Well it’s been three years but I’m doing English archers again, (though admittedly in 28mm this time rather than 15mm). What goes around comes around, eh.
Lovely thing about the 100yrs war is that only one side used a lot of cavalry and that should speed up painting progress. I hope.
Here’s a few pictures of ‘em so you can see where I’m at. They’re Perry’s of course and lovely sculpts to boot but darned fiddly to glue together with my fat fingers and clumsy hands of death.
I probably should have titled the post “look ma no flock” since as you will observe… there’s nary a whisker of the stuff to be seen.
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Once again digital photography proves it is not your friend. They look okay from a distance I promise. |
Lack of flock is heresy I know, but while these lads are intended for Billhooks - they may get a few runs out in Boathooks and I suspect they’ll look a bit daft on board ship with a small garden plot around their feet. I’ve gone with the Kenneth Branagh Agincourt “grubby as fuck” look for the peasantry on the basis that it’s hard as hell to look squeaky clean when you’ve got dysentery and been sleeping under a hedge for several weeks. We’ve all been there…am I right!?
What? Only me?
Cripes!
The blog title obviously refers to the words Shakespeare stuffed into Henry V’s mouth from his play of the same name but it’s also an acknowledgment that after several years of steady posting I’ve finally achieved the magic number of 40 blog followers. Wow. Slightly chastening to think that one of those is my granddaughter (hi Ella) whose only really interest is in finding out what her barmy grandpa is up to and another follower is manifestly dead (R.I.P Graham) ((though I guess he could still be following?)).
Seems like I emotionally invested in the Betamax of content platforms when the world had already moved on to the VHS of Facebook. The wife keeps telling me that size doesn’t matter…and it’s kind of her to reassure me that the number of blog followers isn’t an issue… but still. Too much France? Too much crazy? Too many flights of fancy into new genre’s? Let me know, on the reinstated comments section if you can be arsed.
Toodleooh
What? You turned commentary back on? Hoorah! Nice looking archers! As for bloggers and followers, we are the few, we happy few. Don't quit yet!
ReplyDeleteNot quitting Jon, just wondering if I’m posting my crap in the right place these days. I suspect the only “audience” us bloggers really have left is…other bloggers. lol.
DeleteHi Mark, lovely job and I have the same hassle with gluing multi part figures together.
ReplyDeleteAs for counting, I don’t think you can use the blogger counter as a true reference as to what is going on. In the ‘good old days’, you could click on ‘follow’ and that would be that, but now you have to also physically go into the widget thing and switch that blog on (best way I can describe it) for it to work properly, I doubt that is widely known, so everyone thinks they are following, when they are not! In the words of another blogger (hi Phil) ‘keep battling on’!
A good mention of Graham, I miss his blog and his valuable and kind comments on other peoples blogs.
Flocking …. Yes, I think I would, as these land lubbers will spend more time in fields than on ships.
Hey Norm, yeah I miss Graham as well, he was a bloody good bloke. Jury’s still out on the flock!
DeleteWell they look very nice to me Mark, even with the clinical eye of digital photography! As for the KB dirty look, they would be pretty grimy I'm sure, after weeks of trudging through mud and blood (see what I did there😉🤡)! I theorteticcal have some 130 Followers, but normally only get 5-10 regular chaps comment on my posts, which says a lot about either the content or my prose, or both! Good to have the comments back on as I've enjoyed your previous posts:).
ReplyDeleteHi Steve, slipped that reference in there didn’t you. Crafty! Yeah, I’ve never had a complaint about the actual blog followers themselves, you’re all ace, I guess I was wondering if I was doing something wrong?
DeleteDefinitely over thinking it JBM - and for Gods aske, DO NOT relocate to bloody face Book or you will be losing at least one follower! And on that note, I don't "follow" anyone - I just look at Mr Freitag's blog, see who has posted recently, then go and have a look! Sometimes, I have to remember a few blogs I comment on never appear on Jons list eg Glasgow Warhog - and I just track them down and see if they have posted anything recently!
ReplyDeleteYou are doing nothing wrong (apart from turning off the comments section, I do find blogs I can't leave any faint praise on, slightly annoying - sorry Norm, but its true!) The latest figures look great and I for one am pleased you turned the comments back on!
