Monday 27 January 2020

Stand by Your Man

No, not a post regarding the vocal talents of Tennessee’s favourite daughter, but more a gentle nod to the bravery and loyalty of a small group of ladies that were imprisoned in the Castle during the siege; the Wives and Girlfriends!   It seems incredulous to believe that some, as in the case of Augusta Bruchlen, had done all in their power to follow their men to the Schloss, wanting to be by their side as support in what must have been an uncertain time.  Others, like Charles de Gaulle’s Sister, Marie-Agnès Cailliau (seen below), found themselves incarcerated simply because of their family ties.
As with the gentlemen, I have not looked to represent individual characters or personalities, but felt that it was important that they were acknowledged as being there, in some way.  Although there are seemingly no accounts of them taking an active part in the battle, Capt. Jack Lee suggesting that they should be taken down to the cellar storerooms when the shooting started, they were clearly there and I have no doubt faced just the same level of anxiety and strain over the situation as the menfolk.  
When trying to find suitable miniatures to fit the bill, I recalled a New Year’s post from one of the many splendid weblogs that I follow* that, along with the usual promises to play more games and reduce the lead pile, had pledged to try and use more independent retailers in their pursuit of all things shiny.  There was something about the sincerity of this that struck a chord and so decided to cast my net a little further and duly stumbled across the Women’s Home Defence pack over at ‘Bad Squiddo Games’.  
*Sadly, I can’t remember which one!
I have bought items from Annie before, more often than not the exquisite terrain pieces that really are superb, and once again I am glad to report that the service was second to none.  There is also a playfulness that pervades Bad Squiddo, which helps lift the spirits, after all who doesn’t want to be visited by the Guinea Pig of good luck?  So Bad Squiddo games are now listed in the ‘Links of Interest’ sidebar; quality products and superb service.
Returning to the job in hand, I selected a couple of likely candidates that were suitably armed to represent the beleaguered wives of the Schloss.  I am afraid I couldn’t resit a bit of fun in the conversion of the young lady with a pitchfork and managed to swap that for the mother of all carpet beaters!  The colour palette was deliberately muted with the exception of the purple suited lady, who’s outfit is a homage to a former colleague, a French lady of impeccable style, who would always be seen sporting her favourite colour. 
Another three to the tally of castle defenders and I envisage that these will be swapped into the units on the day, allowing the wives to rewrite history and fight alongside their men after all.

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58 comments:

  1. Great characters! I especially like the lady with the teacup and plaid skirt. Very much reminds me of one of my Aunts :-)

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    1. Now funny you should mention the resemblance to your Aunt as I had in mind my Great Aunt when painting her. Whilst a fearsome lady, I don't recall her ever serving afternoon tea with a service revolver?

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    2. I guess many of us had an aunt like that. I don’t know that mine has a service revolver to hand either, but the thing was everyone acted as if she did ;-)

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  2. Fantastic additions Michael, and fantastic paint work on them all. Should certainly add an extra element to your game

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    1. Thank you Dave, I pity the dastardly SS Commander who fires on this lot!

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  3. Lovely work Michael :)

    Bad Squiddo is a great company to deal with and has some excellent figures.

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    1. Thank you Tamsin and I couldn't agree more. Looking forward to adding some more to the collection.

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  4. Excellent work Michael. I have visions of a young master lad running in fear after being caught mid prank by the lady with the carpet beater.

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    1. Thank you Peter, would certainly bring a tear to the eyes if caught with that monstrosity!

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  5. Cracking models Michael & a nice conversion on the pitchfork one.

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    1. Thank you Frank, somehow the pitchfork just didn't seem to fit with the Castle setting.

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  6. Smashing. Especially the carpet beater ;)

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  7. Ah, I remember a time when saying "Tammy Wynette" wasn´t taken as a euphemism.

    A carpet beater in 28mm! Who´d have thought.

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    1. Now being a naive sort of chap I wasn't aware that saying "Tammy Wynette" was taken as a euphemism? :)

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    2. You know, the "I´ve got a tammy wynette"..not me personally but some People said that. Actually, thinking About it, they were probably referring to having one of her Albums...me and my dirty mind.

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  8. Lovely work! They make a great looking group!

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    1. Thank you Simon, pleased with how they all sit together too.

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  9. Excellent idea Michael, and great painting too
    After all, "Behind every great man is a strong woman"

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  10. Nicely done Michael. You had me baffled with just what the replacement of the pitchfork was. At first I thought it was the key to the Schloss!

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    1. Thank you Terry, love the idea of you Googling 'carpet beater'. :)

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  11. That looks like a Carpet Beater +1, +3 vs. Nazis. :) Nice work on those. I haven't yet had the pleasure of buying from Bad Squiddo, but I will one of these days. They have some mighty tempting figures in that Home Defence range.

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  12. Wow, how did you make the carpet beater? Was it a part swap from another miniature or did you sculpt the head?

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    1. Thank you. The carpet beater came from S & D Models and is somewhat out of scale, but still adds a bit of comedy value.

      https://www.sanddmodels.co.uk/index.htm

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  13. Very, very interesting characters; wonderfully converted and painted too, of course!

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  14. Excellent painting and conversion! And a great selection of minis. Bad Squiddo does indeed have lots of great stuff, and a wonderful approach to the hobby and their business.

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    1. Thank you my good man. Always great to deal with such a wonderful company.

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  15. Lovely painting, Michael. The ladies look superb. I have just finished reading the book about Schloss Itter so now I am up to speed with this fascinating story.

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    1. Thank you Martin. I hope you enjoyed the book, it really is a remarkable story.

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  16. Lovely Michael, especially the carpet beater a very novel idea, up to your normal excellent standard.

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    1. Thank you so much, hoping to have some more terrain progress to share before too long.

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  17. Wonderful and unexpected additions to the defender's forces, I can only imagine the German's surprise at being encountered by the ladies. Well done on the muted colour palette - thereis a war on after all !

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    1. Thank you Joe, I just felt that there bravery needed to be acknowledged in some small way.

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  18. Stunning as always and that group shot at the end is brilliant - I wouldn't want to face them.

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    1. Thank you Mike, certainly not a bunch you would want to upset.

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  19. Splendid looking trio of formidable ladies!
    Best Iain

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    1. Thank you so much Iain, they were a joy to paint.

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  20. Fabulous host of characters, Michael. Hmm, I wonder what is the 'rate of beating' or 'carpet penetration' of a dexterously used carpet beater?

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    1. Thank you Curt, I think I may need to reconsider the stats on the French Prisoners to include weapons grade wicker.

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  21. That carpet beater is going to lay down some hurt for sure!

    Really fun additions Michael. Bad Squiddo really do make some cool sculpts.

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    1. Thank you Dai, certainly not a lady to cross.

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  22. Excellent--I love the woman with the carpet beater!

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  23. A truly unique project, and very well executed sir!

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  25. Some highly underestimated characters and boy did you do a wonderful job on them.
    Love the conversion!

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