The Navy's here - matelot hauled limbers

After a number of false starts eventually I got a combination of the Hat sailors that looked something like they were hauling a gun and limber. There are a couple of oddments mixed in, but I leave that for those interested to identify. The limber is the old RHA limber from Airfix with "shoes" added to spread the load on sand. At the moment I'm still using the Airfix RHA gun, but an older split trailed version was used in Egypt.

A close up version


and the idea came from the Perry's in 28mm.

Nine Years War - French Infantry

I originally bought a pack of Mars Austrian Infantry Late XVII Century to mix in with my existing forces, but quickly realised they wouldn't look right even organised as separate units. So I decide to try something different and organise them as a stand alone force for Pikemans Lament. There were enough figures to create four units of twelve painted as contingents from different French regiments. I also decided to try the alternative Pikemens Lament basing on 20/30/40mm bases.


Pikemen - Lorraine


Fusiliers do Roi


Grenadiers - La Reine


Fusiliers - Navarre


Uniform details came from the Osprey Armies of Louis XIV

Phalanx 2019

Had a great day out at the Phalanx show at St Helens last Saturday. However no matter what I try I can't remove the dreadful yellow tint to the photographs that I took of the games that caught my eye.

Italian Wars






American War of Independence






Towton in 54mm






Our own lance & Longbow battle of Lewes 1264 from the 2nd Barons War - one win each for the Royalists and Rebels


Didn't buy much, just some static grass, brushes, a second hand pack of Hat French limbers from the B&B and some more models needing repair from the EWM miscast box.

Shetland Baronial Castles

There are only a couple of castles on Shetland, both built in the C16 in the baronial style. They are not that well fortified, but defensible and more a statement of authority.

Muness Castle Britain's most northerly castle on Unst (link)









Its bleak surroundings


Scalloway Castle (on a rainy day) the old capital of the islands (link)










On a sunny evening

I'm back from Shetland

It was a long trip home, luckily arriving before the rain did. A final reminder of the local beers

I'll add some pictures of the sites of historical interest that I visited in due course, and try to catch up on the painting backlog from April/May. This weekend I'll be at the Phalanx show with the Lance & Longbow Society followed by a Gentlemen Pensioners ACW game on Sunday.