Monday 13 February 2017

A bit of a breather and a mystery solved and deepened.

After all the frenetic activity over Christmas to get (most)  of my January 2016 list of "to dos" finished, I needed a bit of a break, so off we flew to the imaginatively-named South Island for a glorious week in the sun. Below is the view from the balcony where we were staying looking over the Akaroa bay. It has to be one of the most lovely spots I've ever seen.

Lovely Akaroa
Any feelings of self satisfaction over the dent in the lead pile I'd managed to make over the year were swiftly dispelled on my return, however. Over the course of a few days the lead pile has increased by 4+  battalions, a battery of artillery and two cavalry regiments! My ever lasting thanks to David, Mark and Tony S for these. It looks like the Hinton Spieler will be trundling on for a while yet.

Tony S also sent me the picture below, with some further intelligence about the mysterious FN2a Hinton Hunt charging French line grenadier variant (he of the hanging musket sling). The man on the left, Tony tells me, is a David Clayton figure which he obtained from the man himself. The chap in the right, however, is rather more Hinton Huntish, being of a softer metal and the chunkier base plugs typical of Marcus Hinton originals. The other main difference, clearly visible in the picture, is their leg positions. The mystery deepens!

Left to Right: David Clayton FN2a and an FN2a from somewhere else!
Rob's magnificent gun team has been staring at me resentfully for long enough now, so I guess I'd better paint it. A final review of the completed Phase One will follow, with a bit of discussion about what Phase Two ought to look like. My erstwhile opponent, JC, is already demanding a rematch with substantially augmented forces!

Yours, cracking on,

WM