I need one,that blast of heat as you step off the plane tells you,"you`re there".Then you`ve got 14 nights of arguing kids,irritable spouse/partner,and really annoying foreign locals who steal your kids and tell you that their bar is better than their brother`s/uncle`s/father`s,whatever.
I still want one though.We went to Marmaris,in Turkey,two years ago-what a shit-hole!We stayed in a suburb! called Armuatalan,2 km from the beach-yeah in a straight line, more like 6km by dolmus.I`d still rather be there than here though.
Our next hols are Florida for the kids either(more than likely)DisneyLand or Universal,either way the Police speak English(i hope)and it`s clean-it`s gotta be cleaner than Marmaris ,the corporation dump is!
Anyway,wherever you`re off to have fun,enjoy yourselves,remember you`re British,and we probably used to own the country and above all wear Manchester City shirts and play cricket on the beach/park/any grassy area you can find.
cheers,
Andy
Friday 30 July 2010
Thursday 29 July 2010
Good Day
Today the new Perry French Foreign Legion arrived and they are super little figures,plenty of character and detail,just what you`d expect really.I`m going to use the Foundry "Storm Blue" palette for their overcoats as this gives a darkish blue with a definite grey tint to it,trousers are going to be the Winter red ones as i think this is more appropriate for fighting in Spain and it can get quite cold and wet in Algeria,as at the seige of Constantine in October 1837.I will paint some in the Summer white trousers in time.
On a more unhappy note i`ve just realised that my order to Caliver Books for a book on the battle of Camerone and some of the excellent,Mark Copplestone sculpted figures (Captain Danjou and friends) may have gone astray as i gave my adress as being in Afghanistan,oops!I`ve e-mailed Caliver pointing out my mistake and i`m still waiting for a response,but i`m sure they`d have spotted the mistake and contacted me if there was an issue,the Post Office on the other hand.........
cheers,
Andy
On a more unhappy note i`ve just realised that my order to Caliver Books for a book on the battle of Camerone and some of the excellent,Mark Copplestone sculpted figures (Captain Danjou and friends) may have gone astray as i gave my adress as being in Afghanistan,oops!I`ve e-mailed Caliver pointing out my mistake and i`m still waiting for a response,but i`m sure they`d have spotted the mistake and contacted me if there was an issue,the Post Office on the other hand.........
cheers,
Andy
Friday 23 July 2010
Camerone
It`s all Matt Golding`s fault! You see over on his "Waterloo to Mons" blog he`s talking about themed painting ie "this month it `s Russians",so i get the idea "Great last stands on the American sub-continent".We all know about Custer(sorry Keogh)and Billy Travis at the Alamo,but what about Danjou,and his 64 legionnaires at Camerone in 1863
?outnumbered 30 to 1 and they still held out for 12 hours,and just what were the French Foreign Legion doing fighting in Mexico?Very interesting,i`ve ordered the (first) book and the first pack of figs.(which includes Captain Danjou,himself)and we`ll see how(if at all) it goes.
cheers,
Andy
?outnumbered 30 to 1 and they still held out for 12 hours,and just what were the French Foreign Legion doing fighting in Mexico?Very interesting,i`ve ordered the (first) book and the first pack of figs.(which includes Captain Danjou,himself)and we`ll see how(if at all) it goes.
cheers,
Andy
Friday 16 July 2010
School Holidays
They start today,seven and a half weeks of the little b£$t%&ds,sorry,darlings.I should have been a teacher,I actually studied for my degree at a teacher training college,Edgehill College,in Ormskirk.Instead i got my B.A. and ended working for Morrisons,what a result!
But never mind everything is French Foreign Legion and the new(ish) greens from the Perry`s First Carlist War range-Algeria 1830`ish here i come.
They`ll look good skirmishing against Carlist guerillas in 1830`ish Spain as well,plus i recently bought "The Best of Devo" what a band!!!!!!!
cheers,
Andy
But never mind everything is French Foreign Legion and the new(ish) greens from the Perry`s First Carlist War range-Algeria 1830`ish here i come.
They`ll look good skirmishing against Carlist guerillas in 1830`ish Spain as well,plus i recently bought "The Best of Devo" what a band!!!!!!!
cheers,
Andy
Saturday 10 July 2010
Latest Urge
Not an urge as such,as it belongs to my core period,but i`ve really got the Schleswig-Holstein bug at the minute,could be the super new artillery models fom Waterloo to Mons.Perfect war to game,small battles,good looking troops,and a really nice(and inexpensive) range of figures.
cheers,Andy
cheers,Andy
Thursday 8 July 2010
Urges!
We all get them,the urge to buy shiny new figures for no good reason,we rush out,buy the latest releases,drool over them,maybe even undercoat some,posibly even paint some,the put them away when the urge passes.
I was rationalising my collection a few days ago and i put my figs into three groups:
1) current projects
2) future projects
3) urges
Believe it or not the current projects are by far the smallest group with "urges" the largest.I can`t believe the amount of figs i`ve bought on impulse and the amount of money i`ve wasted.
