AN INTERLUDE: BLIZZARD OF '17

Given the proximity to the major US convention "Cold Wars" coming up later this week, there has been much discussion of the weather--and the winter storm that just hit. I've noticed a few posts that other bloggers have put up about the storm (and other similar events over the years), and always find these snippets of "real world" insights into the community of interest, so I thought I'd do a quickie here. In these parts, the seacoast region of New Hampshire (in Northern New England), this storm was officially a "blizzard." It's the morning after, and we're dug out, basically. The snow pack had been receding (note the two step effect on the edge of the drive), with still some snow cover in the middle of the lawn before this storm arrived. In short, this is what the place looks like around here 1 week before Spring.

The worst part of any storm around here is dealing with what the plow banks up at the end of the drive, which definitely takes a machine to clear.  The mailbox has been cleared (again), and the upside is that street is clear. As opposed to the mid Atlantic (I used to live in Maryland), here in New Hampshire and most of Norther New England the place is up and running again shortly after even major storms like this.  There are some delayed openings this morning, but I'm typing this as I get ready to head on in to work. There should be no problem with anyone from the Northeast making it to Cold Wars later this week.

Some people give up on their front doors for the winter. We always make it a point to clear ours.

The power went out, and we were on generator power for about 45 minutes. Clearing the venting and exhaust for our standy-by automatic generatore is part of the drill whenever we move snow, and this this time it proved necessary. This piece of kit has more than paid for itself:there have been periods of up to 5 days when we were on generator power. Having an automatic generator provides great peace of mind if you are away from the house for an extended period in winter and the power goes out: it ensures that your mechanicals keep working and that your basement won't flood or your pipes won't freeze while you're away.

Speaking of equipment, the snowblower clears 17": when I took this beast out into the snow yesterday evening, the snow was at the limit, and we received a few more inches after that overnight. So I figure we got around 18"-19" of snow, all told.

Out back, we dig a trench so the dog can get into the trees at the back of the property where the snow levels are lower. This area was down to the grass before the storm, so this is all new snow. 

The back of the house. Normally, we clear off the entire deck. But given that we aren't expecting much more snow this season (fingers crossed), we only cleared out the area near the doors this time. Interesting to note that the snow is up to the level of the deck out back.

So, in the end, this winds up being a sort of non-story. We had a day where we rode out the storm, and now things are pretty much back to normal. The wife headed out the door this morning to do some snowboarding (and I am going to trudge in to work).

I spent my time yesterday while the storm was going doing a post about my Chocolate Box Wars project: that's when the power went (wouldn't you know it). In the lag between the power going out and the generator kicking-in, things got interrupted. I'll be finishing that post shortly. So, this concludes the "real life" interruption. Back to normal programming in the next post!

HUNGARIAN HUSSARS COMPLETE!

Left to Right: 3rd (Ferdinand), 18th (Attila), and 4th (Alexander) Hussars

The 4th and 18th Hussars have now joined the 3rd, completing my cavalry contingent (all hussars) for the Hungarians of the Hungarian Revolt (1848-49).  For those unfamiliar with this project, it has been outlined in the previous two posts.  The last push was for the "simple" uniforms of the 4th and 18th, which are in field dress (I know that there were those of you out there who were thinking but not saying--Oh brother, did he say simple?--when I said this about these uniforms. Thank you for not spitting out your beer).  Of course, we can make anything elaborate if we try hard enough, and so I did, I guess.   These figures are all from the FPAU 22 Battle Honors   Austrian Cavalry, 1866-70 line.  As usual, you may clix pix for BIG PIX. First up, the 4th Hussars...

 4th (Alexander) Hussars

This was a regular unit in the Austrian Army that went over to the Hungarian side. One neat touch for uniforms of the Austrian and Hungarian hussars of this time period is that the shako covers were in the color of the shako, so you still get the excellent colored headgear effect in field uniform, whichi is one of the attractions of these figures. I also like the change of pace to the distinctive "attila" jacket of mid century hussars ...

 Next up...

18th (Attila) Hussars

The 18th Hussars were a Honved unit, ie raised in Hungary as opposed to being a unit from the prior Austrian Army. As such, they sport the red braid as opposed to the black and yellow, as well as the Hungarian crest on the saddle cloths. This particular unit was shown without a sabretache.  Removing it from the figures would have messed them up, so I painted the sabretache based on the Hungarian 16th Hussars, which had a sabretache with white trim on the sides and bottom,  leaving the top red (rather a unique look). 

Seems to me that these Hussars are not very far off in appearance from the Chasseurs d Afrique of the same time period.  

Excelsior!

WIP UPDATE: 3RD (FERDINAND) HUSSARS 1848-49

I worked through and completed the 3rd (Ferdinand) Hussars. Finishing this unit delivers some momentum for the overall project. For those who may have just arrived, please see the immediately preceding "Work In Progress" post for details on this endeavor. This was a unit of the regular Austrian Army that came over to the Hungarian side in the Hungarian Uprising (1848-49). Hence the black and yellow cording, etc (although with the Hungarian cockade/pompom).
 
These are Battle Honors 25mm Austrian Hussars in Full Dress (FPAU 20) 1859-70 (an overlooked line, one of the few that has a range of Austrians for the era--being older, the figures run a bit small: comparable to Foundry Franco-Prussian in size). As I've mentioned before, I look for examples of painted figs before I embark on projects, and I couldn't scare up a single image of these figs. So I hope my study here helps out someone who may be working on these. As usual, you may clix pix for BIG PIX.

Next I'll be chipping away (a bit every day) on the Alexander and Attila Hussars together.