Hobby Bits'n'Pieces

Whilst our weather has not been as bad as that that has hit Central Europe recently, it has been pretty grim, especially today. As every cloud has a silver lining and all that, I've been able to catch up on a few hobby related things...

Chariots of Phyre

As part of my gaining knowledge for a completely new period, the following book arrived a few days ago.

I've only glanced at it so far, as I don't want to be distracted from the main project at hand, but it does look good and compliments nicely the other reference books I already have. What I do know is that I need to find that visual 'je ne sais quoi' to draw me. So far plenty to choose from, but must resist the urge to explore further...

1945

I saw this book a few weeks ago and so when in Waterstones recently, I picked up a copy as the final purchase from a book voucher I received last year.

Now normally my interest in the NWE theatre finishes with Market-Garden, but looking at the reviews of this, I thought I'd take the plunge and am happy that I did. As the author notes, 1945 onwards in NWE is often given but a cursory coverage in most books, which tend to focus on the events on the Eastern Front. Like the above, I've only glanced at this but reading the notes, I know I'm really going to enjoy reading this and hopefully this will inspire some future games and/or mini-campaigns.

19thC ImagiNations 

My painting mojo has returned due to a combination of the current wet weather and the forthcoming Cotswold Wargames Day. Below are some photos of recent work.

A 'German' Brigade for the mid-19thC in Europe.

Jaegers to go with the above, who have yet to have the flag finished and flock added.

The 'German' infantry I've had painted for ages, but finally got my butt into gear and added the flags. These I painted whilst flat, which made to job a hell of a lot easier, combined with using my newish ABC Brushes which worked a treat. The Jaegers I started this morning and again said brushes made the job a lot easier and quicker to do compared to my old ones I used to use.

I know I prevaricate a lot when it comes to painting, but I have to keep reminding myself of the 3' rule, and focus on the unit and not too much on each individual figure. When viewed close up they look pretty crude, but are neat and tidy, yet look fine once on the table. I just need to keep reminding myself of that!

Next up is the commander and artillery, ideally some cavalry, time and motivation dependent...

Cotswold Wargames Day

The above units are for the show and should, when combined with other units I have, give me about 4 Brigades to play with, along with some cavalry. Exact details of the game and scale of action are up in the air, but I have a few back up plans if need be...

TTFN.