ALY MORRISON'S "BUTTERFLY" ADVENTURES IN THE WORLD OF WARGAMES AND TOY SOLDIERS

Wednesday, 15 January 2025

A New Year… Again.

Greetings…

So another year has come and gone…

It’s been an odd one… I certainly didn’t get as much done as I wanted… The world , Life , Health and Builders have conspired to getting in the way of me painting and playing with toys…

Anyway here are some pictures…



Shiny Napoleonics…



Rebasing Russians…



More shiny…



The Wild Geese Weekend…



Lion Rampant Wars of the Roses…



More Shiny…


Edinburgh…



And all the dry storage space I will ever need…

I was definitely leaning towards the Shiny in 2024…

Hopefully I will get a bit more done this year… I do have some vague plans and thoughts…
Whether they last the year is another thing all together…

Things that I would like to do more of…

Shiny Napoleonics,
Wars of the Roses,
The War of 1812,
3rd Century Rome,

All these collections would benefit from have more and new units added to them….

Shiny War of 1812,
Shiny Neapolitans,
Shiny ACW,

The War of 1812 and Neapolitans would make excellent expansions to my Shiny collections… Especially the outrageous Neapolitan uniforms.

Pyrrhic and Hellenistic Greek…

This is something I am definitely going to go… Aventine Miniatures do some splendid figures that would be suitable for this…

Make some new Terrain…
I could do with some more flexible boards 600mm x600mm rather than the 300mm ones I have.

Maybe something Byzantine…
Maybe something WW2… The War in the Desert maybe…

Or maybe not…

Of course this may and possibly will all change by the end of the week…
Except for the Pyrrhic and Hellenistic Greeks that is…

Let’s hope my Butterfly agrees with me…

All the best.  Aly










51 comments:

  1. Handsome parade and shiny too. Follow the butterfly! Happy New Year, Aly!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Jonathan…
      You are correct… Following my butterfly always takes me to the prettiest places….

      All the best. Aly

      Delete
  2. Hope you have a better year ahead Aly, although you seemed to get a few games in, despite everything.
    Edinburgh seemed to be the only thing in your review that wasn't shiny.....mind you, is it ever? Lol....actually, the image of the castle look like there was a bit of sun around.....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am hoping for more games and lots of painting 😁.
      The weather in Edinburgh was beautiful when we were up there …
      It was indeed very ‘Shiny’

      All the best. Aly

      Delete
  3. A lovely array of photos and a rather focussed plan for 2025, like the idea of the three shiny project additions. Good luck on keeping the focus going and ignoring the butterfly, but as I know it will be a hard master to ignore!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Donnie…
      I will try to stick to some sort of plan… But you know what butterflies are like 🦋🦋🦋

      All the best. Aly

      Delete
  4. Aly, your butterfly must talk to mine. I think you did rather well in the collection and painting area, considering all the obstacles you overcame.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think our butterflies meet up on a regular basis… And decide what we are doing next… Whether we like it or not. 🙀

      All the best. Aly

      Delete
  5. Looking forward with keen anticipation to see where 2025 takes you! Best wishes for better health and an end to builders!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hopefully 2025 will take me to more toys and games…
      The builders will be here for a while yet but a lot of the work should be less obtrusive….

      All the best. Aly

      Delete
  6. A very productive year considering the speed bumps along the the way. Here is to a much better year on the health front, let those wings flutter merrily.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I’ve done more than I thought I did… But certainly not as much as I wanted…
      I suspect the butterfly will have its say…😁

      All the best. Aly

      Delete
  7. Shiny War of 1812 I like the direction your butterfly is heading! Good luck with your 2025.projects.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think the War of 1812 would be an interesting expansion the my Shiny Napoleonics…. It will be interesting/fun to se what vintage Minifigs I could make use of…

      All the best. Aly

      Delete
  8. A lovely montage of things, I look forward to what you will bring us in 2025. The Neapolitans would certainly be colourful and lend themselves to your glossy approach but you don't have to trust my thoughts on the subject as all my troops are shiny whatever the period or theatre.
    Looking at your array of choice butterflies you could ask yourself "What's the attraction? Is it the uniforms, the history or the rules you'd use or something else?" If you know what's your prime motivator this may help you choose where to put your efforts.
    all the best for '25
    Stephen

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Stephen…
      I know exactly what my prime mover is…

      “Is it pretty ?”

