Not my thing at all (personally) but I know quality when I see it. That bloody part of the late XIXth Century whem the European Powers (all of them) expanded “civilization” and “commerce”… all round the world… globalization at the point of the bayonet!
Yesterday was John Clarke… Today is Paul Watson (a true friend of mine), how can he manage to “cut”, “solder”, “repare”, “modify”, and dig gold from the scrap pile of old discarded toy soldiers by less able people truly amazes me , in this case the two members of the Naval Landing Party has been converted into stretcher bearers… and the “casualty” is a multipart “remake” (you know what I mean… one torso, other legs, other arms, and an overall good painting job!
Simply magnificent… I am conscious that I will never achieve this kind of craftsmanship without starting from zero and dedicating to it hours and hours and hours… maybe the correct approach is that I am “out of time for it”… nevertheless I admire those who have this level… and proud to give them to you!
As you know I collect Toy Soldiers and even paint them sometimes… much more easy believe me! (The Old Toy Soldier kind even if some are “NEW” Toy Soldiers).
I am a huge fan of what Francesco does with 28mm Perry’s… unsurpassed IMHO… those mini dioramas are full of action and tasteful display (and some are standard figures or minis!)… mindblowing standard of painting if you ask me… not my favourite scale anymore… but dear me!… he tempts me everytime I see his works.
A Gentleman’s War delightful set… I think he does them himself!
Those “Civilized” A la Well’s Wargames are tempting aesthetically (at least for me)… but I confess I prefer 54mm to 42mm… but you need all sorts you know…
Smacks of P.C. Wren… or BEAU GESTE to be more precise. The world is divided in two big groups those who have read it and those who do not care…
A book that is “different” in such a way… that the “lessons” you learn are not the same at 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 or 70 years of age. I know because I have read it at those ages and the perspective changes a lot. A critic would accuse Wren of racism, xenofobia, antisemitism, prejudices, mysoginia, white (anglo-saxon) supremacy, his phobia about “mixing races” etc etc etc… but he penned a masterpiece about “the decent thing to do”. It’s a fictional novel but with “morals”, it is a novel of adventure (boy’s own) but only in the surface… it is a Police Mystery novel (a “polar” the French say) but not quite… is it a “love story” (only in a way)… it is a Military novel and the abuse of power… (not at all but it served me right when I did my compulsory military service in the Spanish Army when the Sahara was still in Spanish hands… 13 months of boredom… so I know what “le cafard” is first hand)… I recently gave copies of the book to my grandchildren… would they ever read it?… I do not know at all… but I have passed it away anyhow…
Hope they do a lavish edition for the Centenary of its first publication.
Graham Hilditch own “B” series… as seen in Facebook.
They are NOT 54mm there is even a pic that shows the difference in scale somewhere in Facebook… but I liked this one… around 42mm and painted Dilley’s way but not from his collection (Graham Hilditch’s own). Awesome!