Greetings…
Not many Wargames/Toy soldier related presents were exchanged this year… The best gift of course being…Having a Boxing Day feast and face to face wargame ( Massacre) with Mharaid.
Yes… Of course the game went the way everyone was expecting… However I will save that for the next post.
My Military/Wargame related present from Mharaid was this rather splendid W.Heath Robinson print…
I have always been a big fan of W.Heath Robinson…His super detailed drawings of insanely ridiculous but somehow sort of believable contraptions are a joy to behold.
I remember as a child seeing automated displays of W.Heath Robinson devices in one of the big stores in Edinburgh over the Christmas holidays… This is probably where my love for them started.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._Heath_Robinson
The Toy Soldier Gift this year was from me to Mharaid…
These are a set of figures based on Medieval Manuscript Marginalia…
These gorgeous little figures come from Skull & Crown…
https://www.skullncrown.com/collections/killer-rabbits
I have been painting them slowly over the year… Which lead to some close shaves when Mharaid popped over for a cup of tea.
As a gift this one gave a lot of pleasure to both parties as they were a real joy to paint.
If you haven’t come across Manuscript Marginalia before… Here are some examples.
This is just a very small selection of what is out there… Quite a few of them are rather rude.
So… I will now Gird my Loins and write up a report of our Boxing Day Game…
Hopefully this will get posted later in the week.
All the best Aly.
Heath Robinson? I think I game with one of his descendants? Nice mad rabbit thingies! Make you wonder what the monks were on doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteThere was definitely something in the ink… David.
DeleteSomeone who comes up with convoluted/complicated plans that look good on paper but go awry when activated… I can’t think of anyone we know 😬
All the best. Aly
Wow! I love these medieval manuscript minis! I’m a great fan of the Manuscript marginalia and wasn’t aware they are available as “toy soldiers”. They look great (beautifully painted too!). I will have to get some one day. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to seeing the report from the annual Boxing Day massacre.
Best wishes,
Jan
The Skull & Crown figures are lovely Jan…
DeleteThe Boxing Day massacre… however… may have been… messy 😂
All the best. Aly.
Those are really nice set of figures. They feel like they should be part of Alice in Wonderland.
ReplyDeleteThe figures are delightful Rob…
DeleteAnd are definitely weird enough for Alice in Wonderland…
All the best. Aly
Love the Killer Rabbits, Aly! Looking forward to the report from your Boxing Day clash.
ReplyDeleteThank you Jonathan…
DeleteEverybody wants to read about me getting a kicking…😂
It was a lot of fun…
All the best. Aly.
Love the wacky Heath Robinson print and you have done a cracking job of those medieval LSD inspired rabbits.
ReplyDeleteLook forward to your game report, it appears you have kept up the tradition result wise.
Your ancestor knew how to draw Phil…
DeleteThere was clearly more to ink in the Middle Ages…
I am a man who likes tradition…😁
All the best. Aly
Wonderful gifts!
ReplyDelete(And manuscripts too).
Thank you Stuart…
DeleteIt was a wonderful day…
All the best. Aly
A post dedicated to oddity! We didn't know Robinson's drawings, and we enjoyed seeing other examples on the web of unnecessarily complicated war 'inventions': what about using two cannons to crush the German general's nuts (the pun is not intentional)???
ReplyDeleteThe rabbits inspired by the medieval marginalia, which we are passionate about, are enchanting. Those of Skullncrown would seem not only inspired, but all faithful reproductions of existing marginalia, such as the armed rabbit riding the lion. Other marginalia miniatures are also produced by Old School Miniatures: could they be future reinforcements for the killer rabbits?
Hurrah!… You're here 😁
DeleteW. Heath Robinson is a wonderful artist to get to know…his vast array of intricate and amusing drawings always bring me pleasure.
I do believe that the Manuscript Marginalia is the medieval equivalent of Easter Eggs in modern day computer games.
I read somewhere that they may have been visual comments and jokes about the people the scribes worked with and for…
I never new Old School Miniatures made Marginalia miniatures… thank you for the tip.
All the best. Aly
I was blaming the rabbits for interfering with the comments...
ReplyDeleteThose miniatures are wonderful! Hopefully their opposition is equipped with Holy Hand Grenades.
As for Heath Robinson, its things like this that make me occasionally wonder about the effect of having blood that is 1/2 English.....
Those rabbits can be a bit tricksy… but I am sure that the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch is more than capable of keeping them in order 😁.
DeleteSome forms of ‘madness’ should be embraced…🤪
All the best. Aly
I love the way you painted the rabbits. The rabbit on the lion looks especially nice. I think the gloss varnish goes very well with these models. Cheers, Karl
ReplyDeleteThank you Karl…
DeleteI originally tried a satin finish but I felt that it killed the richness of the colours…
Also I know Mharaid likes the shiny…😁
All the best. Aly
I remember when I was young, people referring to Jerrybuilt solutions as being "Heath Robinson" contraptions, so I have always been vaguely aware of the connotation of his name! The rabbits look just the job for rather unusual festive games with Mharaid!
ReplyDeleteIt’s interesting isn’t it… I used to associate the two terms together…
DeleteBut looking it up.. Jerry built means poorly constructed and or dangerously built…
A Heath Robinson Contraption is an Unnecessarily Complex and Implausible Contrivance…
I’m sure however that some things can be both… a bit like my wargames strategies😂😂😂
The rabbits were so much fun to paint that I can see me finding a need to buy more.
All the best. Aly
I love the way the rabbits are painted. I bought some of the rabbits, hoping to do a mini campaign using "Watership Down" for inspiration. Of course, now they are coming out with dogs to oppose the rabbits.More figures that I may have to buy.
ReplyDeleteThank you…
DeleteThey were a lot of fun to paint…
I suspect that I will be buying more as well
All the best. Aly
Lovely mad rabbits and Heath Robinson print!
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
Thank you Iain…
DeleteAll the best. Aly