Sneak Preview Teaser -Teddy Bears Wars

 

On Boxing Day Lady Emma Cuddlestone-Smythe and Der Alte Fritz resumed their annual Christmas Teddy Bears Wargame. Here are a couple of tasters pix.

 One back later in the day for the full battle report.

Screaming Goat. Best Present Evvah!

 

Mrs. Fritz gave me the Screaming Goat toy for Christmas. It instantly became my favorite gift.

Merry Christmas to my Blog Followers

 

I want to thank all of my blog followers and visiting readers and wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy 2022 New Year. Your support for my blog is very much appreciated and I feel like my blog has led to the formation of friendships all over the world.

This year we are having eight extended family members coming to our home for Christmas dinner. We have all been vaccinated and we are all taking a Covid test the day before. So let the party and celebrating begin!

I will keep posting new content during the holiday week as I’m in sight of reaching my goal of 100 posts this year. I also expect to have a Teddy Bear wargame with my daughter Lelia over the holidays and you can look forward to a future game report on the bears.

The Hounds Visit the Spa

 

Augie (left) and Bella (right)

I took Augie and Bella to the dog wash this afternoon so that they would smell fresh for the company visiting our house for Christmas dinner.Augie was getting a little bit ripe and needed the bath.

I Got Me A Stollen

 

After reading about Stokes’ Christmas Stollen all these years I decided to try a store bought version of this delicacy. I cut off several slices and warmed them up in the microwave. I have to say that this was not one of the better ones that I have had. On the other hand, I forgot to spread some butter on the slices prior to nuking them and I think that this would have made a difference in the taste. Some rum sauce would have been nice too.

I will give it another try tomorrow and see if the improvements work. Last year’s Stollen was pretty darn good and it actually was made in Germany. This year’s version was made in Cincinnati. 

Cincinnati!!!!!

Carthaginian Reinforcements Is Bad News For Rome

 

I picked up 80 painted HaT Carthaginian Veterans figures from a fellow collector and the reinforcements will enable me to field three 32-figure foot units. Two by 32 equals 64 figures, and the other 16 figures will bring my existing 16-figure unit up to 32 figures as well. The HaT Carthaginian Veterans set is out of production so regardless of the condition of the used figures, they are a valuable addition to my Carthaginian army.

Most of the figures are in decent condition, but many of them have bits of paint flacked or chipped off. Most of the damage is to the upright spears and to some of the shields. Should I touch up the chipped areas with a coating of artist’s gesso and then repaint, or should I strip off the old paint, prime them anew and give them a new paint job?

If I strip off the paint, will Simple Green work as well on plastic figures as it does on metal figures? Will Simple Green do harm to the plastic?

Your comments and advice are appreciated.

HaT Painted Numidian Cavalry Sample

 

I like to paint one sample figure from start to finish whenever I start on a new batch of figures. You have seen the Gallic cavalry samples that I posted on this blog a couple of days ago. Last night I painted one Numidian light horseman for my Carthaginian army.

The Numidian cavalry gave the Romans fits with their hit and run tactics. They would ride to within javelin range of the Roman cavalry and hit them on the flanks and then ride away before the Romans coukd react. The Numidian cavalry played a key role in many of Hannibal’s victories, especially at Cannae. It is notable that Hannibal lost the battle of Zama, due in large part to Massinissa defecting to the Romans prior to the battle.

 

I liked the way that the sample horse turned out. I used Reaper Oiled Leather paint for the basic color and then mixed in Creamy Ivory to create the two different highlight colors on the horse. The black horse hair on the mane and tail provide a dramatic contrast to the horse.

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