CHRISTMAS STUFFING.

 There are times when I despair - The run up to Crimbo being one of these. Now don't get me wrong I don't mind a bit of Christmas cheer , assuming I actually get the time to enjoy it. This year that is looking increasingly unlikely. However passing on from that, what  I REALLY dislike is others acting like arseholes 'because its Christmas innit.' . Especially this year  with  Covid still stalking the land. Then of course there are all of those godawful Christmas adverts about the place, bloody Crimbo music in the shops makes me wish for the magical appearance of  heavy weapons so I can blow the sound system away . One more bloody Michael sodding Buble crimbo crooning and I may just scream.

Whatever happened to the Sally Annie band rather than the piped mid-lantic slush. Where  are Noddy Holder  and the lads? People go on about 'Traditional Christmas ' but of course it isn't, it is merely the next  phase in the neverending marketing racket.

 Some of the so-called 'party-food' put out by such as M and S  brings me near to throwing up  just looking at it. Gawd knows what would happen if I was daft enough to actually eat any of that overpriced crap. A bad case of the two bob bits on top of Omicron because I was idiot enough to go to some silly party or other .... NAH I think I'll pass thanks.

 No, as usual Carole and I are looking forward to a bit of P and Q perhaps with the odd glass of something  French and fizzy and (given the foregoing) the odd striped minty sweet ! Even perhaps a mince pie or three and maybe some slight culinary overindulgence. A re-charging of the batteries for the coming year.

 Yes we will be keeping our heads down more than usual .

 Hearing assorted thickies  going on about not being vaccinated is certainly worrying.  Here in the NE of England something around 20-25% of  so called adults have not yet had a single jab. This is mind numbingly stupid to say the least not to mention astoundingly selfish. Kill yourselves by all means - your choice-and it will improve the gene pool, but to infect others because of your intransigent stupidity?' Oh but we wanted to have our Christmas' and see our loved ones .... and possibly infect them perchance? 

Not doing that either- Carole and I have both had 3 Civid jabs plus the flu jab- dumb not to really .So while we are protected up to a point it would be stupid to go out seeking sorrow for some transitory ... er... enjoyment so we'll keep our heads down and 'zoom'  about - well actually portal but you get the point 

Better that than coughing up a lung on boxing day . 

Catching Up On My Reading 8

Back in 1978  I did a small demo wargame on the First Afghan War  based loosely upon the Battle of Beymaroo.. I have maintained an interest in this conflict ever since, just another facet of my continuing interest in the Indian Armyand Indian Military History.  So a new book on the war is very welcome indeed.

 Published by Helion 'Dust of Glory' by Bill Whitburn  is a meaty tome  of over 400 pages, not one of which is wasted.

It is well known that the First Afghan War was not the East India Company's- or indeed Britain's finest hour of the first half of the nineteenth century, with hindsight one can see that interreference in Afghanistan never seems to end well- not that politicians  ever seem to learn from History. The war inspired at least 2 major paintings - a print of Woolen's @Last Stand of the 44th at Gandamack' adorns my sitting room wall and of course Lady Elizabeth Butler's 'Remnants of  an Army' will be familiar to many.

 The basic story of the First Afghan War has been told many times. George Bruce has done it Peter Macrory has done it and more recently , this century, William Dalrymple has told the tale each in their own way. How the British  invaded Afghanistan to replace its ruler with one more controllable and how, due to treachery, mismanagement and sheer incompetence they were hounded out of the country by the Afghans loyal to their rule Dost Mohammed.

 Mr Whitburn's book treads this travelled path  with significantly  more military knowledge than most. Not only that, the book is by no means as narrow in concentrating on the occupation of Kabul and the fallout from the disastrous mismanagement political, military and fiscal as some of the others of the genre.

 We get to know what was happening in other parts of the country- in Kandahar for example and other outlying garrisons. There are many other battles and actions outlined often in detail and orders of battle for the British and sometimes the Sikh forces and numbers for the Afghans  and sometimes with maps than one usually sees. This is well done and very useful indeed.

