I have now based up the Waterloo Life Guards - still one man absent, but now varnished and based. Very pleased with them.
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| Unit #334, Hinton Hunt Life Guards, with many thanks to Goya for his restoration and conversion work. These chaps were previously the spares from the ex-Eric Knowles Royal Horse Guards, and include the noted Trooper Lazarus, a write-off who was miraculously fixed back onto his base. I understand that we have located a recruit to fill the gap in the back row. |
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| A varnishing act that went wrong. Warranty claim necessary. Ancient Les Higgins figures - not as old as the Life Guards, though |
Other than that I spent a fascinating couple of hours yesterday with a neighbour, learning more about the history of the immediate area where I live. I'm particularly interested in a number of vanished local castles and tower houses, and also in the old farm-workers' hamlets of Whaupknowe (which means "Curlew Hill" in Scots, and appears to have been right where my house is now) and Muttonhole (which is only commemorated now by a field of the same name on an adjacent farm). These hamlets seem to have vanished around 1750. Looks like I'd better get the waterproof jacket and the old walking boots ready.
The Life Guards look splendid Tony...
ReplyDeleteAnd tough enough to survive a fall... I hope you are okay... you need to be careful when moving those ‘Heavies’ ;-)...
What a shame about the WSS Officers... I don’t think I have ever seen varnish do that before... it looks more like watered down white paint...
All the best. Aly
He cleared the mountain with a single leap.
DeleteThe varnish thing is weird - some kind of reaction - the figures didn't look like that before they were packed.
Thank goodness nothing was broken in the fall and its good that you appear to have also escaped unscathed.
ReplyDeleteShipping painted minis is a danger fraught affair.
Good thing none of us is superstitious about things happening in threes though I suppose the ears thing might count.
I was very lucky - I didn't fall very far, and was concerned only for the well-being of the minis!
DeleteFine set of chaps that.
ReplyDeleteGlad you're ok after the fall and nothing broken except the calm.
The lost hamlets does sound interesting. I wonder why they disappeared so early? Are they on Roy's map, the lowland part dates from the early 1750s so might be just too late?
Whaupknowe is on a map I found online in the NLS site. I'll send you an email with some details about the hamlets - it's all to do with the enclosures, and the building of estates.
DeleteLooking forward to that, thanks!
DeleteGlad you survived the fall, I on the other hand am just about to take a trip to the minor injury unit as I seem to have done some damage to my leg whilst running to catch a bus on the way to the game last Wednesday. I should have know better than to try to keep pace with Goya the super-athlete!
ReplyDeleteThe varnish problem looks bad - was that gloss or matt?
Hope your leg is better soon. Check the VAR to see if you were tripped.
DeleteVarnish - it was supposed to be gloss, but it's matt. There are a batch of foot dragoons in the same shipment - they are perfect, and they used the same materials and packing. Mind you, it's possible that the varnish on them was dry when they were packed (malicious rumour).
Ouch x 2!
ReplyDeleteHappy ending though. It’s always good when hearing some more local history. I would never have guessed the meaning of Whaupknowe - I guess the ‘owe’ part is ‘hill’ as in Torpenhow of QI fame (‘Hill Hill Hill’).
I think the "whaup" bit is the onomatopoetical name for the bird - the sound a curlew makes (at least a Scottish one) - "knowe" means hill - it's a relation of "knoll", I think. "knowe" is a common part of Scottish place names Nivensknowe, Silverknowes, etc. For some reason, there are a lot of reference to hills in Scottish place names - a "Law" is also a hill - a lot of "laws" on the Scottish map.
DeleteAh! I’ve learned more than I thought today! Thanks.
DeleteI hope you have recovered sir and nothing broken.
ReplyDeleteI did once fall down the stairs carrying my daughter - landing on everything except her - as I cradled her high, in true stuntman style, putting myself in harm's way lest she get damaged...
Though she still blames this incident if she can't remember something citing 'I must have lost brain cells the day that father chucked me down the stairs'...
...at least your finely painted miniatures can not apportion blame...
I suspect they can always fight badly, to get me back.
DeleteToo bad about the WSS mounted officers. I have never experienced anything quite like this. I have seen the occasional frosting due to applying dullcote in cold/humid conditions but that is a rarity.
ReplyDeleteTo end on a positive note, your Life Guards look smart!
If the bubble wrap was truly stuck to the figure, my hunch would be that the figure was not quite cured by the varnish coat. Before stripping and starting anew, try hitting one figure with gloss coat first and allowing to thoroughly dry. I have seen this reverse frosting.
Thanks John - I'll try a bit of experimental gloss. I've seen some funny effects with matt varnish turning strange colours, or opaque, but that was back in the days of enamels - with acrylics, I've never seen it, except occasionally with a spray.
DeleteYour life guards are all stunners, Foy, as well as reassuringly robust. They must have shock absorbers installed. I hope you do too.
DeleteTrooper no.10 is finally on his way.
Trooper No.10 - fantastic - thanks. When he gets here, his new chums will adorn him with boot-polish, throw him in the river - they may even chuck him downstairs if that has become a new regimental tradition. In passing, these circa-1965 HH OPCs seem to be made of unusually soft metal - no problems, but I had to be careful to keep the figure bases flat when blutak-ing them onto the bottletops. Did Marcus get a load of dodgy scrap lead around this time?
DeleteAs for me, I appear to be in robust health - no doubt the Good Lord will eventually get fed up with me, and press the "smite" button, but so far so good. One thing I have learned (and it has always been true, even when I still had a brain) is that I am not good at estimating where the stairs are if I cannot see them. Point noted. Perhaps I should invest in a see-through tray, or maybe some more patience.
Glad you're ok! I live in fear of the stairs and that happening to me... the ones at my daughter's are especially tricky when carry the puppy down.
ReplyDeleteYou carry the puppy down? Good grief - the puppy should be carrying you - check your insurance.
DeleteTake care. And never run with scissors.
Egad, what a terrible accident, no wonder the language was rich with expletives. I do hope that you were unscathed Tony?
ReplyDeleteDitto above comments: beautiful Life Guards.
I seem to be more fortunate than I deserve - no harm done - thanks James.
DeletePleased to hear it!
Delete