I've just checked my painting log and the last entry was on December 11th last year and it's now the end of January which means I have gone over a month without picking up a brush.
But as I've said before, if I'm not painting I'm normally doing something of a wargamey nature and this time is no exception. In the post before last I mentioned finding my Books folder on a stick and that's what I have been doing, finishing off the draft copy of my book; completed it this morning with a grand total of 55,340 words. Now I have the unenviable task of proof reading and fact checking for the second draft.
Watch this space for more updates as they happen.
As a generalisation, wargamers can get inspired for a new period by all manner of things, reading a book, watching a film...you know what I mean and I think you have a rough idea where this is going. Yes, sure enough, my trip to Poland has rekindled my interest in the Husaria of Renaissance Poland. I already have a fair wedge of information on the period and even -back in my Hamlet Models booklets period- wrote a booklet on them. So, long story short, I've ordered a Battlepack from Pendraken as a starter...just to see how it goes you understand.
I've actually given this idea a bit of thought and concluded that any foreign troops i.e. reiters and the like will double-up as 30YW or ECW with a standard change, likewise with any MPM (Musket/Pike/Musket) units. In fact a lot of the opposition troops could also come under the MPM umbrella using the same standard swop. At a battle not far from Gdansk there were even 3,100 Landsnecht which gives me a starting point for other Reanaissance armies, if the mood should take me.
Husaria and Cossacks on the same table, what's not to like?
Aaaannnndddd, I have ordered a few more bits and pieces for my 6mm FPW forces to even them up a little.
THE WORDS OF SUBEDAI An ongoing monologue about the trials and tribulations of life in general, being an avid reader, figure painter, terrain modeller, part time wargamer -with a rather scary fixation for the Mongols- part time rule writer, aspiring writer and photographer, very amateur artist and being a follower of both West Ham United and Sittingbourne FC...ALL AT THE SAME TIME!!!
Sunday, 31 January 2016
Tuesday, 19 January 2016
Krakow trip.
Well, that seemed to come around really quickly, one minute it was Christmas, then my birthday -a landmark 60th if you must know the numbers- and then suddenly it was off to Kraków in Poland for the weekend with my daughter. She had wanted to do something special for the occasion and this was it.
Now there are two things about Kraków (pronounced Krakuf), one I knew and one I didn't; I knew it was going to be perishing cold in January -it reached -6 C with snow- so that was no real surprise but I didn't know how nice both the city and the people are. Some of them who were trying to sell you tickets for a horse and carriage ride would quite happily direct you anywhere you wanted to go...and smile while they were doing it! My daughter had worked there in the summer so she made a pretty good guide -for pubs, zapiekanki (street food) sites and vodka bars...but she didn't know much about the museums. Luckily, Google came to the rescue and I found a few on there including Wawel (pronounced Vavel) Castle. I had previously made a list of interesting places -to me anyway- that I wanted to visit so we worked out a plan of action. We flew out of Gatwick at 0815 on Friday and arrived at 1215 (Kraków is an hour ahead). Friday afternoon -a walk around the old town on the way to Wawel Castle while checking out some of the local restaurants for an evening meal. Some of the buildings date back to the 18th Century and some churches are from the early medieval times. One, St Andrews, along with Wawel Castle, were the only stone edifices left standing after the ten day siege by the Mongols in early March 1241!
(I have other pics but for some reason it wants to display them as landscape rather than portrait).
About Wawel Castle. Hulking great place, quite a good museum with lots of armour and bits from the husaria period (Renaissance Winged Hussars to the non Polish speakers). Looks the mutts thinks I, got to give that one a look over. Walks in goes up to the ticket counter and sees a sign saying that the Castle Armoury section is closed until Jan 25th. If we had turned up the bl**dy day before it would have been open but... Not happy but nothing you can do; so I bought a guide instead. It was almost like a Bullseye moment when Jim Bowen used to say "Lets see what you would have won". Gutted, especially after looking through the guide. So this is as close as I got to husaria material in Poland -a model display in the shop!