Equally this book is by no means as 'Anglo-centric' as some earlier narratives, we learn about  the Sikh state's involvement in the debacle- they were Britain's ally in the enterprise-and about the small army known as 'Shah Shuja's Contingent' which was supposed to be the military force of the replacement ruler but was in fact a small carbon copy of the East India Company's army which formed the bulk of the invading forces. Some of these units would continue in EIC service after the war was over.

This book is full of fascinating detail and anecdote and will repay careful study.. It is well illustrated in both colour and black and white and included a good few illustration I was unfamiliar with  or in some cases had seen previously only in black and white in older volumes. George Anderson's maps are up to his usual fine standard.

Niggles? Well one or two. At least one of the illustrations is miscaptioned- page 37  has a full page plate captioned 'Afghan Warriors'. when they are, by their dress and weaponry clearly Sikhs- possibly Akalis or Nihungs  and are clearly differently dressed from those figures in other plates who ARE Afghans.

 It might also be said that some of Mr Whitburn's frequent digressions can get just a little tortuous. I'm still unsure for example what Peterloo and the Bristol Riots have to do with the First Afghan War. Yes other such digressions are both interesting of themselves as well as instructive. I know more about how the East India Company was governed  than I did before  and some of my own misconceptions have been washed away.

 I liked the book and over time will study it with more care and I'd recommend it to anyone who has even a passing interest in the military of India or in the  campaigns of the British Army. 

You Can't have too many Elephants.

My various Indian projects often move with almost glacial slowness- what with work and other stuff getting in the way-  but I do get the odd item finished every now and again  so here are a few pictures of the most recent efforts that I have actually finished myself. 

Rohillas Jezzailichis, or Pathans if you prefer.
All Old Glory 28mm from the same pack CNP2

 
 

There will be a fair amount of intermixing here between the various units and forces stretching from the late 18th century until the end of the Indian Mutiny and in a few cases even later- though of course much of the earlier stuff is not usable for the later campaigns.

Another shot of the Pathans/Rohillas.

A pair of old Willies !
A couple from the old Suren 'Willie' range of 30mm figures 
These from his Sikh Wars range.

Now for the finale as you might say. One of the reasons for wargaming Indian campaigns is the simple fact that you can model Elephants. I have a couple on the painting table currently - in the queue as it were- but this is the first one to be finished. 

Elephant drawn 24pdr gun.

Another shot of the same model..

The elephant and limber are from AW miniatures who do some nice stuff for India - though perhaps it it on the large side for some tastes. The gun , which fits in perfectly, is an old Hinchliffe model from the 30mm range but you can get a nice 24pdr from AW.. I had a couple of these Hinchliffe pieces lying about so it  seemed appropriate to use them.  Different crews from  the 1790s onwards will use this in various scenarios. 

 This will be having its first outing tomorrow as I am umpiring a small game for our little group .

 Should be fun! 

Last Salute 2-Not with a bang but a whimper.

 Last Saturday saw the re-vamped Salute 2020  at  Ex-cel in London actually happened. Well when I say happened .......

I had decided beforehand that this would be my last Salute. After all I've done 28 as a trader and I've had enough of the travelling and all around faffing about. As I've said previously I'm pulling back a bit from shows so next year will only see me and the crew (that's you Jim) at 3 events as traders. Mail order will of course carry on as normal.

So back to the show. As usual the Warlords organisation was pretty flawless, despite extra Covid related faffing set up went like a dream. No problems.

 Getting to the Hotel  cost us an extra 30 quid in congestion charges for the weekend (Hope you enjoy the extra cash Sayid) but that is not the Warlord's fault.

 Saturday dawns and again a bit of extra faff  to enter the venue  but this was not unexpected- though perhaps ex-cel could have made the info a bit clearer but again once inside, no problems.

However where the hell did Salute go?

