All Aboard to the Paint Station!

 Huzzah! I finally have got myself a permanent hobby table in our new house!

I'd trialled using the dining table to paint at, then putting everything back in the garage afterwards (as was Mrs. R's preference), but that really didn't cut the mustard. My mother (and then my sister) had been holding on to an old wooden school desk which used to belong to my grandmother. Neither of them had had any use for it but once we bought our new place I was keen to use it for a paint station.

It ticks all the boxes:

1. It's small. It doesn't dominate the room like my old desk did in the old house. I can have what I'm working on and nothing else. All other hobby gear is stored in the garage (which I plan to convert into the Man Cave once I sort out the assorted detritus stored there after the move.)
2. It has its own storage. Lift the lid and there's a handy place to keep your paint pots not currently in use, piano wire for head conversions, tools etc.
3. It's right next to the PC. I can sit at my desk with the computer displaying images from my Pinterest collection, or other useful uniform websites (Also, Mrs. R likes to look at her home economics blogs on the PC while I sit next to her, hobbying away. Awww!)

I haven't really done any hobby related stuff until now as I really found not having a permanent place to work at a real disincentive; unpacking and packing up really killed the mood. I like just working on stuff as the mood takes me, rather than having to plan when I can use a space that is also used by the family for other things. The proof of that is no sooner had I got everything set up the way I like it, I'd embarked on the first project for 2016: converting my new lancers into Neapolitan Chevau-Leger!

Work station: old school desk with my cutting mat on top.
And another gift from my sister: a withdrawn library book on sculpting and casting your own soldiers....
Hmmm, maybe one day!

Paints and tools conveniently stored under the lid.

First cab off the rank: Lancer sporting new head form surplus French infantry.

New Purchase for the New Year

Guiseppe Rava box cover  illustration 

Firstly, Happy New Year to you all!

Now I've got the pleasantries out of the way, let me gush about my new purchase, Waterloo 1815's mew set of French Lancers. They are very, very nice! Almost as nice as Franznap's lancers (but not quite) and certainly will complement them very well.

The figures are multi-part with the arms and lances coming separate, which allows for some nice poses. As with all Waterloo 1815 products, both riders and horses are anatomically proportionate, and minor details spoil the overall lovely production values. In this case, the sheep-skin shabraque is modelled with a curious elongated flap. Again, the contents of the box don't reflect the accurate box artwork. Oh well, at least it's a fairly minor grumble!

Another minor grumble is the plastic they're made of. I'm used to the relatively rubbery

To read a full review and see the figures themselves, visit Plastic Soldier Review here

So, what am I going to do with these figures, I hear you ask? Well, dear reader, I haven't decided whether I shall boost the numbers of my French lancers or embark on a little conversion project to create Neapolitan Chevau-Leger while I wait on Franznap's products to reach the shops. I'll probably do both; fill out my existing French lancers to an even eight, while doing a little Frankenstein job on the heads of the rest.

After the head swaps, I'll be aiming to produce something like this:

I still haven't set up a painting space in the new house, but this new project will give me the impetus I need to claim a corner just for me a my little plastic men!