33rd Indiana "The Wildcats"

Finished up a unit of Old Glory 1st edition ACW Union figures, not based to any system with flags by GMB. GMB is in my opinion the best commercially available flags out there provided you take the time to finish the edges up properly. These are very nice sculpts full of animation and lots of character in the faces. I still like these figures by Andy Cooper. The range is incredible for the sheer variety of poses and they seem to capture the spirit of the period. When you compare them to the latest sculpts out there the trend seems to be to create figures that look like department store mannequins, the new sculpting is technically good but they have no soul, not realistic at all and very wooden. Especially if you look at the photo's of the period.

Batches 5-7 This is it!

Hi Folks

This is the last of the buildings I'm posting. The Motte and Bailey will require a better lighting setup and I will be putting that one up on the website a little later on!

23. A layered thatch roof dwelling suitable for the Empire or Western Europe. Chris the model maker.

24. A simple thatch dwelling, unusual for Chris in that the door does not open but of course the roof still comes off.

25. Another thatch roofed dwelling from the villiage I collected over the years. Chris made this one.

26. A second woodcutters abode also usable for the east, lovely detail on the roof with wooden cross pieces. Chris original.

27. A solid planked structure, perhaps a well off smith lives here or a guard house. By Chris the model maker.

28. This is another part of the Empire village as with all of Chris' pieces the roofs come off, and the doors are hinged.

29. A large swamp/marsh with lovely details. Sunken logs and tufts of grasses. Chris used plastic water in progressively cloudy layers to create one of my favourite pieces.

30. A finely detailed smithy with tons of interior details, including a forge and charcoal pit. Chris made this.

31. An Ostlers horse pen with grounds and fence. A great and unique piece for discerning collectors. Chris the model maker original.

32. An olive grove with surrounding walls and olive press shed attached. Usefull for any region where olives grow. Chris the model maker.

33. A farmstead with two buildings and grounds with surrounding fencing, a part of the villiage on the ouskirts or perhaps an outlying holding. Chris original.

34. A large enclosed farmers field with stone walls and hedge. A truly usefull piece by Chris.

35. The second of the large barns. This piece is impressive with opening gates and doors on hinges and a roof that lifts off revealing a second floor. Chris the model maker.

36. A solid resin piece painted by myself and used in many an American Civil War game.

Batch 3 & 4 and part of 5

Hi Folks

A much larger posting today and I wanted to get over the half way mark of what I will be parting with.

11. Here we have a fantastic border tower, applications for historical use as well as fantasy.  GW's the border princes comes to mind as well as LOTR or anywhere in medieval Europe where the frontier was defended. A Chris original!

12. A viking "A" frame.  Usable in northern Europe and England and Ireland when the blonde lads were running amok and settling in. Chris made this one.

13.  A larger thatch roofed home for the wealthy peasent or perhaps villiage elders.  Again suitable for many periods in Western Europe. Chris the model maker.

14. Thatched roofed woodcutter home or something similar.  Suitable for many periods in Europe.  Made by Chris the model maker.

15.  A well painted light weight piece used in the English Civil War as a Scots tavern.  Made from foamcore in the GW style.  The roof comes off.  Created by me. :)

16. A solid resin house, a very thick piece, nicely painted by yours truly.  Has been used to fill in a small villiage on one of my ACW games.  This is a mass produced item not sure of the manufacturer.

17. A very nice piece bought awhile back, this particular piece was used as a defence line by Union troops at Antietam, but can also be used for the French and Indian War as well as The American War of Independence.

18. Ten large trees total.  The trees themselves are done by a friend many years ago, the trunks and bases were done by Chris the model maker.  The shape of the base allows for a lot of uses on the game table.

19. A farmers field with waddle fencing.  Used in ECW/TYW and suitable for dark ages until the wars of Marlborough.  Another Chris original.

20. A second empire/tudor piece by Chris. One of his earliest.

21. Another barn similar to the slate roofed barn but with thatch.  Nice piece by Chris

22. Here we have a magnificent barn, this is one of my most cherished pieces.  Suitable for Eastern or Western Europe. Double gate to the front, doors on the sides and a second story.  Go to http://www.grandmanner.co.uk/shop/Default.asp?cookiecheck=yes& and have a look at what very well painted pieces go for, and they are mass produced! Created by Maestro Crhis.

Veteran German Assault Group

A set of 17 German troops for the Russian front.

Check the website for better pictures if interested.

http://www.heroesinscale.com/

More Buildings! Batch Deaux!

Here is the slightly delayed second batch, god this is hard to do it's like kicking out a basket of puppies. I actually feel guilt in letting them go. Isn't miniature gaming odd in so many ways?

6. A world war 2 ruin, a really nice piece with multiple levels of shading not fully realized in the photo. Chris the model maker did this one.

7. A fantastic Hillock, many large trees which helps form the border of this piece. It is a large piece and has a hill that rises toward the middle on one side, used as an artillery postion and ambush site many times. Chris the model maker made this one as well.

8. A really interesting piece, usefull for the eastern front, fantasy or many other European periods. The interior details are quite nice and the door opens. It has been used as a Partizan hideout in Russia, a stopover for a party on the way to their doom, and as a farmstead in colonial America waiting for the Hurons to attack. Unknown who made this piece.

9. Tudor/Empire style 2 story building. The roof comes off and the floors seperate, also the door opens on a hinge. This is usable for any Western European town from the middle ages on. One of Chris the model makers earliest pieces.

10. A barn with slate roof which comes off. A really nice piece with deep greys in multi-layers.

Chris the model maker made this one as well.

Buildings & Terrain 1st Batch - 8 More batches to come!

Hi Folks

Here is the first batch of Buildings as promised, more to come as I get to them.  I've already sold all 12 of the WW2 Stalingrad pieces, heh they didn't even make it to the photo area.  All the pieces shown are for 28mm figures.  The figures in the shot are for scale only.

Anyway in no particular order I have:

1: A Spanish or wild west adobe barn with side shack and low wall. Made by Chris R

2: A ruins suitable for anything as its mostly destroyed walls and more of a terrain piece. Not sure who made it but a nice piece and resin on board.

3: A Middle Eastern or Mesopotamian wealthy persons home, could be used from biblical times upto 19th century. Made by Chris R

4: A ruin of a castle with middle eastern or Moorish influence which means it could be used in Spain through to North Africa I suppose. Made by Chris R

5: A smashing Hill Fort/Outpost.  Made by Chris R

Caesarian Roman Cohort

Hi everyone!

I just finished off this unit, I painted all the shields by hand. As I mentioned before I don't like using decals, I prefer to paint my own shield designs. Although they do make a great reference source for ideas, especially the "Little Big Man" range of decals. I went with red tunics despite all the "new" information which says they "probably wore natural coloured tunics". However if you actually read the source information there is nothing new about it, all this fad out there is about one persons suppositions, or theories. And I disagree with the whole premise, it's like taking a shot of a battlefield with a Micro lense camera looking down on the backs of someones feet. Here's my theory about red tunics on Roman legionairies, the Romans wore them, period, I know because I was there! They wore red tunics in battle for religious reasons, for practical reasons and for reasons of luck. The Roman soldier like his civilian counterpart was a very superstitious bird. They wore the natural coloured tunics for fatigue duties and walking out but not for battle, except in a pinch or if they were quickly raised. Oh and they also wore the red tunics on parade, as shown on Trajans column which also includes the boys fighting in the same red coloured tunics.