ECW Skirmish

The crack of musket fire is joined by the boom of artillery.

Robinettes

Artillery of the English Civil War

Napoleon thunders across Europe like a mighty Colossus

The Voltigeur sergeant 1815

This Voltigeur Sergeant has proudly hung on to his yellow chevrons and epaulet's as a sign of his elite status, even though the new dress regulations have disbanded them.

The lucky Cuirassier

This survivor of Waterloo toasts the Emperor one last time, before mounting up and heading for home.

All done

The last shelf is filled and the floor boards give another creak.

Early Saxons

These are from Essex and I have to say are really good. Essex tend to be a bit hit and miss with their ranges, but these Early Saxons are the exception. I plan to use these to bolster out the ranks on my Ancient Germans when I get around to starting them. I have already used them in battle as Germans and they looked great. Standing at over a hundred and twenty men, they will add a good few War bands to my fledgling German forces.

My first ever historical figures.

Painted way back in 1985 these tiny 15mm Federal troops mark the turning point in my painting career. Although I found myself lost in painting Warhammer 40K space marines, these little figures made a big impact on me. When I discovered painting again in 1996, I found myself being drawn back to the period. Only this time I fancied more of a challenge so I started to collect 28mm figures. The rest as they say, is history...

Grant vs Lee

The two leaders meet at last.

Federal troops

Berdan Sharpshooters

Redoubt miniatures do come out with some cracking figures and ten years ago these were the best on the market. I haven't seen better US Sharpshooter figures than these to date.

General Lee and friends

I thought It was time I showed some of my old Civil figures. Most of my old units need a good bit of repainting and reorganizing. May be one day I will get inspired to undertake such a massive operation.

The great reshuffle

As time goes on, space starts to become a real problem with the cabinet. So I decided to box up all of my Corgi WWII planes and put them in the loft. This has made a shelf available for my hungry Generals to fight over and allows me to separate mixed up eras.
My poor old Tommys have have fighting it out with Numidians on the first shelf for a year now and need a place of their own to spread and grow. After a moments thought It was my collection of Union troops that got the order to move down to the dark ground floor shelf, where nobody looks. These are old figures painted over ten years ago (when I thought shading flesh with black ink was a good idea) and so they will not be missed. I may feel the need to re base and repaint my Civil war forces one day... they need it, but until then they can wait in the neither regions. Their space is now taken with my recently painted WWII Platoons, who at the moment hold more appeal for me.

Is that a loaf in your trousers or are you pleased to see me?

The story goes that Napoleon ordered his men to pack extra warm clothes for their march into the frozen wastes of Russia. To save valuable space, he created the Baguette, a long loaf that could be carried down the soldiers trousers. Thus a national symbol was born.

This has turned out to be more myth than fact but I for one like it, so on this Blog anyway...it's a fact!

Don't worry the Russian winter beats everybody...

I thought I would take a trip to Elba and cheer up my old friend Boney. True to form though, he stole my boat and headed back for another hundred days of trouble. It's like they say, a leopard can never change it's spots, but I like him so I'll keep trying.

Hold ya horses Boney, I haven't even started on the Old Guard yet!

Napoleon orders forward the Old Guard, only to find there is none.

All quiet of the Western front

I'm afraid after many years of groaning, my computer at home has finally given up the ghost. This means there might be a little delay in war gaming/painting madness for a while.
The French are coming on great guns though, with the next batch of Voltigeurs being covered with mud as I type, ready for their new bases.

Today is a painting day!