Every Day is a ‘Skool’ Day…

Greetings…

Painting at Morrison Towers is at a minimum at the moment…

I have the lovely builders back in at the moment doing work on my Bedroom and Hall…

Lovely plastering….

I’m sleeping on the couch 😕.

So… As well as sticking some plastic figures together, I have decided to go back to ‘Skool’ and watch a load of painting tutorials on YouTube.

This all came about because I was curious about what others do to refine and speed up their painting process and if there is anything I can learn.

I was a bit wary that this might not be everyone’s Cup of Tea (or indeed Peanut Butter and Jelly), So if this is not your sort of thing feel free to move on and await the next post…I won’t be upset….. Honest😁

So where to start?

Let’s start with someone I know…

Peachy Tips (AKA Chris Peach).

https://youtube.com/@peachytips?si=e_kDbDiFkqgWdRBE

Peachy focuses on getting your forces and on the table. He may not be painting ‘Traditional’ large armies but when he starts a new project or games system… He does it all… If it is something like Oathmark he does the lot… Every faction… Every variation and he is not afraid to do anything ‘ Off the wall’.

In most of his painting posts Peachy will go through the process of painting your figures to a ‘ Tabletop’ standard and then moves on to show you a few ‘Extra Moves’ to give you a more detailed/ interesting finish.

Next up … 

Someone else I know 😁…

Rogue Hobbies (AKA Louise Sugden).

https://youtube.com/@roguehobbies?si=gH21LDTxbkK4btzr

Fun, Entertaining and colourful would be a perfect description of this channel .

Again…. This channel isn’t about painting lots of armies, It’s more about painting Cool Miniatures, ‘The Hobby’, Interesting stuff on the internet, Other painting channels and The joy of painting toy soldiers.

Louise has a bright and colourful style of painting which I have always found very appealing.

Her video on discovering an Ancient Roman (200AD) ‘Warhammer ‘ miniature is very entertaining.

Next…

Sonic Sledgehammer.

https://youtube.com/@sonicsledgehammerstudio?si=Oa3j8qKMf8FROErq

This is a very useful channel…

Sonic covers a wide range of painting styles and techniques.

His guides on the use of  Dry-brushing, Glazes and ‘Contrast’ type washes are indispensable.

30k in 30 days is an excellent example of putting an army together in a short space of time.

He covers the whole gamut of subjects and periods… Armour, 40k, 30k, Warhammer, Cold Wars, Napoleonics, WW2 , Etc, Etc.

Like Peachy Sonic also gives you quick army painting style guides and more in depth detailed finishes.

There are some very useful camouflage guides.

Sonic experiments a lot with different washes… Including Aly’s Brown Liquid (Not that I would show any favouritism here…. Honest🤔).

I definitely picked up a few good tips here.

And now we have…

Painting Panzers (AKA Christian).

https://youtube.com/@paintingpanzers?si=01pcdAbFmOSKOBPL

The channel name says a lot really 😁.

His focus is definitely on WW2/20th Century with lots of very useful camouflage uniform and AFV painting guides… His preferences are also for 1/72 Scale/20 mm.

Christian also paints a lot of the old soft plastic packs of miniatures that I remember from my more youthful days…. It’s quite inspiring to see them so well painted.

Once again I found a few good tips here…

Now we have…

Juan Hidalgo.

https://youtube.com/@juanhidalgominiatures?si=1Nhp-9qf0yQRm5bn

Juan is a very entertaining fellow and has a superb technique for painting armoured sci-fi figures.

He uses glazes and washes of Contrast/Speed style paints, Dry-brushing and layering that can be used to get you very decent looking ‘Tabletop’ figures…Which you can then take further to give you a more detailed look if you wish.

I really like the way he under paints the Contrast/Speed paint with different colours to desaturated some of the stronger tones.

I shall definitely try and use some of his techniques to speed up some of the basic details on my figures.

And now…

Duncan Rhodes.

https://youtube.com/@duncanrhodesdrpa?si=DNcUttXBApSiT9Nz

Duncan’s videos are something of a masterclass in painting Toy Soldiers…

Lovely clean lines, Excellent technique, A good choice of colours, Dry-brushing, Glazing, And contrast paint washes all feature quite a lot.

One thing I really appreciated was/is his clear and precise presentation of his process. 

Duncan also covers a lot of periods and subjects.

And… Just when you start to think “Yeah he is only painting one of these” You realise “ Nope!” He has box loads of the stuff…. How many giant robots do you think one man needs ?🙀.

So has my Skooling been a help?

Will I be a faster/ better painter?

