SYW/GNW figs

Here's a makeshift post with a makeshift photographing setup, four units of various 18th century bits, Revell and Zvezda figures. These were done a few months back but I was lazy to make a post about them.
I'm really glad Zvezda re-issued their GNW boxes, it looks like there is a demand for these and I may just pick up a few next month.
Same thing with the Revell re-issuing their old SYW figures, very useful and cost effective, if not the prettiest sets.

Stink Bug Invasion

Just a quick post before I head off for a weekend trip, springtime is here and so are the nasty stink bugs that get through every obstacle and make Central European people's lives miserable...

When I opened up the box full of swag from Drum&Flag (a very friendly online retailer if you are interested in 1/72 bits like I am), I was quite surprised. I ordered one box of used HäT Renault FT-17s, which should have contained two tanks according to PSR, but there were four instead. I got them for the hefty sum of £3.50. In this dark olive green state of theirs they remind me of the dumb little stink bugs that crawl around aimlessly. And their speed also matches.

I had to use sprue rubble melted down in paint thinner for glue, as I ran out of superglue and of course completely forgot to refill. But still, here they are, holding up quite well. 

15mm Brits

This side-project was done a while ago, 15mm Forged in Battle WW2 British infantry and PSC Churchill tanks. I have more Churchills and Cromwells as well, they are buried in the plastic pile.

Inventory & Competition Results

I managed to make an almost complete inventory but had to go by memory at some places. All the figures presented here are stashed at a known location and are accounted for. So prepare to be shocked just a little bit.

I've made the Google spreadsheet available to read for everyone who's interested. There may of course be some minor miscalculations but I can say it's about 95% accurate. 

1/72 scale - total items 5465, out of which 20 are vehicles and 66 artillery pieces, resulting in, by my calculations, 5379 foot and mounted figures (horses not counted separately). 

Manufacturer with the largest # is Zvezda with figures in multiple periods.

The largest part of the collection is for the Napoleonic Wars. 

6mm scale - 2617 items, artillery pieces and crews counted separately. 

Manufacturer with the largest # is Baccus,

The figures are almost exclusively for the SYW/GNW period.

28mm scale - total items 419, all of which are figures. There is only about for dozen mounted ones.

Manufacturer with the largest # is Perry.

Again, almost all of the pieces are for the Renaissance/Landsknechts period.

15mm scale - 394 items, 310 of which are figures, the rest are WW2 materiel. 

Manufacturer with the largest # is Plastic Soldier Company.

Almost all of these except a few ECW/SYW figures are WW2 era.

I have 152 ships and boats in various scales, most of it scratchbuilt, and the largest chunk is 1/2000 early dreadnoughts and pre-dreadnoughts.

This then means that the total numbers are:

9047 total items

8895 non-naval oriented items

~8725 figures

There were 5 entries to the competition and most of you aimed quite low, which I appreciate because then you can't tell how compulsive my buying habits are. But you also must consider that I've been collecting for 7 or so years now and rarely ever sold or given away a thing. The fact that most of you underestimated the total number also means that the highest bidders win the game :)

Patrick Phillips and Paul of Paul's Bods were quite close to each other in their guesses so I'm sending gifts for the both of you. You can browse the figure catalogue and if you find something of interest we can discuss it. I'm also willing to give away gift cards for any figure maker of good reputation. Please contact me at randomncreativeblog at gmail dot com with your wishes. Fair warning - I might have to delay sending out any package until the end of the month depending on my work schedule, but hey, it's free stuff, don't worry about it. 

Here's just a few things I am more than willing to part with and might get you an idea:

• 15mm Churchill and Cromwell tanks
• HäT Carthaginian war elephants, the howdah might be missing
• HäT 1813 Prussian Jäger
• Any A Call to Arms ECW figures that I own, painted and based on 40x40mm bases
• A sprue (6 figs) of Perry Foot Men-at-Arms
• An assortment (up to 6-8 figs) of painted Gripping Beast 28mm Dark Age plastics

PS I have to work out a labeling system to tell how much of the collection is complete, but I can tell that I only have two drawers and one shelf of unpainted figures and over 3 large shelves and 16+ drawers of painted ones.

Competition Reminder

We're halfway through the week and only two entires have been submitted for the 'guess how many figures do I have' competition. The draw is still open, and there's plenty of time to join so please go ahead.

Taking Inventory (and Gambling for the Readers)

One of my friends has asked me to make a complete inventory of all my stuff, and I thought it would be a cool idea to publish it for all of you out there. 

I also thought I'd tie this together with a small competition. You can guess how many figures I have (either altogether or in a specific scale) and I'll send a small gift to the one who is the closest to the real number. But for the love of God don't read all my posts in a row and add up everything. So please do leave a comment under this post - it may take a week for me to actually do the inventory, so the deadline is next Sunday.

Hobby Project for February

Now that the island is deemed complete and the attacking forces are sort of ready, it's time to look for another hobby project to do in this month.

I don't think I'm going to have the drive to do anything major like this, so it's small scale generic/fantasy wargaming with a side note of Neue Böhnstadt.

Ships for the Siege of The Rock

I've constructed and painted the bomb-ketch and a 6-gun brig for the siege of The Rock. 

There was a long progress report about how I built a multi-deck ship, it's basically the same for these. I start with a thick balsa bottom, cut out the sidewalls from decor rubber and cardstock, add some tidbits and then paint the thing. I paint the cannon separately, and on the brig I did the upper masts and sails separately as well - just in order not to ruin the paintjob on the hull.

There is always a degree of simplification on these. If I did everything completely accurately, I could not move the figures around. Just think about that they have to be put on at least 20mm bases, and there's lots of narrow spaces on a ship where someone could barely move. You see what's what, you get the basic functions and that's it. One thing I don't like however is tubby little ships that look like they were squashed from front to end. 

Constructing the Rock Pt. 6

The port is almost complete. I had some trouble lining up the planks to the island's edge. My battery is low so I only made this pair of photos - one of the bomb-ketch that will be used to suppress the gunfire coming from the top of the rock. Being quite adept at making ships and knowing what materials to use, it does not take very long to produce them - this is about half an hour's work.

And one of the various storage laying around the port side, and the small farm. It's more like a hovel at this point, but I found a ready-made base so I worked with that. All I need now is some flock on the island and the wall at the corner of the port.