A MILITARY GENTLEMAN

A major project at work has consumed much of my energy and time for the last few weeks, so not much time for blogging. However, things should be reaching equilibrium again. Despite being busy, there has been some hobby related news that might be of interest. Last year, I picked up John Ray's magnum opus, A Military Gentleman of the 18th Century (pictured above)--known to those in the know as AMG.  This week, I took the time to run a much-anticipated errand to fetch the book from my local bookbinder, where it had been since before the holidays (more on that in a bit)...

For those not familiar, this tome is a labor of love (obsession?) in which the author, John Ray, and his collaborators (artists, figure sculptors, painters) tell a story illustrated by glossy, full color photographs (hundreds of 'em) using 18th Century figures (hundreds of 'em--maybe more) in tabletop settings, complete with custom terrain. The author is extremely protective of his material, so I won't put up images. For a full (and better) description, along with selected images, I would direct you to the first post on John Ray's AMG blog. The book has a limited run of 500. 

Although the AMG blog page says that all available copies are sold, there are books that were sold through  Ken Trotman Books, which is where I picked up mine (and they seem to still have some availability there now).   Checking on Amazon will also turn up some copies  (right now, there several there, but more costly than the Trotman, depending on the exchange rate). 

My book is #362 (stylishly late to the party); it came with a nice thank-you note from John Ray tipped in. For those who may not know, there is an AMG community, initially promoted in part by a discussion group that owners of the book had access to.  I didn't come by the book through the community, per se, nor have I tried to gain access to the forum. Nevertheless, I find that I come across references to AMG among many blogs I visit--birds of a feather, it would seem. 

My AMG, With Slipcase

The AMG was/is a production that clearly was done with an eye towards the ends and not the costs.  This was a book intended for enthusiasts, and price did not seem to be a factor in marketing (and obviously not a barrier for those who purchased it).  Given all of this, the absence of a slipcase jumped out at me once I started handling the book. It just seemed to call out for one, at least to me (this may just be my problem, given my bibliophile tendencies).  [Note: John Ray has left a note in the comments indicating that a slip case or some other similar addition was considered, but was found to be cost-prohibitive: I stand corrected--thanks, John, for the information!]. Fortunately, I have a trusted local bookbinder that I have brought other books from my collection to for restoration and binding.  It occurred to me to  take my AMG there and have a slipcase made.  This week, I brought it home, and it's just the thing! Not a bad after-market addition (and it does not modify the original).

Images from the 2017 AMG Weekend, from the excellent Carryings On Up the Dale Blog

Speaking of associations of like-minded folk, the idea of the annual AMG meeting is a temptation--a trip across the pond to the UK, with some sort of gaming included in the itinerary, is always percolating in my mind. Until I translate that thought into travel, I'll still have the book to peruse and the virtual AMG (and AMG-minded) community in the blogosphere to associate with. Speaking of which, I would be interested to know if there are any "AMGers" who have stumbled across this blog.  

 Excelsior!

HONVED HUNGARIAN INFANTRY COMPLETE!

A study of two individually mounted figures of the Honved 24th (White Cap) Battalion in their fur caps. All figures in this post are recent releases from the excellent Steve Barber Revolutions In Europe Line. 

In this, the first substantive post of the new year, dear readers, we hearken back to a project  I reported on in my last, pre-holiday post. This project was actually completed in the days before the Yule, so these units may henceforth be nicknamed my "Christmas Infantry."  These round out my Hungarian Infantry contingent for my Chocolate Box Wars project: as a matter of fact, all I need now are some command figures and artillery and my Hungarians will be complete.  In the meantime, here is a study of the painted figures.

As described in my previous post, this project involved the creation of three units. The 24th (White Cap) battalion (represented twice: one in kepi and one in fur cap), and the 9th (Red Cap) battalion. Images above of the 24th and 9th battalion uniforms are from the excellent Gyozo Smogyi Honved Army 1848-49 book (a must-have for anyone interested in the period).   I commissioned these infantry in kepis and the officers advancing with sword, but the fur-capped figures were a pleasant surprise.  Upon seeing them, I had to add these to the mix! In the below studies, you may clix pix for BIG PIX.  

