Another project becomes 'table ready', the fleet sets sail in the imagination, and cars collide in the dust of post-petrol America

 Work has been a series of 10-hour days again, this week, but I managed to squeeze in a few little things, such as replacing the flag poles on my Perry British, to accept the slightly earlier standards from GMB, I have used to identify the Leicestershire, Norfolk and Highland regiments, making up the 'English' elements of my 2nd Anglo-Afghan War army.

I was pretty busy first thing on Saturday and I'm pretty washed out with a nasty cough and cold (that's all it is, but after being locked away fro 18 months, you forget the joys of the traditional seasonal pests) so it was about 1PM before I forced myself to get off my arse and go to the studio.

Well, about 4 hours later, I had drybrushed, flocked and added shrubbery to the bases of over 200 models, and I'd cut, fitted and touched up the half dozen flags, bringing the Afghan War project to table ready status.

I do still have about 6 British and 4 Afghan general officers to finish, but as you can see, it's a damned fine colection now:









 And when it hit the shelf, with the Afghans, it looked pretty damned fine, I'm sure you'll agree:


If I laid out the elements in a straight line, there would be around 50 linear feet of troops. And to think that the inspiration for this back in January was this picture, on the Perry Miniatures Facebook page:


Until then, I had no intention of gaming the period, but I am so glad I did. I have played a few colonial games in my time, but they were 15mm and to WRG or MOD Games lists which invariably had a few western troops mowing down hordes. But, on a decent sized table in 28mm and with rules which place an accent on having fun with a group of likeminded friends, I think theres so much potential for great battles with plenty of colour.

I intend to add limbers for the artilery, 2 more Bengal cavalry and 1 Sikh infantry units as well as a bit more artilery and regular cavalry for the Afghans, just to round it out to my satisfaction.

It may be that I also take on another colonial project in the future, but I am undecided as yet.

I've been getting an unhealthy interest in Navwar 1/3000th after 40+ years of being 'clean', so that itch may need a good scratch.

I'm also busy collecting original Car Wars stuff, and as soon as I finish up here, I'll be sprawled on the bed with several issues of Auto Duel Quarterly from the 80s, as I am shattered and want to avoid going into the studio until 8AM Monday.

Comments

Post a Comment

Leave your praise and vitriolic commentary here...

Popular posts from this blog

How, Over 40 Years Ago, A Guy Called Andy Changed My Life With 5 Words, And Other Reminiscences...

Image
 Of late I have been having long and vivid dreams wherein, I am often walking or travelling with people I have known, some living, some passed, talking over things we had done or said. I confess that it's been eerie but also very liberating. These coversations have been so real that I have awoken in the morning (more usually, half way through the night) and been confused at my surroundings.  Last night I was speaking with Dave Hoyles  - very much alive and kicking - of Q.T Models/Museum Miniatures. The only thing I have noticed is that is often been snowing heavily in these dreams. One of my latest dreams was of the late Ian Smith, another the comic book artist Paul Green - who, thankfully is still with us. This pattern began a few years ago when I had a similar experience with the recently deceased Pete 'Greblord' Armstrong. It was a very cathartic experience for me, as I had much which needed to be said. I may have written of this before, but this particular dream was d...
Read more

A Serious Post And Another Obituary But With Some More Positive Stuff At The End

Image
 I am at an age where I would expect the odd death of someone I know, but I am starting to realise that it's the younger end of the line which is getting culled.  This week I found out through a good friend that another friend in the hobby from the old days had taken his own life, bringing the total friends lost to 5 and drom that number the number lost to suicide in the last few years to 2. Now, I've been close to that I think, three times, but I've been lucky enough to be able to turn my illogical brain around and decide that the world and my enemies will not be happy if I thrive and stay alive. So, that has been my stated mission, to live long and be hated that much longer. The first time I was taken with thoughts of suicide, was when I was banned from Games Workshop Sheffield in the 80s (see my book or earlier posts) and my so-called friends allowed themselves to be bought off, trading silence as to what a set-up it was in return for part time jobs at the store. That wa...
Read more

The Passing Of A British Wargaming Legend

Image
It is with genuine sadness and heavy heart that I must record the passing of Sheffield Wargames Society founder member and long time Chairman, Steve Roberts.    I was 13 when I first met Steve (some 43 years ago, now). It was a chance meeting. I'd been playing Dungeons & Dragons for about a year and had taken some Citadel FTZ Zombies back to my Junior school to show my headteacher there, who'd always encouraged the creative arts in pupils.    He was impressed (as you'd expect) and told me that a wargames club met at the school now, on Monday nights run by a chap called Steve Roberts.    Well, of course I was interested, and together with my friend Alan Staniforth, I attended the club, to find there was no D&D...   What there was however were historical games, played by local kids with 'Big Steve' the only adult. But he ran that club like a champion, providing all the models and simple rules, which was just what you needed to hook kids in. ...
Read more