New Purchases & Other Miscellany - Pt.1

 

 (A) Purelite LED Desk Magnifying Lamp

This first purchase was a necessity.  My previous, Anglepoise, lamp had served me well for over a decade but the main plastic housing was gradually melting.  The heat shield was inadequate and I felt that a fire was inevitable.  In addition the peg from the main arm was too long for the anchoring base so it scratched my table top.  A replacement was well overdue.

The Purelite has 4 settings providing 10%, 30%, 60% & 100% illumination.  Haven't seriously tried it out yet but it seems robust enough.  Only time will tell.

 (B) Minifigs Z340 - Polish/Russian infantry.  Settings - Full light on light box (see Pt.2) with green background.  Much clearer than last time.

The originals (in various states) were posted on 16.5.22 - halfway down.

This means that I can now field 3.63a and 3.63b Early Polish DBA armies in 15mm.  Later Polish (4.66) requires 4 x 3Kn to complete (have to order some figures).

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On the Paint Tray:

1)  Huns - Cv gen, 2 x Lh, 2 x 4Bw

2)  Celtibereans - kindly given 24 soldiers in a raw state.  After cleaning up I realised that only 7 had swords plus 1 that could become  a Celt.  The other 16 javelin-armed infantry can be returned.

3) Russians (Nap) -  starting on the horsemen.

4) Artillery piece - thought this was for the Hun army but DBA 2.80 says not.  Never mind it is a pretty generic stone thrower so it can be co-opted when and where required.

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This posting is 2 days late - my camera had been playing me up.  Could find the relevant pictures on the camera memory but importation was impossible.  The battery warning light was on so I high-tailed it to the nearest Argos (Pontefract).  Once charged I tried again to import the pics - nope!  Much fiddling around later I succeeded.  The morale of this story is do not let your batteries get low on your digital camera.

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Next time:  more experiments with the Light Box.

Honest Al's Chariot Emporium - Pt.3 (Sea Peoples)

 

 

Al: My friend Ishmael, "What troubles you?"
Ish: "Those fanatics who tried to kill our glorious leader.  They broke open a nest of scorpions.  The palace guards and tax collectors are everywhere."
Al: "In these trying times caution must be our watchword.  I trust that none of your current enterprises could bring suspicion upon honest merchants such as ourselves."
Ish: "As it happens I was recently obliged to pass on a new contract to a rival trader, in another town."
Al: "And should this commerce ever come to light!"

Pictures taken at the same time as the Bedouins - so background is still pink.  Must make notes on settings in future.
 
A number of conversions here including Airfix Robin Hood into Ps bow.  The 4h chariot should be 3h but nobody makes them in 20mm.  Maybe I will try to scratch-build one sometime in the future!

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DBA - Gt.Houghton - Saturday 6th July 2024

1.58  Meroitic Kushite     v 1.53 Saitic Egyptian        4:3 win - a tough army to start with
4.47  Golden Horde          v 2.58 Alan                        5:0 win - my 2 x Bw did sterling service
4.53  Zapotec                    v 4.63 Aztec                      4:1 loss - once the enemy Bd got into                                                                                            Bw & Ax  I was doomed
1.29b Later Philistine        v 1.22b New Kingdom Egyptian      4:3 loss - first outing for a newly                                                                                                                                  completed (20mm) army
4.29  Tupi                           v 4.29 Tupi                       5:0 loss - a bad set-up on my part
1.46b Kushite Egyptian   v 1.6a Early Bedouin          4:3 win - a weak opponent with too many Ax

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On the paint tray

a) 15mm Russian Napoleonics (for DBN)
b) 15mm Huns - Cv(g), 2 x Lh & 1 x Art
c) 15mm Polish/Russian 5 x solid foot
d) 15mm Gauls - mostly fast foot
e) 15mm Scots Isles & Highlands - my order for Bw, etc has been lost in the ether
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Next blog entry - 20mm Kushites

Honest Al's Chariot Emporium - Pt 2 (Bedouins)

 

 

"Honest Al my friend. What can I do for you?"
"Feisal my compatriot and fellow trader I have a small problem to deal with."
"Always happy to help...at the right price of course."
"A regular customer has ordered yet another chariot...that I can easily supply...but he also wants some camels!"
"Most unusual...and how many are we talking about?"
"Around 20.  Including 2 fast ones."
"Not really my speciality but I may know someone."
"Of course there would be a commission!"
"Such is commerce my friend,  such is commerce."

I had been sorting through my 20mm 'Biblicals' and found a box marked 'Bedouins/Hebrews'.. There were precious few of the latter as most had gone to make 7Hd elements.  So was I going to pick them apart, re-paint and re-base?  Not likely!  The army lists are pretty poor so they are safe where they are.

The Bedouins are another matter.  Only 1 x Lch 2h, 2c required (I'm 'in the groove' with these at the moment).  The infantry I can manage although there is little variety in the available figures.  So what's the stumbling block?  In order to complete the Midianite/Amalekite list I need 17 camels.  

Consulting PSR I came up with:

Caesar   H023     - Bedouin  (2)
Italieri ITA 6010 - Saracens (5 in 2 poses)
Italieri ITA 6124 - Mongol cavalry (3)
Italieri ITA 6126 - Arab Warriors (3)
Linear-A 036      - Persians at Cunaxa (2)

Clearly the best options are from Italieri but these are hard to source.  The Linear-A models are full of character but are only 2 per box.

Riders:
Caesar H023  - Bedouin  (4 - bow armed)
Zvezda 8031  - Carthaginian Numidian Cavalry (7 - jav no sh)

So, after much work, here are my 20mm Bedouins - all 23 elements.

If you are wondering about the pink backgrounds - well that's another story.  Stay tuned!

Next blog entry - Sea Peoples.