January update

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.