All Quiet on the Hobby Front

"Heeeeeeere's JOHNNY!"

There has been a distinct lack of hobby action of late, and like Jack Nicholson's character in "The Shining", cabin fever is setting in...

A combination of family commitments and it just being too damn hot (or humid, or both) have meant I haven't been to the club for weeks and painting has been a write-off. Why try painting when the paint on your brush dries up before it touches a figure? A slight exaggeration, but it's been consistently hotter and muggier since summer officially finished at the end of February, and that kind of weather is not conducive to painting, as you probably know all too well.

Anyway, things are looking up; I'll be going to the club this weekend and will probably play French this time. Several new players have been investing in British armies, so I'll give them some target practice. The Italians I painted up late last year will probably get their maiden run on the battlefield (queue routing markers!).

Because there's been a flurry of British regiments being created, there have been quite a few questions being asked on numbers and basing, and I realise my regiments are undermanned. My focus for when I get my mojo back will be to upgrade my British line regiments from 10 to 12 figures and Highlanders from 12 to 15 figures. I'm also planning to retire some of my older units and replace them with Hagen metal figures (marching and action) and the new Strelets Highlander range. The problem is, though, both ranges have problems: the Hagen figures don't have elite company figures, while the Strelets figures don't have centre company figures! I had ordered some Hagen marching light infantry to use as elite company figures, but when I got the parcel in the mail I found that they'd been replaced with extra centre company marching figures, instead. Consequently, I've used Milliput to make shoulder wings on a few figures. I'll see how they look once I start painting them. I've also laboriously carved off the shoulder wings from the majority of the Highlander figures, too.

Also, I will need to re-base my Spanish infantry, which I mistakenly based on the larger 2-rank base, instead of the standard 3-rank continental infantry. Plus, I plan to boost the numbers of Spanish infantry so that I can field a complete 1500 point Spanish army! "Why?", I hear you ask; well, I have a soft spot for the hapless Spaniards who kept getting up after being knocked down again and again! They embody the image of the plucky underdog, which appeals to my sense of justice. Plus, I have an ambition to win a game with them one day; if I can do that, then I know I'll have made it as a player! That's the same reason I'm still plugging away with the Neapolitan project, too.

Goodbye 2010

This will probably be my last post for the year, so Happy New Year to all my readers!

It's been a year that started pretty badly, continuing on from a shitty end to 2009, but got exponentially better as the year went on, with milestones a-plenty: My eldest daughter finished primary school and has the world of high school and adolescence to take us through; my wife started a new career after being a full-time mother for 12 years; and my youngest daughter continues to explore the world with her never ending thirst for knowledge (ie. asking 'why', or 'how come' questions at every opportunity.) If you care to check my profile details, you'll find a blog she's started, piggy backed on my google account, on her favourite subject: cats! She'd be very pleased if her visitor stats went up and got some comments ;-)

Below are my latest creations; British casualty figures and extra command figures including a Spanish general. I plan to play a Black Powder game over the holiday period, after the upcoming Aspern-Essling bash, and need more command figures for my brigades. I finally got around to painting a British divisional commander (the two figure base) as well as the Highland general and the Spanish general. Strictly speacking the Spanish brigade commander figure should be only one figure for the Cold Steel club rules, but I couldn't resist adding the armed monk figure from HaT's guerilla set! The general is a conversioin from a French officer from the Waterloo 1815 set of Napoleonic command figures (as is the highland general) with the head from an Italeri French general staff figure. I added a sash and cockade fashioned from milliput. I've allowed a few inconsistancies in the uniform to pass ie. the epaulets and gorget shouldn't strictly speaking be on a Spanish general officer's uniform, but that was a conversion too far to contemplate, so pedants take note; I am aware that it's not accurate!

Since posting these pictures, I've cleaned up the bases and added some more foliage so that they're not quite so barren.

Morale/casualty markers look like a massacre!

General Sir Thomas Atkins takes the salute!

Kennington command figure with grenadier from HaT Peninsula British infantry set. 

The dashing Spanish General Don Maunuel de Barcelona and his horse 'Basil'.

 The general receives the blessings of the furious fighting Franciscan, Father Fernando the Ferocius.

Scotland forever!

What's on the workbench

Here is what's on the workbench at the moment : Highlanders!

They are taking a very LOOOOONG time to complete a) because I just don't seem to have the time for painting at the moment, and b) painting tartan is such a bugger!

I've chosen the 92nd as my Scots regiment of choice as I build up Howard's brigade from Spencer's division at Fuentes D'Onoro. I've already painted the 71st Highland Light Infantry, I'm now painting the 92nd and then will paint the 50th West Kents (known as the dirty half-hundred, because the their facings were black and when the soldiers wiped the sweat from their faces using their sleeve cuffs, the dye would run, smearing their faces black!)

Where it all happens!

92nd Gordon Highlander grenadier

Rear view of same

I've recently had my first overseas visitor! Thanks for visiting from the good ol' USA. I hope you're the first of many, sir!