Friday, 22 June 2012

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!




23 comments:

  1. Interesting stuff and great painting, when the cleaning is on the way a tactical retreat
    is always a wise decision!

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  2. he he. And remember, don't forget to visit comparetheminis.com to help Serguei keep his job. Sorry, couldn't resist. My daughter just love those meerkats ;)

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  3. It's a very smart man who knows when it is the right time to retreat. Cool Kat!!

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  4. What happened to the honest garden gnome, I say?!

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  5. Really love Empress figures and you have done a cracking fine job! Oh...retreat!:-)

    Christopher

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  6. Its always good when something treasured appears from the past. Some old toys where found of mine when my parents put a new patio down :@D. Could always use that Meerkat as some sort of VSF monster.

    Nice paintjobs as always.

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  7. Great job on those Hicks' sculpts! I love the one of the chap rubbing his neck (I have him in the 'lead stores' as well). You know he's saying something like, 'Bloody 'ell, why do we always have to fight where the weather is so fookin' lousy...'.

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  8. Very nice..the officer is a cracking looking sculpt.
    Cheers
    paul

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  9. Looks awsome! What is the story with the "hosepipe ban" ?

    Tail End Charlie

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    Replies
    1. Sadly not enough water to go round, particularly in the South East of the country where the demand is high. We had a very dry winter, by our standards, so the water table and reservoir levels were dangerously low. We have now had the wettest June in years so the ban has been lifted in nearly all counties.

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  10. Nice painting and smart moves.

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  11. Nice work, love the Meerkat!!

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  12. I've got one of these meerkats too! Couldn't resist it!

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  13. Beautiful painting and good memories!

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  14. Nice paint work as usual, even on relatively prozaic figures. I agree with Curt about the chap rubbing his neck though. ha ha

    Ah, some people don't appreciate the value of certain treasures, eh?

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  15. Great stuff all around! :)

    Jason

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  16. Superb painting once again Michael and a nice touch with the tan colour gaiters on the officer.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Pat, just felt it might stand out a bit more, perhaps they were privately purchased.

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  17. Great paintjobs and figures there Michael. Mr Hicks knows how to do those figures. I'll have to dig out my 15mm Mikes Miniatures Zulu War from about 30 years ago, yours look much better.

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  18. Excellent work, love the meerkat!

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  19. Both are beautifull, the meerkat and the figures!

    Greetings
    Peter
    http://peterscave.blogspot.be/

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