Monday, December 9, 2013

Being stuck in a rut

Phil Wright - I won't lie, it has been a very, very long time since I painted anything meaningful (My first section of Early War Poles to be exact back during the summer months).

I've always liked to compare my painting habits to that of a Russian hockey player in the NHL.  For the most part, they can either be fantastic, or just downright lazy and terrible.

The mercurial nature of my painting habits is nothing new, everyone knows that I will go on a mad painting/sculpting spree that normally lasts three weeks to a month and a half, then nothing for the next 6+ months.

It's a rather frustrating problem to have as the lead slowly piles up over the time in which I don't paint, leaving me with "projects" that I rediscover years after buying them and leaving me to scratch my head wondering when exactly I procured the models. (Malifaux, Infinity and Bushido just to name a few)

So, I ask you, the wonderful readership of this blog, how do you personally find the motivation to paint on a regular basis, or are yourselves afflicted as well by the "Russian hockey player" syndrome?

Saturday, December 7, 2013

28mm Boer War test figures

Hello everyone. I recently received two packs of Old Glory 28mm Boer War figures in the mail in order to test the waters for a potential future project. I painted a couple Brits and Boers last night as a proof-of-concept. Here are the results:











I am fairly happy with the results. It will be a fairly drab project, so I'll be searching for any excuse to add some colour. For example the cockade on the first Boer's hat, this I sculpted on with some "green stuff" and painted in the national colours of the Transvaal Republic (Green-Red-White-Blue). For the Brits, the only mark of colour is on the regimental "flash" on the left side of the helmet, made from the epaulets of old scarlet tunics.

The plan for this project is to group the Brits into 10 figure "companies", 3 of these making a "battalion". I'm still not quite sure on the scale of the project yet so companies/battalions are just a rough idea. The Boers will be grouped into 5 figures units, several of these grouped together to make a "commando".

I am still not sure on the rules to be used yet, but I hope that Too Fat Lardies gets around to publishing their set of Boer War rules. I believe I will stick with Old Glory figures as the range is affordable, comprehensive, and the sculpts are decent.

Anyways, that is all for me. Until next time...

Monday, November 11, 2013

Lanchester Armoured Car

Hello all, it has been quite a while since I wrote for this blog. You may remember my previous posts regarding my 28mm WW1 project. As a rekindling of that same project, I received a Lanchester armoured car from 1st Corps Miniatures as a gift from my father, Dave. I recently finished this lovely and slightly silly model, so I thought I would share the results.






As you can see, the armoured car has two turret weapons. On opposite sides of the turret it has a Hotchkiss heavy machine gun and 37mm cannon. In order to switch between the two the turret would need to be rotated through 180 degrees. Silly indeed!

I painted the vehicle in the colours (battleship grey!) of the RNAS (Royal Naval Air Service) who operated a large number of armoured cars on the Western Front during WW1. All I need to complete this model are RNAS decals and British rondel.

Since I already had the photobooth set up, I took some photos of various miniatures from my WW1 collection. They are all Old Glory, with the exception of my Canadian command staff who are Great War Miniatures.

US Marine Browning .30 cal HMG

US Marine Browning .30 cal HMG

US Marine 37mm trench gun

US Marine 37mm trench gun

US Marine light trench mortar

US Marine light trench mortar

US Marine light trench mortar

Canadian 18lbr field gun

Canadian 18lbr field gun

Canadian command staff

Canadian command staff

Canadian forward observation officer and party

Canadian forward observation officer and party

Canadian highlanders w/ piper

Canadian highlanders w/ piper

German heavy trench mortar

German heavy trench mortar

German heavy trench mortar

German MG08 HMG w/ custom gun shield

German MG08 HMG w/ custom gun shield

German reservist

I will endeavour to contribute to this blog more often in the future. Speaking of which, how does 28mm Second Boer War sound as a new project?

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Royal Military College museum

During the years Michael and Daniel both attended RMC (and, of course, both their significant others), I visited the campus many times. On a few occasions I tried to get into the campus museum but was rebuffed by a locked door.  Housed in a 19th century Martello Tower as part of Fort Frederick (which is itself now part of the RMC campus), the museum at the very least presented an interesting facade. But the facade was all I was able to see until recently. A visit to Kingston allowed Michael's fiancĂ©e Melissa, who curates at the museum, to provide us with a personal tour. We were not disappointed but I failed to take many pictures. Those I did you can see below but they are confined to the cannon in the top of the tower (which itself boasts a unique roof that could be dismantled/removed quickly to allow unfettered fields of fire over Kingston harbour environs for the rotating cannon). 







Saturday, October 5, 2013

Big Guns, Part 2


Another shot of the new heavy artillery battery for my ImagiNation, this time including all the horses and crew. The equipment will be the standard red for Gourmandie, but unlike the battalion gunners in the infantry regiments who wear red uniforms (as per their musketeer brethren), the regular artillerists here will wear royal blue coats and breeches with red facings. Should make for a lovely unit. 


A reminder shot of what the infantry battalion guns look like. The equipment and guns for the heavy battery will share the same colour scheme.

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Another bout of ImagiNation

Michael and I had a recent bash of ImagiNation in Kingston....photos below. Michael used Phil's Duchy of Libations to eventually defeat my Gourmandie force but not until we had almost completely finished three Maurice decks. 

Gourmandie infantry assault Phil's guns, including his very sexy heavy mortar. 

 
Duchy of Libations infantry hold a stalwart defensive line. 

 
The Gourmandie right wing with grenadiers leading a cavalry force. This was a failed attempt to replicate a common 18th century deployment of grenadiers and cavalry mixed together. Unfortunately, they didn't scout the terrain ahead and ran into a patch of rough ground that effectively stopped their advance long enough for the wine sots to compensate. 

 
The main Gourmandie infantry line tries to squeeze through a gap between two copses. Thank goodness for the Oblique March card!

Boer War Memorial

Came upon this Boer War Memorial during an evening walk in Victoria Park, London, Ontario. I've not seen such a memorial (and I've seen many).

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Big Guns!!

A quick post to show the heavy artillery battery in progress for my ImagiNation collection. These are Sash & Saber French Napoleonic guns, repurposed for the 18th century. The heavy ammunition wagon and the limbers are all Front Rank. The photo is missing the four limber horses and the twelve gunners. It'll be massive!!