It has been a long time since I painted myself a 54mm miniature!… but here we are (well… me) doing it as if time had not passed by. The Heliograph party (2 figures) and the Regimental Colour of the Gordon’s coming quite nicely using Andrew’s Toy Soldiers as a very useful guide! On the pure painting side I am using too many tricks nowadays… old Humbrol enamels (not dried up), Vallejo I guess and Poska markers… and in the end Gloss finish to be sure!
On my last edited entry on the subject if all goes to plan you will see the final version nowadays still pending gloss varnish of course!
I do found more and more difficult to show my own pet subjects by fear of being boring and tiresome, you must understand that collectors and wargamers are in a state of constant doubt, what will I do next?, do I buy this or that (evidently enough budgets have limits), painted or unpainted (that means I will have to paint myself!)… is what I want available?… or affordable?… it is quite more complicated than you think… and my mind juggles and jumps from one option to another several times a day! Once a decision taken one goes to considerable pains to get the goal, sometimes considerably annoying everyone whom has items commercially available… more or less.
The actual three “new” additions on the foreground
Enjoy your hobby.
Close up of the group used to work the results.Work in progress…A week before…Same as above…Working place… if that qualifies as work… which I doubt!
I woke up today and for the life of me I could not remember what I intended to post today!… to my delightful surprise I stumbled in a post from Andrew at REPLICA… and here you have a choice of pics (there are more on Facebook in the group mytoysoldiersandme). Damn good news… I hope he is back in the saddle again for keeps… Enjoy!
A fine General! (with ADC)FusiliersTerritorialsExotic uniforms…
I have posted a lot of Scott Lesch work because it is awesome!… Does that mean that I am going to indulge in the Franco-Prussian War (1870)? NOT AT ALL!… but you must admit his production of Armies is very mice indeed!. And sometimes when awareness is down… I think of it seriously!.
The fact that every unit seems to field a “cantiniere” is non important for me… but adds a “je ne sais quoi”… LOL
AGW Franco-Prussian War Battle.Nice Cuirassiers…Another French side view…I added those Prussians as an afterthoughtNo contest without them…So here they are… The Second Reich would be won at the end of the campaign.
Could have been called a tale of two chaps too. To begin at the beginning… due to that blasted pandemia who seems more or less in control nowadays… I was stranded in Pal at 1.660 mts over the level of the sea with nothing much to do than wait for a vaccine etc (as you all). So thanks God are my books and my Toy Soldiers Collection (in Pal I mean)… so I reordered the shelves and find a way to make place for some beauties from REPLICA. As an ex wargamer in 25mm all my British Regiments had matter of fact two colours, the Queen’s (or King’s) and the Regimental one, so I become worried because I did not have one of the Colours of the Gordon’s (Highlanders), I wrote to Andrew an email asking for 4 figures to complete my obsessions etc. Real life intervened and in June 2021 my needs were not fulfilled because a lot of real life intruded in REPLICA “WORKS”… to my disappointment by X’mas the matter was still unsolved… You see “collecting” is somewhat “complicated” it had to be the true companion of the existing one… but REPLICA could not then supply… weeks and months of frustration ensued… and a rupture of diplomatic relations too!.
Many months later I explained the case using the first pic in Facebook explaining my dire straits and asking “the world of friends” for solutions or alternatives… I was in some state of acute obsession and anguish (all that fuss for a standartbearer mind… we collectors are mad as hares).
Then, out of the blue (that is a lie he is a long stand facebook friend), Paul Watson (which is also a friend of Andrew Stevens – the REPLICA chap _) offered the perfect solution: he said he could make a cast from a mould and sent it to me from faraway Sheffield… I could not believe it!… one thing is to add likes and hearts to Posts in Facebook… and the other is getting truly involved!… of course I thanked him and after a chat on messenger… I had the idea of asking for two figures! (by then I was asking STEADFAST to send two POM-POM guns to Paul with my heartfelt thanks!… he is into Boers/British)… not everything in this world is a matter of a computer and a VISA card I am afraid… I asked for some suitable arms… and pieces and bits for me too to DORSET/IMPERIAL who sent the flags arms to Paul.
And to cut a long story short yesterday a parcel arrived in ANDORRA by post and my esldest son sent to me the pics of the contents…(see pics below) to my ever lasting surprise Paul did outsmarted me and included an Heliograph party (using the same figure with different arms) consisting of a Highland officer with binoculars, the heliograph and its operator (so two extra figures+heliograph)… nonplussed is the word!
The “problem”…
The original box from REPLICA… (and to think that the Gordon’s were added to an order as an afterthought!)
Great box from REPLICA at arrival in Pal.Here you have it (in fact two) the elusive Ensign!Heliograph operator
.Higlander Officer with Binoculars!
Now, when my “real life” permits (a bit of a bother of surgery inflicted on me) it will be speedy recovery and painting of those chaps and to complete the collection on the cabinet thanks to Paul Watson!
Of course as colateral benefits the old Ensign would be converted in a RSM for the Gordon’s, and some Artillerymen will be added sponges and shots because REPLICA did all of them in the same stance without accesoires….lol… in due course pics will be provided by yours truly of all those modifications…
A truly satisfied collector I am. The most convoluted “operation” I ever did… lol
Excuse me if you have already seen this pic (my own for a change) 75mm Customized Playmobil (Just the headgear I guess)
Congratulations to the British. The civic attitude was paramount and those public and privately professionally involved gave a lesson on “how it is done”. There is no better example to compare. Long live the King!
This webpage would again be alive as from today with the usual business of giving you your daily ration (or dose) of Toy Soldiers. Cheers.
Paul uses thid pic sometimes to celebrate the entrance of new members in our FaceBook site (or Group)… yes… mytoysoldiersandme … 450 members from ’round the world. I am much busy nowadays and keeping the webpage alive everyday consumes my time so I do not post a lot in FaceBook… but other members do so regularly!
As seen in Facebook… group A Gentleman’s War of course!… delightful pics all round. Have had the rules for a long time (Howard Whitehouse) but never played a game with them… maybe in the not so distant future… but using Playmobil figures. You need etc…
A Close UpMichael “the black” commander of the Streslau Army (John Clarke)
I did never got into them in my wargaming period… and still I love them… so this is a kind of tribute to them and those who followed the path of wargaming a la Charles Grant (father and son… the grandson seems more WWII inclined)
Excellent pic. Enjoy
Have not a single one… but they really look great!
Really you can field exotic uniforms of Yeomanry and Volunteers that way, curiously enough THE BATTLE OF DORKING intended as a “depressing and alerting” book is somehow revered by the wargames fraternity as an opportunity to turn the tables on the willy foe! (You need all sorts you know…)
One of the successes of “Imperial” forces (not exclusive of the British Empire) is the raising, training and correctly use of “auxiliaries” or “allies”… good logistics and financing needed… in the end Empires crumble by financial overstretched reasons (and yes corruption too).