      Which certainly means that the Neapolitans are very high on the list of things to do…

      All the best. Aly

      Delete
    2. "Is it pretty?"
      Good choice
      Stephen

      Delete
  9. Don't forget Aventine are closing down soon. Not sure if they have agreed a new owner but might need to get in there sooner rather than later.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes I know that they are planning to retire in May… I have already started building a little Hellenistic lead mountain 😁

      All the best. Aly

      Delete
  10. Aly,
    If you are after Aventine you had better start buying now or wait until they change hands. They have put a limit of £100 max orders so they can cope with casting at present, to allow people to finish projects rather than start them......
    Of course, it's not hard to spend £100 with them.....

    I have the same butterfly driven aims, but I did something about my Western Desert one.....☺

    Neil

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have already started stocking up Neil…
      I should have all I need by the time they are ready to retire.
      They have been mobbed with orders… And they are still making new figures.

      The Western Desert is very tempting….

      All the best. Aly

      Delete
  11. You are the king of shiny. I’m confident there will be at least two totally unexpected divergences from the 2025 plan. lol.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Only two divergences 🤣🤣🤣
      That would be a first….

      All the best. Aly

      Delete
  12. A fantastic display of wonderful wargaming eye candy, the room looks very cool.

    Willz.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Shiny is King! Hope you have a wonderful year 2025 Aly, hope all your wargaming projects come true. Best wishes - Quinn

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Quinn…
      And the same to you…

      All the best. Aly

      Delete
  14. Loved you showing Mom and I Edinburgh

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was a splendid weekend…
      We were blessed with such good weather….

      All the best. Aly

      Delete
  15. That's a huge wish list for 2025! Here's hoping to see you round a wargames table. We'll even let you roll some dice ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I’m aiming high Rick…
      If I can get a couple of things done … I will take it as a win.
      My dice rolling always makes yours look good…🤣

      All the best. Aly

      Delete
  16. Still loving that Russian church. Can't wait to see the completed space!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Beautiful figures Aly, the shiny old school look is particularly appealing and something I have got to do with some Napoleonic's.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Meic…
      The Shiny Napoleonics always put a smile on my face…

      All the best. Aly

      Delete
  18. The War of 1812 would be extraordinarily apposite, it seems to me. I wish you all the shiny best for 2025. And I agree, Edinburgh is very shiny, especially when wet.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ah!… I see what you mean 🙀
      Edinburgh never gets wet… It’s a special glaze…

      All the best. Aly

      Delete
  19. I was enjoying all the pics, but the thing that made my eyes water with envy was the dry storage space. When you reach a certain age, our hobby seems to become all about logistics.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I’ve wanted decent ‘dry’ storage space for ages…
      Once the shelves are in place I will have somewhere put all the stuff that is cluttering up the wargames room and the rest of the house…. And space to put nice new terrain boards….
      It’s also dry enough for me to put all the magazines and journals I keep tripping over.
      Plus useful things like wine and beer… Hurrah!

      All the best. Aly

      Delete
  20. For me the highlight were the Shiny Prussians, I do hope they get a run out soon. Have a great 2025.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Rob…
      I am hoping that the Shiny’s will get a chance to play during the year…
      Once I have cleared the wargames room of clutter I should have space to do more stuff…

      All the best. Aly

      Delete
  21. Lovely shiny troops Aly and plenty going on to keep you busy 👍

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Matt…
      Hopefully enough to keep my butterfly satisfied 🦋🦋🦋

      All the best. Aly

      Delete
  22. Some fine work Aly! Looks and sounds like you're gonna have a fab 2025!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Ray…
      I certainly hope so…

      All the best. Aly

      Delete
  23. Very attractively shiny! Impressively varied - do we ever manage to achieve all we'd like, especially in our hobbies? Onwards and upwards... And a belated Happy New Year!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you David…
      I think if I turned round and found out that I had completely finished something… I would go into a state of shock.🤣

      A belated Happy New Year to you too…

      All the best. Aly

      Delete
  24. I think you've had a pretty productive year and the basement is ace!
    Best Iain

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Iain…
      The next thing will be to get the Wargames room fixed up…
      You can tell where my priorities are 🤣

      All the best. Aly

      Delete