Terrain Tuesday #19

It's 'fun-with-coffee-stirrers' week this time.  Otherwise known and 'super-glue-fingers-together-Sunday'.  Some quick-and-dirty terrain.

I think the photos speak for themselves...

A bridge

Some walkways

The off-cuts make signposts.  A little under-sized, but as it'll be the work of moments to make more, I'm not too bothered...

Lastly, I don't think I shared the following recent charity shop find.  Any suggestions (other than kindling)?

Hereward Loot

As promised, here's an update on my loot from the Hereward Wargames Show (for the terrain items see here).

Exciting eh?  Well no.  As photos of boxes aren't terribly interesting, here are some shots stolen from Ironclad Miniatures website.  Having said that, it's entirely possible that the boxes may be repurposed and reappear on a Terrain Tuesday!

 

Also from Ironclad

Not bought at  Hereward, but I didn't post them when I got them, were these from Artizan Designs...

Terrain Tuesday #18

A small amount of progress on the wedding cake columns.  They are hollow so I started by putting some 2mm foam sheet on the top (or, as you'll see from the photo, mistakingly on the bottom of a couple).  They're now undercoated, awaiting painting.

The other four proved quite useful in ventilating my constantly-overheating laptop.

On Sunday I went along to the Hereward Wargames Show in Peterborough.  As I was busy on the Diplomatist Books stall, I didn't get around to taking many photos or getting enough details to write the day up.  Although only in it's second year, it's already ground by at least a third, and was a very good day.  Hopefully someone else will post about it, but I haven't seen anything yet.

Anyway, I bought some terrain loot at the Tabletop Sale.

Sorry for the blurriness

The building and bases (two bags for a pound - much cheaper than my usual option of using 2p pieces) came from a chap who's name I should know, and seems to do most of his trade on FaceBook.  The house was £6.00, which I consider very good value.

I may share more loot tomorrow (unless I make a Dr Who Wednesday post).

A Splendid Prize!

First, thank you to all of you who wished me a happy blogday.  As an astute observer notes, I started the blog on my 45th birthday - mid-life crisis anyone?

But to the main point of the post.  Big Lee has just reached the stunning milestone of 2,000,000 hits on his blog.  He's celebrate in very generous style by giving away vouchers to the value of £100.  Details here.

Blogiversay

Yesterday was the 4th Anniversary of this blog

• 651 posts
• 217,697 hits
• 103 followers
• 2.840 comments

Thank you for all all for visiting, and especially for those who have contributed to the last two statistics.

Dr Who Wednesday #14

Mirabile dictu, I can report some progress on the Daleks!

After months of them sitting there in a part-painted state, mocking me, Dave Docherty's Paint and Chat hangout had it's desired effect, and I got two good sessions in on them.

Yellow will have to be re-done...

I've also got another batch of these free-with-the-magazine Daleks on the go (hopefully to be finished this week)* in another colour scheme again.

*In which case, next week we will have a Grand Dalek Parade in which Davros will review the troops (led by David Beckham Dalek).

Although I prefer Classic to these New Paradigm Daleks, these were much better to paint than the dreadful BTD ones.

Gratuitous Sarah Jane shot

Chat and Bargain of the Week

It's been three weeks since my last blog post.  What hobby progress have I made then?  None at all.

My plan of setting hostages to fortune by laying out what I hoped to achieve during July didn't work at all.  August has been a washout due to The Wife having an unexpected week's stay in hospital.  I'd like to thank all those of you who learnt of this through FaceBook and expressed concerns there: for the rest of you, she is now back at home and improving as she rests.  We are both exhausted though.

But no level of exhaustion will keep me from scouring the charity shops for bargains.  Here are my latest.

Been looking out for some of these for a while...

There may yet be a solution to my painting drought.  Dave Docherty has set up a video chat room so that we can paint and chat.  He's done it under the umbrella of the Analogue Painting Challenge Google+ forum, but I'm sure anyone is welcome to attend.

The link is https://hangouts.google.com/hangouts/_/event/ctg9o2s0dra8n46pvl137uh38n4?hl=en-GB&authuser=0 it's a permanent link, so you can drop in at any time and see if anyone else is there.

When I told The Wife about it, she replied that it was wrong "on so many different levels", but really it isn't much different that the 'Stitch and Bitch' sessions she's been known to attend.  You can insert your own joke about watching paint dry here, but if you want some civilised conversation* while you paint, log on.

*Last night's apparently included a discussion on the relative merits of German and British sausages (it could've been Wurst!  BOOM, BOOM!)

Dr Who Wednesday #13 - BREAKING NEWS!

Warlord Games have just announced that pre-orders are open for their first Doctor Who figures

Last year we announced that Warlord Games have secured the licence to produce a miniatures game based on the BBC's enormously popular TV series, Doctor Who. Since then we've been tirelessly researching episodes both new and old, sculpting miniatures and working back and forth with the BBC to ensure the results are completely authentic. 

