Best Foot Forward

Well here I am a couple of weeks down the line, on the road to recovery.

It doesn't seem to have been a difficult task. Maybe I've been lucky.

OK, I take an extra pill each day and I have been very careful with what I eat and I haven't been rushing around as much as I usually do. In fact, no rushing at all.

My 10 minute walk to fetch the daily paper had been taking 20 minutes but I am now managing it in less than 12. I have been allowed to help with the weekly shopping although I'm not yet driving. I only carry two bags of groceries at a time rather than 4 or 5.

I have even been painting figures for an hour or two spread over an afternoon/evening.

Maybe I'll pick up some dice soon.

So it's one step at a time but the steps are not particularly difficult.

I still have a stroke nurse coming to see me although I think there will not be much to see and I am booked in for a 24 hour heart monitor for next again weekend.

My Grandson, just over 1 year old, made me happy this afternoon by taking his first steps on his own across the living room. No holding him back now.

Everything is up from here.

Different Strokes for Different Folks

At this time of year I would normally be posting a few words and some pictures about Claymore but instead I have a different topic in mind. (Hope the show went well).

This Wednesday I felt a touch unwell (ever-so highly understated) and I found myself whizzing up the road in an ambulance, blues and two's going loud enough for me to hear without my hearing aids.

Not sure if it was this one as they all look the same on the inside with one eye open and one eye shut.

Step forward a few hours, an injection or two, some tablets, a CAT scan and a LAB report (veterinarian joke available on demand), a trio of doctors, one of whom was a consultant (I got his business card as a keepsake) and a little summary of events.

They told me that I probably had had a TIA (miniature stroke [not bad for a miniature gamer]) and my symptoms had now diminished to almost nothing. Blood pressure had been very high but was more or less normal now.

They did a few more tests with ultra-sound on my throat as they thought I might need my carotid arteries cleaned out (two separate operations, both highly dangerous). I seem to be off the hook on those (phew).

I am booked in for future heart tests but they let me go home for much needed rest. It was certainly bloody hard to get rest in the hospital ward as I had a noisy lunatic in the bed next door who was also quite ill and them damn nurses (love them really) kept waking me up to check if I was still breathing.

Seen a GP since and we mapped out my life for a wee while: some more tablets, diet change, exercise regime, you know, all the boring stuff. They'll let me drive again in a month or so, just in time for Border Reiver in Gateshead assuming my nasty symptoms stay away.

Being an adventurous chap I slowly shuffled out to the wargames hut and I spent at least an hour looking at a pile of lead on my workbench. None of it moved at all until I eventually picked up a hobby knife and promptly cut my finger. It bled and bled and bled. Did I mention the blood thinning drug they have put me on?

I eventually managed to splash some white undercoat on a few figures although some of them have a pinkish hue (think blood red mixed with artic white).

So that's where we are today. I had hoped to cut some plywood hills later on but I have banked that idea for another day.

Watch this space.

Claymore 2017

This weekend, Saturday 5th August 2017, brings us to my old club show Claymore 2017.

I will be there purely as an attendee, no charity table this year, no bring & buy goodies, no nothing.

I will be bringing my camera and hope to find several games worth picturing on this blog.

Stop me and say hello if you will be there.

Here's last years show report.

http://jim-duncan.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/my-day-at-claymore-2016.html

A Norman For Me

In my previous post I highlighted some Norman Knights that I purchased from Conquest Games.

http://jim-duncan.blogspot.co.uk/2017/06/summer-update.html

I painted up half a dozen of them to see how they would turn out.

They don't look too bad.

Am not too impressed by the limited horse poses but they are what they are.

There are not enough kite shields to equip all the riders.

Plastic weapons are usually a bit fragile but these ones seem to have survived a few scares.

Not all the riders are clad in mail but my fun skirmish rules will not be too bothered by that.

What do you think guys?

Answers on a postcard, well you know what I mean.

Summer Update

Well, summer here seems to have been and gone, I would like to be wrong.

Meanwhile, back in the wargames hut ...

... some Romans I am doing for a friend.

Caesarian Romans from Warlord Games.

 

MDF bases by Warbases, scenic material to follow.

 

A recent game with my friends left one of them disappointed at the lack of charging action so I picked up some Norman Knights from Conquest Games.

15 Mounted Norman Knights.

Build details will follow in a later post.

Multi-part horses, I wonder how they will pan out.

And some foot sloggers to help them out.

44 Norman Knights on foot.

I wonder how the plastic swords and spears will hold out.

As usual a post will follow.

And finally a box arrived in the post with some more sprues.

A sprue of AWI artillery costing £2.50. Warlord sell two in a box for £18 so I got two sprues (go figure).

Some AWI Command to lead all those unused AWI other ranks that I have accumulated.

AWI Hessians to bolster another Hessian unit in the pipeline.

I have some work to do clipping all of these out and glueing them together.

It will be a fun job.

 

Hot Today

First day I've been outside without a jersey (sweater) on.

Too hot to paint or play.

Am not complaining, it's been a while since we've seen the sun here.

Crann Tara - British Infantry

I purchased some British line infantry from that nice man at Crann Tara at the weekend. (Thanks Graham)

http://cranntaraminiatures.co.uk/

Here they are unfinished with Warbases sabots heading for the FIW.

They are number 2 or 3 in the painting queue and they are such nice figures I'll try and do a good paint job on them.

As you can see they are nicely cast with almost no flash and the bayonets look quite robust compared to others that I have encountered.

I reckon I'll have to use my brand new paint brushes on them.

Wish me luck.