Cuddalore - The diorama

Last Friday it was the time to build up the diorama. This time it was more difficult as we don't had the space we needed. So it started with a lot of changes in the plan...

First it was easy to build up the battlefield itself, using around 90 beer-banks which Massimo, Rainer and me did in a short time. Afterwards it was fixing the blanket.

When we had finished this our reinforcments arrived.

First Alfred and Roland bringing their units

After a discussion I tried to post the units on the plate to see how much space we needed for the units

Then we recognised it won't work and turned the whole formations around. And then it started again...

Alfred starting positioning the French redoubts

The first impressions of units on a plate - not much impressing...

 Rainer glued his units on the plates.

And then came the fun:-) Our usual "graining" of the ground

 Rainer working on the hill on the British left

 Peter and Paul (yes their true names:-)) helped too.

And in the end it was done. Here the first photos, details will come with the next post

The beginning - 20 years ago

Like most of us I played figures as a small boy, even painted then when I was less then 10 years old.
Then came the usual break, girls, beer, cars, etc. etc. When I was 24 years old I came back to the hobby - that is now 20 years ago...

Today I sorted out some books which I wanted to sell on the fair and I found an old binder full of photos. Some of them gave me nostalgic thoughts how it was in all these years ago.

My father in law made me a table to play with the figures, which I put in my room.
See here the first little dioramas which I tried to create on it.

For example my first try on Polotzk 1812 with the figures available then. Mostly Esci, Airfix, the first HATs and several metals that were available in Germany these days.

Here my Russian Hussars converted from Revel SYW Prussians. The French Chasseurs some metals from Quality cast and SHQ, the rest conversions too.

 The Bavarians HAT with metals from Art-Miniaturen and the great range my friend Raimund Konieczko let made by Falcon.

The next I put on show I called something 1813 with Westphalians
Here the size of the plate - not really impressing...

 Puh, half a company standing here for a bataillon...

 Ok, the staff already had a size:-)

Cuddalore - The last steps

Now are just five days left before I start for Mainz. All the companies are finished in the last minute, just the Highlanders are far from being complete. But I haven' thought a year ago that we will be at the 6500 figures we have no painted for the diorama.

The landscape also was a challenge (and will be when we work on the display on Friday next week....

Here we have the fakirs grave that Alfred found and recreated.

Here the part of the map we want to show as diorama. Palm-trees, hills with brushwood, the sea on the flank, aligators, snakes etc. etc.

The next photos about this subject will be the diorama itself:-)

Polish winged Husars

Here are the first two painted figures from the latest series. Some small details have to be cleared and then they come into the shop

Neil Finn - Song of the Lonely Mountain: Extended Version

The whole day while painting figures I heard this song on Youtube. I think it is simply great - but I still wont' collect Fantasy figures:-)

Another Roman camp

After all this postings about our actual project now here some photos Alfred made when visiting the museum at Haltern.

I don't know how many different Roman army camps I have shown on this blog - but I simply like them:-)