Absent Without Leave

I have been remiss in not blogging for the past few months, mainly due to the following 1)Work - we moved office last week. Less space and fewer Windows. I am also too close to the Management and I am now 'in constant demand'. This coincides with loads of meeting invites, to the point where I am double booked. 2)Exercise - I needed to lose weight and have been going to the gym after work. As I won't compromise on my time with my girls I find myself ironing rather than painting in the evenings! On the positive side I have lost weight and feel a lot better for it. I breezed (slight exaggeration here) my annual fitness test and joined the ranks of the others bemoaning how easy it was. 3)Girls - one off to Uni, one to college and the other starts senior school. That coupled with the hassle of SATS Tests, GCSE and A level results plus Proms (thank you so very much America !)This blew away the summer term. 4)Holiday - We needed it after all of that ! 4) Writers block/Blog fatigue. Only the best seem to be able to ride out the waves and carry on regardless, lesser mortals such as myself need a little kick now and then. What is finished and what is not My Crimean Russian Infantry Batallion is in its last stages of painting. Just have to base it and add the flag. I realise I need a little variety so I will alternate projects giving me some variety and a reason for finishing. I will return to my Russians. Maggie and Arfa are complete. Pleased with them as trying to get the likeness of a 'real' person is difficult especially as Arthur Scargill had a 'rainbow' hair colour of many hues.

Having read Henry Hyde's Compendium I saw a use for his Shot, Steel and Stone rules using 10mm Pendraken SYW figures. I wanted simple rules so I could Solo play and improvise. The possibility of collecting 2 or more armies in this scale at an 'old skool' size is viable at just over £5 per Batallion. I intend to have them as an Imagi nation but paint them to conform to genuine SYW colours. My first batch are UHU'd to painting sticks as I write. This is my first venture into 10mm and I have no idea how they will turn out but I am going for effect at a distance or the size of each figure will surely drive me mad were I to try to paint buttons! We celebrated D Day with a game using Bolt Action rules (which I really like) and my backside was handed to me on a plate. I have photos on my phone of my German Unit with God knows how many pinned markers. I will upload the photos and brief synopsis of events later this week. I am still scarred ! Oh yes, I even caught a glimpse of Le Tour as it headed through London