Of late i`m managing to control my "urges" and i find the impulse to buy passes after a few days,but i`m starting to wonder if i`ve got some kind of medical condition, am i a `holic of some sort?Who knows, i have been drinking a lot of coffee recently.
cheers,Andy
I was rationalising my collection a few days ago and i put my figs into three groups:
1) current projects
2) future projects
3) urges
Believe it or not the current projects are by far the smallest group with "urges" the largest.I can`t believe the amount of figs i`ve bought on impulse and the amount of money i`ve wasted.
Of late i`m managing to control my "urges" and i find the impulse to buy passes after a few days,but i`m starting to wonder if i`ve got some kind of medical condition, am i a `holic of some sort?Who knows, i have been drinking a lot of coffee recently.
cheers,Andy
Monday 5 July 2010
Keogh`s Last Stand
The Hollywood version of the battle of The Little Bighorn has General Custer and his band of gallant cavalry surrounded by yelling Indians.As the Indians circle the cavalry shooting bullets and arrows into the heroic troopers,the circle gets smaller and smaller until only the great man,himself stands against the savage hordes,and then they swiftly kill him,or if you watch "Custer of the West"starring Robert Shaw as Custer,they actually give him the chance to clear off home,but seeing as how all his men are dead or dying and he`s a thoroughly decent chap he decides to stay where he is and the Indians obligingly knock him off pretty quickly.
Now,we all know that Hollywood`s grip on the truth can be rather loose to say the least and that the famous last stand didn`t actually happen,as such.
The Little Bighorn,was actually three seperate actions,it began with Major Reno`s attack on the lower end of the Indian village the idea being to drive the Indians into Custer`s force which was trying to locate the upper end of the village.Reno lost his nerve and legged it up some hills and dug in,losing half his command in the process.Custer was blissfully unaware of this and he carried on along the Bighorn ridge trying to find the upper end of the village but came under increasing Indian pressure until his command was surrounded and wiped out,then the victorious Indians went back to besiege the remains of Reno`s force,now allied with the third cavalry force under Captain Benteen,for the rest of the day until the entire Indian village pulled out when the rest of the Dakota column arrived on the scene.
Did Reno and Benteen do enough to support Custer?Could they have pushed on through to relieve him and hold out until General Terry and the rest of the Dakota column arrived?I,personally, very much doubt it and I believe that Reno and Benteen should be given credit for salvaging part of the 7th cavalry from what could have become a complete massacre.
But let`s look at Custer`s action in more detail.There he is with five companies of cavalry moving along the ridge,Indians are sniping at his troops and there are several hostiles hovering around the rear of Custer`s column,the pressure is starting to become a real concern as more and more hostiles leave the Reno fight or get mobilised and start to make more daring attacks on the rear of the column.Custer`s force is operating in two wings the right wing consisting of three companies under the command of Captain Miles keogh is ordered to form a rearguard to see off the hostiles and then continue the advance.Keogh despatches Lieutenant James Calhoun`s "L" company to form a skirmish line at the base of some high ground whilst Keogh and his other two companies take up position on the rise.
Unfortunately by now Reno`s men are well and truly beaten and most of the 1800 or so warriors in the village are out and about and Calhoun`s men,all 57 of them,don`t last very long,as do neither of Keogh`s remaining two companies.Custer, three quarters of a mile further along the ridge(that`s how long Keogh`s chaps lasted) can only watch in dis-belief,three fifths of his men are down and where are Benteen and Reno?Well nowhere to be of any use to Custer,and now to make matters worse here comes Crazy Horse from the other side of the ridge to completely encircle the cavalry.There`s only one thing for it Custer gives the command to dis-mount and the rest is history.Or is it?What if Custer had ridden into an ambush and the head of the column had been wiped out first,Custer,his brother Tom,Captain Yates,the adjutant lieutenant Cooke,all killed early on?Command of the force then passes to the senior surviving officer in this case Captain Keogh,who,seeing the hopelessness of the situation in front attempts to get back to Reno,Benteen or even the rest of the Dakota column.
Will he make it?It`s an interesting thought and would make great game.
cheers,Andy
Now,we all know that Hollywood`s grip on the truth can be rather loose to say the least and that the famous last stand didn`t actually happen,as such.
The Little Bighorn,was actually three seperate actions,it began with Major Reno`s attack on the lower end of the Indian village the idea being to drive the Indians into Custer`s force which was trying to locate the upper end of the village.Reno lost his nerve and legged it up some hills and dug in,losing half his command in the process.Custer was blissfully unaware of this and he carried on along the Bighorn ridge trying to find the upper end of the village but came under increasing Indian pressure until his command was surrounded and wiped out,then the victorious Indians went back to besiege the remains of Reno`s force,now allied with the third cavalry force under Captain Benteen,for the rest of the day until the entire Indian village pulled out when the rest of the Dakota column arrived on the scene.