Have I been a good pupil?

Faster… possibly… I’ve not used Dry-brushing and the like very much… so always worth a try.

Better… Well if that means being prepared to try something new… Edge highlights anyone?

My short list certainly doesn’t cover all the excellent YouTube Channels, Blogs and Podcasts out there that are dedicated to Figuring Painting Techniques… Have a look around you never know what you might find.

And just to have a pretty picture…

Here is a shot of a new ‘Greener’ basing technique I’m experimenting with… It looks rather good I think.

All the best.   Aly

P.S.

Another couple of chaps came into view while I was writing this up…

Flameon Miniatures.

https://youtube.com/@flameonminiatures?si=ZOcgZ_F40ECmuFm1

Elminiaturista.

https://youtube.com/@elminiaturista?si=EXzMMdrUZJZah6wZ

They definitely won’t help you paint anything any faster but what they will hopefully do is leave you going “ How on earth does he get that effect ?” ( And possibly Why!)

Look at the Free Tutorials and ‘Shorts’ if you have time.

A nice tidy Painting Desk…

Greetings…

So I have finally got most of my newly acquired Terrain Boards tucked away in my cellar… Just a small amount of shuffling around and it will be done…Hurrah!

But being a butterfly with limited patience who is easily lead I decided to set up my new Painting Desk.

Oh! How beautiful and tidy it looks…

Oh! How that won’t last 🤣…

I think I shall get a little bit of painting done this afternoon… And then dust down and set up the Photo Booth.

I do like retirement 😁.

All the best.  Aly

So… The Answer is…

Greetings…

It is a 1:1 3D Printed Tiger Tank Muzzle Break…

I think it took a fair bit of building…

It was built in parts , then assembled, filled, sanded and then given a Red Oxide factory finish.

Given how much the replica weighs the real thing must have been difficult to handle… 

If it ( the muzzle)was damaged I can’t imagine how you would attempt a field repair…

My friend has files for the Ammunition and the Tracks… I have of course suggested that he builds the whole tank ( The biggest ‘ Part Work ‘ in history as my daughter said)… He didn’t say yes… but he didn’t say no 🤣🤣🤣.

All the best   Aly

So… What’s the craziest retirement gift…

You have ever been given…

I finally retired nearly two weeks ago (1st May)…

My apologies for not posting sooner.

I’ve been a bit busy / distracted sorting things/ stuff out… but I have managed a bit more re-basing and I have started painting some Shiny Napoleonics….Hurrah !

Anyway… back to my gift.

On my retirement day we had a fairly sedate but very enjoyable get together in Bugmans Bar…

And one of my good friends confused quite a few people by giving me this…

Can you tell what it is?

It is now living on top of my book shelves…

To say this was unexpected would be an understatement 🤣🤣🤣…

All the best.   Aly

More Testing Times…

Greetings…

Here are a couple more colour tests…

The first is of course the Hanoverian Light Infantry…

This has come out very nicely… There was always going to be a risk that it would be a bit dark but I don’t think it is…so hurrah!

The second lot of  are North Star 1672 figures…

I only have a few of these and when I came across them the Butterfly said “ put some paint on them “ so I did…

I painted them as a Danish Fyn Regiment Pikeman, a Swedish Dal Regiment Junior Officer and a Swedish Halland Regiment Musketeer…. All from the Scanian War.

I am rather pleased with the results…but I will not be adding any more at the moment as I have shiny little people to get on with…

All the best… Aly

Testing Times… Tintin and STS…

Greetings…

I’m posting this for two reasons…

One… To show you the test paint jobs I have done for my planned Tintin project and a little reworking on some STS figures.

Two… To see if Blogger will let me 🤔🙄.

These represent Syldavians…

I’ve gone for a rather Soviet look… With nice simple bases.

These are some of my Shiny Toy Soldiers Schleswig- Holstein figures…

As I was putting them out on the shelves I realised that this collection is all over the place… Mixed basing style and sizes, some quite yellowish varnish and more figures than I really need/want for a game

So I thought I would try a quick bit of tidying up on these as well…subtle shading with a bit of lining out…

Similar to what Greenwood and Ball used to do back in the day…

I’m in no mad rush to do more with the STS stuff at the moment…The butterfly is heading for Tintin 😁

All the best    Aly

New Year Catch Up and plans for 2026

Greetings…

Well it’s taken longer than I thought to get this post written up…

I think it’s just been one of these years…

For me it started of with Flu… And a hospital visit.😳🙄

I’ve also had two Cataract operations… Which I must say has made a massive improvement to my life.

