Painted 54mm Indians Gift

 

Now that these figures have been gifted, I can post pictures of the 54mm Indians that I painted for my daughter (Lady Emma Cuddlestone-Smythe) for a Christmas present. She bought the figures at Gettysburg earlier this year. I thought that it would be a good surprise if she opened a box on Christmas Day and found them painted.

I was right. 😀

I gave the figures a gloss coating to protect the paint from rubbing off or cracking. These are hard plastic figures. I have no idea what brand they are, but they look nice and are easy to paint.

Fritz

Peter Cushing Tells Why We Play War Games

 

I found this little gem on Facebook (or is it Meta now) and saved it. If anyone ever asks you why you play with Little Men then cite Peter Cushing's take on the hobby.

I find myself worrying about what people will think when they learn that I war game. Oftentimes they are fascinated by my hobby and ask me lots and lots of questions about it. I guess that the take away is this: 

Enjoy your hobby and don't worry about what anyone else thinks about it.

One of My Favorite Vignettes

 

Frederick the Great grabs the standard of IR48 at Zorndorf and heroically leads his men to victory  in a painting by Carl Rochling

 

My version of the Rochling episode using Minden Miniatures with slight modifications.

Finding Military History In Advertising

 

I like to collect images of product advertisements that use historical references therein. The Highland Fruit Growers Association in California has a couple of interesting ads to promote their citrus oranges.

And here is an advertisement for biscuits from the UK. I wonder if Huntley & Palmers still exist? My understanding is that "biscuits" in the UK are what we call "cookies" in the USA.

ccccc

Biggest Drink That I’ve Ever Seen

 

We are in Florida right now taking in some sun. Last evening we were at a restaurant for dinner and I ordered a Pina Colada. Without a doubt this was the largest cocktail that I had ever seen. One sip had me guessing that there must have been 3-4 ounces of rum in the drink. It was basically lots of rum and a little bit of pineapple juice.

I took a few sips of the drink and decided that enough was enough because I would have to drive home that night.

War Gaming With Silly Hats

 

Der Alte Fritz and Lady Emma Cuddlestone-Smythe don
festive headgear for their annual Christmas Teddy Bears war game.

If you are trying to achieve the bonhomie and relaxing atmosphere of a Beer And Pretzels type of war game, then nothing achieves this better than to have all of the players wear silly hats. My daughter and I don headgear every time we play a war game and we encourage you to give it a try.

Here are images from past Teddy Bears war game. Lady Emma is all grown up now so I really enjoy these pictures of her as a youngster.

Lady Emma Cuddlestone-Smythe models a British grenadier mitre from the Seven Years War era.

There is nothing like a good tricorn hat to get you into the mood for an 18th Century game.

Sometimes improvised headgear is the best.

My Miniatures Come To Life?

Maurice de Saxe's Uhlans

I don't know what the heck happened to these pictures that I have of Minden Miniatures greens. Somehow they became animated.

French Cuirassier du Roi officer

British Legion trooper hacking at the rebels.

Kind of cool, aren't they?