Some of you might remember the old Cadburys advert…Have a break, have a Kit Kat?
Can’t get hold of a Kit Kat over here…but I can take a break…which is exactly what I’m going to do for the next few months.
We’ve got the builders in shortly, knocking a way through from the cottage to the barn, and that means precious little hobby money for the balance of the year. Hey ho. First world problems to have and all that. Truth is, the wife is finding it increasingly difficult to use the upper floors these days and with more spinal surgery on the horizon that’s not going to get any easier. What used to be the gรฎte will now become a downstairs living room (our main one is upstairs to take advantage of the view) and a downstairs bedroom she can use if her condition worsens
On the hobby front, the first batch of blue moon ECW lads finally turned up as you can see below and as usual the conundrum becomes one of basing. My old 15mm collection from PP was based on 8cm stands, but here I’m experimenting with 4cm bases so I can put them in column on my hexon roads. There’s 60 figures to a battalia here which hopefully gives an impression of “heft,” or at least it should do when I add the pikes to the pile block. Lol. The steel watchamacallit miniatures samples arrived several days before the blue moon stuff and crikey they’re tiny. Beautifully sculpted. But like I say ruddy tiny. They actually put me more in mind of my 10mm Pemdraken AWI collection than anything. I’ll consider that a bullet dodged.
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| Here’s the boys in column. Don’t judge me on the state of the desk. |
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| And here they are in line. Note they’re only stuck down with blue tack at this point. |
I was so chuffed with my previous AI portrait in East India Company uniform that I asked for another as an ECW officer. In the interests of authenticity I gave chat GPT a more up to date photo in which the old barnet has gone the way of all things.
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| Declare Sirrah! Be ye for King or Parliament? I consider this proof, if proof were needed, that the internet can be usefully explored for other things than porn or cats. |
Testing of my Mutiny rules continues as you can see from the picture below. So far there hasn’t been any significant revision work required - which is encouraging, or worrying depending on your viewpoint.
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| Company lads from the 64th storming a sepoy position. |
I plan to come back to the blog in late September when I’ve got something hobby wise to actually write about, so in the interim I hope you all have a belting summer and get to kick back yourselves at some point.
Toodleooh.
P.S. Since I won’t be about to remind you, don’t forget to put the sprouts on to boil in July.





All the very best with the coming house alterations. I do like the look of the ECW fellows and how they look with your terrain. They will be a fine sight when table ready. Have a good summer and l await the next post , and subsequent ones, with enthusiasm.
ReplyDeleteAlan Tradgardland
Thanks Alan, I’ll use the down time to do a few ECW bits and bobs. I’d like to run a new ECW participation campaign at the end of the year.
DeleteEnjoy your house renovations JBM and look forward to hearing about it later this year. Basing is always a problem for me I tend to agonise it more than anything else, your Blue Moon regiments should look impressive that's for sure. Your AI ECW portrait does look very impressive, suitably haughty enough for the period!
ReplyDeleteThanks Donnie. I do look like an arrogant piece of work don’t I. Lol.
DeleteStill a great advert and one that we used to change the wording too as kids, being the creative devils we were back then:)! FYI, KitKat was made by Rowntree's and now by Nestle, or Nestles as we called it then.
ReplyDeleteBon chance with the building work, the sort of thing I dread. SWMBO wants a bif kitchen which, aside from the cost, might take up to 6 months to do:(. Luckily no funds are currently available...
Those ECW figures do look good. For years now I've used 1" square bases for most of my figures, as it gives lots of formation flexibility and allows for them to be used in skirmish level games too.
Thanks for the reminder re: the sprouts, I'm off to put on them on now;)!
Hey Steve, we used to say “have a break have a quick crap” if memory serves. Not looking forward to the building work, our walls are just shy of 3ft thick granite and cutting through them is going to be a very messy job - hence the builder and not “have a go Joe” here. You’re welcome on the sprouts front. Can’t have them undercooked on Christmas Day now can we?!
DeleteThat was our stock phrase too Mark! My wife eats sprouts raw, which beggars belief. IIRC the ones in school used to be so overcooked they'd still be leaking water when put on our plates.
Delete((Gags)) aaaargh, school dinner flashbacks!
Delete60 figures per battalion will look ace. Look forward to seeing them all piked-up and painted.
ReplyDeleteI'd say from your photo you were definitely a Roundhead.
Hope the home improvements and the Current Mrs Broom's surgery go well. See you back here in l'automne.
