Look Who's Back!

It is a long story, but I am back here championing the good old 20mm,1/72nd or HO/OO figure (take your choice!). Blogger did some very strange things, it locked me out of my account, deleted this blog and caused me to go round in circles trying to retrieve it. Anyway, we seem to be back in operation and I think that lesson learnt, I will keep it to the original format (and struggle to understand how to work Bloggers new publishing one!).



Time I Got Out Of Here!

There is a very similiar post on my "Waterloo To Mons" blog tonight.

Recently a lot of changes have taken place-at work in particular.

Without boring you all with the details I have decided that running two blogs is too much.

I am therefore creating a new blog which will cover everything I am working on, irrespective of scale and period.

Matt's Little Soldiers (how original is that for a name!) is situated here.

It will feature my continuing ACW collecting (plus the AWI) in 20mm, as well as the First Schleswig Holstein War in 25mm and loads of other stuff too. It all starts in November/December.

Hope you choose to follow this new blog, but for now please feel free to "unfollow" this blog as it is now officially shut.

Regards,

Matt.

Dutch Jagers

I went back to work last Tuesday...that wiped the smile off my face I can tell you!

A busy weekend followed getting the kids ready to go back to school plus I dug up, cooked and pickled loads of beetroot. My fingertips are still a fetching shade of magenta.

I also managed to finish the Dutch Jagers! That just leaves a handful of Dutch casualty figures and then the Newline Napoleonic stockpile is gone!

Next up, back to the American Civil War!

Airfix American Civil War Union Infantry

My favourite wargames memories are of the old Airfix Civil War figures played out with simple (Featherstone type) rules and scenarios based on all those old John Wayne era movies.

I even remember using the US cavalry standard bearers as French Lancers a la "Major Dundee" (these were quite complicated conversions using heads from the WW1 German infantry with Milliput and plastic card squares to make the lancer helmet).

I originally started this collection over on the Waterloo to Mons blog but I have now transferred them to here. I have re based and expanded the unit sizes from 20 figures to between 30-36 figures for Black Powder rules. The paint job is deliberately basic-although I resisted the temptation to have simple green painted, untextured bases. I am saving that look for another project!

Anyway, I have loads of these Airfix figures which I will be adding to using metal figures such as Wodensfeld, Jacklex and Newline Designs.

Next up will be the Newline Dutch jagers hopefully before the weekend.

Dragoon a Pied Drummer

As was pointed out in the comments on my last post, I have been busy posting stuff lately. Not sure how long I can keep this going but here we have that Zvezda/Italeri conversion of a few of days ago (soon to be joined by a bearskin wearing Sapper).

The colours are a bit washed out for some reason, his tunic is a pleasing yellow shade but for some reason looks sand coloured. My photographic skills are very limited I am afraid!

The Dragoons a Pied are an interesting topic, but I think a 30 figure unit should be enough to grace my wargames table.

However that is a little way off-my immediate plans are to finish the last of the Newline figures for my collector friend in the USA and to update my own Airfix ACW project that I originally started at the end of 2010 over on the "Waterloo to Mons" blog. This also involves the curse of the wargamer, re-basing!

Oh yes, I also want to finish that Airfix British Waterloo infantry battalion! That should keep me going for a while.

What I Did Last Night After Watching "Zulu"

As mentioned in yesterdays post, I had a bit of quality time watching "Zulu" last night. Afterwards I received a text to let me know I had the house to myself for a few more hours. Hoorah! What to do with this unexpected gift? Well, I painted a few more Hinton Hunts (Ian-3 more French to go and then I start the British!) and then decided to start chopping up the Zvezda Grenadiers of the Imperial Guard I bought last week (yes I know I wasn't going to buy more figures!).

Using the head and sword from an Italeri French Dragoon and a bit of "Greenstuff" for the horsehair mane (these guys are walking not charging after all!) I have my first Dragoon a Pied! For some reason the Superglue Activator did not like joining the Italeri and Zvezda plastic (it joined the two Zvezda components perfectly), so I had to resort to my old 80's method of "welding" the head and sword to the body using a Pyrogravure (a kind of low heat soldering iron I bought from Historex Agents when I was a lad). It brought back memories of using Airfix Guard Grenadiers and Cuirassiers to produce the same unit (back then however I would have managed converting the whole unit & painting them before bedtime!).

He is now sitting in the "to be undercoated next" queue.

Jeb Stuart (& His Banjo).

I remember seeing the adverts for Wodensfeld Miniatures years ago (in Military Modelling I think). At the time I had switched from 20mm figures to Hinchliffe 25's and so never bought any first time round.

Well the world has turned and here I am with a batch of these figures, some for myself and some, like these, for my friend in the US.

I particularly like this group, simply because of Stuart's banjo carrying buddy! Oodles of character all round and destined to play a significant part on my own ACW collecting.

The full ACW range is now available once more from John Cunningham (along with the Wodensfeld SYW range plus the Douglas and Les Higgins Malburians amongst others).

A full list is available from John at CunnJoh@aol.com

Not sure what will be next-I have the last of the Newline Napoleonic Dutch/Belgian figures started but also have Longstreet and Stonewall Jackson to compliment this set.

But for now the kids are away, the house is mine for a couple more hours and I have not yet watched the "Zulu" DVD I got for my birthday.