Of ECW, disrupted holidays and lonely birthdays...

 I know I normally do a birthday blog post, forgiving my enemies and all that jazz. Not this year because some of my 'enemies' have really made an impression on my shit list, which takes some doing. Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to strike back, but I can't see the point in forgiveness this week.

My annual month's holiday lasted a whole 36 hours this year... A new record!

Someone very close to me nearly checked out, and as a result is still in hospital, leaving me to celebrate my birthday alone,  with a bowl of spaghetti, but thankful that at the end of it all, said person will be returned to me, upright, and somewhat fragile, but not laid out in a pine box. So, all things considered, it's a fair trade off.

I have just been informed that said individual dreamed last night that they were wargaming with me, and were giving me a thrashing. So, it seems that she must still be delirious...

So, I went back to work last week to earn some 'grace' at a later date, and as I've not had a break in nearly 9 months, I have had to stop as I'm burned out.

So, I have spent some time working on painting The Citadel Giant, trying to capture the feel of my first one, which after winning top slot at Salute, went to live at Wargames Foundry, where it was damaged, and repaired by an absolute fucking rank amateur.

It's a slow but rewarding job:

 

I wish my (tor)mentor, the late Pete Armstrong was stuill alive to see this one, because, sure as hell, he'd see it had an 'accident' as he always did when something I painted better than he could, went in the GW cabinets. The secret was to try and get it in without him knowing I'd done it, and to make whatever it was, something with a minimum number of breakable parts, to make the future repair process a simple one.

God, but I miss that guy...

I am hopefully adding another 750 infantry and 420 cavalry to the ECW collection I purchased last month, which, will take me to somewhere around 1450 foot and 600 horse, a very respectable 29,000 and 12,000 men respectively at the traditional and one true ratio of 1:20.

I'm currently also awaiting the arrival of a full Hudson & Allen castle from the States and a massive box of Hovels 25mm timber framed buildings, including some of the discontinued models which Dennis and Carol kindly arranged for me. I love Hovels, because the lines are impresicise, giving a very authentic look and feel to the models. And the reduced footprint is done in such a way that the models still look great with the figures they are used with. 

Keep your 3D prints and your MDF. I even prefer Hovels to my massive Grand Manner collection with its, err... 'massive' buildings, better suited for skirmish games, which is just dandy with me because I am very partial to an ECW skirmish or two, as long term readers of this epistle will know.

I'll post pics of the goodies when they arrive, but until then I am off to see what culinary delights await tonight... I hate cooking for one.

Oh, speaking of Hovels, they are celevrating 40 years in the business witha nice new range of 25mm Viking and Saxon stuff. 

See it here: http://www.hovelsltd.co.uk/viking.html

 

TTFN