Indian Summer

Summer 2009 was looking like being a bit of a washout but September has proved to be a glorious month. Unfortunately, while I have been walking the dog, golfing and gathering in the harvest, wargames and more specifically painting have taken a bit of a back seat.

However winter draws on, as my grandma used to say, and the dark nights will be filled with the clatter of dice and the splash of paint. A nice little radiator has been installed in Castle Vallejo (aka my shed) although I do need to invest in a couple of daylight bulbs. A necessity for tired old eyes particularly after a day staring at a spreadsheet.

At the weekend I made the mistake of buying a couple of boxes of Strelets Great Northern War artillery before checking out Plastic Soldier Review. Not the best figures I have ever seen. Perhaps the heads will prove useful. I also got a couple of boxes of Zvesda GNW Swedes which look splendid and who will make up the main infantry units of the Duchy of Fromagere. Looks like I’m going to need eight boxes to get five decent looking regiments. Unfortunately there are only three grenadiers to a box.

A while ago we started a “real” Great Northern War project but this is still a work in progress as so few of the range we chose have been completed. After two years still no officers to go with the nicely painted privates. (NB I have my mate Jim to thanks for the lovely paint job)
















Russian Guard awaiting sand and flock.

I’m not a great watcher of TV but I did catch Brian Sewell’s Grand Tour in which he follows in the footsteps of many a young Englishman of the Eighteenth Century in their search for culture (amongst other things) in Italy. Interesting to note what an impact the young British tourists were having on the Med even then! I think it was John Humphries who said that Brian Sewell is the only person who could make the Queen sound common.