Folding Bicycles etc

I found these splendid images today whilst looking on the internet. This is my first post using the new Goggle Chrome blogger as my Internet Explorer appears to be no longer supported by Blogger- in other words change,annoyance and techy fuss! Apologies if the post looks odd. Anyway I am posting some images of troops training with folding bicycles as I am working on a couple of conversions of an Aide de Camp and Ducal guardsman for the Duchy of Tradgardland. I will post piccies soon I hope . In the interim enjoy these super drawings  and a Happy New Year when it comes to one and all!

Inspiration

My fellow gamer Alfront must be a mind reader as he mentioned "Vanished Armies" by Haswell Miller in a comment yesterday. I got it last year for Christmas ( I think) and was pouring over it once more yesterday afternoon .It is a wonderful book illustrated by marvellous paintings. I also have been enjoying an old friend in the form of my Almark book from circa 1972.I have photographed an example page for you to see. I trust one and all are having time in "winter quarters" to plan,daydream ,research and even model too.If so do tell us here what you are up to.

Inspiration for Alfront et al...

A couple of Army Black images to encourage Alfront and others to use the bicycle clips- enjoy!

An excellent stocking filler

Well an excellent Christmas day was had in Tradgardland- good food,company and pressies. Jan included this excellent stocking filler for me ( I had seen them online ages ago and forgotten about them ) which has great potentiality for FLW. Basically they are paper clips in the shape of bicycles. As you can see they would work well as bicycles for 54mm figures to hold. I feel also they could be bent in half as an early folding bike which could be attached to an infantry figure firing etc transforming him into a military cyclist. At less than a £1 a bicycle I think they are excellent!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from all here in the Duchy of Tradgardland to you and yours.Thanks for popping by here this year.This chap from Army Red/White is off home with his Christmas tree.May you have a peaceful lead-filled Christmas ( or plastic or pewter etc) and I hope to see you here again very soon...

"I really must..!

It has been a year of "I really must..." here at Army Red/White and others! I have not advanced as far as I should with FLW . It is not for the want of trying, not for the lack of desire to see gleamy lead chaps manouvere upon the lawns here at the duchy of Tradgardland. Rather it is distractions,too many ideas and not finishing one project enough. So I post here incredibly early a resolution for 2012- to finish Army Red/White! There I have said it ,the die cast and the shoulder to the wheel.
I have loved my research and my images -it is time to use them to springboard me to action. Finally a distracting thought I have realised I would dearly like an Army Black in full splendouous panoply circa 1900- get behind me @+*£$ !

Miltary Cycling...

Syldavian and Bordurian inspiration?

I have posted some images which have inspired me as I have been thinking of Bordurian and Syldavian late 19th century uniforms. Let me know what you think...

Wintery pics

I have posted some images that caught my fancy on the web today- Canadian forces winter kit! Enjoy!

Dogs etc of war...

I have found the recent posts re dog drawn Begian machineguns @ FLW to be very interesting. I thought I would post images which would show the use of the dogs in German and British armies and an American mule pulled one.I hope you find them of interest...

Guess the Swiss uniform - part 207...

Morning all! can I enlist your help to identify/guess the Swiss uniform?

My feeling is the fellow in green is an army officer and the chaps in blue a kind of railway militia guarding the tracks and tunnels etc.What do you think...

p.s I am tempted at raising a unit if I can glean enough info

Further prints...

Morning all! I have posted another two plates,this time of cycle troops. The plates come in pairs -one with uniform details and the other an atmospheric scene of troops in a background landscape. As I have still got no info regarding the plates I shall be asking you all to help identify some interesting but unusual Swiss uniforms here. Sufficient to say that they will add variety to my units for the games of 2013 and before...

A plate and update...

Blogger has deigned to allow me to upload a sample image today- my beloved mountain troops...
As you can see the plates are both inspirational and also excellent as a painting guide and reference...

Still no word re the Swiss Lake warfare book - I do not wish to hassle my contact in Austria so I will wait patiently...

