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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.'

Saturday, 13 July 2013

More...

... Toy Soldier glory in gloss, and more rattlin' dice on the way.

I've finished the reinforcements for my 42mm ACW armies (see earlier posts), so another game of Rattling Dice is on the way. I'd ordered a regiment of Zouaves from Irregular Miniatures of York, then spent a good deal of time wondering how to paint them. They've ended up like this:


I decided on an imaginary uniform, thinking that it would do nicely for either side, and, indeed, for other real and imagined 19th Century tussles. So, I happily set to with blue, plus purple trimmings...


Yet, as I painted away, something began to stir in the muddy recesses of my brain. A quick check in Philip Haythornthwaite's book, and, yes, I was actually painting up a New York Volunteer Zouave unit! Oh, well, they look fine.


I also made an addition to the artillery of each side; very nice figures, combining a real toy soldier look with decently rendered uniforms:


And, finally, a couple of officers and colour bearers:


The dice will rattle soon...

8 comments:

  1. Beautiful in their shinnyness !

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    1. Yes, there's no doubt they have a certain je ne sais quois once the varnish is applied. As an increasingly reactionary old beggar, the gloss toy soldier is more and more attractive to me.

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  2. Indeed, very glossy and lovely (and tempting).

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    Replies
    1. Just think of the 18th Century glossiness that you could have!

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  3. Smashing! - And thanks for bringing Irregular Miniatures to my attention.

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    1. They've got an excellent service, produce all sorts in all sorts of sizes (I've a mass of their 20mm Spanish Civil War), and operate out of that fine City of York - my joint favourite (with Winchester) for a new capital of England.

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  4. Fine looking fellows.

    Given the variety of historical uniforms it is probably nearly impossible to invent something that someone somewhere hasn't tried.

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    Replies
    1. You are probably right - perhaps I should have stuck with Turco light blue!

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