have started from.

Wooden Lego

All cut up with my scroll saw. 

Stacking logs

So, there are two sizes of timbers here. one to support a 50mm square floor, another to support the 75mm square floor of the house that sits atop the tower.

Hm. Six logs high.

This was a test to get my height sorted. Six 'logs' high seems about right, with loopholes on the fifth.

Flooring

Experimenting with thin strip (coffee stirrers) to create the flooring.

I intend to rough the logs up with the teeth of a saw to improve the look.

Toytown, the place to be....

 Twee by day...

... even more so by night.

Frosty approves.

Painting Flags

 

Sir Allen Aspley's Foote, ECW

Acrylic on lightly varnished copy paper. Marked up with a pencil and then coloured.

Yuki and Makiko

 

Yuki and Makiko waiting for the bus.

These are a couple of civilian figures that I got with some Maschinen Krieger kits, oh, quite some time back. I am currently building a JGSDF Type 61 tanks and a few other bits and have a rough plan in mind.

The Society of Cavaliers

It was a cold day. Minus 3 Celsius. Father had driven us up to Oxford in his baby blue Hillman Minx. 

I still have the old girl in the garage.

We'd set off bright and early with a packet of ham sandwiches and a thermos flask full of tea which mother had put into a basket for us. Magnifique! Mother was a jolly good egg and proposed to crack on with some knitting that she needed to catch up upon. Good show!

We motored along at a good clip, and the car only broke down on us twice. Father did insist we stop at St Albans so he could get a good look at the Roman walls for a new Ancients project he was working on. Some rules called "WRG" - I knew nothing except that they came with a reputation for the recreation of historical accuracy that was unparalleled.  

I had a Transistor Radio on the back seat and it was playing "Hey Jude" by the Beatles. 

It was quite the jolly outing.

We were filled with curiosity as to what the Brig have in store for us. We had been sent a rather mysterious invitation in the post. We were to present ourselves at the Mitre Hotel in Oxford to hear a proposal.

Rumour had gotten about in certain circles that Mr Featherstone and Mr Bath (among others) had also been invited along.

Now, at the time, the Brig was a big wig -  the Head of Military History at Sandhurst. He had just published a smashing book on the Battle of Edgehill the year before. So, of course, speculation was running wild!

So, there we were. Father parked and we went inside the hotel and were guided to a private dining room. Mr Bath and Mr Featherstone were already there. Mr Bath looked a little nervous and was gripping his G&T tighly. Mr Featherstone was dapper as ever with a silk cravat and his inevitable cigarette holder. Father ordered a pint of Real Ale for himself and a lemonade for me.

Various others filtered in. My Bath was showing off a few of his latest War Elephants. Mr Barker shuddered visibly at the sight of them. "More of your horrid pachyderms, Tony?" 

But then from without came a terrible crashing, a jangling if spurs and a stamping of booted feet. "Damn it all! I can't see a bloody thing with these plumes in my face!"

The door was flung open to reveal a terrible apparition. 'Twas the Brig, red of visage, white moustache bisecting his face, flailing madly at the plume of a large hat the sat upon his head. He was clad in the costume of a Cavalier. All in pale blue with white lacing.

"Ye gods..." gasped someone. 

The cigarette holder dropped from Mr Featherstone's lips.

Mr Bath went a deadly shade of white. 

The Brig tore the hat from his head.

"Gentlemen, I have a proposition for you!

"We shall form a society called the Sealed Knot (or, indeed, the Society of Cavaliers).

"I shall be Captain General. Sergeant Featherstone here will be Secretary."

Mustering

Giving Fire

Appointing Mr Featherstone Sec'y

Well, the meeting was something of a blur as the Brig ordered VAT 69 all round. Goodness me, it was an affair to remember. I especially remember being given a couple of hundred Willies and being told to have them ready by Easter.

He even painted up OK.

 S

See where these little diversions lead us?

Huh, he looks like he just took a snowball to the head.

Do You Wanna Build a Snowman?

 OK, off topic, but I could not resist. And, besides, it's seasonal.

I'll paint him up tomorrow.

