Nearly there...

I wrote this (below) as my second blog post here in April 2009.Tomorrow the Centenary Competition takes place.It has been a journey to this point with much still to look forward to in 2014 and beyond.See you chaps soon...

"You can blame Elastolin if you like! I was taken to Switzerland as a ten year old boy- loved the country and the toy soldiers...
I collected the old composition Elastolin figures of the Swiss army of 1970 vintage as well as the historical 40mm hard plastic ones- Romans,Landsknects etc. I still have many to this day ,and countless moves later.
So I built upon this with books about the Swiss army as I grew older . Books which showed fascinating pictures of the Swiss Army in 1912 ( the so called Kaisermanouvers) WW1 and WW2. Thus my appetite grew. Many interests ( as we all do) came and went,were revisited or forgotten. The Swiss remained. All that was needed was a catalyst- in my case FLW being in a toysoldier magazine some time ago. I loved the article and the H G Wellsian pluck of Paul Wright. I emailed him,joined the Yahoo group in time and awaited the rules with enthusiasm. Now I have begun the army and look forward to 2013 and the Centenary competition that is planned. However their are lashings of fun to be had in the world of FLW before them I'll wager..."

Nearly there chaps...

Well the time has nearly come (as the walrus might say) to talk of many things of army red & and army white, of plastic and of lead...

The chaps from Army Red/White are ready, as can be seen from the above photo, as they take a rest en route to Camberley .

News of the Army's progress will be relayed by this emerging and cutting edge technology.
See you soon!

A meeting...

In the grounds of Thun Castle General Really-Constant converses with his chaplain Fr Chantry-Pigg and a recent visitor- Duke Albert of Tradgardland.The General has invited the enthusiastic, yet inexperienced, Duke onto his Staff for the Centenary Battles of next weekend. The Duke hopes to interest Army Red/White in the splendid new folding Pederson bicycle which is all the rage in Tradgardland.
The Army Red/White General is a slightly converted ( in terms of plume) resin figure from the Armchair General,the chaplain is a figure converted for me by Giles @ Dorset Soldiers in terms of the addition of a splendid biretta. Finally Duke Albert is a Tradition of London figure converted by me by the addition of  a balsa pack and folding bicyle made from a bicycle shape paper clip.
It was so warm this afternoon I was able to finish painting my mules in the garden .Spring has sprung I feel...

Post moved today...

Army Red/White is guesting ove rat my other blog today-
http://tradgardland.blogspot.co.uk/
Do pop over for some FLW related stories...

New arrivals at Army Red/White Headquarters

Still recovering from his severe dose of paint  running ( as a result of varnishing yesterday) General Really-Constant, Commander in Chief of Army Red/White ( wearing the uniform worn by his ancestor in the Sonderbundskreige of 1847) greets new recruits for the forthcoming Centenary Games:

They will form part of the Staff of Really-Constant- the Danish Sailor will be the Signals officer, the representative of the C.S.A (continuing) will be Quartermaster and the splendid motorcycle rider will be a runner/ dispatch rider. The figures were painted splendidly  by and loaned by Al Front of http://alfront-wardiariesofalittleenglander.blogspot.co.uk/ who stout fellows will represent him in the forthcoming battles.
A super blog well worth dropping over to for an eclectic mix of posts which are always worth reading.

Army Red/White on the march...

Army Red/White are currently mobilizing for the forthcoming H G Wells Centenary Games at Sandhurst.

                                               A unit of cyclists from the town of Thun

                                           An Infantry Unit also from the town of Thun

                                    A mountain gun and crew accompanied by a maxim gunner

                                             Dismounted Cavalry and accompanying machine gun

                                                 Staff  and signalers to follow...

Getting Ready 2

Morning all from a very rainy Tradgardland. Good for the garden but not for gardening.Yesterday was milder and Jan &I remodelled the herbaceous border by removing the plants ,adding compost,replacing some of the old ones and supplementing them with new plants bought on Friday.
We are a busy house today- Anna is finishing her Advanced Higher chemistry report and her Art final pieces,Zoe is sewing her 17th century doublet & breeches  for College,Freya is revising for exams and Jan is supporting them all splendidly. In the midst I am helping too and working on the Army Red/White chaps...

Cavalry Brigade CO and Staff on left,cavalry in foreground and infantry to rear of picture.

Cavalry & cavalry machine gun in foreground, signalers with pigeons & infantry maxim in the middle ground and mountain gun mule team in the background. Not forgetting (at the back) the Army's chaplain Fr Chantry-Pigg  named after a character in Rose Macaulay's "The Towers of Trebizond"  which has one of the best opening lines of any novel I have read.

Getting Ready!

Three weeks tomorrow Army red/White will fight their first battle.This will be at the FLW Centenary bash so I am busy getting them ready. The first to be worked on today are the cycle troops-

There is much to be done and I am out today too,must dash!