Polyhedron: Issue #18
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Serendipity is a funny thing. No sooner did I mention my childhood
affection for Spider-Man than I find that issue #18 of *Polyhedron *(July
1984) featur...
Bridgehead!
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Even Prince Micheal can't be everywhere at once but the skirmishes and
battles go on with or without him.
Scouts had reported that a party of Saxons had ...
WMMS 2024
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A big fail for me as I forgot my camera and my phone, so I had no way to
take pictures. Luckily "Tales from GHQ" did take pictures of some of the
games (li...
A pair of Poirot's
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I did say that the next unit would be something not quite so French and I
would say Belgians fit the bill quite nicely. So this is where I have got
to so...
SA-10 ‘Grumble’ (s300)
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Models of big missile launchers are always good for a laugh, so it was easy
to persuade myself to get this lot painted. They are 1/285 scale models
made ...
What size grid? A few experiments might help
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Before I begin work on my new gridded terrain board, I need to decide what
size grid squares I’m going to use. I laid out the options available to me
in ...
Siege of Osaka: The Battle Among the Tombs...
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Well over a month ago, in an earlier posting on this Sengoku project, I
foreshadowed an account of a table battle using a very slightly modified *Portab...
Dioramica 2024
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In September my friend and partner with Blackwatch-Miniatures is
organizing the 4th "Dioramica".
See the details at the homepage of the club
https://ww...
Hooptedoodle #458 - Le Mot Juste
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There are words which don't quite mean what they originally meant, or what
I think they used to mean. It's complicated. What is understood depends a
lo...
Cybertron Terrain
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Its spraying day today and I've got a lot of terrain to get through.
Starting with these futuristic bases from Micro Machines. These give loads
of wonder...
“Zulus….120 of ‘em!”
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*At long last - I have only been on the lookout for these for around three
years….*
Back at the Cavalier show in February I got talking to Dave, the prop...
Speira 3D Printed Figures
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*Spear ACW surgeon and casualties*
There is a company based in Sweden called Speira Miniatures that makes 3D
printed figures for wargamers and toy sold...
As I was saying. . .
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*Two quick progress shots of the first half and a bit more of the 28mm
Eureka Saxon cuirassiers. Still lots to do, but they are beginning to look
lik...
WARRING WITH TROLLS, part 11
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*"To live is to war with trolls." -- Ibsen*
Anthropologists tell us that primitive cultures believed art had
supernatural properties. Prehistoric tribes...
Catching Up On My Reading- no 20
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Those of you who read my ramblings more or less regularly will know of my
interest in the military history of the Indian sub-continent. So it will
come ...
Battlemasters with Kinchlets
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*"Pay attention Sir Harry, the Hun is here, here and here." - LadyBaby*
Finished up a practice game of the old MB Games/Citadel miniatures game
Battlemast...
The Temple of Naga Malicinda-Five Bucks
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*Temple of Naga Malicinda*
My players are currently in a megadungeon, this is one of the levels.
It can pretty much fit into any big dungeon with leve...
Blood on the Sands Custom Dice
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A good mate has made me a few sets of prototype dice for Blood on the
Sands. I'm very keen to try them out when next demoing BotS. Each player
only requ...
Merry Christmas 2023 and Always
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This painting arrived as a Christmas card a few days ago. It is the most
beautiful depiction of love and adoration of Jesus by heavenly angels and
his...
Very Sad News
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I'm very sorry to be making this post but I've just learned that Dale past
away from a heart attack on November 5th.
Most of my relationship with Dale wa...
Happy Birthday Joseph Morschauser III
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Another year is almost in the books and today is Christmas Day… This isn’t
a Christmas story, but it is a story (article) written by a man born in New
York...
Trying Something New
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Based on what I said last time, I’m going to try out something new. Check
out my posts at Medium – one test you can ignore, one discussion of why I
chose t...
