Monday, 23 March 2020

Stocking up a bit!

The days certainly seem to be flying by at the moment and I find myself spending several hours each day at the painting table. I'm itching to get outside for a long walk in the woods with the dog, but at the moment it's a quick twenty minutes in the mornings trying to avoid others until my cough and cold subsides which it slowly is.

I was thinking that with the possibility of this current crisis going on for several months ahead I had better stock up with more soldiers to paint. I have always tried to avoid lead mountains as I prefer to buy just as and when I need, but I want to know that I have figures for at least several weeks ahead now. So, with Baccus orders placed I decided to get my order in for the 40mm Sash & Sabre Polish Guard Lancers that Andy has been kindly holding for me. I have had this unit in mind for months now and think they will be a colourful addition to collection.

Sash & Sabre Polish Lancers.
 I have also decided that it's the right time to finally start painting some 40mm Spanish infantry and to this end I have placed an order with Perry Miniatures for the first 24 figure unit. Magnificent castings of course, they are wearing the 1805 white uniform and come with a choice of 4 heads. Also planned down the line is a converged battalion of French line Grenadiers wearing bearskins, these will be from Sash & sabre.


Images copyright Perry Miniatures.
Meantime I'm keeping busy painting units for my 6mm War of The Spanish Succession project and figures of the same period for John. Those shown below are the last of this batch, wonderful crisp 20mm castings by German maker Hagen, I just had to grab a photo to show the excellent fine detail on these figures, I'm really looking forward to painting them. I'm not sure about current availability of these figures but I'm John will fill us in on that.









14 comments:

  1. Lee, by the time this comes to an end, at your energetic rate, you will have a magnificent collection of painted armies in both scales and much more I’m sure. I think for most of us, breaking into that plastic / lead mountain and getting some new units together has suddenly become a realistic prospect.

    The blogging structure that we nurtured is suddenly going to take on a new significance, feeding a community of isolated gamers and painters. Hopefully some new blogs will also spring up.

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    1. Hi Norm,

      The current situation has really helped me to put both my life and my hobby into perspective in a positive way. To be honest being back in the UK in a much smaller house had me seriously thinking about what to do with the 40mm's, it seemed pointless adding more if I would not be able to use them due to lack of space, but I love painting and collecting them so I thought "just keep on doing it". The 6mm project will allow me to play games on a small board as and when the opportunity arises and then I have everything required for a game of Bolt Action on a 6 x 4 table laid on the dining table so I really do have options. Painting for John - which I enjoy - allows me to plough the proceeds back into more hobby stuff and provides further diversity.

      The blog keeps me in touch with fellow enthusiasts and was always really intended as a vehicle for my painting, so I'll keep that going and the comments certainly help a lot with motivation. I note that if I post pictures of my figures on Facebook groups that I belong to it's not uncommon to get 50 to 100+ 'likes' (record was almost 200 likes!),and numerous comments, I did consider phasing out the blog as views are not what they were a few years ago, probably due to those FB pages but then it's an accessible record of the many thousands of figures that I have painted since starting it 10 years ago. So all in all feeling good about things.

      Scanned through your tank encounter post this morning Norm, will read through in full later.

      All the best,

      Lee.

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    2. Interesting about FB. I don’t do FB and also feel that the blog is more conducive to writing longer posts and organising and searching for things on the blog is easier. I think plenty of people have migrated to FB, but in these unusual times, with many people having more time on their hands, their may come a new appreciation of the blog - there will be the same issue that many won’t comment, but hey-ho! :-)

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  2. Those Hagen chaps look very interesting Lee, Ive heard of the manufacturer but never seen any of their figures, they have a charm I like a lot.

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    1. The Hagen figures are a testament to skilled traditional sculpting, they have a true style and charm of their own. The lace work on the coats is very fine.

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  3. Not a period I'm terribly familiar with tbh, but one good thing about this enforced stay-at-home is that I've time to explore new blogs, periods and mini ranges - and this posting ticks all those boxes and then some. Marvellous stuff, and I look forward to seeing how they come on.

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  4. Looks like you're gonna be busy Lee.

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  5. Hagen miniatures website https://www.hagen-miniatures.de/Testkategorie-21/figuren-40/spanischer-erbfolgekrieg/spanische-armee-212/

    they cove a wide range for different period including some unusual figures, have fun looking through site
    cheers Old John

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    1. Cheers for that John, they really are lovely figures.

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  6. All sounds good, I was very impressed by the handful of Perry 40's that I painted up.

    Those Hagen look pretty tasty too. I just check the link and had a peek at the ACW range. I don't need any more but plan to add more figures anyway, especially arty and command etc and have my eye on the rereleased Jacklex and have now added Hagen to my 'list'.

    Stay well!

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    1. Hi Ross, hope you are keeping well. You can always rely on Old John to come up with 20mm figure ranges!

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  7. Ooh Spanish... that's going to be a treat! Almanza oldjohn, or are they destined to fight in Flanders?

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  8. Quick answer , both arenas plus will be used for Sardinian Silician War 1717 to 1720, endless possibiliies
    cheers Old John

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  9. some of the uniform plates i sent you are from an old Spanish magazine Research & Dragona, found on this Spanish blog which has massive collection of info and uniform plates for many periods, be warned it is huge site!!!!!

    http://miniaturasmilitaresalfonscanovas.blogspot.com/


    loomk after yourself
    cheers Old John

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