Trader numbers were down . I was told 35 no shows by one of the Warlords. And as for the games , basically there seemed to be more blank empty tables than  full ones. Wide acres of empty space that SHOULD have been a-bustle with games,  greeted the wanderer in his spare moments. Again not the Warlords fault but the fault of the no-shows who didn't turn up. Obviously many had not bothered to inform the Warlords or the tables needn't have been set out- nice of those no-shows  to be so well mannered.

One nice game stood out for me, a lovely Wellington in India affair put on by Martin Gane as his friends - who I think were all Warlords- the 6 pages (yes a mere 6 pages) of rules they used look interesting too.. once I get time to read them properly.

What amazed me was that I actually had time to see the show .... except that it wasn't there. Trade was pretty sluggish but again that was expected due to Brexit and Covid- almost no Europeans turned up.. There was no point this year  where we were rushed off our feet - which in the past has been 'Salute Normal'.

Of course none of the particular problems of this years show can be laid at the door of the Warlords. But the combination of circumstances did rather take the shine off an event that is usually the showcase for the wargaming hobby . It wasn't Salute it was A.N.Other wargames show.

So the end of an era- for me at least and no it did not end with a bang.

Last Salute

 The re0imagined 'SALUTE 2020' is now little over a week away .

This will be my last Salute.

Two nights in a hotel  and 12 hours in a van(6 hours each way - less if we are lucky) plus the rigours of the show itself are no longer as easy as they used to be- nor are they as much fun.

 Time was when I did 26 shows a year before the internet and, like horseshit, I was never off the road but the world has changed since those 1990s days.

 I've done 28 Salutes as a trader plus a couple as a demonstrator and its enough. 

It's the travelling that gets you.

After this I'm sticking to shows closer to home, maybe even do some as a demonstrator again - which would be nice.

Now don't misunderstand I'm still selling soldiers and  there and back in a day shows such as York and Partizan are still in my sights but long journeys and  bloody hotels are off the menu.

 Been there done that.

Minot 30mm

 Over the last few years I have amassed a fair collection of 30mm models for the 'shinyloo' project. Most of these have been Stadden with a few Willie and some not quite 30mm Connoisseur or Hinchliffe 'Foremost'. The point being that they were all designed  before 1984 some having been sculpted  2 decades or more earlier.

Four Minot 30mm French Cuirassiers giving it some ! I have another half a dozen of these in various stages of disrepair. 

 However another maker from the latter part of that time  I have become something of a fan of is Barry Minot. Probably best known for his rather esoteric fantasy ranges, he had several ranges of 30mm historical figures out there as well. I am aware of 5 - though there may be others.

 A Battle of Jena range of which I only have 2 examples.

A Zulu War range centred around Rourke's Drift- some lovely active figures though I don't currently have any.

Another view of the Cuirassiers.

A retreat from Moscow range with lots of cold looking French which I have and some predatory Cossacks which I don't. Those I do have need quite a bit of TLC before a public viewing.

A Sudan range - which I have seen pictures of.

 and Finally

For a long time this was the only Minot model I had. 

 A Waterloo range which a have quite a few of and are the pictures on this post. I would not claim to have them all as I only have  2 highlanders and by no means all of the British Infantry. Doubtless there are plenty of others to  find as well.

French Imperial Guard. This was the first completed Minot unit. I now have plenty of these to paint in most of the poses that Minot made. 

 I love the movement of these blokes even if compared to some the small details may be lacking- but of course that means no buttons the size of golf balls or such other silliness and anyhow  you can paint the details in. It is not that hard. Or leave 'em off if you prefer. 

British Infantry. These paint up really well and once I get some of the more active poses into the collection .....

 

 All in all these Minots make a decent addition to the 'Shinyloo' collection. 

Back in the Saddle 3 It's Showtime.

 Bloody Hell I ache as if some unfriendly dude from a misspent past has caught up with me and given me a kicking. No he didn't, it just feels that way, after my first trade show for 20 months. Muscles I'd forgotten I had were forced to work for a living humping a van full of  soldiers to the trade stand  and then hump a (significantly lighter) load back again .