Re the wooden ships- they are ensconced in a dry part of the garage and have had no work done upon them yet. We are at the stage of thinking what we will do regarding the garden in the light of a forthcoming new garage,subsequent landscaping changes in the vicinity and a desire to extend the veg plot in order to have more room to grow veg and fruit. In the light of the current fluid state regarding the Green Waters" the ships will be in dry dock at present...

A generous retailer...

My long awaited CD arrived from Europe yesterday. It is filled with mouth-watering paintings of ww1 Swiss uniforms. However ,when I was using it , I could not locate the accompanying text on the plates...
I enquired about this from the vendor who said ( to cut a long story short) as it had not been advertised as not having text on it he would give me my money back. I,of course, replied I would return the CD first. In the intervening time I took to write an email I got an email back -I had been notified of a refund in full and told to retain the CD as a goodwill gesture! A most generous gentleman indeed...
P.S I was trying to upload a plate to show you but Blogger is playing up again- I will post one here when I can!

Update re Army Red/White etc...

Morning chaps!
On my summer hols here in Tradgardland and this is the vibe one attempts to create...

Much thought but little practical work done in the realm of FLW recently. I have not started the wooden ships - inclement weather and other matters have caused this.

I have sent off for a series of prints of the Swiss army in WW1- looks like a definitive work as far as I can see. Certainly they are more detailed than anything else my robust searches have come up with. They were expensive by my hobby standards but will be well worth it. They will guide my painting ,planning and preparing for the Padre's 2013 fest...
Hopefully the plates will help Army Red/White to have as wide a range of uniforms as possible and add colour and interest to the army. I will tell you more when the plates arrive. Well that is all for now...

High Summer...

It is high summer around the green waters that form the lake seperating the hiemat of Army Red/White and San Martino. The respective fresh water navies still lie in a polly bag in the garage untouched. The foilage has grown up around the shores of the lake and the lake itself could do with a mow I fear...
However I would like to start at least one vessel this week. The Swiss book has not been forthcoming and I am a tad tired due to the 4.00am smoke/heat alarm false alarm this morning- it took 45mins to get the noise to cease!!!!!!!!!!
Off to have a cuppa in the garden on my new Ikea chairs with Jan...

New to naval in 54mmm -some questions

Morning Chaps!
Last night Jan & I enjoyed a superb concert locally by Ade Edmondson and the Bad Shepherds and during the interval my thoughts briefly tuned to the current naval project here... I wonder if you could give me some pointers? Ok, I love the novels of Patrick O'Brian and John Biggins but I am all at sea with this naval stuff!

1. Can you suggest a good source of fittings for ships- I am not too concerned for the highest quality brass but rather sometime I can mount on the balsa superstructure I intend to build


2. Naval enthusiasts excuse my ignorance but were any submarines used in Lakes in WW1- can subs be used in such places as the Italian lakes? I have a conceit of San Martino having a rusty.unreliable one to give them an edge upon army(navy)red/white)


3. Cheap naval figures in 54mm - any ideas


4. Finally any tips from those who have tested the waters already in this modelling area- I intend to build fun,sturdy vessels for garden use rather than scale models

Finally apologies for the shameless puns and I look forward to your suggestions. have a great Sunday one and all!

Boats for San Martino and opponents

Our Joiner came today to remove a door and glass surrounds from the hall. I have posted before and after piccies...

More importantly
prior to leaving he cut out the basic shapes for my boats for San Martino and Army Switzerland.The photo shows them with 54mm fig for scale.The boats were cut from the cut out for the sink from time ago which I horded for such an occasion...

San Martino Aviation...

So light blue and white it is - thanks for voting! Can I ask for your advice further regarding the aviation of San martino...

Reconnaissance from the garden front...

Morning all! It has been a hectic week here at Army Red/White although not in the ways perhaps one would have wished. I have had paperwork deadlines this week coupled with a curriculum which expresses itself in terms of the worst of 1984's NewsSpeak and the excesses of complicated arcanely written wargames rules!


