Whatever cold / flu virus I picked up settled firmly on my chest last week resulting in much coughing, wheezing, sneezing and generally feeling unwell. There was little I could do physically that didn't result in a coughing fit and leaving me exhausted and washed out, usually falling asleep in the afternoon.
Taking the week off work, I attempted to distract myself with more painting. I wasn't very productive, finding after one or two colours I didn't have the energy to continue. Getting old is a pain!
Anyway, with the worst of my affliction behind me (still lingering unfortunately) I managed to finish off the painting on Saturday before a restorative tonic of the VWC.
So, continuing the Frankenstein creations of the Electorate of Banst, I present the Flying (horse) artillery.
The limbers date back to my first acquisition of SSMs from the late Ronald Spencer Smith himself. They were originally created for the Austrian and Prussian forces of the SYW for WRG's 1685-1845 out of SSM limber wheels, balsa, wire, cocktail sticks and chopped about Napoleonic Lifeguard figures. They languished along with the SSMs in a tin then box after deciding to use "proper" metal figures. They were resurrected for Banst with chopping, headswaps and application of Greenstuff.
Guns and gunners; the artillery figures are all standard SSM AWI artillery with an ACW kepi head covered with Greenstuff plumes for a sort of Tarleton / French dragoon look. The ACW figures went for civilian militia / rebels with the artillerymens tricornes. The guns are the British Napoleonic carriage from someone's abortive conversion which I further chopped about and reduced in size. The guns barrels are plastic ship's cannons from source unknown which were used way back when for Austrian 3 pdr battalion guns.
I'm slowly working my way through Banst, helped by a limited palette of colours, most straight from the pot.
Fine looking additions and doubly impressive that you fought through your illness to muster these fellas out. Like you, this has been a tough COVID/flu to shake. I have been feeling much like you so you have my sympathies. Short painting session and then a nap seems about right to me. I return to the battlefield for a game this week. We will see how it goes.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jonathan.
ReplyDeleteI think it doesn't help being older; although I understand most people seem to be struggling to shake cold and flu due to a lack of exposure to the viruses after lockdown.
I think I struggled this week with my head and nasal passages feeling like they were stuffed full of cotton wool!
You were missed at the VWC; a lot of reminiscing of games and miniatures from the past.
Neil
I plan to return to next week’s VWC. I would have enjoyed a trip down Memory Lane.
DeleteSee you there Jonathan!
DeleteNeil
Your Banst battery looks great, and I recall toying with scratch building limbers myself eons ago! Hopefully your recovery will continue apace.
ReplyDeleteI have been seeing lots of respiratory illness in the office since after Thanksgiving, which is fairly typical. Quite a few of our office staff and clinicians have been out for a while with COVID as well. I started wearing a mask in the office again in early December, and so far, so good! That could change tomorrow!
Thanks Peter.
ReplyDeleteLast trip out, my mask came out! Mostly it was to stop spreading whatever I have through coughing. I did get a few funny looks - how soon we forget!
Neil
Excellent limbers and crews.
ReplyDeleteGlad you are on the mend. My Fam seem to be battling through assorted lurgeys but so far I've just had a persistent cough that seems to be clearing.
Thanks Andy. Mine started as a cough just before Xmas! All the family have varying degrees of illness...
ReplyDeleteNeil
Adding the green stuff to the ACW artillery worked out very well.
ReplyDeleteThanks Peter. I did take a couple of attempts to get it right.
ReplyDeleteNeil
Splendid looking unit Neil. Hope that virus clears up for you soon.
ReplyDeleteThanks Chris. I'm hoping the remnants clear up soon too!
DeleteNeil
Good looking models. Nice limber set.
ReplyDeleteThanks Joe. Limbers are the sort of thing that my armies lack; unless it's necessary for the rules it's a lot of work and table space taken up. I wanted to distinguish them as horse artillery.
DeleteNeil
Wonderful display of Spencer Smith figures, thanks for posting Niel.
ReplyDeleteWillz.
Thanks Willz!
ReplyDeleteNeil
Hope you’ll continue to mend.
ReplyDeleteThe battery looks good. Scratch built limbers sound like a lot of work. And I’ve lost count of how many different imagin-nations you got going on.
Thanks Stew.
ReplyDeleteIt was a long time ago but it wasn't that hard as I recall. Oblong of balsa with cocktail stick axle and two halves of a cocktail stick for shafts. Two wheels then piece of wire around horse connected to limber. Make sure horse base and wheels at same level.
Imagi-Nations - that's because I'm the tin-pot dictator of a whole continent (mwuuuhah-hah), so we have 4 kingdoms + an Imperial power + the electoral states + the non-electoral or non-aligned states.....in total 13 different states (some very small) or about 7 or 8 armies of comparable size (Bravance, Hrvatska, Argozia, Arcadia, Estavia, Reichs + Banst, Waldow, Sinistria and Dupanen - last two are very small). 6 are more or less done, but need a few additions.
Neil
Looking good Neil
ReplyDeleteA nice choice of colours for the uniform…green with red facings is a classic mix.
My daughter has been referring to this lurgy as the eleven week cold… I don’t think she is that far wrong 😁
All the best. Aly
Thanks Aly.
ReplyDeleteThe buff works well with the red and green. My green is an old Citadel "Woodland green" ; I hope it lasts for the rest of the army. I know the Coat d'Arms are the same range but that means matching widely different names. Looking at comparison charts didn't locate it (it might be Emerald green) and I cannot find a "Spearstaff brown" equivalent .
The cold / flu / chesty cough and wheeze has eventually subsidised into the occasional cough. Feels more like 4 weeks than 11 for which I'm grateful!
Neil
Good to know you're feeling a bit better, Neil.
ReplyDeleteThe gunners are lovely little conversions. It never occurred to me to swap the heads around - they look very splendid.
Thanks Iain. It's a bit tiresome as they are pinned and glued. The whole army except officers and hussars have had head swaps or conversions.
ReplyDeleteNeil
Neil, I am very much enjoying your posts on this project. Thank you for taking the time to post.
ReplyDeleteKeith, thank you (just noticed your post - going back through old entries). I hope to get the armies done before long so I can get a campaign going.
ReplyDeleteNeil