' Twas a fine show mind. Some cracking games. Battle of Dieg my personal favourite, very closely followed by a wonderful 40mm 18th century game  with two magnificent ships. There was a rather nice Sikh Wars game as well. Oh and a 54mm size Ancients encounter with a big elephant and some Persians. Doubtless there may have been assorted dwarfs and spacemen on other tables but I  didn't see 'em - didn't look either.

 So Partizan is back,  a show that treats you like an adult- well mostly-  and welcome it is too. Saw a whole host of the 'usual suspects' ,chaps I'd not seen for  two years or so.

See here for some pics of the Battle of Dieg game

https://www.facebook.com/groups/300248167746857/

Mind you, we- Jim and I had a bit of strife- the Van Hire outfit wanted the drivers NI number - which is not something you usually carry about with you - well I don't nor did Jim- so a job that should have take a couple of hours took 4  and a twenty quid cab fare , which we could well have done without but all went right in the end.

 The show was very busy until mid afternoon when I got a little wander - would have taken some photos but to add to the amusement my phone snuffed it inconveniently, no worries Facebook and other places have plenty of pics about.. Worth checking out if you didn't make it. There were games I didn't get to see so I will be having a butchers myself when the pain dies down to a dull ache !

 Nice to be back and a good show to start on as well.

 My next is Salute which for the record will be my last Salute  as I am pulling back from long distance shows. 6 hours each way in a van is no longer my idea of fun so next year I shall be restricting my show travelling to roughly speaking 'England Above Trent' 

 So yes I'll still be dong Partizan. 

Back in the Saddle - 2

 Spent much of yesterday- when I wasn't on the phone- sorting out new bin stacks for ranges added during the past couple of years that have not- so far- been to a show.

The list was surprisingly long so it will mean that we will have to drop some other ranges off the van to make room for the new stuff for Partizan in October. The ranges dropped will be form our 28mm lines and with one important exception all the new stuff added will be 15mm .

The added ranges are

Blue Moon 15mm.

HYW Crecy and Poitiers period 35 pack range including Scots, Germans, Spanish, Low Countries as well as English and French.

HYW Agincourt period- just in -16 packs for the earlier 15th century.

ECW Scots covenanters added to our substantial ECW range which now stands at over 60 packs including artillery pieces.

French Revolution French and Austrian Infantry and artillery and Vendean Rebels- a very few of these had just come out before shows stopped.

Napoleonic Spanish- now a substantial range of around 30 packs including cavalry militia and of course guerrillas.

French Imperial guard cavalry.

The Indian Mutiny- just in- 26 new packs of miniatures for both sides use Napoleonic guns .

Sash and Saber 28mm

The French and Indian War - almost 100 packs of figures for this popular conflict.

So that is about 200 or so new packs of miniatures that have never been to a show. It will be a new experience for them!

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Back in the Saddle.

 It has been a long time since  our last game at the pub, indeed it has been a long time since our last game. The  idea of remote gaming never appealed as I'm simply not that enamoured of the dice rolling to bother with the extra faffing about required. No games fanatic me - there has always been far more to this hobby that the mere gaming. If the dice rolling and counter pushing was all there was I wouldn't bother. It's not as if I was lying about doing nothing during the various lockdowns and boozer shuttings that I was desperate to roll dice.. had that been so then possibly my mental health would have been in jeopardy!

The Spartans - or wa it the Athenians - anyway Andrew's army 

The Athenians - or was it the Spartans- Shaun's army though of course they were all Shaun's armies.. 

General view of the terrain. 

2 views of the punch -up. 

 Happily that is not the case, so when the Tantobie Warfare And Tactical Society had the chance to re-activate its monthly meetings we  agreed - not least because of the lure of Landlady Jean's Beef Butties 

 However there was a snag - only 3 of us could make it due to other chaps having work commitments so we decided upon a 15mm Peloponnesian War encounter as Mechanical Shaun has more Hoplites than any sane man should have, so it was a piece of cake for him to provide Spartan and Athenian armies for the coming encounter. ( Ignorant games loonies please note, these are not mere gaming 'factions' but the armies of two Classical Greek City states. Read a book why don't you?.)