Wargaming the interwar period
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*CROSSPOSTED FROM WARGAMING MISCELLANY*
This year’s VCOW (Virtual Conference of Wargamers) took place over the
weekend, and I was able to take part in se...
The Constantinov Regiment
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Whilst I have, for the most part, 'moth-balled' my Classic Wargaming
collection over the past few years, occasionally I get the urge to dip back
into it....
Point Defence part two
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*The other Indian section are becoming more and more pinned down. *
*While the Bengal Lancers come under a withering fire from the central
ruin.*
*To make...
Alas - no more ....
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After a lot of thought I have decided to stop my gaming project in the
Caribbean for the foreseeable future.
The bulk of the completed units will become in...
The Fritz Leiber WIKI - [Currently Reading]
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---------- The Fritz Leiber WIKI Welcome to the Scrolls of Lankhmar. It
contains information on the writings of and also the RPG Guide to Nehwon,
which is ...
A Tale of Two Battles - Part the Second
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After the battle recorded in the previous post, I felt I had unfinished
business with Paul and his Russians, so I challenged him to a game the
followin...
Problems with Jackson Gamers Web Site
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We are having problems accessing and updating the Jackson Gamers web site.
Evidently the main page has been "stolen" by a French language pharmacy
site. ...
Hot Reception
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Gun and crew by Hinchliffe (SYW range)Christmas is an anxious time if
you're Hessian - but this year we're ready for you Mr Washington!
Battlegroup Tobruk Goes Strong into the Desert
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Pavlov's dogs, famously, were conditioned to salivate when hearing a bell
which they associated with food. I have been similarly conditioned to
associate...
Happy Winter Solstice!
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I decided I might as well face the truth, that this blog and project is
pretty much over and done. It was fun while it lasted, but my gaming
interests lie ...
Sky Pirates of Venus - Teaser
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Sky Pirates have been the scourge of the Worm Empire of Venus for years,
and the Great Worm has had enough! He sends a team of four crack worm
commandos to...
Stephen King’s Threshold
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“There is probably no dedicated fantasy fan in America who doesn’t have at
least one of those distinctive black-bound volumes upon his or her shelf .
. ....
High time...
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It is high time I posted here again. The project has stalled. Last night I
decided to have a read of book 2 after many years away from it. It begins
so wel...
La Passeggiata
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Artist: ItalianTitle: La *Passeggiata*
★Thank you for Visiting!★ ~ Return to Website ~ Return to Blog
Thank you for subscribing to the Orientalist Gallery!
Deadbeat Advertiser?!?!?!?
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I just noticed that I have been listed as a deadbeat advertiser at The
Miniatures Page. I asked Mr Armintrout over 12 months ago to cease the
advertising d...
Memories, Tangents and the Power of the Pastoral
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*Charles Stadden 30mm BEF released fifty(ish) years ago*
It occurs to me that wargaming the Great War is not going to be a straight
forward thing.
L...
Second World War comparisons on "World War 20mm"
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Piers Brand has recently posted a side by side shot of several figures
painted in his inimitable style. They represent a number of different 20mm
metal ma...
Byzarbia at Ayton Game.
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Once again it's been a while, though in my defence I plead that I have been
busy painting figures for our second Ayton Weekend Game, even forgoing two
of o...
Buy my e-book and save the police (again!)
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*Wasting Police Time** is now available on Kindle.
You don't need a Kindle itself to read it - you can download an 'app' onto
your iPad/laptop/whatever.
U...
10 of the most beautiful things I've ever seen
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1. The sun setting over a still sea, woven to silk, and the swimmers,
silhouttetted wading back to the shore like merman returning to land.
2. My br...
Why the WAR OF 1812?
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I just received two of the more recent Osprey Men-at Arms books on the War
of 1812 in the mail the other day (not really that recent - 1998 and
2000...but...