I have now got some decent prescription reading glasses for my close up work , but on a day to day basis I don’t need really need any glasses at all… ( I do however carry a pair of shop bought £3.99 readers in my pocket… just in case😁)

The house has been ( and still is) a bit of a building site… but the Cellar is now finished as is the work on my Wargames Room…

The only thing to do is get all my books and toys back on their shelves… This has been a slow process as I have had a rather bad Fibromyalgia flare up which has made moving me and objects rather painful.

Bit by bit I am getting there…

Most of these boxes are now empty and all my toy soldiers are where they should be…

Painting as a result of all this has been at a minimum… but I have assembled quite a few figures in preparation for my retirement…

Yup!

Retirement! Hurrah!… The plan is April.

So! 

What are my hobby plans for the future?

I have planned out/ prepared/ front loaded for 6 - 8 projects/Collections.

In “All Plastic “…

Khazar Wars… Two forces for Lion Rampant…Khazars v’s Rus… Victrix Miniatures….8-10 units a side, all assembled while I was waiting for my eyes to heal…

The first thing I painted after the operations was a test unit for the Rus.

The Hundred Days…

Two moderate sized forces…All plastic… Made up of units that I think are pretty, based up in a way that will hopefully allow me to use a number of different rules systems.

I have already treated myself to a painted unit by my chum Mark Hargreaves at Over Open Sights.

http://over-open-sights.blogspot.com/2025/09/vive-l-empereur.htmlOver Open Sights: Vive L' Empereur!

In “ Metal “…

Pyrrhic Wars…

This is probably one of the bigger planned projects…

Four factions… Each 8 - 10 units strong…

Pyrrhic, Hellenistic Greek, Republican Roman and Carthaginian…

I have all the castings I need ( well probably more than I need 🤔)

Vandal Wars…

Vandals v’s Byzantines… Two forces for Lion Rampant 8 - 10 units a side with options for expansion.

I also have all the castings I need…Maybe 😆

Of course let’s not forget the Late Romans that I have just acquired from my friend David Bickley…

I have some rebasing to do… But I do have all I need…. Yeah!… Maybe 🤔🤣

Tintin…

A small project using Mark Copplestone’s beautiful “Marks Little Soldiers “

https://www.copplestonecastings.co.uk/list.php?cat=23&page=1Mark's Little Soldiers - Copplestone Castings

Not sure where this will go… But I’m thinking Rebels and Patriots or Men Who Would be Kings…

Syldavia v’s Borduria… What’s not to like.

Oh!…

And there is The Lord of the Rings…

A bit of an outrider here…

I’ve been collecting various bits and pieces… Thinking “Dragon Rampant “… 

We will see where this goes as I always found it difficult painting Fantasy/Sci-Fi as it reminds me too much of Work… But as I won’t be working things might be different.

Also…

The Youngsters are planning something WW2… Set around operation Knights Move… I’m thinking a little force of Paratroopers… Maybe a Stug or two 😁

There also maybe a visit to “Pillage” later… I’m thinking Normans.

This is all on top of adding a few new units to my existing collections…

Well…

That’s the plan… Sort of…

I certainly won’t be bored…

But we all know what happens to plans….

All the best   Aly.

A Book and Something Silly…

Greetings …

I saw this book….

Now anyone who knows me knows that there was no way I was going to walk past this one 🤣

David Price combines a history of the development and production of this beautiful aircraft combined with an account of how he decided to built a full scale replica in his own back garden…

I am looking forward to reading this 😁

And now something silly…

I decided it was about time I inflated my Tank Museum tank shells…

I’ve had these for quite some time and they have spent most of that time in a box… Then my neighbour lent me a bicycle pump with the correct adapter…

https://tankmuseumshop.org/products/inflatable-world-war-two-88mm-shell-tiger

I think the only ones that are still available are the 88mm and a Panzerfaust…

The cat was impressed…

I have actually been doing more painting… I am working my way through a unit of Shiny Napoleonics French Infantry, I am taking it slow but steady and I will try and post some WIP pictures soon.

Right… Enough silliness… I’m off to find an inflatable Tank 🙀

All the best.  Aly

I got myself a Magnifying Light….

Greetings…

I thought I would see if a magnifying light will be of some help until I get both eye’s sorted and new reading glasses bought…

I been trying it out when cleaning up plastic bits and assembling figures…. It took a bit of getting used to but it does help a bit… I am wondering if a larger lens area make things easier.

I don’t think I will be using it for painting miniatures at the moment… As I have no real depth of field.

