61st Pennsylvanian Volunteers.

Well I have finally finished this unit of Union troops sculpted by the talented Steve Barber.These represent the 61st Pennsylvanians but given the causalities they are incurring they are clearly ripe for disbandment.

I decided to check just how many regiments I actually had in my ACW collection and have realised that I have enough, well certainly enough for a decent sized game. I have one more Union unit to base and I will call it a day on building the armies up. Like so many wargamers building an army is like painting the Forth Bridge it never ends.It doesnt help that I dont plan a project. I used to make lists many years ago but then realised it became off putting as one saw how many figures you 'needed' and how much it would cost.So I stopped and simply just started painting until I got sick or ran out of storage boxes, and it is usually the latter.

The figures arent the most practical as regards pushing them around a wargames table but there is a lot of life in the sculpts and Steve Barber is a very talented chap.

A Turkish Grand Parade.

 During the lockdown I've taken to reading several books at once. Well obviously not all together but you know what I mean. One is Charles Oman's classic The Art of War in the Middle Ages, part three which concerns the renaissance period. I have always been fascinated by the Turkish invasions of the West and the heroic battles to try and stop Islam taking over the Hapsburg empire.

 One battle in particular has always interested me and thats the Battle of Mohacs where basically the Kingdom of Hungary was overrun following the defeat of the Christian army. During the lock-down I have been adding various small units of Akinji and Azabs to my collection to build it into a decent sized army. Today I couldn't help myself and decided to have a bit of a parade of the Turkish army as it would have possibly been at their victory at Mohacs.

 Sometimes one needs to see your toy soldiers en masse and just enjoy the spectacle of colour. I had forgotten just how nice the army was and would love to take credit for the beautiful painting of the vast majority of the figures, sadly I cant as they were  lovingly painted by my nemesis John Reidy who put a lot of effort into the units.

 These were painted by master painter and all round good egg; Tony Runkee. They are Artizan Spahis.

 So sorry for the ego thing, but I needed to actually see what I had in the army and decide if I needed to paint some more units.I think I have enough and can stop planning more.Now I just need to find some suitable hussar figures to use for the Hungarians and perhaps locate some peasant types to fill out the odd crossbow blocks.

 At Mohacs the Turks chained their guns together to make things even more difficult for the Hungarians. Unfortunately the heroic charge by the knights failed to reach the hill where the guns were ensconced.

 The vast majority of the figures is Hinchliffe with a smattering of Mini Figs and Campaign Miniatures.

Brain freeze anyone?

 I think I probably speak for the majority when I say some days are better than others during this enforced incarceration.One can only watch so much tedious television before one is ready to scream at the stupidity of the so called entertainment. Sadly the constant media coverage is even worse as the so called journalists attempt to create a story by asking some question hoping the poor sod answering has brain freeze and does a Dianne Abbott. Its then I thank Charles Grant, Charlie Wesencraft, Donald Featherstone et al for introducing me to wargaming and the wonderful escapism that the hobby generates.

 As I may have mentioned before my painting has slowed down because of the virus, but I am still dabbling with various painting projects. These lovely chaps arent one of them but are actually a rebased unit I picked up from E Bay. I would love to claim credit for them but no, they were well painted by another talented wargamer, and a very nice unit they are, except I already have this regiment in my Union army. But being a daft wargamer I just had to have these lovely Hinchliffe figures as well..

I dont like to show part painted units but I thought I should at least prove I am still putting paint on figures. These are Steve Barber figures which are very nice sculpts with a lot of backstory attached to them. Yes they are fiddly at times but they are very good. Unfortunately for some unknown reason I have overdone the number of causalities in the unit with THREE! soldiers suffering musketry.

 

 I have other Steve Barber figures and enjoy painting them, he is a very clever chap.

 I must admit that I have been overusing E Bay lately looking for things I never knew I wanted but suddenly discover I need. I keep hoping to locate some long lost Peter Gilder masterpieces painted by him and being sold for pennies. I then realise Im having an attack of incarceration fever and have to walk away from the screen. Still I have managed to locate some bags of self raising flour and amazingly a few tins of bully beef. Anyone for a corned beef and tatty pie?

A bit of forward planning?

From a bygone age, when I could fit into size 30 jeans, drink ten pints and walk a straight line. It was a re fight of the Battle Of Hanau from a show at Chester le Street. 

Well the sun is shining through my window which hides the fact we are still in lock-down. I hope everyone is staying sane and beavering away at this wonderful hobby which I still think is enjoying a bit of a golden age.
 Of course it is increasingly difficult to apply oneself to a painting project when there is no pressure to complete the unit you are currently working on.
 That was the beauty of wargames shows for me when I was actually staging games at the shows. It was a great incentive to hit the deadline, with some newly painted units completed for the big day.
 Sadly all 'big days' are on indefinite hold given the current crisis.
Most of the big wargames shows are postponed until 2021 and the ones that take place at the latter part of this year must be looking increasingly suspect and apart from Reading are the more modest shows.
 And yet...... A lot of solo wargames firms and I use the term lightly must be under intense pressure to keep going. I would argue that even the bigger ones must be suffering especially when our postal service is heading for a three day week which I predict to be announced early next week.
 So in an attempt to look at the potential positives wouldnt it be great if the wargames clubs and individuals  in the various regional areas of the UK  could put provisional plans together to stage wargames shows for the latter part of this year in anticipation of the enforced isolationism being lifted, which it will.
 I fully appreciate that hiring halls and venues is a big financial commitment, Im not talking about something the size of Salute, York or Partizan, more the size of a large community centre hall or the like.
 Given how quickly I am using up my store of paint, glue, bases and figures I expect to be scratching around for something to paint within a month. I suppose I could always take a brush to my garden shed after that but I class myself as better prepared than a lot of wargamers who actually have a life outside of wargaming and couldnt stockpile the necessary prior to the lock-down.
 By the summer I can see a lot of very desperate wargamers pining for some serious retail therapy and a fix of toys being pushed across a wargames table.
  I cant remember how many wargames shows are currently penciled in for the late summer, autumn time but Im certain its not enough to satisfy the demands of wargamers and certainly wont help a lot of the small traders who wont be booked in for these few remaining shows.  So perhaps its time for some forward planning from any would be wargaming entrepreneurs and anticipate the return to something like normality later this year.

