Something Wicked This Way Comes

OK, I admit.... I took out the Elheim Patrolling Infantry Section with every intention of lopping their heads off.  Only, I find myself quite absent mindedly placing them into arrowhead formation on the dining table. And in that moment an image is conjured up of a modern production of Shakespeare, set in 1979. Well if they can do it to Coriolanus...

Result, I decided to re-role my remaining CP Models (TQD Castings) 1/72 British Army Falklands War SAS into Shakespearean military rebels with new heads taken from various Liberation Miniatures.

And then to Platoon 20. Here's 'Big Man', a serious Glaswegian player for the coming 'Scottish Play'. Which reminds me to order the figs tonight. His original head, wearing glasses, is now on the advancing SLR armed civvie in the background.

Back to the production line.....

Cheers
Mark

Winter of 1839

A positive sign that my brain is starting to work again is how Empress Miniatures new Maori Wars range caused my remaining two braincells to spark and go "Ah Ha! These figures are perfect for a Very Victorian Civil War". Yes civil war set in early Victorian Britain - well, you can get bored of DPM!

 "Pass the ammunition Mr Pickwick. There's a good chap!"

Could it have happened? A Victorian Civil War? Yes! There were a number of potential flashpoints, including the Chartist uprising in Newport in 1839.

I must confess. The Chartist movement slipped conveniently from my memory after I completed my A levels, way back in the Sixth form (around 1979). Where, it was lost along with all those taught by rote list of dates of when various acts, repeals, laws and prime ministers all came and went. And good riddence too.

There was something Dickensian in these miniatures that appeals to me. And no, not BBC Dickens, think instead of David Lean's Great Expectations (1946) and Oliver Twist (1948) where in black and white you could smell the putrid streets of Victorian London. On top of that I get to utilise Foundry's Opium Wars range, early Victorian low-lifes by Brigade Games and HLBS/Northstar. Plus and here is the BIG bonus - Perry's British Legion from their Isabellino Carlist Wars range. Rules will be a suitably modified Sharp Practice from Too Fat Lardies - DONE!

I had previously been looking at utilising what I have in Winter of 79 terrain for 20mm 1930's style VBCW. It seemed a sensible use of resources but a disaster with some 20mm Britannia WW1 was a reminder that Im not really into Tommy Guns and Cream Teas, and saw me lose any motivation.

If you are a dyed in the wool 'Moderns' C20th gamer and gave up before reading this far - shame on you! It might be that you are also thinking 'where does that leave Winter of 1979?' Well, I've been working quietly behind the scenes and put some wheels in motion.....

Meanwhile, A Very Victorian Civil War whilst appearing to be completely divergent from Winter of '79, and of course it is figurewise,  but it actually reinvigorates me with a fresh perspective and fresh motivation to get back into working on terrain.

Cheers
Mark