Big Exam Two Weeks Away

Just to let you know I am still alive, but studying for a big exam on the 13th March.

I admit I have left it far too late to study properly so I am now busy cramming in the (vain?) hope I get a lucky pass-I will return to blogging once this little hurdle is out of the way.

Grenadiers a Cheval of the Imperial Guard

While sorting through the various boxes of figures in the loft I came across these French cavalry from the Essex Miniatures 15mm range (there are also some Minifigs & Warmodelling French up there too).

I have painted and based them for Age of Eagles - the Napoleonic variant of Fire and Fury.

These four bases represent the Grenadiers a Cheval (rated OG 4/-/2) which together with the Empress Dragoons and some of the Guard Horse artillery form the Guard Heavy Cavalry under Guyot at Waterloo. The standard bearer is missing his Eagle at the moment - I will have to get one separately as there was not one in the pack. Probably in another one of the many boxes up there.

The photography does not do them full justice and for once I am quite pleased with the results. Posts may be a bit thin on the ground until the middle of next month-work related stuff again.

More Perry Dragoons

A quick WIP shot of the Perry Dragoons so far. I have had to delete the "Matt's Little Soldiers" blog ahead of time-simply because I could not post anything without that blog trying to open.

I must admit I have been very taken by the sheer brilliance of these figures. Very well sculpted, the plastics would allow the core units to be built up fairly cheaply. But I will not be keeping them (or the box of hussars). I have very few Napoleonic figures of my own and had no real plans to start collecting them again in the immediate future. So, I will finish them for a bit of fun and then use the proceeds towards the "loft fund" as planned.

My own Napoleonic collecting will start after my Airfix ACW project is complete. More on those guys later.

Last of the Copy Over Images

I have tested the "Matt's Little Soldiers" blog several times now and still the same problem, so here are the last few images that I have copied over showing the 1/72nd figures I completed over the Christmas/New Year period.

Top left is the excellent old Qualiticast Union Headquarters, bottom left are Messrs Jackson & Longstreet from the Wodensfeld range with some Kennington infantry.

My First Ever Perry Plastic!

After a very frustrating weekend with my blogs I finally sat down this evening and painted my first ever Perry plastic figure, a Line Dragoon Trumpeter.

There are a couple of bits that need tidying up and the picture is a bit blurred but at least I have achieved something this weekend.

I bought the box ages ago but they have been left in pristine, untouched glory in the loft. The loft is important-it contains my wargames table and painting table. It is also very cold as the insulation is currently for the house below only!

There is a lot of junk up there, but mainly my models collected and stashed over the years. I am therefore being ruthless and throwing out the real rubbish (broken suitcases, old Christmas decorations etc etc.), and gifting a lot to charity shops. My figures and books are also being culled. Most of the figures will be sold off as they are now, but a couple of bits will be painted up before they go-like these fellows. Proceeds go towards the loft insulation, boarding out and better lighting. Well, that is the plan.

Spencer Smith 30mm Franco Prussian War Figures

Another transfer in from the disabled blog-this time Franco Prussian War figures from Spencer Smith. They are based for "They Died For Glory" rules and are part of my continuing quest to find a range of figures I can really get on with for this particular war (the other war is the Crimean-always looking but never quite satisfied on what there is on offer).

The Colonel is from the 4th Bavarian Line (the rest of the regiment are still sitting in the painting queue) and below is the start of the French army!

Still to transfer over are some 20mm American Civil War pictures, my own 1/72nd metal American war of Independence figures and some Bengal Lancers. I will do these over the next couple of days-I have spent an awful lot of time on blogging this weekend and have not painted much at all, including a Kennington ACW signal tower I wanted to finish and some plastic Perry Dragoons I really wanted to get started!

French Grenadier of the Imperial Guard

The latest carry over from the "broken blog" is this Airfix 54mm figure I am painting up in enamels.

He has not progressed much since the last picture taken in December-but he will be finished one day!

Thanks for the tips by the way in trying to fix the issues-but even Firefox does not seemed to have resolved the situation. Oh well, at least this blog works.

Moving Back To Here...

For reasons I cannot really work out, I have been "thrown out" of two of my three blogs. I have spent over 24 hours trying to fix this problem.

Cut a long story short, I am moving back here because this blog is still working. Although I have lost "In The Grand Manner" and all the images that went with it I have managed to save the images from "Matt's Little Soldiers".

I am going to copy the rest across tomorrow. For the moment however, here are two images from

the ongoing Airfix ACW Project. More ACW, Franco Prussian and "big" Airfix soldiers to follow!

Test

By way of explanation for this posting, this week I have been having a lot of problems with Blogger.

Currently this one seems to be the only one working properly-one has disappeared completely and the other will not load images.

So, I have posted this image (the latest master figures for the Schleswig Holstein War figures), as a bit of a test.

Having spent most of last night and today trying to resolve this matter I may have to resort to desperate methods!