Busy Doing Nothing.

 I try to not think about the consequences of the enforced isolation to much, its best not think beyond the next meal basically otherwise one would collapse in tears. God knows what it must be like for the many millions who have no hobbies to fall back upon. We wargamers are really lucky. Its amazing how one can potter on basically doing very little but somehow feel like one has achieved something. 

 Ive managed to complete the 23rd Virginian regiment and a fine group of gentlemen they are to. They are the last of my FGZ minis that I bought sometime last year, just before they packed in. It was a real shame they stopped production because they were lovely figures. Not cheap but definitely top draw sculpts.

 Im currently working on a Steve Barber unit of ACW figures that are a bugger to glue. I appear to have more super glue on my thumbs than the actual figures, perhaps dispraxia is a symptom of Covid 19?
I am fairly certain that my wife and I contracted the virus whilst in London although one will never know for certain, that is unless I do get the virus properly and it is confirmed.The reason why I say this is simply because neither of us can taste any food we prepare and eat. The latest offering which was a hot curry tasted of very little apart from extreme heat. A very strange experience, but then I have been called tasteless before, so if the cap fits. So keep at being busy doing nothing and stay isolated.

Death warmed up anyone?

 Well I completed these chaps this morning even though I feel like death warmed up. They represent the 69th New York who were famous? for taking their boots off before a fight to relive what their ancestors used to do. From experience I wouldn't recommend it. Some sneaky rebel just has to stamp on your foot to scupper your intentions. Nasty......

 They were a pleasure to paint. Given the current shopping situation I should have foreseen buying a couple of plastic storage boxes, I slipped up there.Unfortunately since both myself and my wife are  definitely under the weather so I cant expect her to get me a new storage box anytime soon.

On a more positive note, several months ago I was very lucky to buy some unpainted Mini Figs that had belonged to Eric Knowles who was one of our first generation wargamers from the early 1950's. Yes they are a tad stiff looking but I like the simplicity of the sculpts and hope Eric is looking down from Wargamers Valhalla and approves the look of the regiment. They are part of Newcastle's Whitecoats. I only wish I knew which regiment contained the miners from County Durham that fought at Marston Moor and never came back from the battle. It would be nice to have a little back story for some of the units.There is something very poignant if you have a little bit of a historical link to a unit in ones army albeit a very tenuous one. 

Anyway I appear to be sweating up again, so time for a very hot toddy and a handful of paracetamol.Luckily I was able to stockpile a few bottles of whiskey. Keep safe and keep washing those hands.

Lists, lists and more er,... lists.

 I think most people living in the UK will be feeling a bit like me, which is unusual given how I always feel out of step with the majority. Basically the whole virus thing is quite surreal and dreamlike but in a bad way. Ive been in isolation for 8 days now following my return from London in an effort to be a good citizen and because Im in a high risk group. Who would have thought insanity was high risk. [sorry just a bad joke really]

 Anyway like all good wargamers I've set myself a list of tasks to complete in the hope that the country will be recovered after Ive completed them. Ignoring my garden list and my writing list I will concentrate on my wargaming list. Initially I was just aiming to paint up the odd unit as fillers for my armies but as the reality has seeped in I've expanded that to include terrain, additional units and eventually a new small project, except I am waiting for the figures to be released.

 I would imagine a lot of wargamers will be trawling the internet looking for things to paint [ amazing how one ignores painting the odd room] I picked up a painted unit of Mini Fig renaissance crossbowmen which I repainted and added to to create a unit of Gascon crossbowmen. A lifetime ago John had a similar unit which I always admired, mine aren't as good as that but the figures are still very nice.

 I also purchased a badly painted ECW regiment which I have repainted as a Tower Hamlets regiment, yes its a bright red and not a brick red, but they would have looked right if they had been in the Alec Guinness film.

 As regards terrain. At probably the last wargame show I will attend in 2020, I bought three large hills from the Tree Fellas. They were a fair price but the wrong colour for my table, so I re did them as well. Finally I picked up a lovely renaissance tower which I touched up. The creator lavished a lot of love on the building which was scratch built. If my wife was to stand about for any length of time she'd probably get a coat of paint as well.

 The moral of the story is, keep busy where possible. A bit of advice I was given many years ago by an ex con was concentrate on one day at a time and ideally focus on one hour at a time if possible. Dont think about the months because time will drag. So using an old cliche, one step at a time my friends, and remember there are a lot of poor people a lot worse off than you and your toys.