50 000 Hits, Leyland and the knights Templar

Hi Chaps,

Thank you all for achieving a milestone for me with 50 000 hits. What a ride! In the time that I have started this blog I have been blown away by the quality of work that you chaps generate week in and week out...you are simply amazing. So with the Oscar type speech over I would like to share with you a little bit of history.

Leyland is probably best known for producing cars of a somewhat dubious quality and the Centurian tank which was quality. On one of my early morning walks (usually 5AM ish) I spotted some medieval grave markers in ST Andrews church, a couple of these were unmistakably military graves so I took a picture and resolved to find out more.

On the left of the grave as you look at it is a sword which is faint and on the right is clearly an axe. I have seen quite a few of these grave markers but never one with an axe on it! Maybe this fellow was a real bad ass? I have a meagre A level in archaeology so someone out there will be able to explain this marker in more detail....

Anyway Leyland was given to the Knights Templar in 1212 as basically no one owned this backwater but the guys who came to oversee the gathering of crops/paying of tythes etc certainly left their mark. It is such a pity that the local council make nothing of this. Instead we have a marker to celebrate the worlds first fireproof cinema built using materials produced in this town, Leyland paint, Leyland rubber etc. the cinema burned down in 1929 thank fully with no casualties. Am I the only person to see the humour in this irony?

Anyway thanks again for the 50 000 Chaps you are stars.

Wargames Factory

Hi Chaps,

I received a pleasant surprise the other day when my order for the Wargames Factory Survivors  The Men arrived. At first I was not at all impressed with Wargames Factory products having bought some Romans and Ancient British chariots from them. The quality now is so much better that you would not believe that they are from the same company!

The poses look good and the detail is much crisper and raised up from the casting. The figures were actually fun to paint as well....now I just hope that the company remakes the male zombies which are appalling in comparison to their latest sets.

The pictures have been quickly snapped between showers so I do apologise for the quality. In an almost related issue I bought from a charity shop an old toy "Adventure 2000" which is an old Matchbox model that will be fun to play around with and turn into something sci fi. I will just have to stay away from toy collectors fares for fear of being caught by a lynch mob.

Have a good week and keep blogging.

Thinning my collection and ebay....sigh

Hi Chaps,

sometimes things do not go to plan! Today I thought that rather than let some figures languish in a drawer I would sell them on ebay and buy my son Dungeons and Dragons...and of course more figures to paint! Frustratingly when listing on ebay the "Next" button refused to work!

So...damn you ebay...! Foiled...it must be a browser issue or something? Has anyone experienced anything similar to this? Anyway here is what I will attempt to put on there if I can resolve this!

Obviously despite using 2 lights I still have a lighting issue...its just dull grey and bleak up North LOL. The moderns I have replaced with 1/72 Caesar models and although there isn't as much variation the quality is still there, I may put some comparison pictures up?

Thanks for being patient about my rant regarding fleabay....this has been a busy month for painting. My desk is in a shocking state which pains me greatly-I will post a pic of the chaos later. Keep blogging Chaps reading your adventures in miniature is the only thing keeping me sane!

Acquiring a routine...

Hi Chaps,

well the weather is pants for half term but that does not seem to affect my son who is very happy with all outside activity being rained off, it just means more 360 time!

Hobby wise I am still plodding with the immensely detailed Perry medieval figures but they have been reinforced with some Irregular miniatures artillery and crossbowmen. when I first started war gaming with metal figures Irregular was my favourite company as they seemed to have every figure imaginable. Slowly I started to discover other manufacturers but is was still good today to receive a parcel filled with the characterful Irregular figures. If you have not been to the site treat yourself...

http://www.irregularminiatures.co.uk/

I do hope Irregular do not get medieval on me for using a few of their pics (I will post my pictures when the lads have been painted).

I did order a lone long bowman to make up a unit and he fits in well with the Perry plastic bowmen. The crossbowmen should be interesting to paint and add some variety to my already growing army (well OK Battle).

See you soon chaps, keep busy!

Solo Wargaming

Hi Chaps,

It has been some time since I did the D and D thing but I think that just for the amount of effort put into this project we should give it a look.

As a game thi would be ideal to drop into and I wish it well. Kickstarter is an excellent concept for those of us trying to get our work out to the general gaming community...

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1235706284/journey-to-the-overland-a-solo-tabletop-roleplayin

Thanks for looking.

Hail Caesar

Hi Chaps,

In a desperate attempt to actually get some games played I have bought Hail Caesar. Maybe DBA would have been a better start but if this book is anything like Black Powder the illustrations should be amazing...though I may well try 1/72 or even 6mil to get gaming quickly.

What would you chaps recommend to use? I do like 28mm but would like to get a game in with my son (who is 11) before he starts uni....