On the workbench - Medievals

Over the past few weeks I have been engaged on a campaign  to clean up my painting table. Just as a break from painting Britains.

Resting, not forgotten

It had gotten pretty bad, bad to the point where all the action was taking place in the only clear part of the desk, a strip abut 5 cm deep and 30 cm wide. Now, this was getting a little unsustainable, so off I went. There have been all sorts going out. A small herd of horses, a couple of knights, one a Crusader:

One, a Crusader

The other a later type in Maximilian armour.

The other

 A Polish winged lancer,

Hammer of the Turks

 French Fusiliers for Napoleon's romp through the Ottoman Empire and a few more figures for the North Western Frontier.

I glow with virtue.

This week though it's been a handful of medieval archers.

twang-twang!

I liked how these turned out so much that I started making some hoardings for them:

The palings are sliced up strips of coffee stirrer glued to strips of skewer, although I think I may have had a less fiddly time with more trips of coffee stirrer. The eagle eyed among you may note that they are in the same livery colours as the archers. The idea here is to ultimately get together a medieval siege setup.

... and another

24th Foot, of course, or the South Wales Borderers for this later fellow,

Yes, I still need to put his arm on, but the varnish is sticky and I couldn't resist.

One of my favorite of the Wm. Britains poses and really a breeze to paint them as well. More in the coming days.

A Toy Soldier's Progress

So...

How are you all? What's happening out there?

How are you filling in those long days and evenings in lockdown when you are in quarantine, or cant get out and a bout as you might like in the evening or over the weekends?

I have decided to make this my Time of Unfinished Projects.

Each week or fortnight (depending on how much of the particular project is in stock) I will be picking up a different unfinished project and moving it along a little. Last week it was Willie Highlanders (pics to follow),  this week it's recast "Wm Britains",

There's a bit of WIP progression picture here:

They do come up well. I had forgotten how elegant they are in their line and how they take as much detail as you are prepared to put on them. The black lining may not be to everyone's' taste, but I am having a go at emulating the Henry Harris painting style.

Paperboys

For my birthday this year, I bought some of the Peter Dennis "Paperboys" books, having seen them in action on Aly Morrison's blog.

I thought they looked quite charming, and when I saw one of them was a "Little Wars" reprint, I was gone for all money.

So I started assembling a base of WSS Bavarian Grenadiers.

Not too onerous to cut out. I'd probably benefit from making a few stands at a time as a batch. Good fun so far. I am looking at a scenario for the Schellenburg, 1704 as my build target. Let's see how we go.

The Schellenburg was an early love of mine since I first came across it in Mil Mod years and years ago and I'm chuffed to be building a neat little Bavarian Army in that cause.

The Cavalry

My North West Frontier project has been coming along as I move into Cavalry country.

Firstly we have a couple of Sowars of the Corps of Guides. Seminal troops for any NWF project.

And secondly, some British Lancers. Looking closely at them , it's very apparent that these are meant to be the 21st Lancers at Omdurman. It's my intention to mount these figures on comparatively large bases - say 80 x 40mm to accommodate the rather large horses. I am intrigued by the possibility into making some of these into mini vignettes which might make up into something quite impressive when the whole regiment is eventually assembled. I have just about enough castings to produce a full Squadron (in TSatF terms) of 25 figures - two troops of 12 figures plus a Captain commanding...

Wargaming megalomania? Why, yes.

Now, just to wrap up for the day, a miscellany of just varnished odds and ends:

From left to right, a Buff, an Officer of the Artillery, a Sowar of the Corps of Guides, an Officer of the Corps of Guides, another Buff and a Driver. The last is a Willie seated gunner from the Gatling Gun set whi has opted for a quieter life and is waiting on a 4Ground cart.

The HMS Hood

I am currently (when not cranking out miniature Pathans and others) working away with the fellows from the Airfix Tribute forum on a group build.

The topic is Airfix WW2 Royal Navy Warships and I am building HMS Hood. I am using the base kit from Airfix as well as a kind of sticky-backed timber deck overlay and a sheet of impossibly small and fine brass etch to detail this elderly classic.

This has been a very enjoyable effort and one that I intend to repeat.

Herewith a few pix:

The whole thing dry-fitted together

The screens and railings on the Admiral's Bridge

The Flying-off platform on 'B' Turret

 The Hood in 1931. The Hood could carry a Fairey III seaplane on a steam catapult aft and a Fairey Flycatcher on a platform over the 'B' Turret. Ideally, you'd crank the old girl up to 34 knots, turn into the wind and..... launch!

A bit of internal bracing

 It's possible I may have bought a few Destroyers and a Cruiser as well.

Pathans!

A rare view from inside the Shedio of some Pathans. I had these a while ago from John P and painted them up last year on a whim. Mostly Stadden with a couple of Willies on the extreme right of the picture. One of those is a re-purposed Saxon.

There are another ten that are at about the 80% mark.

Things are starting to some together, I feel.

Tomorrow I ought to have a few Cavalrymen to put up.

Randoms...

Just starting to scrape the bottom of my NWF figure barrel.

From left to right, wounded, mounting up and Fighting Mac. The mounting up figure no longer seems to be in the Willie catalogue; I had this figure from a mixed lot a few years ago. His horse is being painted. Fighting Mac is I think, meant to be Hector MacDonald.