The licence covers not just the latest series of Doctor Who but encompasses all of the Doctors, their companions and their foes, spanning more than fifty years - so look out for long scarves and jelly babies as well as sonic sunglasses! 

We are pleased to present the first releases available for pre-order. The models are high quality pewter castings, officially approved by the BBC. Our forthcoming range will also include plastic Daleks, Cybermen and Unit troopers, as well as many more pewter figures.

The first two sets are 10th Doctor and Companions and 12th Doctor and Companions each have five metal figures and are priced a £19.99.

Midlam Apprentice Kickstarter

Some of you may remember that I have some of Midlam Miniatures' spellcasters for Frostgrave purposes.  Well, they've just launched their first Kickstarter - a class of wizards' apprentices sculpted by Martin Baker.

Full details here.

Dr Who Weds #12

Programming Note 

I wrote this post last week but didn't post it as I hadn't taken the photos.Since then I've been feeling quite rotten and, sad to say I can now post this without the need for any up-dates...  I never did the photos properly, so you'll have to put up with these snaps,  

On the painting table....

One of my major targets for July is to get clear of the Dr Who figures who have been cluttering up the painting table.

First up were a pair each of Ood and Silence.  I've had these for ages* and, quite frankly, they've been in this state for ages.  They're (literally) soft on detail.  I've never been satisfied with them or known how to base them, but under the New Dispensation I've decided to draw a line under them, give them a simple grass basing and Call Them Done.

*They feature in Dr Who Wednesday #1!

Also coming in the category of 'Dr Who figures that come free with magazines and can be picked up by the bag-load in charity shops' are these Weeping Angels.  These aren't quite the same vintage as the Ood - those one's are here.  They don't come in the category of 'already started', but I knocked them off while having 'fun with dry-brushing'.

I'll based three with grass to match my existing Angels and three without so they fit in better with Frostgrave.  Nicely, they're a different pose to the others (attacking rather than weeping).  

Elsewhere on the web...

Readers of the last Dr Who Weds (back on 1 June!) will remember that - after I complained about the BLOODY DERLICKS! - I mentioned that the Dr Who FaceBook hadn't yet announced the Monster of the Month for June.  It wasn't Daleks but - of course - was Davros.

July is on a better footing, as they've revealed that they're doing The Master (in all his incarnations).   I feel a nice, evil glow coming over me...

via GIPHY

Terrain Tuesday #17

OK, as you'll remember my first goal for the month is it get rid of some of the half-done terrain that's lying around.

The Viking(ish) buildings were 90% finished, but there was some snagging that needed doing.  It's now done.  As I wrote in the last Terrain Tuesday (back on 31 May!).  This was a project that I enjoyed  a lot.  The test pieces having worked out, I'll be making some more buildings along the same line.  Having watched a tv programme on Viking settlements in Iceland and Newfoundland, I also want to have a go at some turf houses.  Watch this space...

Next up were adventures in dry-brushing.  

You may remember the Big Stone Head...

Well, he has kin...

Looking at them now, they don't seem to go together, but I assure you they came out of the same box!

Then there was this evil bugger, who I picked up in a charity shop...

And going back to stone heads, I've picked up a pack of Ristul's Extraordinary Market stone faces basing kit to add features to my terrain.  I do like Ristul's bits and bobs - though most are a little too High Fantasy for me.  You may, however, remember I have their cursed treasure.

Is it me, or do some of them look a lot like Benedict Cumberbatch?

Hostages to Fortune

This isn't going to be an interesting post, but I need to put a marker down.

I'm not one for doing 'end of the quarter round-ups' or having hobby targets, but June was a disastrous month for me hobby-wise.  A combination of health problems (the slightest being tennis elbow and up-coming root canal work) and work commitments (putting Diplomatist Books' back-catalogue onto a new platform) meant that I did absolutely nothing in that direction.

The only way out of such a slough is to set some targets.  There are two main ones - clear the deck and make a start on the hirdmen.

Therefore, but the end of the month I want to

• get half-done terrain done
• finish painting a unit of Sikhs
• -do- some misc Dr Who creatures
• -do- all the bloody Daleks
• get the hirdmen off the sprues, stuck together and on bases
• -do- various Big Men

By making hostages to fortune in a public declaration like this, I hope to give myself the kick needed to clear the decks,

23270 Pte William Ollerenshaw, 10th Bn Lancashire Fusiliers

I'm a little late in marking this centenary, but on 27/28 June 1916 William Ollerenshaw of the 10th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers was killed, aged 18,  in the build-up to the Battle of the Somme.  He was my Great Uncle.

The 10th Battalion was raised in Bury, Lancs, in September 1914 as part of Kichtchener's New Army.  It disembarked at Boulonge on 15 July 1915 as part of the 52nd (Infantry) Brigade of the 17th (Northern) Division.