9th (Red Cap) Battalion

Once again, I lost track of how many different shades of brown (and tan) I used to keep the jackets, backpacks, rifles, and whatnot from looking like one big blob.  I will say that Humbrol "Brown Yellow" is one of the greatest discoveries I've ever stumbled across (I can recommend it for highlighting darker browns).

 24th (White Cap) Battalion in Kepi

One item that I probably wasted too much time on was the red/green/white piping around the base of the kepi. It probably won't be so evident at playing distance on the table, but what the heck, it was an indulgence worth trying. I'll know it's there. 

24th (White Cap) Battalion in Fur Cap

Okay, technically, this is the 24th (White Cap) battalion again, only with winter headgear. But these figures were just too cool to not have! So I'll bend history a bit.  If you see them on the table next to their kepi-headed comrades, let it be our secret!

If I have to paint one more hungarian knot my head will explode!  

The array of my Honved line infantry in its varied headgear and uniforms (and hungarian knots).  It certainly makes for a colorful force (and adding the national guard, rifles, and grenzers will make it even more interesting).   

I hope this post has proven interesting (and tempting) for those who have seen the recent releases from Steve Barber, and for those with an interest in gaming the continental wars of the mid century in general.

Excelsior!

YEAR END 2017 POST

TC SAYS...

Well, it's the end of the second calendar year of this blog's existence and time for a year-end assessment. As far as blogging, one of my aims was to keep the blog active.  Despite "real world" issues that interrupted hobby activity (and time for hobby activity),  I'm happy that I managed to keep things fairly "alive" with 56 blog posts over the year (including this one)--with a fair amount of variety, I think.  Another major blogging aim for me was to share hobby materials. I am gratified that I was able to add four new content pages in support of this goal: Chocolate Box Wars, Smalle Warre, Miniatures on a Grid, and Ramillies 1815.   
In 2018, I hope to flesh out the Miniatures on a Grid page with actual rules and also complete the Chocolate Box Wars project.

I am always impressed by bloggers who are able to report numbers of games, figures painted, and such. I fear that my summary will be much more general in that regard, dear readers. Although I don't log these things, by going through my blog painting posts, I am able, for the first time ever, to report on my (modest) annual painting output:
 
In 2017, I painted and based 127, 28mm figures. This tally does not count a consignment of painted figures I received and mounted for my mid century Austrians. Of the figures I painted, 26 were mounted and the remainder were infantry. Not a stunning total, I have to admit, but I've never claimed to be a volume painter--and all the mounted figures were either hussars or command figures, so I probably could count those as 1.5 figures each in terms of effort! Nevertheless, these have all been concentrated in one area: my Chocolate Box Wars armies. Therefore,  these modest totals still represent a significant step-up in gaming capacity in that area. Following this thought, one of the first posts of 2018 will be of the figures I completed from my December 8th WIP Post.  

In terms of overall hobby activity, hosting the Ramillies 1815 mega-game for my gaming club was the most significant hobby project of the calendar year, by far, as well as the most rewarding.  A close second in terms of significance, if not scope, was getting a workable Volley and Bayonet variant together that allowed me to put my new 19thC continental figures on the table for the first time in the Battle of Dybbol, the battle report for which turned out to be the most popular post--so I definitely want to run more of these games in 2018 (and report on them!).  Speaking of battle reports, I hope to have the time to produce more GIF-animated battle reports in 2018.

Finally, in 2017 the "Followers" count climbed to 41--wonderful encouragement for continuing what, to me, still feels like a fledgling effort. 

So, dear readers, I now close the book on 2017 and look forward to more happy meanderings in 2018--and wish the same to you.

 Excelsior!