Firstly thanks to those who voted in the poll- I am most obliged to you all and will ask for you votes again very soon. We seem to be going down a light blue/white road which sounds excellent and reflects the way that San Martino seems to be moving towards being similar to a real country with a similar name. I liked the suggestion for the motto being "Anytime,anyplace ,any where.." and, as I am suffering from rusty Latin, leave it for you to translate for me!
My Austrian contact is working away to get hold of the aforementioned (in a previous post) book for me and I am grateful for his determination and endeavour. I will keep you posted. Thanks also for the link to some excellent uniform plates which have started me thinking about such matters on the painting table.
Finally I chose the picture included in this post partly to remind me to think of the San Martino Flying Corps ( myriad striped balloons flying over an ornate castle perhaps as the motto is sung as a sort of national anthem..) and also to have a look for where I put the 1/32 monoplane that is the Army Red/White air support so far!

Of Pictures and Polls...

As promised some pictures and data regarding the 1941 Swiss Lake patrol boat. It is accompanied by a rather inspiring print of Army Red/White of around 1914. Don't forget to vote in the poll please why you are here...

Background to the green waters...

I have been busy in quiet moments (if that makes sense) doing some background research into the Swiss army (sorry Red/White) and their preparedness to defend their water frontiers. Evidently they were not as well equipped as their neighbours prior to ww1 and did not remedy this until rather later. I will hopefully find out even more if and when I get hold of the book pictured here. I have been planning some input from San Martino too. More anon including a super ww2 vintage Swiss patrol boat in a couple of photos sent by a kind Swiss contact.

The green waters call in San Martino...

It was an excellent holiday weekend - the pomp and pageantry of a Royal Wedding and weather which enabled Jan & I to tend to the garden in terms of both food production and flowering plants. A tad less wind but one cannot complain...

I have posted a picture of an area of the garden which I have been musing upon much of late as I ridge up the potatoes and wait for trains to work. The lawn would lend itself well to being the green waters of a lake which marks the frontier between San Martino and the homeland of Army Red/White. On my Tradgardland I posted recently about the joys of planning and dreaming in the hobby too. I mentioned there too the influence of Mr John Ruddles and his garden whose pictures always inspired me...

I am still just planning, thinking and researching . I know I have many irons in the fire already but some al fresco gaming beckons to siren like. I shall continue to plan and will keep you posted!

San Martino- in the light of poll results so far some imaginationeering....

Morning all! In the light of the way the poll was progressing I thought I might get a few of my notes together re an opponent for Army Red/White.

Featured here is a fresco from the renaissance of the founder of the state- San Martino. He was a Roman soldier,benefactor of the poor and ,according to local legend ,was the benevolent local Governor of the city that has become the small but perfectly formed small state that is San Martino. He is depicted here cutting his own cloak to give half to a beggar- an idea he is said to have copied from his name sake St Martin the martyr of Tours.

San Martino is a small state which is tucked neatly betwixt Italy and Switzerland I believe, sheltered high in the mountains for the main part. It's history ,customs and lore will ( if it is the winner of the poll) be shared here over the coming months ahead.

I have also posted a picture of a member of the Guardians of the Border Regt who are responsible for patrolling the border with the neighbouring countries. Out in all weathers and expert in mountain warfare this elite light infantry unit is San Martino's first line of defence.

,

Your vote counts...

As I was working on my Army Red/White (Swiss) I wondered if it might be fun to collect an opponent for them at the same time- working on/collecting both armies in tandem. I would like your opinion on what enemies army Red/White will fight against. Background scenarios to be worked out later. All you have to do is vote at the poll alongside. Thanks for taking part

Army Red/White -painted figures on my lawn...

I'm on my Easter hols and I thought I would show you what I painted this afternoon...

Here is an Army Red/White general resplendent in his Dragoon uniform and sporting a rather fetching pith helmet from his days in the Swiss Geographical Society. He is accompanied by a Staff Officer wearing the traditional Dragoon uniform along with one of those new fangled experimental steel helmet. Both chaps are equipped with bicycles to aid mobility upon the battlefield. I hope that these are the first of many as the days lengthen and Spring moves ever forward.

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