I haven't been as active as I would be normally, for a variety of reasons, but one thing I try to do is take the Kinchlets out for a walk every day. This gets them some fresh air, tires them out and does at least delay my inevitable transformation into someone's fat Dad. A decent tramp is good for the soul and one of the places we've gone several times is Glasnevin Cemetery. This is a large cemetery and well worth a walk around.
A name in marble as well as in lights.
Look at that profile!
This chap is Mr. Barry Sullivan, originally from Warwickshire; he was born to Irish parents and had a long association with Cork. He began a stage career in 1837 and made a name for himself as a Shakespearean. He toured extensively particularly in the US and Australia. He was apparently one of the finest actors of his generation, though the Australian Dictionary of Biography states that he was inclined to err on the robust side.
Which always puts me in mind of this.
Monument to fallen Dublin Metropolitan Police Officers
Prior to independence, Ireland had two police forces, the RIC (Royal Irish Constabulary) who policed the countryside and were armed and the DMP (Dublin Metropolitan Police) who policed the city and were unarmed. I always have a soft spot for old coppers - so we have dropped down to this monument a couple of times.
The Roll of Honour
Grave stone of Constable Lahiff
Next to the monument is the grave stone of Constable Michael Lahiff who was killed during the 1916 Rebellion.
Inscription
DMP Crest
Lahiff was shot at St. Stephen's Green (another favourite haunt of the Kinchlets) which is a wonderful park and well worth a visit. During one of our last visits, I took a snap of the plaque which describes the shooting. Please click on the picture to enlarge it, if you wish to read the text.
NOTE: This is a repost of an entry I wrote in 2012. I was discussing it with a friend last night and went back to it to refresh my memory what I had written. I've made an addition or two to it and fixed some of the broken links. I still think it stands up as a criticism.
Daughter of the Regiment
19th century audiences found cantinieres quite romantic
I have a soft spot for vivandieres. A friend of Mrs Kinch's remarked on this once, though she couchedit in somewhat unkind terms. "Was it normal for the prostitutes to wear uniforms?*"
As it happens, no it was not, though no doubt someone can produce an example somewhere. I suspect Massena's name will crop up.
Vivandieres and Cantinieres (for our purposes the terms are effectively interchangeable) were women who had a contract to supply spirits, shaving kit and other small necessities to the regiment to which they were attached. Strictly speaking the girls didn't have this contract themselves, it was held by a Sergeant who was known as a Cantinier. The Cantinier's wife was known as the Cantiniere and was definitely not a prostitute. She took up the job as the Cantinier was too busy with his duties, marching up and down and so forth and staring at terrified recruits and saying things like "Zis eez ze brown bess musket, eet eez ze preferred wepon ov yur enemy and it make a verey diztinktive zound when fired at you, mon brave."
An S Range Vivandiere
This figure represents a typical vivandiere/cantiniere with her basket and little barrel of brandy. She was a gift from Foy over at Prometheus in Aspic, who no doubt noted my somewhat unwholesome interest in the breed. She was painted by Krisztian, whose skill and craftsmanship is almost getting monotonous in its excellance.
For your titilation, the ladies uncovered ankles.
Put them away you dirty, dirty girl...
As it happened Cantiniere's were rather better at surviving battles than their husbands were and as such (as well as I suspect their access to a legitimate source of booze may also have played a part) were highly sought after as spouses. Nicholette, the vivandiere, in RF Delderfields "Seven Men of Gascony" is married several times and is unabashedly unsentimental about the process.
Just pull yourself together dear...
NOTE: As I am revisiting this post, I realised that I linked to the image I used here (rather than downloading it and inserting it into the text) and whoever was using it has removed it. For reference it was an image of a very attractive actress, playing Lady Macbeth. She was down to her bra and underwear and covered in so much blood she looked like something out of the third act of Carrie.
Which brings me to the second point of this post, what does Kinch have against Lady Macbeth? Nothing per se, I like Macbeth. It's not my favourite or the one I know best, but it is very, very good. However, I don't care for the usual casting of Lady Macbeth, who is often a painfully young, screechy creature who uses the sleepwalking scene to take her hysterics for a walk.
