Having magnetised and repainted my WSS one-size-fits-all sabots, I was so pleased with them that I decided it would be safer and more sensible to keep all cavalry and infantry units on their sabots, in the storage boxes.
Righto. One slight downside is that my previous system allowed 8 units plus a couple of odd bases in each Really Useful Box (4 litre size). With units mounted on their sabots, each box will only take 6 units, with no oddments. So I had to order up another couple of RUBs, and sit down and write a serious plan of what should go in each box, allowing for units that haven't arrived yet. Good. I even printed out some labels - the joy of OCD.
Then a small "Doh!" moment; I assumed that I had plenty of sabots, but I had only provided enough for units that were likely to be on the battlefield at the same time. If all cavalry and infantry are to be stored on the sabots, then I need some more. No problems - last time I ordered the MDF sabot blanks they came from Tony Barr, whose business, of course, is no more, so I ordered some extras from my new friends at Warbases, and I have enough paint and ferro-sheet to finish them off.
So they are now boxed correctly, awaiting the extra supplies, with a key-sheet to identify who goes in which box, and stored away in the Office Cupboard.
Topic 2 - A Trappist Safari
On my recent trip to Belgium, I met up with Chimay Bleue, a Trappist beer I last enjoyed circa 1989 (I estimate), which is not yesterday.
I was sufficiently impressed to promise myself that I would track some down when I got home, so I've been working at that. Interesting; none around these parts; post-Brexit, this is a Trappist desert. Eventually I found that the excellent Cornelius Beer and Wines in Easter Road, Edinburgh, stock the stuff, so I ordered a case, and drove through to our Mighty Metrollopus to collect it on Saturday.
Now I just need an excuse to open a bottle - this stuff clocks in at 9% alcohol by volume, so it's not to be guzzled as a thirst-quencher while mowing the lawns.
***** Late Edit *****
This in response to JBM's comment below...
*******************
I applaud your OCD and double down on it with the thrill I got from seeing your beautifully organised toys. My bliss level hit 'eleven' when I saw the light blue dice in Bavarian box - every nationality with its own theme/uniform coloured dice, pinch me I must be dreaming!
ReplyDeleteThat's a job so well done and so satisfying it deserves to be rewarded with a classic beverage. Brexit may be to blame for many things but I think the absence of Trappist produce is not one of them as my local 'Beer Shop' sells Chimay Grande Réserve (Blue) 2022, although it is £4.90 a bottle.
Thanks Rob! The coloured minidice might just possibly feel like a touch too far, but they work well - an absolute godsend in an age when so many of the nations had similar uniforms, and/or had units which were obviously in the wrong colour, and when the generals dressed in anything they fancied!
DeleteI'm in East Lothian, which is not quite the end of the earth, but is heading that way. Relatively sparse population, and the fact that many of the better-off commute into Edinburgh (and do their shopping there!), means that off-licence businesses which are still surviving here don't cater for much beyond best-selling lines. Edinburgh is bigger and a lot more sophisticated, so better hunting all round!
I enjoyed my visit to Cornelius, just for a look around!
Nice bit of tidy organisation there....you would hate how my stuff is stored! I start out with a plan but generally, end up with infantr and cavalry in the same boxes etc. I mostly use A4 cardboard box files and have tried to colour coordinate....red boxes for Brits, blue for French, yellow for Austrians......plus lots of plain brown or white for multitudes of others.....
ReplyDeleteWill be interested to know how the biere goes. You of course will already know , but I am picking its dark and sweet....not my favourite to be fair. I preferred the Maes Pils and similar when I was last in Belgium....which was approximately 1982!
I admit I enjoy keeping things tight, but I guess part of that is an inability to cope with any kind of disorder! One of the reasons I never really did a lot of board wargames is that I couldn't be doing with all the sorting out and placing of counters - by the time the game was ready to start, I was already fed up with it! That has always felt to me like a job of work, rather than a recreation, so I get a lot of benefit from being able to find stuff quickly, and, where possible, storing it in something like OOB!
DeleteThe beer is dark stuff, certainly - not unlike xmas pudding with a head on it, and best served at about 12degC. Not my usual brew at all, but very enjoyable. If I have beer in the house these days, it's usually weissbier or similar - Franziskaner and Erdinger go down well.
Wonderfully well organised storage system Tony.
ReplyDeleteChimay Blue is a beauty! We became re acquainted during the Spanish campaign when British Ales were impossible to find locally, I love that deep rich sweet flavour and a couple of those sitting in the hot sun induces a warm fuzzy glow all over, very nice. Btw, just checked and of course it's available through Amazon, delivered to your door like just about anything else you might desire thesedays.
Hi Lee - I'm intrigued that this stuff is still made by Trappist monks (maybe I misread the label...). I don't know what other work they do, but they must sleep very well, I think. "Warm fuzzy glow"? - must check this out.
DeleteOCD at it's finest...that is worth a beer salute in itself. (At 9% a little nap afterwards too).
ReplyDeleteZzz zzz.
DeleteActually I’d like to view the results of your grass cutting after you’d had a bottle or two. Très amusante.
ReplyDeleteSee Late Edit...
DeleteVery organised indeed Tony…
ReplyDeleteMy toys usually live in display cases but as I’ve been getting building work done I have put most of them into Really Useful Boxes… and labelling them… it’s actually quite satisfying.
It would take that whole crate of beer to persuade my to do any form of gardening let alone mowing the lawn 😁
All the best. Aly
Exemplary, Young Sir. One complication is trying to work out what the labels mean, some months down the road.
DeleteWell a tidy mind and all that, well done on that expert organising. I guess I’m at a middling point! I have some organised, some on the way to being organised and some that haven’t got a cat in hells chance! That amount of effort certainly deserved a beer. As to the rest - best kept for those comfy chair moments where some mulling over or planning is required.
ReplyDeleteThere's something weird about having beer in the house. Many years ago, when the Scottish pubs used to serve last orders at 10pm, a neighbour and I used to dash down to our local to get a pint, and if it were possible, attempt to force down another before the bell stopped ringing.
DeleteSightly concerned about the effect this was having on my weight, I started buying in cans of ale from the supermarket, which cut down on the pub visits, but also reduced my overall consumption quite a bit, since there was no "closing time" stimulus!
One thing I have learned about sabot bases is that you never have enough sabot bases!
ReplyDeleteThis is one of these strange areas of maths which don't quite work out - my attempt to be clever, and have enough sabots to meet (calculated) probable tabletop needs, fails dismally when I simply need one for each unit. Not quite the same thing, but it reminds me of a couple of map campaigns from the past, where I pulled a fast one and had total armies which were bigger than my collection, since not all the regiments would be on the table at the same time. Not to get into details, but the one lesson I learned is that this doesn't work - probability will catch you out very quickly...
Delete