And now for something completely different...

A slightly odd post this as it was intended to show off a couple of the 'Empress Miniatures' Anglo-Zulu War range that were found kicking around the periphery of the lead pile.  Wonderfully characterful poses that have become synonymous with Mr. Hicks' sculpting and, as always, a joy to paint. 

Then we get to the Meerkat!  As with many households in the United Kingdom, 'Awdry Towers' underwent a Spring clean the other month, part of which involved trying to sort out our postage stamp of a garden; who would have thought something so small would need so much work!  Buoyed with enthusiasm myself and the saintly Mrs Awdry found ourselves at a garden centre investigating water butts, at the time the hosepipe ban had just been announced and this seemed like a suitable solution to withering plant life - can I just add that since the water butt has been installed it hasn't failed to rain!  As we were heading to the pay out counter my attention was momentarily caught by a flash of scarlet.  upon further investigation it turned out to be nothing less than the ubiquitous meerkat resplendent in his tunic and white helmet!  Given Mrs Awdry's predilection for all things cute and fluffy he was instantly snapped up and safely repatriated to the homestead where he has ingratiated himself into the collection but sadly refusing to admit that there might be issues with scale!  As the deep cleansing continued apace I found myself disappearing upstairs to shuffle a few papers around - two is a crowd when it comes to hoovering I have discovered!  During the process I happened upon an old leather briefcase that belonged to my grandfather and was now used to house all sorts of long forgotten treasures or pseudo-important documents.  Having established that that the hoovering had ceased downstairs I was closing the case when a small piece of plastic was dislodged from the folded leather hinge.  Lo and behold!  One of my first Zulu Wars British Infantrymen, painted in the naive style and dating back over thirty years!  Ah such halcyon days, with bucket loads of plastic spread out across the bedroom floor!  Suffice to say the saintly Mrs. Awdry was not as nearly as excited with my discovery as I thought she might and armed, as she was, with duster and polish; a tactical retreat seemed in order!