All of which misses one of the essential truths of soldiers wives - they are tough women.
Isuzu Yamada's performance in Kurosawa's Throne of Blood is a notable exception to this somewhat depressing rule and Dame Judi Dench in Trevor Nunn's 1979 production is suitably flinty, but what makes those two stand out is that while they do portray women in a state of mental breakdown, they don't make a meal of it. To paraphrase Victoria Wood, you can't just rub some blood on your hands, scream a bit and go, "Don't mind me, I'm a looney".
NOTE: Apparently "Don't mind me, I'm a looney" does not have the common currency that it should. It is a reference to "Giving Notes", a magnificent sketch by the late (and much missed) Victoria Wood. It's only three minutes long and for context, the character is a producer in an amateur production of Hamlet.
A second Vivandiere,
based on the facings I'd say attached to a regiment of dragoons
No-one has made a film of Seven Men of Gascony, which is a pity as it's rather good and with the exception of Gerard, certainly the best fiction I've read about the period from the French point of view. I fear however, that if one was made today, that poor old Nicolette would be hammered into the same tired "beautiful, but deadly" formula that seems to be rule for heroines these days.
This lady was a gift from Old John of 20mmNostalgic Revival and she does look fine. She's been used as an objective marker (with attached donkey) for Command & Colours Napoleonics games so far, though I think it will take a skirmish game for her to come into her own.
"I hate to see you leave,
but I love to watch you go."
I think the point about the portrayal of Lady Macbeth that annoys me so much is that it is unfair. Sir Terry Pratchett wrote about women like her in his fantasy novel, "Guards, Guards".
"Sybil's female forebears had valiantly backed up their husbands as distant embassies were besieged, had given birth on a camel or in the shade of a stricken elephant, had handed around the little gold chocolates while trolls were trying to break into the compound, or had merely stayed at home and nursed such bits of husbands and sons as made it back from endless little wars. The result was a species of woman who, when duty called, turned into solid steel."
Sir Terry is writing about a policeman's wife, rather than a soldiers and I see a lot of Sybil in Mrs Kinch sometimes. It may no longer be fashionable or popular and I can't think of an example in popular culture in recent years, but I'll be damned if I don't give these ladies their due.
*Whereupon my mother in law (who is reading this over my shoulder, yes you Mary) says something uncharitable about the Guards Division.
The latest addition to the collection from our man in Budapest. This is a 1/16 Cardinals Guard from Mini Art and very lovely it is too. I remember being quite confused as a young adult when I finally read Dumas unabridged and discovered that D'Artagnan and Cardinal Richelieu end the novel as not quite enemies and almost allies.
The richness of the red in the tabard is really something.
As always, our man's faces are excellent. This fellow is definitely not someone to be trifled with. I'm always amazed by the character he manages to impart to a relatively humble plastic kit. This chap will be taking over guard duties on one of my bookshelves. One thing I've noticed is that these larger figures can get quite dusty after a while. A feather duster doesn't seem to be the way to go, but I'm sure there's a way of keeping them bright without damaging them.
Of course, I think everyone of my age who took an interest in Dumas came across him here. I am happy to announce that this is proving a real hit with the Kinchlets. One thing that struck me about the programme is actually how demanding it is of its viewers. The Kinchlets like the music and colours, but something that completely passed me by when I watched it originally is that it actually tells a reasonably close version of the three musketeers story in something like thirty plus installments.
It really surprised me to see a children's television programme that believed its audience would be able to keep up.
"What are you up to Daddy?"
The Kinchlets continue to be a joy albeit a tiring one. Girl Kinchlet is crawling now and suddenly Sir Harry Flashman VC is leading a new and very exciting existence that mainly involves sleeping out of reach and keeping his tail where he can see it.