French Pioneer

Here he is, shaded and based.

 

French Pioneer WIP

I've managed a little painting in between my fast approaching deadline and all the other real life stuff like work and family.

A single figure is all that has been possible in the past week or so. In this case a French pioneer from the HaT Light Infantry Command set. I'm planning on him being used in the sea-landing scenario.

Just a couple of details remain, like the piping on his boots, but to all intents and purposes, he's finished. Basing & shading remain.

Happy Birthday to Me!

As some of the more observant may have noticed, the last entry on this blog was hijacked by certain members of my family who used the comments section to engage in some covert birthday greetings!

Needless to say, yesterday was my birthday and I got some cracking presents from my kids.

First up, an aid against Alzheimer's; if I ever forget who I am while painting, all I need to do is turn my head to the left and there is a beautiful, multi-hued reminder! Thanks kids! :-D

Also received was an ultra-deluxe dice bag featuring patchwork exterior, lined interior and toggles on the drawstring! All made by the fair hand of my oldest daughter.

I'll be the envy of the club!

Super deluxe dice bag with toggle-action drawstring (I'm hoping that it'll also have properties that will aid in warding off the bad juju that my dice seem to be afflicted with!)

Plush interior

Bloggers of the World, Unite!

This is an accurate representation of von Peter himself, honest (forgot to take any photos!)

I spent a very pleasant half hour (unfortunately it couldn't be longer due to work, dammit!) today at lunchtime catching up with another antipodean blogger of the Kiwi variety, von Peter himself.

von Peter was gracing Melbourne to see the Napoleon exhibition and take in some of the other attractions available in our fair city, so we made arrangements to meet. As I'm a local and have never actually stayed in a hotel here, I was tested trying to find his accommodation by the agreed time. It didn't help that there were 3 different locations of the same hotel, all tucked down our famous alleyways! Anyway, I found him and we repaired to one of the alleyway nooks for a coffee, kindly shouted by von Peter himself.

I showed him my entry for the La Bricole Summer Painting Challenge in person and got some very nice feedback. We compared rules, figures and generally talked shop for the rest of the time available. I've come to the conclusion that historical wargaming bloggers are a decent bunch of chaps whatever corner of the globe they come from and I wasn't disappointed in this instance.

It's amazing to think of a Kiwi and an Aussie talking about a long dead Frenchman on the other side of the world from his greatest exploits. We both marveled at the technology that brought us together; we wouldn't have even heard of each other before blogging, let alone been able to actually organise the meeting without email.

The world really is shrinking!

Borodino Clips

After the link to the stills of Borodino 2012, here's some film of the re-enactment, starting with a report from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Moscow correspondent Norman Hermant, followed by a couple of others showing the participants marching in and the battle itself. 

Borodino is well known as an artillery battle so the visibility must have been virtually nil after the first barrage, if the last clip is anything to go by!

Soviet HMG crew

Steady progress for Jim's Soviet project. Now here's the HMG crew on the move.

I've got another LMG crew in action and on the move next up, then more artillery.

 

Foot Dragoons

Here's a little taster of the foot dragoons I've had knocking around for the past year or so courtesy of a swap with Ben of Victorious Secret fame. It's been rather busy at Chez Rosbif and I haven't had much hobby time, but I've at least had time to highlight and base these chaps. Some still need patching where the paint has chipped off, including a couple in the photos below

The photos were hurriedly taken last night and these are the pick of the bunch. There are more, but my photography skills late at night weren't the best.

I have plans to use them in the sea landing scenario which may have to be postponed til after the piratical silliness at the club is over as I have study deadlines and family commitments for the next few weeks.

(Apologies; I didn't realise how dusty they were until viewing them in close up!)

Pick of the bunch IMHO!
He'll stand in as a horse-holder as his nonchalant stance isn't belligerent enough for a frontline role. Now I just have to find enough non-charging horses for him to hold! 

Officer

Dragoon priming the pan, clad in infantry overpants.

Borodino 2012 pictures

Today's online version of The Age (one of Melbourne's dailies) has a photo gallery of pictures from the recent re-enactment of the Battle of Borodino to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the battle. Unfortunately, it's light on details, but there's lots of pretty pictures to enjoy!

To view the gallery, click the link

In the Navy!

Here's my complete Royal Navy landing party including Royal Marines, sailors, command stand and artillery.

As the more astute amongst you will have noticed, it's no longer August, and that means it's 'Pirates in September' at the club, so these chaps will get their first run on the tabletop soon!

Complete naval contingent

Marines and command

Sailors

Royal Marines with Naval Command

Gun emplacement

Naval Gun and Crew Now With Added Blob & Tackle!

Here's the finished product!

Even though the blocks are a little too large still, they're a huge improvement on the previous attempt at using kitchen twine.

Big thanks to Cadet13 from La Bricole for the inspiration. I don't know why I didn't think of watching Hornblower myself!