Blather, Waffle and Poppycock!

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

Pretty sure my family would find it fun ... if we were ever in one place long enough to play it!

Well it is harder to hit a moving target 

[Last Hussar]

Email to head of department "When is [this] going to be done?"

Reply; "Is 'when I can be arsed' an appropriate response??"

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

For you yes, for me know. Seriously get hold of his boss and get VERY LOUD.

[Last Hussar]

Not that sort of relationship with him. He has been appropriately poked.  My reply

It's definitely... a... response. Half way there.

[Last Hussar]

Gentlemen... Nobby...

If you are looking for some chewing gum for the eyes, may I suggest a movie that went on YouTube 3 days ago.

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.

British chaps on a secret mission to blow up Nazis.

[Raider4]

. . .may I suggest a movie that went on YouTube 3 days ago.

Saw that on my "suggested" feed. Did wonder if it's there legally?

Doesn't help that YouTube seems to have morphed primarily into an advert delivery system that eventually shows the video you want to see nowadays.

[Last Hussar]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ministry_of_Ungentlemanly_Warfare

Didn't realise when it popped up on the suggestions

[Roy]

Probably the wrong thread to post this but...

Bit of a nightmare in Richmond market place (North Yorkshire), this morning. Sky News doing hourly reports. LBC radio interviewing anyone and everyone. Independent photographers taking stock photos of the PM's constituency. The fair is in. Wagons can't get to shops to unload. Traffic cones. Traffic wardens. Tourists and locals. Place is best avoided if possible. 

In all honesty, there's nowt in Richmond, full stop. And that's coming from me, who loves the place. I only went to sort out a draft for a Will (hope my executor likes toy soldiers    )

Actually I take that back. There's the Green Howard's Museum and Richmond Castle. The River Swale looks nice too.

[fsn]

Finished painting the Napoleonic Ottomans, and am blitzing my way through painting the Bishops' Wars English/Royalist/Generally Not Scottish. I had painted the armoured cavalry and not been happy, so the project stalled. The cavalry went for a Dettol bath (thank you whoever let on about this) and have been re-done to a much better standard. Just one infantry, 2 cavalry and a dragoon unit to paint!

On the purchasing front, I've bought the Russians for the Russo-Japanese war, and have started on the Japanese. These are small-ish projects of about 300 figures each side.

Then what? Ah, there's the rub. Perhaps squidlings will be available by then, but that will constitute a mere palate cleanser in the grand scheme of things.  My ideas for the Chocolate Box (mid-late C19) or 1929 are both shelved for lack of appropriate figures. Similarly plans for chariot armies are in abeyance, and WWI isn't grabbing me at the moment. Of course, I have taken a blood oath not to touch anything between Malplaquet and Maida, and the age of the machine is inspirationally barren ground. I'd go for the Winter War, except for the scenery I'd need to source.

Sooo, that most fertile of eras, the War of the Sixth Coalition (aka late Napoleonics) sits plumply in the corner awaiting the attention it expects and deserves. I've based my armies on Leipzig where possible and have armies for France, Austria, Prussia, Russia, Poland/Warsaw, Bavaria, Wurttemberg, Britain, Brunswick, Sweden, Denmark and the Ottoman Empire.

Who's left? Well, from Germany there's Westphalia or Saxony, plus a myriad of smaller states (who don't field a big enough army for me). Then there's the Kingdom of Italy and Naples. Or in the Peninsula there's Portugal, Spain and King Joseph's Spanish and finally I could look at other bits of the Anglo-Allied Army of 1815 - the Dutch-Belgians or Hanoverians.

That apparent wide choice is slightly less than stellar. "White coat, Shako, coloured facings" applies to the Germans and the Italians - and I'm not a fan of painting white uniforms. However, I've kept away from Iberia to date, but at least they have a bit of colour.

What to do? What .. to .. do? 

At the moment, King Joseph is leading, though I may need to be generous in the OOB. Maybe I need to do some test paints to see what clicks with me.

In the grand scheme of things, this is a good problem to have.
 

   

 

[Last Hussar]

I did like all the Confederacy stuff when I painted the French Little Wooden Men. It was the same but a bit different ("oh, so you have yellow turn backs!").

Because Walter's LWM are so cheap I could field proper units, not just that trade off between historical and bank manager. Also it helped I have done Blucher at Grand Scale, so the Westphalians were an actual corps. I have all of the Men in Black (Brunswick). And I do mean ALL.

I did the original for Wagram as a base.  Now I have Russians for Borodino, I am going to add the Italians.  For Blucher at the lay out I am doing it is 1 stand line (16 figures), 1 skirmish (4), 1 mounted (6 horse) and a gun. It's the French uniform,  but green. What's not to love?

[fsn]

Hmmm ... wonder how long to replace all my Pendraken ...    No! I have nailed my colours to the Dark Lord - and it didn't half make him wince.

My typical armies of the period are in the 900-1,000 figure range. That's modelling a force of 9,000-10,000, usually a historical infantry division with a couple of cavalry brigades attached. The Brunswickers are an exception as they come in at 620 - and the Brits who somehow managed 1714.

My brain says "carry on with the 1813 German campaign" (whaddaya mean you don't know about the Ottoman contribution to the 6th Coalition?) Saxony offers some lovely yellow cuirassiers, Westphalia has nothing particularly interesting, Italy has the whole green-and-white-minty-fresh thing going on, and the Neapolitans are fascinated by the colour amaranth.

Then there's the Peninsula. If I start on one, then the rest will have to follow. The Portuguese appeal as they have a lovely, regular order of battle, and not too many cavalry. The Spanish are a bit of an outlier, because I'd like to go back to the La Romana division in 1808 who sport an older uniform. Then there's Joseph's who at least wear brown coats.

Since I was on the Maverick Models website, ordering a few Royalist cavalry standards, I have covered all my bases by ordering sufficient standards for Joseph's Army, Saxons, Italians, Neapolitans, and Wurzburgers (Well the Saxons on their own are a bit light).       

I think I have a problem.

[fsn]

This is how I get distracted. Helion have a sale on, and are offering "The Bulgarian Air Force in WWII" for only £9.

What do I know about the Bulgarian Air Force in WWII? Very little ...

[Last Hussar]

You may wish to ask me and Sunjester about WSS and Pendraken...

[fsn]

You may wish to ask me and Sunjester about WSS and Pendraken...

Hey LH. What's with you, Sunjester, the WSS and Pendraken?

[Orcs]

Last Hussar , Sunjester and The W.S.S go into a bar for a drink .........

Sunjester orders a pint of Dark Ale. quaffs deeply.
Last Hussar orders a pint of Dark ale. Sips ale whle looking for avaliable women.

Th W.S.S ( Is this an alias for FSN???) asks = Can I have 1/3rd of a pint please , I am only here to taste test.

(WSS Established in 1997, Wirral Sensory Services conduct consumer research for food, drink and household products.)

https://wssintl.com/