Bringing up the BIG guns .

 

I bought this Britains 18" Howitzer just before we went on holiday and have just got around to checking it out . I've been after one for years and with the shells etc they can be quite expensive , however this one didn't have the ammo and the barrel was lose so it was going cheap . Here we see Charlie inspecting it - having found it isn't food he loses interest .

Here we see the Gunners of Army'Red' manning it with General Crawley and of all people H.G. Wells in attendence . I rather played up it's damaged state and got a bit knocked off the price but with a bit of TLC I managed to get the barrel remounted and the elevating screw to work .

Here we see the General inspecting the breach mechanism , I must keep an eye open for some of the shells and casings on eBay.

A view down the impressive breach and barrel of the Howitzer , it just needs a bit of a clean up and it will be ready for tabletop action. Just done a bit of research and I believe this model was produced from 1955 and was discontinued in 1980..

Toy soldiers in art No.27

 

Found this on the interweb , French WW1 era I would say, I think I've seen the child as a model in another similar card . Google translate gives me  - "to give the artillery" ? and the blue stamp across the card seems to say - "56th Regiment Territorial"? , I wonder that is something to do who posted it ? . The figures are interesting  large scale ones, I think I've seen something like them before , they could be Bon-Dufour composite about 5" tall (thanks Brad DeSantis for the info in a previous post) . I wonder if it was hand coloured ? and lke the use of real earth for the trenches - don't think the young chap is going to miss at that range!

A visit to an old friend's table.

 

Whilst we were on holiday in the Peak District,  I popped in to see my old wargaming  colleague 'B' . I've been trying to remember how long we go back and think it must be over 35 years (maybe going on to 40?) , since he and his family moved down south we don't get to play many games nowadays  .

He has his table set up in his shed and was mid-game refighting a battle in German East Africa (using 'Comtemptable Little Armies I think ?) With 28mm figures.

Some of his extensive WW1 figure collection and a smattering of 10th century Saxons on the box for 'Dux Brittaniorum' 

'B's sanctuary from a household of womenfolk,  it was nice to see his new set up as over the last few years he hasn't been able to have a permanent table. When we lived in the same town  we used to game very regularly and we do still have the odd game now and then when he's up North visiting family.I do find seeing other people's wargaming set ups interesting and it was great to catch up with him and his family again.

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Another mysterious figure .

 

I bought this figure from eBay , bit of a strange one and I haven't had time to do any research on it but it is hollow cast and the rider is separate (held on with blue tack at the moment) I'm not convinced the horse is the original as it has a different paint job (repaint?) , the rider has the look of Buffalo Bill and his left had has a hole in it that could hold a lasso or whip ? . As they are not well painted I'll probably strip the horse and repaint it and perhaps touch up the man's paint job But as we are going on holiday soon this will have to wait.

Two sides of the same coin.

 

I wish I could carry off a collar and tie and a smoking jacket whilst modeling - the state of my apron shows the reason why !

On the tabletop at the present.

 

Having a small Wofun 28mm SYW game at the moment , late Prussians versus Russians using Honours of War rules , been busy doing 'real life' stuff - cutting back the hedge etc so no painting or hobby at the present.

The Russian Dragoon move through the village ready to deploy onto the tabletop.

Ault Fritz directs some Frei Korp to take the bridge and Objective marker.

The Prussian Cavalry move slowly through the narrow streets to try and capture the Objective marker on the crossroads.

The Cavalry clash in the center of the battlefield , Russian Dragoons versus Prussian Hussars .

Russian Cossacks make a break across the bridge to capture the Objective marker and being fired upon by the Frei Korps . Hopefully I will be able to catch up with developments of this battle and post here soon . 

Toy Soldiers in Art No.26

 

Found on the interweb , a 'Military Game' - shooting a BB gun at hollowcast figures - in an era when there was no Heath and Safety ("careful you could have someones eye out with that") I'm not sure about having a window as a backstop ! - probably responsible for some of the damaged figures that appear on eBay nowadays. (click on photo to enlarge)