Almost done!

Oh how I hate to paint wheels! But here's only two and now they're painted. My Bavarian is also finished, but he's going to get a base and that will have to wait until next year.

Oops! He's not alone!

Added some infantry and another trooper. Italeri, Airfix, ESCI, IMEX.

Pretty good with that gun!

Finished some more on my ACW twopart-diorama. Half is finished and the rest only got that canon to be painted.

Looks like I'm going to finish something at last

Managed to paint to many ACW-figs so I'm going to use two bases. I casted these in plaster for Gata Forest, but I don't want to use them there anymore. Think I'm going to make scenes from Gata. Well, back to ACW. I've painted the figs, put some grass, a tree and a couple of casualties on the bases. When these figures became casualties ESCI were still in business so the've been dead a while now and don't smell that bad. The only thing to paint now is a cannon for the feds.

Blomma on adventure

I have plans for the Dead Flowers guy! He's not going to Gata Forest. He's going to a feast at the court of the king of the mountain! He and his freinds plan to raid the trolls' cave but they are tricky and pretend to be friends to the trolls and feast with them. To-do-list: Paint the trolls in another colour! Give them tails!!! Dig up some troll guards! Try to find that missing plate! Paint the humans! Paint the chairs and tables in different colour? Make a base. Make dancers of a troll and a hobgoblin and three of the humans (among them Blomma). Why not in a competition? Don't want a deadline with this one. Manufacturers? Troll-king and furniture: Prince August Mithril-range, Dancing troll and hobgoblin: Prince August fantasy-range, humans at the table: Emhar Viking Oarsmen, Blomma and human dancers: Airfix Robin Hood, Troll-musicians: Games Workshop. Can't help it, but Blomma sounds very very gay in Swedish. :-D

Oh yes! I'm going to win this!

Pics for the Xmas competition are taken and sent to Benno. No answer yet (he's probably stunned by my amazing marvelous entry). No painting this weekend and no big buys either. Bought a new car and then our dishwasher died. When you have big costs there is usually more to come, sigh. Well, got what I need (not for Gata Forest (would love to get my hands on some of the Valdemar figs (but they'll have to wait)) so that's not a big problem. The Valentine Competition will be a close call. If everything works out as planned there going to be some fun for/from me at Benno's, but that will take some time. A small Xmas-pic while we're waiting for the competition pics (wrong scale, don't know the maker, but the right theme :-D).

Xmas! Competition

Yes! Now I've finished painting the entry to Benno's Xmas competition! Now it's only taking pics left.

Being stupid!

More stupid than usual. The missus sasid I was crazy and had a good laugh when I told her what I've done. What did I do? I contacted the Russian sculptor Alex (at Bennosfigures (hmmm, are there readers here that haven't heard of Benno's? Don't think so.) and asked if he wanted pictures to use. The answer was that he already had an idea (it sounded very good) (I've posted some various pics of myself at Benno's) and didn't need any pics. So I gave him free hands to do what he wanted to do. :-D We will see if there is some result from this.

Wash & Go

Never thought I would get anything painted this weekend. Friday evening the missus was unwell (when you can't walk there are other bodyfunctions that doesn't work properly either). Saturday was a little bit better, but she was tired. Sunday I suggested that we buy some Asian food (you get so much it last for days), and I got some painting done. Now it's just washes on the ACWs and building a base for them. (And I'm still working on my blond Bavarian). Looks like I'm being able to join the Xmas-competition and started working on the Valentine-competition too (just out of pic).

Back to Gata

Some genuine coats-of-arms I've found at the Danish site "Roskildehistorie". At least as genuine as far as I care. And some personalities too. No painted figs yet but I've got something to work on. The week have been okay between the missus and me, but I'm always afraid of the weekends. We always have too much to do and she always have trouble with me staying home too long (but she won't let me go away either). Hopefully something more painted after the weekend.

