I painted the field with base emulsion, and used a thinned mix of Tamiya acrylics, sky blue and a dark green on the perspex. Hopefully the colour looks thinner/clearer in the middle of the plastic so it will appear deeper.
I’m making strips of bocage type hedge-walls, using bits of white polysterene glued on to pieces of Venetian blind slats which were left over.
Some 28mm Tommies for scale. I got Bolt Action the other week so these will help…
I finished off most of my Vietnam War figures, all 1/72 Italeri, based on 1p coins, so now of course I need some terrain. I’m going one foot square module boards. There will be a hill as below, and a paddy field.
White packing polysterene hacked to size, and glued down with good old PVA. The boards will all be 12mm for sturdiness. I’ve plastered external Polyfilla over the hills.
Then a quick brush of PVA and a sprinkling of builders’ sharp sand before painting and grass. In the foreground is the paddy field board, which has bamboo canes cut to size and glued with Evo-Stik AP glue. I’ve given it the sand texture and it will be painted.
Then I’ll cut some clear perspex to size, paint the underside a muddy brown/green colour, and lay that inside the square, plaster banks over the canes, and add strips of green flock to represent the rice.
Some Celts I have painted up this past week. The druid in the nip is such a great figure.
I’ve also got a fenbeast off of ebay, and this undersized golem/giant.
This fascinating essay has great information (and images) for painting up Celtic warbands. I had previously thought that tartans and plaids were a modern invention – however the evidence shows that Celts made elaborate fabrics with tartan patterns.
Two small houses made of 2mm mdf, they will have two floors and a removable roof.
Some International Brigaders returned to fight in England.
Armoured steam lorry with a mortar team in the back.
Two converted armoured small buses.
Hedgerows, behind which are the Anti-Trot Expeditionary Force.
6mm desert buildings bought off eBay.
Base coated ploughed field.
Some Wargames Factory Celt Warband figures, to use for WHFB Albion. In the background, 2mm mdf pub in progress.
Expanded polysterene chunks on spare slats from venetian blinds. These will be base for bocage style hedges.
This is the current situation, now that going into the shed would be like doing a Captain Oates.
Of course, this loft space is great, and I am very happy with the opportunities it offers for ‘stuff’ (painting, gaming, music etc).
But look what else I found, in the unconverted loft space.
These are just two of EIGHT plain wooden doors, six by two and a half. Eight of them. Plus the storage space. Desert. Normandy. Russian steppes. 6mm. 28mm. 20mm. Seems the choice is mine. How should I utilise these doors?
One of the things I am going to do this year is make the BUF unit grounded in history. The obvious candidate for leader is local toff farmer Andrew Fountaine, who described the labour movement as ‘semi-alien mongrels and hermaphrodite communists’. He would be 19 years old in 1938 so I need a figure to be his father too I reckon, local aristocrat Charles Fountaine. He’s a naval officer so that should be easy.
Andrew Fountaine fought for Franco in the Spanish Civil War and bizarrely before that drove an ambulance for the Abyssinians during the Italian invasion and occupation.
Here are the pictures of him I have found.
Looks like your usual swivel-eyed far right wannabe demagogue there.
He looks like a barrel of laughs here:
This is him in his sixties, in a picture with John Tyndall in 1977:
Of course, like the vast majority of Fascists leaders, he was completely in touch with the common man of England. He lived modestly, in his family pile, Narford Hall:
His ancestor, Sir Andrew Fountaine, was painted by William Hogarth. One wonders about how many Englishmen and women were condemned to death, starved to malnutrition or forced to emigrate by this ‘gentleman’:
Back to the twentieth century, it seems that along with fascism, Fountaine also dabbled in witchcraft…this family history forum post hints that he was ‘Bertram’ of the Norfolk Coven who would entertain ‘Margo’ aka local aristo-witch Monica English.
An extract from a book on witches by Lois Bourne says this:
“A few weeks later, Margo and Bertram appeared at my home for tea.
I had been somewhat dazed by her revelations, but the meeting with Bertram was reality. He was a tall, heavily built man, rather swarthy in appearance, with thick black hair and very dark eyes. I have always considered dark eyes to be warm, but his were coal black, cool and had a slightly menacing quality; I felt that he could be a formidable opponent if crossed. He had a very deep voice, well-educated and cultured. He was a business man by profession and, I learned later, very wealthy. He drove an expensive-looking car…”
“The visit was pleasant, and our discussions ranged from witchcraft and magic, to music and books, but I was very much aware that he was observing me closely; for my part, I was observing him too. I gained the impression that he enjoyed a strong alliance with alcohol, and I reflected privately on the condition of his liver. It would not be true to say that I did not warm up to him, I was wary of him. He appeared to have a close relationship with Margo, and they were very comfortable together.”
The description given by my friend who was living in Bridge House in 1956 to 1957:
“A man her age would often drive up the driveway in a brand new 1956 gull wing Mercedes and they would leave together. I recall my parents and Joan O’Neil having some adult conversations regarding these events. My recollection is that his name was “Mr. Fontaine”.
Mr. Fontaine, I would think he would have been a local person (Norfolk anyway). I would guess that he could be best described, as the Brits would say, “dashing”. Also must have had some wealth to be driving the car he had”
He also mentioned that he had had a full head of black hair.
This Monica English, born 1920, was a big fox hunt sort, like Fountaine and his chums, and hunts were organised at Narford Hall. So some fox hunter figures are a must, as well as a flash expensive car.
Monica English looks just as you would expect, the Aryan sort, so a figure for her will be quite easy to find I reckon. Add to that all sorts of armed witches in regalia, this will be quite a unit for my anarcho-communists to drag out and put up against a wall.
Finally, wikipedia says that the Norfolk farmer Tony Martin who shot a young burglar is a nephew of Fountaine….
This search has raised interesting connections with the Hindu-Hitlerist sorts like Savitri Devi which raise the possibility of a Hindu Nazi unit or two!
Army regulars based up on tuppence coins.
Uncle Joe and his dudes pay Norfolk a visit to smite the ILP Trots and their BUF allies.
Figures pre wash.
Post wash and supported by crack Red Naval Infantry.
Figures by Black Tree Design, painted with Humbrol enamels.
