As we’re nearing the end of the Quarantine Challenge (but
not necessarily nearing the end of lockdown as, as far as I can see, little
has changed for people like my family) I decided it was time to review my plan,
as it was certainly “ganging agle-y”. I'd originally planned for 23 projects, each of which I
wanted to touch twice (once to complete something already begun, once to do
something new). By last week, I’d touched 14 of the 23 projects, addressing
only 22 of the hoped-for 46 “slots” – not even half!
So, with time trickling out through the plughole
of existence, I decided I’d aim to use the last couple of weeks to gesture in
the direction of as many of the remaining projects as possible. This is a bit
of a cheat, really, as I’d intended much more than this, but other things have
eroded my time, so this is simply a way of making me feel a bit better about
myself, as well as getting a few more projects chugging infinitely slowly
forwards.
Here, then, is my penultimate post of smallish offerings,
from several projects.
First off, the American War of Independence. This has
long been a conflict I’ve been interested in (since the days of O level
history, in fact), but a project I’ve constantly failed to get back to. So,
with a concerted effort, here’s a contribution for both sides.
For the Americans, a “butterfly”:
And for the Brits, the 45th,
Nottinghamshire, regiment:
Next, a Congreve Rocket for my Waterloo setup. I try to add something
each year to the Waterloo collection around the time of the anniversary. This
is a Warlord model. I find their offerings quite varied in quality, perhaps
because they tend to buy up other smaller firms, but this model I really like,
as it gives an unusual dynamism to the Napoleonic battlefield.
I’ll finish with a couple of Lord of the Rings characters.
Hama, who is definitely one of the good guys, swallowed, according to Peter
Jackson, by a warg en route to Helm’s Deep:
And Denethor, Steward of Gondor. Now, is he Good or Evil?
He’s wearing black, so that seems definitive. Except pretty much everyone in
Gondor wears black, so that’s not much help. As the faithful steward who turns
out to be faithless, and the loving father who sets his son on fire, perhaps neither
Good nor Bad, just slightly conflicted.
(Apologies for the overexposed photos, BTW.)
That’s 26 foot (130 pts) and 2 war machines (20 pts) = 150
pts. Cumulative total for the challenge: 1494
And the state of play of my projects, with less than a week to go, 26 of my hoped for 46. Can I complete another 20 projects in 5 days?
Project
|
New Task
|
‘Points’
|
Old Task
|
‘Points’
|
Agincourt
|
|
|
|
|
AWI
|
Farmstead
|
3
|
US Butterfly
British 16
foot
|
30
80
|
Black
Seas (1/700th)
|
2 merchants
|
20
|
|
|
British
in Egypt: 1801
|
|
|
Generals
de Rolls’
regiment
|
30
60
|
Cape Wars
|
12 infantry
|
60
|
|
|
Carthaginians
|
|
|
|
|
Crusades
|
Command group
|
20
|
|
|
ECW
|
|
|
|
|
French in
Egypt: 1801
|
Guns
|
50
|
Command
Gun crew
|
75
|
Frostgrave/fantasy
|
3 Treemen
|
24
|
Frankie
|
5
|
Italian
Wars
|
|
|
|
|
Lord of the
Rings
|
Swan Knights
Denethor
Hama
|
60
5
5
|
Harad
cavalry
Harad infantry
|
60
45
|
Minden
(15mm)
|
|
|
|
|
Ottoman
|
|
|
|
|
Peninsular
War
|
|
|
12 Spanish
|
60
|
Republican
Romans
|
|
|
|
|
Sikh/Afghan
Wars
|
Command
stand
8 Irregulars
|
15
40
|
11
irregulars
|
55
|
1860s
British IF
|
Command base
|
15
|
Union
rebasing
|
0
|
1880s,
the Sudan
|
Buildings
|
15
|
18 British
|
90
|
Walmington/Sealion
|
6 landing
craft
|
30
|
3 Civvies
6 zombies
Bandstand
|
15
30
2
|
Waterloo
|
|
|
Congreve
rocket
|
20
|
WW2
Desert
|
3 trucks
39 Afrika
Korps
|
30
195
|
15 Italians
|
65
|
Zulu War
|
NNI
Frontier
Horse
Natal
Carbineers
|
30
60
50
|
Pearson
& Chelmsford
4 foot
|
25
20
|
TOTAL
|
|
727
|
|
767
|