Some very small progress

... but not on Gata Forest. Working on a little ACW-something too and think I'm going to finish this. But warring with the missus takes very much energy and I've got no time to breath at home. The first thing to give up is the psyche, then it's the body. Feelings? They're still there. At least I have them. She, I don't know. Sigh. Hope it will get better, but I doubt it.

Dead Flowers

... is a song by Rolling Stones (pretty good 'un too!), but also my latest competition entry at Benno's Figures. Didn't go very far, but at least 5 votes. Don't know if this one going to Gata Forest or in what state if he's going. Not very fond of this pose, but there is probably use for him somewhere, maybe as a casualty (and then I could call him Blomma and the title would be fine. :-D)

Alternative Dead Flowers

Didn't use this figure in the last competition, used one of Robin Hood's Merry Men instead. The flower in the background don't suffer anymore. I've kept it to remind me that I shall NEVER EVER have flowers at my office. At home they are healthy and allright most of the time and they have never reached this mummified state. Fig is going to be used in Gata Forest, don't know which side yet.

Alternative Little Drummer Boy

This leetle fella got at least 16 votes in a competition at Benno's Figures. I think that was my best result ever. Wasn't happy with the background here so I took others. Some with the vinyl-collection in the background (which I didn't use) and some with a book cover with the Gettysburg-monument on (which I used). Painted about 15 years ago and stored in a box since then.

Time to hibernate!

Unfortunately it is not possible for me hibernate, but I would like to. Last winter was very close to break me and the missus, it started in December. Now it is NOVEMBER and looks like this! Can only hope that it will disappear before April. Blah! :-(

One more from Prince August

This is one of Prince August's more common figs. A GNW-Swede. And this is ANCIENT! Moulded when I was about 10 or 11 years old, but painted just about 2 years ago. A flat guy and some people have ARMIES of these. Don't have many of these moulds, just this one and a marching grenadier. For a while you could even buy moulds for castles (gypsum/plaster) for these guys. Don't know how many medieval castles they faced though.

Prince August's Napoleonics

Many many many years ago (middle 1980s) I bought some of Prince August's Napoleonic moulds. Prussian infantry and French artillery. A little stiff poses, but you can make how many you want. These are the ones I painted (have maybe ten unpainted too).

Something else

A while ago (pretty long ago) I was cleaning the cellar and found some old stuff painted long long ago. Airfix Cavalry and some swoppits in the background. And some other Airfix too.

Working working working

But not on this battle. Found some genuin Coats-of-arms at a Danish site and going to paint some of the figs like that. But I also work on some other stuff. Sigh, why don't I just stick one thing and finish it? Now I have A LOT of stuff to finish instead. But it is fun and relaxing to paint (just hope the missus finally can understand that).

Finding historic persons that fought in the battle

The three kings (and I haven't told anything about the background, it's all hidden in an old thread at Bennosfigures, maybe I'll do that someday) were easy to find and some of the leading knights on the Swedish/German side. But all the noble casualties I've found different stories about. Some sources say they died in the battle, other say they died years before the battle. All that seems clear is that King Håkon of Norway got wounded, King Magnus of Sweden got captured and King Albrecht (also of Sweden) won the battle. Maybe the noble casualties families didn't like that their relatives died on the losing side so they made up the death date. Sweden lost all the archives during a fire late 1690s so it could have been that way. One historic figure I found was the German knight (described as a bad person) Luder Svinakula (=Whore Pigstie). To good to be true, but it seems he was a historic person and came to Sweden 1400.

The charge of Sir Benkt

Some people have already seen these figs unpainted more or less. Now they are more or less painted. This is planned to be a part of the battle at Gata Forest, but since I made up the coat-of-arms myself I haven't decided which side Sir Benkt should be on.There where many Swedish knights on the German side and if he is one of them I have to put some peasants in the ranks.

A new start

Promised myself that I should never start a blog, but seeing the work of the friends at Benno's I followed suit and started one about my huge project The Battle of Gata Forest 1365. Better to put the updates here than filling up Benno's forum. The interested will see the (very slow) progress here and the results here AND at Benno's. Pics will follow, when I know how to post them. Just a start and don't know when I update.