EBay Finds.

 

A fellow blogger was kind enough to alert me to the sale of some 40mm SYW  figures on eBay , when I first started on my 40mm SYW  collection I had plans to cast every figure myself - but when I saw these I thought they looked so cute that I had to get them . There are 30 of them which will give me a couple of companies under my organisation. Although painted I think I will repaint them as Hessian Grenadiers - they look suitably Germanic , I will have to cast up Officers and Drummers for them .

 

 

The seller was also selling the above Hussars , working on the theory that you can never have enough Hussars I bought these as well (luckily these purchases coincided with some back-pay that was owed to me !) There are enough for a squadron and again I think I will be repainting them into some sort of Frei-Korp Hussars . I believe they are cast from molds sold by  http://www.zinnfigur.com/index.php?cPath=5_1256_1270&osCsid=upnkc9a0dpf5qq25cpbpklrts3&ID=1270 . A lucky find and based and repainted will be seeing action on the table soon.

 

Uncle Toby and Corporal Trim

 

Several blogs ago -(http://tinsoldieringon.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/an-aside-personality-figure.html) in fact, I mentioned modelling Tristram Shandy's Uncle Toby and since then I have been casting around for a suitable figure for his batman Corporal Trim . I finally decided on a old Holger Erikson mold I got off a car boot sale which seemed suitably 'old soldier' and so both characters appear above on my battered and still not read copy of 'Tristram Shandy' .

 

 

 

I have tryed to find a illustration of the gallant Corporal and the only ones I have come up with are by George Cruikshank .

 

 

I have also come to the conclusion that Corporal Trim was maybe the original military modeler ! - note the above 'Smoking Battery' and converting the antique jackboots into mortars ! - if only they had acess to 40mm figures ! what might have been acheieved ?.

 

French Cavalry Regt. Nassau Sarrebruck .

 

Got the second squadron of the French Nassau Sarrebruck finished in a mammoth painting session , I also painted the command figures as well . 

 

 

A lot of casting time and lead in this unit !

 

 

The Regimental Standard and Kettle drummer .

 

 

I think the Kettle drummer is soooo cute , must be in my Top Ten Wargaming Figure chart. Must start on a Allied cavalry unit to balance things up next.

 

 

 

Patio Wars - Reconnaisannce .

 

Encouraged by the Spring like weather General in Command of 'Red Army' R.Crawley ('Creepy' to his men !) rides out with a small escort of Hussars to reconnoitre the ground for the big push which he has been planning over winter.

 

 

They pause to view the land in the cover of Spring foliage .

 

 

But suddenly they spot the enemy ! - Uhlans ! and the enemy spots them !

 

 

As the lancers form line - the General decides discretion is the better part of valour and retires. I have not done any work on my 54mm Funny Little Wars figures for quite a while but like General Crawley perhaps the better weather will inspire me into casting up more reinforcements ready for the Spring campaign.

 

 

Meanwhile in Nova Scotia a similar patrol sets out but in slightly different weather ! - Photo care of Ross Macfarlane - http://gameofmonth.blogspot.co.uk/

 

 

 

 

Another Side of my Hobby.

 

I have always been interested in the classic 'Toy Soldier' scene (54mm scale figures) and for years I did nothing about it other than subscribing to 'Toy Soldier Collecter' magazine . A couple of years ago I read an article about starting a collection and they recommended you concentrated on a particular period and type of figure . I decided I would collect World War One pilot figures - a narrow niche but surprisingly fruitful !. Above one of my favourite sets - German pilots and mechanic (I think the central figure is Richthofen)

 

 

Another set - a British pilot and ground crew. I mainly purchase off EBay and TRY not to spend to much !. Think my interest of this period was generated by the 'Biggles' books

 

 

They come in all sizes ! . The centre figure is a 54mm figure, the one on the right a pre-war Skybirds pilot repainted by me and the left a large hollow cast figure from America . Initialy I was going to stick to just the 54mm figures but now I collect any figure that portrays a pre WW2 airforce figures.

 

 

Command Figures for Regiment Castellas .

 

Having got 2 of the required 3 companies of the French Regt. Castellas done , I thought it was time I painted up some command for them.

 

 

Hmm ! I could have picked easier flags to paint !

 

 

On the casting front the foundry is moving into the 21st century , my wife has been heard muttering darkly about how she hopes the camping gas stove will be cleaned up and ready for our Spring camping trip . Oh dear ! - I had better start renovating it NOW ! . This combined with the problems I have been having with it in the cold weather spurred me on to purchase a electric hotplate cheap off  EBay . In initial tests it seems to perform well , so marital bliss is restored !.

 

 

A Busy Weekend.

 

Over the weekend I cast up 2 squadrons worth of 40mm cavalry , using some of the unwanted figures 'A' gave me . The figures at the back of the photo are the second squadron for the French Regt. Nassau-Sarrebruck as well as the H.Q. figures for this regiment. The figures at the front are the first of a yet unidentified Allied heavy cavalry unit .

 

 

The Nassau-Sarrebruck command - the kettle drummer is SOOOO cute !

 

 

The basic figure for the new Allied regiment . Cleverly the mold produces a horse with 5 legs and 2 tails ! , which of course you remove one of the legs and one of the tails allowing for variants . I cast the figures in three sessions over the weekend , it took this long because of the number of miss casts which is higher in cavalry figure molds and the weather being cold (the snow finally arrived) which causes the camping gas stove I use to burn poorly - something to do with the liquid gas and the cold - I remember in my youth camping in cold weather and having to take the small gas canister into the sleeping bag to keep it warm so that in the morning you could brew up tea. I have the pleasure now of selecting the unit for the next Allied cavalry , was going to make it British but not sure, at moment it may be one of the German states, going to start thumbing through my Osprey books .