2018's Last Post

I have drawn a short straw this year and after today I am working all the way through to the New Year (including the big days), so this will definitely be my last post for 2018. It should have been posted much earlier but I cheated and used a spray varnish with that awful white clouding as a result. 

They are now sitting under several coats of gloss then matt varnish and while they look better than they did they are far from perfect. Essex Miniatures 15mm Prussian figures - a second battalion is undercoated but going nowhere soon. I have also been catching up on the 20mm early WW1 figures but again nothing showing until 2019.

Just remains to say Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to one and all!

First Phase 1870 French Army Complete

Well it seems to have taken forever but I have finally finished the two outstanding French Command bases. Apologies for the fuzzy images...

Mainly Old Glory 15s with a couple of Essex Miniatures foot figures for good measure.

I am now going to turn my attention to the German forces, starting off with some Prussian infantry. Hopefully the output rate will  improve!

I also need to get moving on some buildings and general battlefield clutter.

33rd Regiment of Foot (First Yorkshire West Riding)

With apologies for the lousy photography (I am using a back up camera) the Airfix Battle of Waterloo Project takes a small lurch forward.

Photographic special effects for that true 1970's look!

My period of being too busy with "stuff" should be over in the next couple of months so hopefully there will be a marked increase in output.

Next post should be the command bases needed to complete phase one of the French FPW army.

Not Much Painting Going On

It has been a while since I have posted anything simply because I have been busy with "stuff". One of the more enjoyable bits of "stuff" is finally getting to grips with my allotment...

Very excited about my potatoes!

I am doing some painting and may even have an Airfix post for next weekend.

Nearly There...

French line battalion number 6 is now complete. Another "firing line", but this time a couple of the troops are taking advantage of the prone reload capabilities of the breech-loaders.

 15mm Essex Miniatures once more.

This means I need just two command stands and phase #1 of the French army is complete. We have a bank holiday weekend coming up so hopefully I can pull that all together by then.

I need to get some buildings together as well, my few 15mm European building are all old Hovels range - I fancy looking at some of those laser-cut MDF kits which are now available. Any recommendations?

French Line Chasseurs 1870

Very smart uniforms!

 Another addition to the French army in the form of a battalion of Line Chasseurs in their lovely smart blue uniforms. Essex Miniatures once more.

This leaves one more Line battalion and a couple of command stands to complete for phase 1 of the French army. I hope to have these done by the end of March - and then I will hold a little 15mm parade!

Bavarian 4th Infantry Regiment-Shedding New Light.

The latest unit to add to the fledgling German forces is a battalion of the 4th Infantry Regiment with their lovely yellow facings. The figures themselves are Miniature Figurines once more, tweaked a little to produce the kind of look I like.

As you can see I have solved the poor lighting problem by investing in a clip on LED lamp from my local supermarket for the princely sum of £4.99! I have also taken the plunge and ordered a new desk lamp as my old broken one must be a museum piece as I cannot find anything like it anymore.

And while I was at it I re-shot the dim Minifigs French infantry from a couple of posts ago.

I am still forging ahead with the Franco Prussian War (resisting the temptation to dive back in to the Airfix Waterloo and Mons 1914 projects especially). I have cleaned up and primed the last two French infantry battalions which completes "phase one" of the French army.

French cavalry have no part in my first phase plans but these two Dragoons have been sitting primed up and ready to go for so long I couldn't ignore them any more.

Essex Miniatures on those lovely-to-paint-horses they produce.

Old School Colonial British Infantry

First of all apologies for the poor quality of the pictures but try as I may without my old fluorescent desk lamp which is sadly no more I just cannot get enough light onto the miniatures of late.

Anyway, back to the subject in hand. Stryker of "Hinton Hunt Vintage Wargame Figures" fame has another interesting blog particularly relevant to  the 19th Century subject matter of this blog, covering the 2nd Anglo-Boer War here. These fellows are the results of my contribution to beef up the British infantry forces.

The figures themselves are from the small (but interesting) Raventhorpe 20mm Colonial range. Ian has chosen an old school block colours finish to the collection which I have enjoyed replicating (the first figures I have painted without a black primer for many years I believe).

They are ready to embark transports to Scotland tomorrow to take on the wily Boer. Expect better shots of the based figures on Stryker's blog soon.

For me it's back to those 15mm Bavarians which should be completed and based within the next few days all going well.

Back to Business

15mm Minifigs French Infantry

 So here we are nearly a full month in to 2018 and I can finally post something new. For those keeping count this is line battalion number 5 completed which means I need one more line and a chasseur battalion to complete the stage 1 French 1870 army.

The "Furia Francese" in miniature!

The figures are all 15mm Miniature Figurines with a bit of bending and tweaking to get the "Furia Francese" result I wanted. I am now starting another Bavarian battalion. I need my German States stage 1 army to be roughly twice the size for the scenario I have in mind, plus some suitable real estate to grace the battlefield. If I can keep the pace going I am hoping for a fairly impressive opening game in around summertime. Finger's crossed of course.