Major Ballsup's Hobby Shed

Back to normal Summer time weather in the UK this week - dull as ditch water and around 20 C.  I'm not complaining at all, it certainly makes it easier to do anything.   Painting/modelling   I completed the Apocalyptic/Dark Old West Cultists which you can see here . I cleaned up, primed and started painting a unit of Bengal Light Dragoons for the First Anglo-Sikh War.  This is the last unit I've got left to do for this project.   I cleaned up a pack of three British Generals, the last of the Sikh Wars figures.  Research & Reading After spending time last week looking at Ancients and Medievals and finding nothing to really inspire, I revisited an old interest of Japanese warfare.  And this has inspired me, specifically the Medieval era of the Gempei Wars and the Mongol Invasions.  I'll be posting on this in the next few weeks. Incoming! On the back of my rekindled interest in Medieval Japan I ordered up two Osprey Campaign books.  From Amazon came "The Gempei War 11

2022 to date has been the year of 20mm figures.  All my figure painting has been in this scale and the other week I felt like a change. Inspired/intrigued by pictures I'd seen of the 28mm Northstar Cultists, my initial idea was to kitbash these with some Perry Confederates. I ordered up some sprues from SGS Models and they came very quickly.  However, I felt the Confederate arms were too slender, so I went back on SGS's site and ordered up some Great Escape Games Gunfighters.  A couple of days later, these arrived and looked a more similar heft.  I chose the arms with the earlier weaponry as my fictional Apocalyptic/Dark Old West is pre-Civil War, so I didn't want Colt Peacemakers, of which there's a plethora on the Great Escape sprue. With some judicious application of Greenstuff and cutting I managed to attach the arms to the Cultist bodies and they came out OK.  One thing I'm not too keen on is the size of the hands.  They're MASSIVE!  What is it with sculpto

The first half of the week was so hot that it was a complete write off, particularly from a hobby perspective.  My painting table was out of bounds being as it is in a South facing room.  Paint was actually drying as soon as I squeezed it out the dropper bottle.  However, I did manage to get some bits done later on in the week but I'm feeling quite frustrated as I had the week all planned out and I've  done nowhere near what I wanted to do. Painting/modelling   I completed the Sikh zealots, which you can see more of here .     I starting cleaning up the last unit of Sikh Wars figures, a dozen Bengal light cavalry.  These will probably take me into August to complete. I almost completed the cultists made from combining Northstar's Frostgrave Cultists with Great Escape Games Gunfighters/cowboys for my Apocalyptic/Dark Old West collection.  If it wasn't for that pesky hot weather I'd have got these done.  They'd pictured below at the pre-priming stage.  Research &a

The latest figures completed for the Anglo-Sikh Wars projects were a couple of packs of Sikh Akalis (zealots).  Apologies for the photos, the light this week has been one extreme or another, with some unbearably sunny days and some incredibly dull days. As usual the figures were from Newline Designs in 20mm scale.  I thought that these were particular nice sculpts and very easy to paint.   I really liked the figures below.  The sculptor has done a really good job, they're pleasingly realistically proportioned, unlike so many figures you see that look like they've been on vast doses of steroids.  That's all the Sikh figures finished for the moment.  I've got some EIC Native Cavalry and British Generals to do and that's it for this project, or until I buy a load more of course which you can never rule out of course.

Phew it's been hot!  This has impacted my hobby time as my painting table is in a South facing room.  And work has been hectic with a project I've been working on all year finally coming to a conclusion.  I did manage to get some bits done.  Painting/modelling   I completed the Sikh artillery bases for the Anglo-Sikh Wars.  You can see more  here .     Still with the Sikh Wars, I cleaned up and made good progress painting a couple of packs of Sikh zealots.  These are particularly nice sculpts. And for something completely different I mixed the arms from the Great Escape Games Gunfighters/cowboys sprue with the bodies and heads from the Northstar Frostgrave Cultists to make some sinister looking varmints for my Apocalyptic/Dark Old West collection.  I got as far as priming these. And another completely different thing I've been experimenting with how to paint the sample 2mm Ancients figures I'd bought back in March.  I understand the idea behind this scale but can't

Hot on the hooves of the Sikh Dragoons and Anglo-Indian artillery I completed three bases of Sikh artillery. The painting of the crews was straightforward and these were actually  done a few weeks ago, but I was trying to work out what size bases to use and then had to order them which took time. Once the bases came I finished basing and texturing them at the same time as the Anglo-Indian bases.  A combination of a busy week and prevaricating about what colours to paint the cannons meant I only got round to finishing them the weekend just gone.

It's been a very busy week work and otherwise, but I managed to squeeze a bit of hobby time in and finish a few bits off.   Painting/modelling   The bases came so I was able to complete the artillery crews for the Anglo-Indian forces for Anglo-Sikh Wars.  Lots of pics here .     I've based the crews and finished the bases for the Sikh artillery but just need to paint and attach the cannons.  Part of the reason they're not finished is due to not knowing what colours to paint them.  I need to stop peeing about and get on with them. I finished the three Sikh dragoons that I'd bought to increase the strength of the unit I'd completed last year.  More on these here .  Research & Reading I've read Simon Bolivar and Spanish American Independence 1783-1830, which I'd ordered through my library service.  This is a period of history I know nothing about.  Absolutely fascinating little book written in the '60s.  Will I ever game the period?  Who knows but just

Last August I completed a unit of nine Sikh Dragoons to which I’ve just added another three figures. This brings them up to full strength for Black Powder. As usual all 20mm Newline Designs.  These were part of the largish order that came in March.  Simple job to turn these around as I had made notes on all the colours and steps I'd used when I painted the initial batch.   Here they are with the rest of the regiment.

With the arrival of the bases I've been able to finish the artillery for the Anglo-Indian force.  As per the rest of the collection figures are 20mm Newline Designs. The bases are 60mm x 60mm from Hocka Hey/Timeline Miniatures, tufts mainly from Tajima, with a few from some eBay source I can't remember added for a bit of variety. There's a crew each of Bengal Horse Artillery and Royal Artillery.  The BHA were great fun to paint with their gaudy uniforms.  It's the nearest I've come to painting Napoleonics 😁 By contrast the Royal Artillery were simple and quick to paint.  If I wanted multiple batteries of artillery they'd be what I'd choose. And to finish a close up of each base.

I had a reasonable bit of hobby time this week and I managed to get a few bits done.   Painting/modelling   I completed painting the artillery crews for the Anglo-Sikh Wars but couldn't finish them as I was waiting for the bases to come through.   While I was waiting on the bases for the artillery to arrive, I dug out and completed my last few figures to represent FLN fighters for the Algerian War.  You can see them here . I started on the three additional Sikh dragoons to bring the unit I'd completed last year up to full strength.   Research & Reading I've finished reading The First Anglo-Sikh War by Amarpal Singh.  The second half is a battlefield guide so I just read the battlefield descriptions of the time.  Not much point reading the modern directions and info as I don't see a trip to the Punjab happening anytime soon!  Incoming! A few bits arrived this week: On Monday a sprue each of Perry Miniatures Confederate infantry and North Star Frostgrave Cultists arri