YELLOW ROYALISTS

Here we have the fist regiment of 2015, a generic Royalist unit which will be used as Trevanyon's at Lansdown.

Not the best musketeer sculpt out there, but the only firing pose A Call to Arms do.

The second rank were given brimmed hats to replace the silly sock like affairs the original figure had. I can vouch from experience that a broad brimmed titfer is considerably more use in all weathers than a knitted monmouth cap.

A motley bunch of metal command figures. I really like to officer figure which I picked up on ebay, he is quite simplistic and I wonder if he were a homemade bod.

The colour is based on that of Talbot's regiment, I was quite pleased with the freehand hound I managed.

SEARCHING THE LONELY EARTH

I don't tend to rant or rave too much about telly programmes as I hardly ever see any, but a work friend lent me Detectorists on dvd last week which is possibly the funniest and best thing I have seen on the screen for years. If you haven't seen it rush out and buy a copy, you will recognise members of your local wargames club among the ranks of the Danebury Metal Detecting Club not to mention the venue (complete with squeaky door). I can't really do the programme justice other than heartily recommend it and mention it's worth a couple of re-watches to pick up all the gags, visual and verbal. Wonderful filming and cracking casting and acting, it captures a slice of England beautifully.

Watching Detectorists this week meant I didn't get a lot of painting done, and yesterday we all went out to visit some friends son their boat. Living close  the Kennet and Avon Canal we are lucky enough to have a number of chums who live on boats and we all piled onto one yesterday, initially just for a coffee, which turned into lunch and then a little cruise as far as Dundas to refill the water tank.

We had a go with a remote control boat from the window

Dundas Aqueduct in the background

Some great industrial archaeology was made use of (entrance to the Somerset Coal Canal in the background)

A fun day on the water.

WES HAL!

I was at work today, but Mrs. Atticus took herself and the 3 lads down the road to the local community growers where she does a lot of work ensuring we get a constant supply of organic veg. and a freezerful of organic pork at Christmas. Today the team were Wassailing, planting new trees, thanking the old and generally having a knees up (sods law that I missed it)

Last years harvest is consumed.

A old re-enactment friend turned up to see what was going on, and then dashed home to get his musket to frighten off evil spirits that might be lurking in the orchard

The new trees are honoured with the Wassail Toast

The libation continues (the chap on the far left is my old music teacher and a druid!)

The old trees are thanked as well

A gathering of good people of all ages

Here we come a Wassailing 

among the leaves so green

Here we come a wandering so fair to be seen...

MARQUIS OF HERTFORDS REGIMENT

Ploughing on with the Battle of Lansdown figures, this regiment was finished at the end of last year and I am cracking ahead with more foot soldiers. 

The regiment possibly had white coats.

Rank and file are A Call to Arms figures

Plumes were added to make them more Cavalier (old school toy soldiers here)

The colour depicts what are believed to be hawk lures.

The command group are various metal 54mm bods collected from ebay.

WATERLOO YEAR

Two posts in one day?Happily New Years Day fell on a Thursday so I got the day off. We started the day with an impromptu Napoleonic battle on the sitting room floor. Each boy got a box of A Call to Arms Napoleonics and a Playmobil cannon as part of their Christmas presents, so we had a happy half hour firing the guns until the battle developed into trench warfare using fold in the rug as defences

Later on we went for a walk by the town of Wotton-under-Edge on part of the Cotswold Way. This copse of trees is called Waterloo plantation, and was originally planted to commemorate the battle, and has been replanted over the last 200 years. I always like a stand of Scots pines, and these are surrounded by a wall which makes them quite mysterious in an M R Jamesian  type of way. It wasn't raining but very windy, but fortunately we had brought bacon butties and cocoa.

SOUND THE TRUMPET, SOUND THE CHARGE .... (from Strawhead's album 'Sedgemoor')

I managed to pick this chap up on ebay. He is a bit smaller than other 54mm cavalry figures so I needed to make the base a bit thicker.

Now the Duke can pass orders on clearly. I must get one of his famous running footmen.