At the risk of being accused of spouting a cliché, time certainly flies, does it not?
I cannot believe it has been a month since I last posted anything, but it has been indeed that long. I will not bore you with a list of excuses for my absence from blog-dom, but at least I have not been totally idle during this time. I have finished a Burrows & Badgers house, done two more units of Jager for my Crimean War Russians and have a few more Oathsworn Miniatures figures complete, which are the subject of this piece.
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| Frances and Ferdinand Hapsborough are orphaned twins, whose tragedy serves as both moral and warning to all children who do not heed their parents. Constantly told to beware of predators, the two mice would happily ignore the warnings and romp gleefully around their environs, getting into whatever scrapes they thought fit. One day, however, a rather hungry owl took a shine to the two tasty morsels and swooped low to enjoy an unexpected lunch. At the last moment, the two realised their peril and fled for their lives, screaming and hollering in terror. Their father heard their cries and came running...he lost his life protecting theirs. Now these two are dedicated members of the Nutkin Wood Neighbourhood Watch, keen to avenge their father and defend their home. |
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| Ferdinand bears a death mask on his shield, in honour of his father. |
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| Frances bears the emblem of the Order of the Lavender Garden, which she admires greatly, but hers is black on yellow. Yellow is the colour of the wheat fields she loves to roam and the black lily is in honour of her mother, whose death when Frances was very young still cuts her deeply. |
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| Adrienne Mole is the Nutkin Wood diarist and archivist, believed to be between thirteen and a half and fourteen years old. |
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| The golden acorn of Nutkin Wood is her emblem. |
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| The Nutkin Wood Neighbourhood Watch in all its current glory. |
Sadly, I am now at something of an impasse with this project, as I have largely done what I wanted to do. I have a pirate warband, a Military Order one, a band of Witch Hunters, a band of street ruffians and these fellows. I still have the paltry sum of eighteen figures left to paint from the Oathsworn range, including some of my personal favourite figures, ranging from more pirates to mercenaries to religious figures to civilians, but I have a liking again for some more regimental and regimented stuff.
His Majesty's 35th Regiment of Foot has been part completed for almost a year now. My 1690 project stalled a few years back, but does still call to me, especially when I see games of that era at shows or in magazines. My French Wars of Religion project has barely got off the ground. And I have all those boxed sets to work through at some point, including Blood Red Skies, Cruel Seas, various sci-fi and fantasy offerings and more esoteric things like "Carnevale" and "Hellboy". And I still do not have any Crimean War British except for four-fifths of the Light Brigade.
So, the next post or two will feature something new at last, I think. What will it be? Your guess is as good as mine!
G