Cheers Chris. Oddly enough when I started doing ECW re enactment I spent a good while wondering which side to join up with. Given my geographical location at the time. (Just south of Worcester) and general dislike of politicians I opted to join the Kings Oxford army circa 1643. Tbh by the time the conflict was drawing to a close and assuming I was still alive I’d have probably ended up as a digger or leveller. Thanks for the good wishes - see you again in the Autumn matey.
DeleteBest wishes on your upcoming projects and challenges. See you on the flip side.
ReplyDeleteCheers Jon, you sure will.
DeleteI hope your wife is Ok JBM and the house alterations go well. Are you going to move your wargames room upstairs if it is not already there?
ReplyDeleteThe ECW figures look good so well done there. You certainly cut a very dashing figure during the ECW. Mrs. JBM is probably thinking she was born a few centuries too late ๐
Hey Ben, the wife’s doing okay thanks, but we need to make provision for the near future. Aarrrgh don’t mention moving ANYTHING anywhere cos she might read this over my shoulder and get even more blooming ideas. What is it with women and moving things. I wouldn’t mind so much but it’s always muggins here who has to to do the heavy lifting. lol. As to the AI picture. I’m afraid ChatGPT is being very kind in its depiction.
DeleteSorry to read about the reason for the home reno, JBM, hopefully the CMB remains able to enjoy the upper floor for a good few years yet.
ReplyDeleteI will miss your pithy input over the next few months and look forward to your return in September.
Thanks Keith, the remodelling will at least give us the opportunity to rename parts of the house with the most pretentious labels we can come up with (for our own ironic amusement). So far we have “the Ascot Suite” named after a scruffy box room I was once sold as an upgrade in a b&b, the “Queen Mary Suite” where the mother in law sets up camp for weeks at a time ((sigh)) and the “tree top lounge” which sounds like something you’d sit in on an African safari adventure but is actually just a first floor lounge with a nice view. I’m pushing for “the snug” as the new downstairs lounge. lol.
DeleteHope the building work isnt too onerous, you small ecw types look goodon your over neat table, the Indian war of Independance rules are coming along a treat!
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
Cheers Iain. I hope the building work isn’t too bad - fortunately I won’t be doing much apart from painting and decorating afterwards. I could’ve borrowed the cutters etc to carve through the wall myself but it’s more comforting to have a fully insured professional do it in case of structural failure. My neighbour who used to work in the barn where we now live says there used to be a door into the house, coincidentally just where we are intending to place one, so who knows what we’ll find under the plaster work. If it turns out to be hidden nazi gold I promise you’ll never see hide nor hair of me again!
DeleteI’d tell you to enjoy your time away from the keyboard but, well you know…..building work! Plus it’s in French! Take notes and photos with luck there is at least a set of humorous short stories in it. In other news bravo for sorting out the home for the current Mrs B. That’s a lot of wife faction gained there. I will miss your posts over the next few months but look forward to you returning bristling with new ideas.
ReplyDeleteDave G aka Elenderil
Hey Dave, yeah there’s going to be length of photos (courtesy of the missus), cos I always forget to take them. We’ve only been here 4 years but so much has been done to the place that I still get surprised when I see some of the older snaps she took. Thankfully this time it won’t be me taking my life in my hands with the stone cutting tool and though it would make for great future blog content I’m hoping there are no dramas!
DeleteSad to read that the home renovations are needed for such a serious reason. Your posts will be missed mate, but I get it and will be eager to read of your return late Summertime.
ReplyDeleteThose ECW figs look pretty darn good from here. Nicely detailed indeed. Try your best not to get stabbed by those pikes once you are sticking them to their owners!
Hey Dai, the pikes are blunt, thank the gods. I’ve suffered too many injuries in the past to go down that road again. Adds an air of authenticity to the game mind you when a bit of blood gets spilled and your opponent can hear the genuine cries of the wounded. It’s going to take me a while to paint this and any following lads up, so I thought it was better with all that’s got going building wise if I just took a break rather than posting twice monthly pictures of the three 15mm figures I’ve managed to paint since the last post. I love the period but even I can’t summon up that level of ongoing enthusiasm. Have a great summer and let’s catch up again in September. I was going to say don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, but that doesn’t apply to a bloke who contrived to have a fight with a dwarf on a train now does it. Lol.
DeleteI'll miss your posts but can't complain - summer is kicking in (or trying to) here and my output on the wargame blog has dropped off too.. have to agree with you re the Steel-watchamacallits - lovely sculpts, but so tiny.. re. basing, for my 15mm/20mm stuff (in all periods to be honest) I've kind of standardised on 30mm squares.. takes six 15's in two ranks, or four 20's same.. but gives flexibility as you say to arrange artistically in formations..