Did Reno and Benteen do enough to support Custer?Could they have pushed on through to relieve him and hold out until General Terry and the rest of the Dakota column arrived?I,personally, very much doubt it and I believe that Reno and Benteen should be given credit for salvaging part of the 7th cavalry from what could have become a complete massacre.
But let`s look at Custer`s action in more detail.There he is with five companies of cavalry moving along the ridge,Indians are sniping at his troops and there are several hostiles hovering around the rear of Custer`s column,the pressure is starting to become a real concern as more and more hostiles leave the Reno fight or get mobilised and start to make more daring attacks on the rear of the column.Custer`s force is operating in two wings the right wing consisting of three companies under the command of Captain Miles keogh is ordered to form a rearguard to see off the hostiles and then continue the advance.Keogh despatches Lieutenant James Calhoun`s "L" company to form a skirmish line at the base of some high ground whilst Keogh and his other two companies take up position on the rise.
Unfortunately by now Reno`s men are well and truly beaten and most of the 1800 or so warriors in the village are out and about and Calhoun`s men,all 57 of them,don`t last very long,as do neither of Keogh`s remaining two companies.Custer, three quarters of a mile further along the ridge(that`s how long Keogh`s chaps lasted) can only watch in dis-belief,three fifths of his men are down and where are Benteen and Reno?Well nowhere to be of any use to Custer,and now to make matters worse here comes Crazy Horse from the other side of the ridge to completely encircle the cavalry.There`s only one thing for it Custer gives the command to dis-mount and the rest is history.Or is it?What if Custer had ridden into an ambush and the head of the column had been wiped out first,Custer,his brother Tom,Captain Yates,the adjutant lieutenant Cooke,all killed early on?Command of the force then passes to the senior surviving officer in this case Captain Keogh,who,seeing the hopelessness of the situation in front attempts to get back to Reno,Benteen or even the rest of the Dakota column.
Will he make it?It`s an interesting thought and would make great game.
cheers,Andy
Friday 2 July 2010
Two in two
That`s two posts in two days,i really am setting blog-world alight!
Anyway,what about my hobby exploits! Well,I`m still well and truly ensconced in the mid nineteenth century and what a golden age Helion Austro-Prussians,Boothill Miniatures Texan war of independence,GWM Crimean war figs.Waterloo to Mons First Schleswig-Holstein War,Perry Minis First Carlist War need i continue? I think i`ve run out anyway,but not only do these figs make the wars mentioned possible what about the sidelines?
Combine Helion Austrians and GWM Russians and the Magyar war of 1848 bcomes a real possibility,I know the Austrians wore a bell topped shako in that war,but who`s counting?Let`s not forget my other interest`s: Early WW1 on the Western front and the American Indian Wars,well Custer`s last stand actually,although on reading several accounts it could have been Keogh`s last stand! interested? me too,you never know that one could actually get off the ground.
cheers,Andy
Anyway,what about my hobby exploits! Well,I`m still well and truly ensconced in the mid nineteenth century and what a golden age Helion Austro-Prussians,Boothill Miniatures Texan war of independence,GWM Crimean war figs.Waterloo to Mons First Schleswig-Holstein War,Perry Minis First Carlist War need i continue? I think i`ve run out anyway,but not only do these figs make the wars mentioned possible what about the sidelines?
Combine Helion Austrians and GWM Russians and the Magyar war of 1848 bcomes a real possibility,I know the Austrians wore a bell topped shako in that war,but who`s counting?Let`s not forget my other interest`s: Early WW1 on the Western front and the American Indian Wars,well Custer`s last stand actually,although on reading several accounts it could have been Keogh`s last stand! interested? me too,you never know that one could actually get off the ground.
cheers,Andy
Thursday 1 July 2010
Still Alive
Is it really July 1st?
Of course it is and just where have i been?well,still here but what with one thing and another i just haven`t had chance to post.
So,what`s been going on?Well,firstly we`ve moved house,just five minutes up he road and round the corner then another corner and another etc.but the house is about four times the size of our old "rabbit hutch"and is in much better order,so we`ve been busy moving,decorating,paying for carpets etc.which hasn`t left much time for owt else `cept work of course which still sucks.
I hadn`t done much on the hobby front for a while but today i actually did a bit of painting,it was only a bit as well,the recipients being Captain Fred Benteen`s and an "enthusiastic" Austrian infantry officer` s trousers,well the basecoat anyway;more of which later.
cheers,Andy
Of course it is and just where have i been?well,still here but what with one thing and another i just haven`t had chance to post.
So,what`s been going on?Well,firstly we`ve moved house,just five minutes up he road and round the corner then another corner and another etc.but the house is about four times the size of our old "rabbit hutch"and is in much better order,so we`ve been busy moving,decorating,paying for carpets etc.which hasn`t left much time for owt else `cept work of course which still sucks.
I hadn`t done much on the hobby front for a while but today i actually did a bit of painting,it was only a bit as well,the recipients being Captain Fred Benteen`s and an "enthusiastic" Austrian infantry officer` s trousers,well the basecoat anyway;more of which later.
cheers,Andy
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