Tactica - being our usual go- to set for Ancients games- was the chosen rules set as it's style and mechanisms really do suit Classical Warfare. Nevertheless Gentle Reader you good Umpire will admit to being a tad 'ring-rusty' here so it took a while to get properly back into the saddle. The scenario was deliberately over simple for that reason.

Basically the scenario was built to get a Hoplite  slogging match  with 2 armies that were fairly evenly balanced. Differing only in detail. The idea was simply to get us back into the wargaming saddle after a lay off of 19 months.

Mostly it all came flooding back- especially after the application of throat lubrication in the form of Consett Brewery's fine light ale - lovely 'session beer'  not too heavy so easily quaffed brought all the wargamey stuff back into soft focus.

Oh and the game?  Shaun won the Hoplite grind by ranking his troops deeper - Theban style- 4 ranks deep on the table despite some early bother with Andrew's  peltasts. He had forgotten how effective they could be-  but in the event they were only a nuisance.

As usual a good time had by all and thanks as always to Landlady Jean  for looking after us.

 Next in the chair is Andrew with a Cold War Naval encounter ......  

A few more for India.

 So ever so slowly the various 'India' projects grow. Now regular readers might have noted previously that I'm a bit of a butterfly painter- I land upon what I want when I want and brushstroke boredom is my avowed enemy. Nevertheless slowly armies appear.

 This batch of pics are all of Old Glory 28mm models though some have had minor conversion work such as adding muskets or shields. They come from a variety of packs . Sikh High Command Sikh Ghoracharra cavalry and Persian High command.

 I find the results rather pleasing so I shall go off and do a load more ...... 

These five are all from the Sikh High Command set. 

A close up of General Allard one of Ranjit Singh's French mercenaries. 

A mixed bag from various packs - mostly Sikh Ghoracharra but including some from the Persian High command set. There are a few minor conversions here. 

 The two  pics are the same but with different lighting effects. 

Third Light Dragoons

  I  managed to base all 20 of the 3rd Light Dragoons for the Sikh Wars collection over the weekend.

 The figures were painted for me by David Allan who has painted stuff for me previously. Most notable some rather nice ECW cavalry and some 40mm French Hussars which I no longer own . 

I have organised these in 2 10 figure  'wings' as the regiment began with four Squadrons when it went to war in 1845 around 500 or so strong but operating in wings was not uncommon.

  Jim and I now have between us about enough for a small introductory game for the period though both of us are still painting. I'm doing some Sikh irregulars and the 24th foot  plus some more British artillery. Jim is doing Sikh regulars.

Published- and in my grubby mits too!

 Arrived earlier today so I am feeling just a tad pleased with myself 

.

The colour plates by Giorgio Albertini look splendid and as usual Helion's productio values are right up to the mark. 

Of course now all I have to do is source some figures for the various armies ...... 

Publication Date.

 

I have been given a publication date of July 21st - that would be NEXT WEEK DUDES !  for the publication of this my first book so you can see I'm just a tad exited about this.  Looking forward to it. 

Catching up on my reading 7

 

Last Christmas my wife Carole bought be a subscription to the BBC History magazine. I'd bought the mag of and on from newstands for several months before and found it always interesting and occasionally fascinating. Now the is not a Military History mag but rather general History and frankly all the better for that. Let's face it quite a number of the wargaming fraternity have a pretty narrow view of History - just like much of the general population only more so - therefore getting a more rounded view of the past cannot be but a Good Thing  (Sellar and Yeatman take note !) I may not always agree with the writers but they make you think which again must be accounted a Good Thing. The precise worth of individual copies will depend upon individual tastes but in the above issue alone we have mention of - Old Noll as you can see, but also Mary Wollstonecraft, The Tokyo Olympics- 1964- and Slime mould to mention only four highlights in a magazine that is full of both longish readable articles and fascinating little snippets. Past issues have included pieces on the Battle of Thermopylae, the Peasants revolt and the Sikh War.

