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'A gaping silken dragon,/Puffed by the wind, suffices us for God./We, not the City, are the Empire's soul:/A rotten tree lives only in its rind.'

Tuesday 10 March 2015

A famous name...

... the Glengarry Light Infantry.

Recruited from Upper and Lower Canada and New Brunswick, and engaged in many actions throughout the War of 1812, only to be disbanded in June 1816.  And I knew I had started a 20mm unit of them in the past. After a good root around, I found a rather dusty open box of them, with the beginnings of a paint job:


I'm not sure of the manufacturer (possibly 'Hat'), and, of course, they are meant to be British Peninsular light Bobs. The main difference is that although the Canadians were uniformed like the 95th, they were not (according to Rene Chartrand) issued with rifles, but muskets, to which they added sights. That means that the little fellows are a bit short in the musket, but I can live with that. And they are nicely posed too:


Very dark at the moment as they only have undercoat and base green, but you can see the nice light Bob poses. As for the Yanks, well they were undercoated this evening, but will wait their turn behind the Glengarry fellows.

Here in Old England, the signs of Spring are here, and I took this photograph of primroses in my little garden this morning, before heading to work:


A marvellously tough plant, the primrose. These two clumps have been bright with their pale yellow flowers for weeks now, but were soaking up the bright, cold, sunlight this morning.  Apparently, the primrose was the favourite flower of the famous Imperialist, UK Prime Minister, and favourite of Queen Victoria, Benjamin Disraeli. As a result, when a new Conservative society was founded in the 1880s, it took the primrose as its symbol and name, the Primrose League. Within a decade it had over a million members, and an elaborate structure, with different grades of membership wearing different primrose badges, like this one:


In fact, the Primrose League wasn't finally disbanded until 2004, yet it is now another once famous name that is forgotten.

10 comments:

  1. Your figures are Revell British Rifles. I have a set also. And whose to say they didn't cut down their muskets for use in the woods?

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    1. So they are! I could remember the illustration on the packet, but not the manufacturer's name. Cheers! I hadn't thought of the 'sawn off' idea. If they added sights, there's no good reason why they might not have cut them down.

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  2. Great find to kick start the project for you.
    The primroses are looking lovely. The Albion Band do a super version of a lovely English folk tune called "The Primrose" I recall.

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    1. Hi, Alan. Yes, even better that they were part painted! Primroses are cracking flowers. I remember seeing a drift (is that the word) of them in a very barren, cold, Fifeshire field on a grey day many years ago. They were just laughing at the greyness!

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  3. Well done...so often I know I have figures somewhere but can never find them. Look forward to seeing these chaps finished. Fascinating information on the Primrose, I shall hold forth on the subject to customers as I sell them today.

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    1. It was one of those three o'clock in the morning memories! I'm a great fan of the primrose myself - tough as boots, yet so delicate and bright.

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  4. Thought of you when I saw this new review pop up at PSR:
    http://www.plasticsoldierreview.com/Review.aspx?id=2394

    Cheers, Dave

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    1. Brilliant!! What a find! I wonder if Strelets will do ther sets? Thanks for this - I shall buy!

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  5. Bus alert! - pics of more toy buses, plus a Crosville dedication for you on

    http://prometheusinaspic.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/hooptedoodle-167-more-buses-for-non.html?showComment=1426408985866

    Regards - Tony

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    1. Tony - brilliant! Thanks. I've posted a reply this evening. I could hardly believe you live in North Berwick - I've spent many a time there, as a student, with my parents, with my wife and our son when he was little. A great place!

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