Essex Miniatures FPW Artillery.

15mm Franco Prussian War artillery.

 March has not been as productive as I would have wished!



Same gun, different angle!

 

Oh well, you never know, I might be able to add a few more before April-but I doubt it!

More Miniatures From Essex

The lads from Essex ready to fight at Solferino or Sedan. 

As promised here are the results of my latest foray into the lead pile. I am not sure how long I have had these figures, but I remember the rationale behind their purchase (and it is a lot better than my usual "ooohh shiny" impulse).

When looking at the European "double-barrelled name wars" the temptation is always to re-fight the BIG battles. This means loads of figures-so with regard to gaming space, painting time and available pocket money the smaller the better really. 15mm is well catered for and so I made purchases from Essex, Mirliton, Old Glory and Freikorps. Then, I did nothing and they have sat in a number of tins ever since.

Should I mention that I managed to put the flag on upside down?

Another attraction of 15mm is the fact that despite the rather frustrating nerve damage (improving very slowly)  I can actually hold these figures long enough to paint them. I am getting happier with the results I can achieve in this scale and am now working on some French line infantry and artillery support.

Over 24 Months Later...

Here are the last of the 15mm ACW that I discovered in the lead pile-figures that I actually started in mid 2010! Back then I was experimenting with "dip" but these figures are paint alone. The figures themselves are from Essex Miniatures and are based for Fire & Fury. Eventually I intend to return to the ACW and Fire & Fury, which will be in addition to the Airfix collection. However, I am not sure what scale I will use and anyway, this is way way off in the future.

 

Next up from the "started but never finished pile" are some 15mm Franco Prussian War figures.

12 Months Later...

I started painting these figures in February last year, as you can see here and here. While rummaging around in the unpainted figure pile I spotted them and thought it might be an idea to finally finish them-so here we have the 7th Dragoons c.1815.

Lovely as they are I have no plans to do Napoleonics in this scale so they are a one off.

I have also rediscovered some 15mm figures which I thought I would have a go finishing off  as well.

Not sure how long this will take as hobby time is scarce-but they are little and 75% complete so fingers crossed there may be something to post by the weekend.

25mm Crimean War British Artillery by Tradition

The "Waterloo to Mons" period is to my mind still an untapped and fascinating era for wargamers. Period artworks, plus the uniforms and characters themselves are all a rich source of inspiration for the tabletop General.

In my case it is also the source of a great weight of unpainted lead which threatens the very stability of the loft! I have some absolute gems up there and I thought it might be an idea to actually start painting some of them. So that is what 2013 is going to be about. (It also has a sound medical application-after many, many months I am slowly beginning to grip, hold and generally manipulate with my left hand. Plastic figures are my current forte but I have also managed some metal as well now).

First among the gems are these 25mm Tradition figures, available in the UK from Tradition of London or Spencer Smith Miniatures.

They are fantastically well sculpted, beautifully proportioned and elegant (I am using that "e" word again!). If only there were more figures in the range. (OK, the 30mm range is fuller but it is prohibitively expensive for me). I have a few more of them, namely British Guards which I may do next before moving on to my biggest lead pile-the Italian Wars of Unification.

Output will not be fast but hopefully there should be something to interest you this year.

2012: A Retrospectacle

Probably a bit early to look back over the year-but frankly I am rather looking forward to saying goodbye to 2012!

Not that 2013 is looking much better at the moment but what the hey!

So, what plans for the New Year? Actually, not many at the moment. While the injury is getting better in stages (hell, I can hold a fork in  my left hand for an entire meal, well nearly) my painting output is still annoyingly slow.

So, 2013 is the year of small but achieveable goals. I reckon I can have two projects on the go at any one time. I have already decided on a Napoleonic project over at "In The Grand Manner" and until the Airfix ACW project is finished that leaves no real room for Waterloo to Mons.

I do not plan to abandon the whole blog, but until the Airfix project is finished I cannot promise much more than the occassional update.

In the meantime I leave you with a bunch of Kennington Miniatures ACW figures I painted earlier in the year for my friend George in the US.

Miniature News

 Here are the first metal figures that I have been able to paint since the accident. They are from the Minifigs S Range Franco Prussian War range now available once again from John Cunningham at CunnJoh@aol.com. 

Another set that is under new management is my own Schleswig Holstein range. Stuart Penhall has kindly taken over the mantle and can be contacted at stupen@optusnet.com.au

I wish good luck to both endeavours.

All going well, Waterloo to Mons blogging will resume sometime in the New Year. In the meantime please feel free to pop over and see how my wargaming rehabilitation is going over at the Airfix ACW Project blog.