I know practically nothing of the circumstances of Wiilie's death.  The Battalion War Diary (WO 95/2012/1 at The National Archives) only gives a few pages to June 1916.   Her are the events around Willie's death, which took part during the build-up to the great offensive on 1 July 1916.

23rd
Take over 20th Brigade Front from 2nd Gordons of 8th Division
23rd-28th
Gas and smoke attacks and a practically continuous bombardment of the enemy by our artillery.  At times for an hour intensive.  Enemy replying by M.G. fire at night and a vigorous shelling of our trenches.  Casualties during this period - Killed - Wounded - Missing.*  That they were not greater due to the excellent trenches and 'dug-outs' and also the large extents of front held.
28th
The Battn relieved by 2nd Gordons, 2nd Boarders of 9th Division

*Frustratingly, these details were never filled in.

Citadel New Military Cemetery, Fricourt

William Ollerenshaw is buried at the Citadel New Military Cemetery at Fricourt.  The Commonwealth War Graves Commission describes the cemetery

The cemetery is in the Northern part of a valley, running from Fricourt to the Somme, which was known in 1916 as "Happy Valley." It was begun by French troops and from August 1915, when the first Commonwealth burials were made, it was known as the Citadel Military Cemetery (Point 71). It was used until November 1916 and once in August 1918. The great majority of the burials were carried out from field ambulances before the Battles of the Somme. In the Autumn of 1916 the Citadel became a large camp for units withdrawn from the line.

He is also commemorated, along with 627 others, on the Stalybridge War Memorial which was unveiled in November 1921.  The memorial takes the form of a low curving wall, flanking Trinity Street - making an approach to the bridge over the Tame.  It's relatively difficult to take a photo of it, but the one below from this site catches it quite well.

The following members of 10th Bn. Lancashire Fusiliers died on 27 June 1916

5535 Cpl Edmund BIBBY 

17116 Pte James BLINSTON 

15653 Pte Michael CARROLL 

14663 Pte Walter GIBSON 

27055 Pte Ernest HIPKIN 

5305 Pte Jonathan HOLT 

21142 Pte James MAGUIRE

23270 Pte William OLLERENSHAW

13049 Pte Michael OWENS

4092 Pte Norman PETER

19188 L/Cpl Lawrence SMITH

6192 Pte John STANTON 

21494 Pte James STIRZAKER

5448 Pte Patrick WALSH 

5386 Cpl A WALTON 

4043 Cpl W WATERHOUSE

13160 L/Cpl Edwin WILLDIG

Prize Winners

Prizes, but still no cake

As you'll remember I was having a prize draw to mark 200K blog hits.

Prize 1 - £10.00 Voucher Diplomatist Books - Conrad Kinch
Prize 2 - £10,00 Voucher Bad Squiddo Games - RayR
Prize 3 - £10.00 Voucher Black Pyramid Gaming - Wargames News & Terrain Blog

Congratulations to you all,

Toy Soldiers on Pathe

A couple of British Pathe movies, the first from 1949 and the second from 1965, showing the manufacturing process at William Britain's factory at Hornsley.  It's interesting to see the transfer from lead to plastic between the two dates.

Enjoy!

Just A Reminder...

...that there's still time to enter the 200K Giveaway and get a chance to win some splendid prizes (not least from Diplomatist Books)!

I'll make the draw on 1 July.

There won't be cake

An Interesting Project - ACW

In the past I have taken part in a couple of Zooniverse projects (one was transcribing naval logs from the First World War, the other was identifying features in photos of the surface of Mars).  Because of that I'm on the mailing list and am advised of various projects.  

This message came through this afternoon, and it immediately struck me that it would be of interest to the readership of this blog

Volunteers wanted!  

Come be a witness to the United States Civil War by transcribing and deciphering messages and codes from the United States Military Telegraph on Decoding the Civil War. 

We seek to engage experts and amateurs alike - our DCW Volunteer Corps - in a unique collaboration to transcribe and decipher a collection of almost 16,000 telegrams and 32 code books from The Thomas T. Eckert Papers, an archive thought lost at the end of the war. You will be transcribing the daily telegram communications among Union officers, Cabinet members, telegraph operators, and others. The transcriptions, and ultimately the decoding, will contribute to national research, creating materials that will give insight into telegraphy, cryptography, civilian-military relations, and many other aspects of the war and American history more generally.  

Perhaps the most meaningful outcome is the public access to previously unavailable historical records and the building of inquiry-based educational modules to bring history alive to classroom students. Help build a deeper understanding of the United States Civil War—Join our DCW Volunteer Corps now at www.decodingthecivilwar.org 

Zooniverse started out as 'citizen science' but it now has a variety of projects - from space exploration (do you fancy discovering a comet?), natural history to the humanities.  There's plenty to see on their blog.

Edit

Just done my first two pages.

1. telegrams from Maj Gen John Adams Dix during the Siege of Suffolk
2. a page from a code book