ARBORICULTURAL FUN

I was looking at my 54mm figures despondently on yesterday, wondering how on earth I was ever going to get enough terrain made to have a decent layout/game, when I remembered this picture I had seen on the Irregular Miniatures website

using some very simple slot together houses and basic walls. Also on Mannie Gentile's wonderful blog
http://toysoldiersforever.blogspot.com/

he shows how to make some fantastic flat pack trees. Well, as I am drifting towards the toy soldier approach rather than the wargaming one, I rather like the idea of flatpack scenery, and it's just the sort of thing my Dad would have made for fun (not that he was a soldier collector). I have just spent a pleasant hour in the garage cutting out nice shapes of trees and bushes, and fully intend to do more tomorrow and then have a bash at some houses and a church

Some shrubs, oak trees, limes and poplars.



For stability I will drill holes in the base of the trees, and make some circular stands with dowel inserts to hold them up.

SWAGGERING CAVALIEROS

After having said I was forging ahead with my painting, these fellows seem to have taken an age to finish. Still, here they are

The cornet reads " Agitata veresco"  Though shaken, I flourish

A funny old day today, I dropped Mrs. Atticus and the 3 things off, at a holiday cottage in Herefordshire, where they are staying with our friend Tania and her 2 children, with instructions to collect on Saturday. The house is too quiet, but as I have no paternal duties to perform I should be able to get plenty of soldier stuff done (or I could put some shelves up...)

NEW COOKER

Took delivery of this hotplate today as I have ordered some moulds from Prince August and plan to start casting 54mm Toy soldiers. Back  in 1982, I had some Prince August orc moulds and cast up thousands of the little blighters, but this was using molten lead in an old cast iron ladle balanced on a camping stove (what were my parents thinking of?).
This time I plan to be a bit more safety conscious!

MEDIEVALS ON EBAY

This may be getting a bit monotonous but I have just listed a load of 28mm Brettonians on eBay to drum up some cash for 54mm Little Wars figures

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/hwamgaarl/m.html?item=150753187107&sspagename=STRK%3AMESELX%3AIT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649&_trksid=p4340.l2562

it is a bit time consuming doing this but should pay dividends I hope

Hope to get on with some painting soon....

A FINAL PURCHASE

Some sad but not unexpected news yesterday, the Bath Model Centre (aka The Modellers Den) is closing down. My brothers and myself can remember pushing open the narrow doors clutching our sweaty coins ready to buy the latest Airfix offerings, and I believe there has been a model shop there since the 1950's, but in the past few years it has had half filled shelves and uninspiring stock, and I have had to travel to Frome to get paint and figures. I popped in yesterday to get some glue and milliput, but there wa little else of interest for sale.

Staggering home from work, frozen to the marrow, Mrs. Atticus kindly dispatched me to the attic, where I put the milliput to good use

These fellow will be undercoated tonight. Lurking to the left of the picture are some tentative purchases for an embryonic Funny Little Wars army....beastly Prussians of course.