All issues also have a plethora of book reviews and notices of historical events and event of interest to  the historically minded.  Never had a totally duff issue yet... wish the same could be said for wargames mags.

More "Spare Units" - well sort of ....

After a bit of heart- searching I have decided to unload my Front Rank Seven Years War units. I know plenty of chaps like Front Rank models and they do plenty of lovely stuff  but these have never been entirely to my taste. I bought them when I was building up my 28mm Seven years War collection  but the time has come for them to move on.

 All are for the French army. Most of them are cavalry as that is what I was short of a dozen or more years ago but there some Schomberg light Infantry  and an artillery piece with crew as well. Most were professionally painted, either by Steve Skinner or Rob Anderson. though the gun and some of the dragoons are my work.

  

Schomber Dragoons- Painted by Steve Skinner 15 figures 

Schomberg Light Infantry 26 figures painted by Steve Skinner 

Royal Dragoons and a gun and crew. Painted by me.

French Line Cavalry  painted by Rob Anderson.

More French Line Cavalry. Painted by Rob Anderson.

 2 shots of the Royal Dragoons. Painted by Rob Anderson. 

So in total there are 26 foot 57 cavalry and a gun and crew. These is also a 2 mounted figure command group - also painted by me but I don't yet have a pic of that.All of these pics were already in the files so to speak.  the 3 Rob Anderson painted units are each 12 strong. 

 Once I get a bit of time spare- rare currently-  I will post each unit individually on FB  Historical Wargames Buy Swap Sell .  But if anyone  fancies the lot  well offers in the region of £700.00. Shipping cost will depend upon where you live of course. 

More for India.

 So I am finally able to show some finished figures. All of which will be going into various "Indian" projects. All of these figures are Old Glory 25 or indeed 28mm (Yes Dudes they are the same thing for most people unless you have 3mm angst!). They come from various ranges - Indian Mutiny, North West Frontier, Crusades and Renaissance Persians.

Persian High command. These will, of course end up as Mughals.

A lovely mob. Models from the Cursade and the Indian Mutiny range . Old Glory 28mm.

Pathan Command. Lots of variants in this one- even the same bodies have head variants.

A smaller mob. These from the Old Glory Indian Mutiny range 

Another shot of the Pathan Command. The chaps with Sniders and Martini- Henry  will be for the 1897 Pathan Revolt. The chaps with Jezzails will become part of a Rohilla mercenary band for the 18th century.

So the assorted India project move on - slowly but they move. Quite chuffed at how many Old Glory models I can use to get into the earlier parts of British India . Next up are a bundle more Sikh Goracharra cavalry. 

Catching up on my Reading 6

 I don't often buy books on Naval matters but over the years I have amassed a small number of volumes about  messing about in boats- and not only by Kenneth Graham either.

 I have A.T.Mahn's Influence of Sea Power Upon History - a  portentous and now dated but still useful volume about warfare in the Age of Sail.plus a small collection of WW1 and WW2 naval books - probably less than 20 volumes all told. So when doing the supermarket chore the other week I was surprised to find Max Hastings' book OPERATION  PEDESTAL concerning the Allied 1942 attempt to get supplies through to Malta 

Now Hastings can read and write  but sometimes is a bit right wing for my taste but this one is a good un. He spares no one in the story of cock up and courage occasional cowardice and sheer bloody mindedness that was the four day battle to get supplies through to beleaguered Malta - which was only a bare few weeks from starvation . Operation Pedestal has been treated as one of those  British successes against adversity by the nationalist propagandists of WW2 and up to a point so it was but it was also a collection of balls ups- by both sides which turned- for the Axis a victory- which they trumpeted into a mere losing draw. Losses for the British were heavy- including a carrier sunk, an Admiral doing a runner  and only 5  merchant ships actually reaching their destination. Yet it was enough. Just- to enable Malta to survive . Of course if the prize was worth the cost is another matter but that does not stop the story being something of an epic in itself. Well worth purchasing especially if you can get it cheaper than list -which I did.  Nice one Max.