Hi Keith, I’ve avoided FB and other social media platforms since their inception, originally from a privacy standpoint I admit. I have no intention of going there in the future but a part of me wondered if I’d end up as the last gamer on blogger…and the answer is apparently not. lol. Also with comments - I’d begun to wonder if it was becoming a ball ache for folk who might have felt obligated to leave some observation on my latest ramblings. Again apparently not. Yup I’m overthinking things.
DeleteGreat looking set of archers JBM. I think we are often are own worst critics when judging paint jobs. Everyone else just thinks they look good and that is a nice decrease in the lead/plastic mountain. 😁
ReplyDeleteI have only 26 followers, one of who is my son who never looks at the blog and only followed when I first started. So 40 followers sounds pretty good to me. And as Norm says, the processes of following is much harder than it used to be.
I do think we have created a very nice community of bloggers, even if it is relatively small, and it is certainly something I enjoy each day.
Actually that’s a very good point Ben, you’d be hard pressed to find such a nice group of folk anywhere else. Kudos to all of you.
DeleteThey look very nice to me JBM, a fine job on them, basing is a conundrum, I think I would go with the muddy look. I find plastics a real faff as I really struggle with them, I tend to avoid them to be honest. Great start to your project and look forward to seeing more, glad you have turned the comments back on.
ReplyDeleteHey Donnie, they never used to be a faff, but I’m obviously losing a bit of dexterity as the years advance. lol. Had more glue on my fingers than on the models. Tee hee.
DeleteVery nice figs and brushwork. As to blogging, there are plenty of bloggists out there who are still pecking away (me among them), and people still like to browse and read. Follower counts aren't the measure (I think follower counts are indeed lower for those who started blogging later than earlier, so that is no measure--at least that's what I tell myself, too, having never cracked above the 70s on my own blog).
ReplyDeleteThanks Ed that’s reassuring to know!
DeleteI'm here JBM.. Followers?? I don't even look for my number.. every post I write for myself and because I enjoy the process and because for me the blog is a scrapbook cum diary.. and because my memory is rubbish... 😁
ReplyDeleteHi mate, I think I’ve been confusing the number of followers with wether the blogs any good or not.
DeleteHey hey welcome back! The archers look nice. I like the Kenneth Branagh look. But do you even have the boats for boathooks? 😁😜
ReplyDeleteAs for blogging, I can't help ya. I'm always two posts away from wrapping up the whole thing and have had a version of "the final post" in draft for awhile now. And my wife doesn't even follow the blog, nor my children come to think.
of course only bloggers care about blogging. But if you are enjoying the interaction from your fellow bloggers then that means.......something. I dunno. 😁
Hi Stew, I don’t have the boats…erm…yet…but I see Sarissa make some which’d be easy to assemble. I do enjoy the interaction with my fellow bloggers so yeah it’s probably worth forgetting about follower counts etc and enjoy what I’ve got. :-)
ReplyDeleteIf you stopped blogging it would cut down the stuff I have to read online substantially! Plus and this is a very big plus your stuff is very readable and enjoyable. Don’t confuse numbers with interest.
ReplyDeleteWell thank you very much anonymous friend, that’s kind of you to say.
DeleteT’was I Elenderil.
DeleteHurrah!
ReplyDeleteIt’s good to be able to comment about your Posts /Toys/Thoughts again Mark…
Just to reassure you… Apparently… Size doesn’t matter… It’s what you do with it that counts 🤣
Blogger tells me I have over 200 followers… I certainly don’t get comments from over 200 followers…
But I do get comments from that Happy Few… which is always a pleasure.
Flocking bases….
I quite like unflocked bases…especially on my more ‘Toy soldier’ type projects…
One of the advantages is if you change your mind you can always easily add some…
I’m looking forward to seeing what you do with the cavalry…
All the best. Aly
Hello Aly, I’m glad you’re still out there matey, you’ll be starring as Colonel Morrison next week in an Indian Mutiny game I’ve got planned (well your avatar will be). I’ll put some of my Captain Fawcett’s expeditionary moustache wax on the miniature. Gotta look spiffy for the big show. With the 100yrs war lads I’m having a bit of a mare at the moment, seeing as how I’m going to have to have a stab at painting the odd bit of generic heraldry by hand. Not only do I have fat fingers and clumsy hands of death but they’ve started to shake a bit too. Doesn’t bode well. lol.
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