Next, some wily Pathans.

So, where are we?

Right here.

I have the bit between my teeth, I've had a week off and have been painting steadily.

So, today I threw down a water-carrier. In my mind he's Gunga Din, but who knows? Certainly he was easy to paint; he only took about 20 minutes this afternoon.

I added a new member to the Medical Staff. Dr Watson, Barbara and fanny have been joined by Private Shifty. Wounded men are not the only thing he snags off the battlefield. Need a second hand watch? A pocket book? A cigarette case? He's your man.

Och, the Highlanders. Rather pleased with the tartan. I have a method that seems to work and gives a fair result for the effort going in.

 Finally, The Buffs. Were with Brindon Blood's Third Brigade. Fine fellows all.

And that's nearly it. Apart from a few more Highlanders, a few speciality figures and a couple of Sowars that's about all the unpainted lead I have for now. I have a gun crew and a unit of British cavalry that need repainting, then I will need to toddle off and put in an order with Tradition. More Highlanders and some more Regulars to fill out my first couple of units then some Indian Infantry will be next, I should say.

The Medical Staff Redux

Introducing Dr Watson and nurses Fanny and Barbara.

The Medical Arm 2 - Stretcher Bearers!

Made the stretcher out of a straw from a broom with a slice of making tape.

The Medical Arm

Nurse Fanny Golightly, white-aproned angel, ministers to the wounded...

Another fine Suren figure who just cries out for an accompanying Medical Officer, some stretcher-bearers and perhaps a couple of tents.

 Before I get too carried away, I had better get on with the Highlanders whose kilts are now DONE.

The Highland Light Infantry

Not much more to be said. I'm engaged in painting what Willie colonials I have in the uniforms of units that were with the Malakand Field Force. A pleasing miscellany. Figures are Willies from Tradition as usual.

The heat, the dust.

I am giving myself a bit of a holiday from cranking out Napoleonic troops and taking a trip to the North Western Frontier. The year is about 1895.

Just finished this chap this morning; he was still on his painting stand as the varnish dried when I took the photo. A splendidly useless figure in war gaming terms, but what the heck.

Another pair of Willies, the first of the English infantry.

The rules will probably be TSaTF*, maybe 5-6 units of infantry, a battery and three units of cavalry. Then there are the Pathans...

*Or perhaps I'll cook up a Funny Little Derivative thereof.

Painting Challenge... result!

Today ticks over the deadline for a small painting challenge I have been participating in and, despite it being a near-run thing, I managed to scrape in.

 Here we go, another French unit for d'Erlon's third Division during the 100 Days.

And it's part in the greater scheme of things.

General de Brigade

A couple of Zvezda johnnies. M. le General peers with his spyglass whilst his eager young ADC prepares to fly off with instructions for some lucky Chef de Bataillon.

Le 45eme de Ligne

 The 45th of the line which famously lost it's eagle at Waterloo to Sgt Ewart of the Scot's Greys.

 Zvezda Command - the figures work together very well with the Waterloo 1815 rankers in my opinion.

les Bleus, redux

 In Line... Skirmishers out.

 In Battalion Column, Skirmishers out front

 In Square, Skirmishers in.

In March Column.

Les Bleus

Just while I am waiting on some Vietnam kit to arrive, I'm off and painting some French Infantry for the 100 Days.

Waterloo 1815 figures with something of the feel of the old Esci/Italeri figures. The base is 50mm/2" wide. I am intending eight figures per base and four bases per unit.

Saddle up, time to go on patrol

 A pair of M113 ACAVs rolling out on patrol from Firebase Freddy.

Looks quiet out there.

Too quiet.

Keep your eyes on the road, trooper.

The Vietnam War

Over the past week or so I have found myself drifting off to thoughts about the Vietnam War, so of course it was time for a dive into the Stash!

JB Models M113 ACAV

 As with most things, my interest was sparked by an article in a wargames magazine, in this case the Winter 1989 issue of Practical Wargamer with a couple of these kits assembled and painted by Graeme Green of Special Forces  - one of the premier painting houses of the time.

Commanders for same

The images were inspirational and I've always remembered them, so this little collection will be my tribute to those wonderful figures.

Grenadiers of Nassau

First the front side

Then the back side

Drying varnish gleaming in the early morning sunshine...

What's the latest?

The first batch of French Dragoons of course! Whatever else?

Napoleon, in the Rhineland with some Dragoons?

Nassauers

And I just finished off a unit of NaT Nassauers.

Nice figures and because of the way they break down in the box, you could build a few options with just a couple of boxes. Full marks to HaT on these little gems.

Oh yes, the rest of the Curassiers

Oh, a Dutch Battery appears to be about to either deliver some mighty stick or be completely overrun.

What I did on my Holidays

 An Emperor and a personal attendant

 A Cuirassier and his flag

 Redux... Yes, there is a complete unit of Cuirassiers. He's no Nigel no-mates.

And Hurrah for the RHA! Spanking chaps and I am sure Captain Mercer would be proud.

Currently working on some Nassau infantry and am putting the finishing touches on another pair of RHA 6pr guns.

Next?

French Dragoons, I think.