Complications .....

I am finding out that there is more to publishing a book than writing the thing. Currently  going through the final proof before the book goes off to the printers. Checking the 8 pages of colour plates and the captions to the Black and white illustrations and the maps and battle plans is quite a bit more arduous than I imagined when I started. Not that I begrudge such duty - far from it  but it does not half make your back ache poring over the screen for such a comparatively long period of time without a break.

 Still , no worries it is getting done.

 However what with that and getting the usual crop of orders out- not to mention a bundle of back orders  it means that other stuff- such as figure painting has been almost entirely absent for the last week or so .

 Hence no new pics in this post

 well perhaps just this one ...... 

In Helions Autumn schedule. 

So what do I do with the spare units?

 One of the very minor downsides of running a model soldier company and doing a lot of wargame shows, is that, over the years, you end up with a plethora of  ex-display case units that don't have armies to belong to. There are armies that I simply have no interest in building  and even less in playing games with. Some of these units are- to all intents and purposes "Factory Fresh" having done no more work than travel up and down the country  and then stand in a display case for a year or two's shows or have their pictures taken for magazine adverts or website pictures.. 

As I rifle through my assorted boxes I have discovered several units which fit this criteria all OLD GLORY of course as well as a bundle of stuff I simply don't use any longer. Most of these professionally painted and table ready.  It is time for them to move on to create space for more .So over the next few weeks I shall post pictures of these units as I check 'em out for"travel-dings" and make any repairs that may or may not be needed. So far I have found - all 28mm-

A bunch of about 20 or so Norman Cavalry

Some Vikings from the Somerled range- again about 20 

A unit of 10 Dark Ages Magyar cavalry 

Some Old Glory 2nd Edition Union Infantry.

A 24 figure unit of Italian Wars Swiss Pikes

A10 figure unit of Polish Winged Hussars plus  their 10 Pancerni.

So here are pics of the Poles and the Magyars. Prices? 

 Well the Poles and the Magyars are £100.00 per unit plus shipping which will of course depend upon where they are going

 

The two units of Polish. Hussars and Pancerni .

Close up on 1 Hussar.

Pancerni 

The Pancerni unit 

Close up of the Hussars 

The Magyar Cavalry. 

More photos of more "spare units" as I sort them out. After all I need some new toys to paint ! 

Interested chaps should email me on info@oldgloryuk.com of contact me via Facebook messenger. 

Their Infantry and Guns Will Astonish You.

 One of the many reasons I have not blogged overmuch lately is that I have been finishing the above title for publication in July of this year. So am now a bit pleased as I have been given the go-ahead to let chaps know it is coming more details here.

https://www.helion.co.uk/military-history-books/their-infantry-and-guns-will-astonish-you-the-army-of-hindustan-and-european-mercenaries-in-maratha-service-1780-1803.php?

The subject is one that has fascinate me for years  and started with the question of what was going on in the rest of India  while the British were nibbling around the edges....  well here issome of it. 

 

More Shiny 30mm Men.

 So blag posts have been thin on the ground lately  but like buses(anyone remember them)  there are none for ages the 2 come along at once. 

 The photos are of my latest rather small unit for "Shinyloo" my retro Napoleonic mostly  30mm collection. These aged chaps are from Barry Minot who made a good bundle of assorted 30mm Historicals in the 70s and 80s. These days  some are a bit thin on the ground - which is why this unit is only a dozen strong. I have a couple more of the figures but they need some TLC and repair before I start painting them. 

Minot 30mm Painted as Fusilers -Grenadiers.

I do now have quite a bundle of Minot Napoleonics. Some splendid French Cuirassiers and a fair number of British Infantry and French Imperial Guard but of course most of them need painting. Earlier "Shinyloo" posts show those I have actually finished - both Minot and other makes. 

Firing line. Again Minot

Loading - an Officer and Ouch that Hurt ! 

 The "Shinyloo " collection is now in sight of 400 individual  models- not quite there yet but I can see it from here. Still  plenty to paint though.