ReplyDeleteHey Steve, good to find I’m not the only one finding that the blogging urge on the wane for the mo. There’s so much to ruddy do at the moment! Enjoy the summer!
DeleteHurry back :-)
ReplyDeleteWill do Norm, if I can sort out this ruddy Google search problem.
DeleteGood luck with the French builders; I hope they are better than British ones.....☺
ReplyDeleteYes, as I indicated the Steel Fist are very finely detailed, but tiny. I too thought of opting for them, but the samples convinced me otherwise and I opted for the Blue Moon....
Oddly, my reinactment led me too to the side of the Royalists (Northumberland), but figured I was probably a Leveller at heart.....
Neil
Cheers Neil, my experience to date is that French builders have been disconcertingly efficient. Obviously they take a “French” lunch break but they don’t stop for a brew every 10 minutes so it kind of evens out. My wife has always castigated French workers as being lazy en general, yet Motorway repairs etc which seem to go on for ever in the UK are completed within days and public works are the same. On the house front this is a first for us so we’ll see, I guess. Really enjoying painting the blue moon bods, they’re not as “cartoony” as Peter Pig (which had previously been my “go to” figures). Actually that feels a little unfair, maybe “chunky” is the word I’m after? Nice to know there’s another ex Royalist re enactor amongst the cognoscenti! Have a great summer mate.
DeleteSounds like there's a lot going on. Good luck with everything. My brother in law in Bretagne is having problems with slow builders. I guess it's the same everywhere... some are efficient, some are not.
ReplyDeleteHi Richard, cheers for chiming in. I’ve found getting the buggers to commit to doing the job is the hard part, but once they’re on site they seem to be very efficient. Around here there is only Monsieur Pennot, and I& he likes you it’s all good. If he doesn’t…. Sorry to hear of your brother in laws problems getting building work done but he does live in Bretagne, and as my neighbour frequently tells me, they might as well be British up there, lol.
DeleteBit late I know. Have a nice rest from the blog. I shall try to comment more on your activities, but yours is one of many blogs tbat fail to show up on my blog feed for some reason?
ReplyDeleteHi Ray, no problem matey it’s good to know you’re out there in the aether! I’m having tons of problems with blog visibility at the moment (mostly Google) and I’m not sure what the answer is. I also have problems following people’s blogs that don’t show up on my feed - so all in all it is bloomin annoying. Hey ho…first world problems to have and all that I suppose. I did wonder if a “new blog” was the answer and have one prepared just in case things like visibility get worse. Knowing my luck that’ll go sideways too! lol. Have a great summer and try and pop by again when you get a mo.
DeleteWatcha JBM.. I'd start with clearing cookies, Google only to start with, but if you can take the pain of accepting cookies all over the place for the next few weeks, all of them. I'd also clear cache/memory .. lots of help and advice here in the AI overview that may help.. https://www.google.com/search?q=my+blog+is+not+appearing+in+google+blogger+feeds&sca_esv=cb596a67502e2f5f&sxsrf=ANbL-n5b9KSd3gm_c7Tdk0-4giLecgf0QQ%3A1780381982271&ei=HnkeaoioEKqmhbIPi5K26Ak&biw=750&bih=742&ved=0ahUKEwiIr_jc9-eUAxUqU0EAHQuJDZ0Q4dUDCBA&uact=5&oq=my+blog+is+not+appearing+in+google+blogger+feeds&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiMG15IGJsb2cgaXMgbm90IGFwcGVhcmluZyBpbiBnb29nbGUgYmxvZ2dlciBmZWVkczIFEAAY7wUyBRAAGO8FMgUQABjvBTIFEAAY7wVIhQRQAFgAcAB4AZABAJgBd6ABd6oBAzAuMbgBA8gBAPgBAZgCAaACepgDAJIHAzAuMaAHlgOyBwMwLjG4B3rCBwMwLjHIBwKACAE&sclient=gws-wiz-serp PS. apologies if this Granny teaching to suck eggs, but you never know it may not be known to you.. a lot of people read blogs via other means than the blogger feed anyway so I wouldn't assume no one sees it - I read all my blogs via Feedly and yours is present and correct.. now... get back to making the tea for the builder.. ๐
DeleteOooh thanks Steve, I’ll give all of that a go later this evening. No egg sucking - I’m ruddy clueless when it comes to how computers etc work. Cheers for jumping in on this mate.
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