So, I've never really sculpted anything before, so this is a bit new and quite a bit of fun while watching "A Nightmare Before Christmas" with Erin.

A Troop of Shew

There's no business like Shew business I whistle through my teeth as I put the finishing touches on my latest for the Brig.

It was different, it was a little out of the ordinary. I thought, oh it's a royal bodyguard for the Graf. Idly I wondered how they would go in "Charge!". A quick puff on my cheroot and I opened the window to let the smoke out and palmed down a mint so mother wouldn't suspect.

Whatever might the Brig be up to? They certainly didn't look like anything from the VFS.

Ye Sealed Knotte

'Twas the week (or two) before Christmas, and all through the house was the rustle of quiet industry.

Mother was creating plum puddings and mince pies and trifles of many kinds.

Father was busy converting Spencer Smiths into panzer grenadiers with two-minute epoxy and a straight-edge razor. 

I was fiddling about at the small desk in my loft bedroom with a number of half-pennies in a desultory fashion. I had just finished the Brig's 'The Cavalier Army'. What a cracking good read it had been; everything you could possibly wish to know about the Civil War. My brain was buzzing with the possibilities. 

I had had an idea of what might be achieved upon the tabletops of Mars with numbers of pikemen and musketeers in the service of the King.

"Eureka..!" I muttered and drew up the following diagram upon a sheet of foolscap.

You know, I pondered aloud... I wonder if the Brig would be interested in this. 

That called for a shot of VAT 69. And a small cheroot. I had to be careful not to overindulge as I had Finals coming up the next morning.

Whoever said Ed Suren did not have a sense of humour?

 

Surely this miniature was sculpted after the founding of The Sealed Knot?

Oh eBay, thou temptress

 

Oh, the shame

I regret nothing. Nothing!

Some cutting in, a few details, maybe some back-lining, and they'll slot right in with the Littler Britons.

Yes, yes, I fell down a rabbit hole.

 One dug by Lord of the Rings.

That'll teach me to watch a few episodes of Amazon's "Rings of Power".

I pulled out my pile of LotR shame, and oo-er, it's a big one.

I was thinking, Uruk Hai, Minas Tirith, Warg riders...

So this happened over the weekend.

They need finishing, but that is how I am heading. I think I have 8 or 9 painted and another 6 or 7 in various states. Enough to give Rohan some trouble.

The GW Uruks always suffered from bendy or plain old broken pikes, but I have salvaged a dozen which are now now on the paint bench.

Wouldn't a pike block of 60 of these fellows look good? 3 ranks, 20 files. And because pikes are Landsknechty, I had to do this:

Nothing like a Berserker with a two-handed sword for ruining your day.

And then there was Minas Turith. I have a few goodies and some scattered infantry, but, I want to go fairly big on this army, so went for this for the core of the army.

I'd add Citadel Guard and Guardians of the Fountain Court and probably more knights as well. However, I think this is a good start!

The High Command

So to speak.

Some years ago I inherited a random and diverse collection of French for Egypt. Some were Willies for the later battles of the campaign, ditto some Old Glory. I believe they were surplus from the Collection of Charles Grant which he's probably had in the 1990s while he was writing his books on the campaign and his series of articles for Practical Wargamer.

Some bits of this collection were useful and joined my current army which is my round about way of saying I painted something.

I forget which regiment this is...

Will he be the beginning of another regiment or will he hang about the Corsican Tyrant?

One just needs a large enough piece of plastic to mount them on.

I do like the uniform and will likely do a unit. I am keeping my French cavalry units fairly small as they did not get to Egypt in any great strength. The 7eme bis Hussars are 8 troopers and an officer for example, and that's the standard I'll build the two mooted units of Dragoons I have in mind as well.

Well, that's enough 'castles in the air' for one day.

Keep on smiling. 

The Ongoing History

 

In one rank

In two

I've sent the past dew mornings on basing the Mamluks and this is where I am, currently. I'm quite happy with how they look. I want to add some more 'rabble' infantry and push the cavalry part to twelve figures at least.

Things ought to look pretty spectacular when there are 24 or more on the table.