Now there are two things about Kraków (pronounced Krakuf), one I knew and one I didn't; I knew it was going to be perishing cold in January -it reached -6 C with snow- so that was no real surprise but I didn't know how nice both the city and the people are. Some of them who were trying to sell you tickets for a horse and carriage ride would quite happily direct you anywhere you wanted to go...and smile while they were doing it! My daughter had worked there in the summer so she made a pretty good guide -for pubs, zapiekanki (street food) sites and vodka bars...but she didn't know much about the museums. Luckily, Google came to the rescue and I found a few on there including Wawel (pronounced Vavel) Castle. I had previously made a list of interesting places -to me anyway- that I wanted to visit so we worked out a plan of action. We flew out of Gatwick at 0815 on Friday and arrived at 1215 (Kraków is an hour ahead). Friday afternoon -a walk around the old town on the way to Wawel Castle while checking out some of the local restaurants for an evening meal. Some of the buildings date back to the 18th Century and some churches are from the early medieval times. One, St Andrews, along with Wawel Castle, were the only stone edifices left standing after the ten day siege by the Mongols in early March 1241!
About Wawel Castle. Hulking great place, quite a good museum with lots of armour and bits from the husaria period (Renaissance Winged Hussars to the non Polish speakers). Looks the mutts thinks I, got to give that one a look over. Walks in goes up to the ticket counter and sees a sign saying that the Castle Armoury section is closed until Jan 25th. If we had turned up the bl**dy day before it would have been open but... Not happy but nothing you can do; so I bought a guide instead. It was almost like a Bullseye moment when Jim Bowen used to say "Lets see what you would have won". Gutted, especially after looking through the guide. So this is as close as I got to husaria material in Poland -a model display in the shop!
But you have to be the bigger person and move on so we went to the Aircraft Museum (Muzeum Lotnictwa Polskiego) and boy did that come good!
Here is a link to all the planes they have there:
These are just a few of the pics I took.
No idea what this is but took it for the colour scheme.
Spitfire Mk 26
Me 109 G
Junkers JU52 (Tante Ju)
Mig 29 (Fulcrum)
At one of the art museums (the Krzysztofory) -a converted palace, I found this which I was quite chuffed about.
Jósef Brandt (1841-1915) and entitled Fight for a Turkish
standard, (Walka o
sztander tureckie). Quite the action pic. There was also a famous painting by Piotr Michałowski depicting the uphill charge of a squadron of Polish Lancers at the Somosierra Pass during the Napoleonic Wars in Spain but that only loads sideways as well.
I found these in the courtyard of the Palace of Bishop Erasmus Ciolek (Palac Biskupa Erazma Ciolka). This place was full of religious paintings and statuary but in the central courtyard were these. Bit random.
The size of the mortar bore is anybody's guess but the size of the stone cannon balls are intriguing.
I took over 300 pictures of various buildings, churches, aircraft and all other sorts of whatnot, picked up a number of museum guidebooks with useful bits and pieces in but the prize was a book called 'Digital Reconstructions of the Historic Built up areas of Kraków'. 170 pages of larger than A4 size with fold out full colour pictures of the evolution of the city. Early timber frames, stone, the lot. Cost me 60 złoty (about £10) and was an absolute steal if you are interested in making your own, reasonably accurate terrain like wot I is.
Monday morning came around too quick. We had to leave the hotel at 1000 because our flight was at 1215. The temperature had dropped significantly overnight which is where the -6 comes into it but as well as that, while at the airport the snow started to come down in large flakes and we had to have the wings de-iced before we could take off!
Luckily we made it safely back to good old Blighty. It was a fantastic experience and I would definitely go again if the opportunity presented itself...especially to the displays at Wawel Castle!
I took over 300 pictures of various buildings, churches, aircraft and all other sorts of whatnot, picked up a number of museum guidebooks with useful bits and pieces in but the prize was a book called 'Digital Reconstructions of the Historic Built up areas of Kraków'. 170 pages of larger than A4 size with fold out full colour pictures of the evolution of the city. Early timber frames, stone, the lot. Cost me 60 złoty (about £10) and was an absolute steal if you are interested in making your own, reasonably accurate terrain like wot I is.
Monday morning came around too quick. We had to leave the hotel at 1000 because our flight was at 1215. The temperature had dropped significantly overnight which is where the -6 comes into it but as well as that, while at the airport the snow started to come down in large flakes and we had to have the wings de-iced before we could take off!
Luckily we made it safely back to good old Blighty. It was a fantastic experience and I would definitely go again if the opportunity presented itself...especially to the displays at Wawel Castle!
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