SITREP

 

I got to enjoy half an hour of absolute peace and quiet to myself this morning before the household started moving round. Bliss!

This was... fanfare of bugles.... my first full week back at work since March! Meant going through the tiredness barrier again, but gratefully reached a tipping point early in the week where I found myself with spare energy when I got home in the evenings. It did eventually catch up with me by the time I was on the train home on Friday, following some pretty intense days with delivering a proposal for introducing immersive technology, brainstorming and giving advice to circles outwith my nominal remit. So yesterday was a lazy day.

Visited the clinic for a checkup on Tuesday and glad to say they are happy with my progress. The steroid based meds steadily reducing inflammation in my brain. Whilst I'm increasingly able to think more clearly, I still have memory issues. I found that I can burst with ideas and process a lot of information but it has a finite 'limit' which if exceeded results in more short term memory loss.

Since my last SITREP, I won an auction on eBay for a couple of squads of OOP Liberation Minis Israelis. Came in at just under the bare metal price. Now these Israelis, mostly from the old ISR4 pack are ideal as organised and uniformed Winter of 79 militia - Para lids, SLRs, GPMG and largely wearing light kit. Excellent as Free Taffs or Scottish Nationialists, especially if mixed with the new Urban Meltdown packs.

The 'webbing' is vaguely similar to 58 pattern and only really needs kidney pouches to make it have a typically British look, but to be honest, the return on any effort invested in sculpting them is minimal. So let's not bother. Hardest part is going to be scrubbing the paint off the minis to start again. Maff thought I should just give them a couple of washes and say they are in boiler suits to distinguish them from the DPM masses. I'll give it a go but not convinced at this time. But I'm sure muddying the bases would also tone them down.

In the meantime, I have 20 fun Urban Decay buildings from Tony to complete. Just to remind you, this is what they look like.

Tony had such a positive response from Winter of '79 followers, including enquiries from Australia, Hong Kong and Denmark that he has started his own Card Models website to promote and sell his models

Card Models

Coupled with Rolf's new Urban Meltdown Brits with SLRs, the Urban Decay range allows Winter of 79 to really put the wellie down in 2012!

I also picked up some Falklands era SAS from Mark at CP Models for Free Taff special forces and other sneaky beaky types. They really are beautiful figures. 

 CP Models Falklands era SAS

The figures second and third from left - looking at watch and reading map respectively, are destined to be my new Free Taff/Scot commanders. Who knows, I may even use these CP Models' SAS as the Duke of Fife's personal army or heavily armed 'survivalists'. The guy 2nd from right with the M203 is really nice and a good candidate for my 'personal' figure in Winter of 79 games.

Question is whether to add Bergen's or not to the gun bunnies? Of course, I could always save them for a couple of Rolf's Urban Meltdown figs or ex-Hotspur SAS/SBS.

I read elsewhere this week that Shaun at S&S Models, one of the gentlemen of the hobby, has been seriously unwell recently. Really sorry to hear that mate. Maff and I, and I'm sure all our followers, wish you a very speedy return to health.

Looking to the week ahead.... will be picking up several packs of Rolf's Urban Meltdown figures, plus Land Rover crews and maybe another SAXON APC. Finishing Tony's Urban Decay buildings I'll be taking stock at what's needed to complete my urban setup. This will include street furniture such as street lighting, road signs and those rubbish piles that characterised Britain's streets during the 'Winter of Discontent', even if it means making tons of 20mm bin bags out of DAS clay. Will also have to start thinking about rioters and urban yoof!

Cheers
Mark