Sunday, May 29, 2016

A Dragoon of the Second Empire



The latest addition to the Kinch bookshelf is this rather dapper Second Empire Dragoon. This chap is a metal figure with surprising heft for such a dapper fellow.   I love his white gloves and the insouciant tilt of the chin. Our man in Budapest has done a really cracking job. The blending on the uniform stands out as very well done. 
Bloody stuff stuck on with glue

One of the reasons that there hasn't been a rush of wargaming is that there has been quite a bit of 1:1 scale terrain making going on.  I've been scraping old wallpaper which was stuck on with glue and took an absolute age to get off. Fortunately, it's finished now and the Cats Bedroom is looking barer, but ready to progress that little bit further. 



"'Grog's ready!' came from below. Bunching myself for the descent I found to my astonishment that all trace of litter had miraculously vanished, and a cosy neatness reigned. Glasses and lemons were on the table, and a fragrant smell of punch had deadened previous odours. I showed little emotion at these amenities, but enough to give intense relief to Davies, who delightedly showed me his devices for storage, praising the 'roominess' of his floating den. 'There's your stove, you see,' he ended; 'I've chucked the old one overboard.' It was a weakness of his, I should say here, to rejoice in throwing things overboard on the flimsiest pretexts. I afterwards suspected that the new stove had not been 'really necessary' any more than the rigging-screws, but was an excuse for gratifying this curious taste."
The Riddle of the Sands, Erskine Childers. 

I have been indulging a similar taste of late. I think Childers may have had the right idea. There is something gratifying about it and the shed is now clear. What ever shall we do with all this space?








10 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. I tend to prefer my construction in 1/72, but needs must.

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  2. Dragoon looks great! Fantastic piece for the bookshelf.

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    Replies
    1. Doesn't he just? A man cannot have enough books or toy soldiers.

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  3. Your dragoon is marvelous! Your Hungarian artist continues to produce striking results.

    As for the room demolition, keep up the good work. Always daunting going in but looking back the effort will pay dividends. I have my own 1:1 painting project this weekend; Had a new door added to my wife's home office. This, to be followed by painting said office and back foyer. With a door sealing off the room, we can claim a sixth bedroom if needed.

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    Replies
    1. We shall keep pressing forward Jonathan. Our friend in Hungary really is fantastic.

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  4. On the subject of extra space - Nature abhors a vacuum. You have been warned!

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  5. May I compliment you on the realistic weathering on the Skip? It may be too late for this advice, but steamers are the way forward with recalcitrant wallpaper.

    Kind regards, Chris

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    1. Not too late at all Chris, I was using a steamer and that was the only reason I had gotten as far as I did.

      As for the weathering on the skip...I think it's the wrong kind of dust for Normandy, but it will do.

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