I can possibly see me using it in the future…

I know a few people who use magnifiers of some sort… They have said it took them a bit to get used to but now they don’t know what they would do without them…

This is all new to me 😁

All the best.   Aly

So… I bought myself an Airbrush

Greetings….

I decided that I could do with an Airbrush…Yup! This is what happens when you have time on your hands 😆

I have had one before…Many years ago.. So it was interesting to see how the quality and pricing has changed over the years…

I bought a Harder and Steenbeck Ultra… From Element Games…

https://elementgames.co.uk/paints-hobby-and-scenery/Airbrushes-accessories/harder-and-steenbeck/ultra-series/ultra-2024ULTRA 2024 - Ultra Series | Element Games

Along with a Sparmax Air Compressor…

https://elementgames.co.uk/paints-hobby-and-scenery/Airbrushes-accessories/sparmax/sparmax-compressors/sparmax-ac-501x-airbrush-compressorSparmax AC-501X Airbrush Compressor - Sparmax Compressors

And a Cleaning Pot…

https://elementgames.co.uk/dwarfs/paints-hobby-and-scenery/Airbrushes-accessories/airbrush-cleaning-pot1Airbrush Cleaning Pot - Airbrushes Accessories

After reading and watching some reviews….It turns out that this bad boy is the “ Bees knees “ as is the Compressor…

The Airbrush is incredibly well made and is designed with the beginner / Lapsed User in mind…

I am still working out what it can do and hopefully when my vision is back to normal I can have a good deal of fun exploring and investigating….

Everyone I have spoken to who uses an Airbrush says this is an excellent choice…

Oh!…

I also bought something to practice on…

Yup! Why go for something simple 🤣…

The operation on my right eye is on Thursday and hopefully the left eye will be in a couple of weeks down the road…

And then… Lead/Plastic Alp beware….😁

All the best.  Aly

Wild Geese 2025… And other Stuff.

Greetings…

Last weekend saw this years gathering of The Wild Geese Wargamers…

As always it was a joy of an event…. Excellent Company, Excellent Food and Excellent Games…

I took part in three games… And much to everyone’s …( Including mine ) surprise… I did quite well 🙀.

Okay….

Here are the pictures…

Off course the first thing I did was go straight into Shiny 42mm Seven Years War…

Steve’s game was based on The Combat of Domstadtl-1758…

I was one of the Austrian ambushers…

Steve produced an impressive amount of wagons… All of which had to get over the bridge and off the table…

Our glorious Austrians attack the convoy… Vigorously.

It was close… But eventually the Austrians block off the bridge from the Prussians and started to cut them up bit by bit.

Hurrah!

Next up…

More Seven Years War…This time from Ken… And more wagons trying to get away over a bridge…

I was on the Austrian side…

The bridge with the wagons in the middle distance…

Prussian hordes move rapidly towards our wagons

They shall not pass…

Yes we will…

Could the wagons move any slower?

Yes!…

The hard pressed Austrians hold out … with high casualties…

And a good number of wagons make it to safety…

And the third game … On the Sunday…

Sepoys and Soldiers…

A lovely colourful game put on by Martin…

I played the Maratha’s….

This is my Rocketeer unit/units… The ones with the red buttons…

These were absolutely the stars of the game…

Their bombardments caused the demise of two British units and one battery destroyed a cavalry unit in hand to hand combat….

Hurrah! Hurrah!…

These guys may look like they are attacking… Nope! This lot were retreating madly…

They did rally…Eventually…

We fought on doggedly… And much to our amazement we managed to wear the British down and cause them to break off the attack…

I say!….

The other games over the weekend were…

The Siege of Bogorovsk!…From Chris and Niall.

And the return of Keith’s French and Indian Wars river romp…

And very much to my surprise…

The Best General…. 🙀

A fantastic weekend indeed.

And so…

Other stuff…

The Trooping of the Colour…

I watch this every year… 

With the commentary turned off as I like to listen to the rattle and drum of all the equipment and the sound of the orders being barked out…

I think the whole thing has a Victorian maybe even Crimean War vibe about it… Certainly old school.

One of my friends tolled me I was a very strange socialist 🤣…

You may have noticed that I haven’t really been doing a lot of painting or that much posting really…

I’ve put it down mainly to the Blepharitis that I have… 

Which I have thought has been improving and in fact it is…

Unfortunately… As I have discovered after an afternoon of scans and tests… What isn’t improving is the Cataracts that I have developed in both eyes…Every thing is very fuzzy in my right eye and the left eye is not as bad but still showing signs of developing further…

It turns out that being on steroids… Which I am… Can cause the little buggers to come on quicker than normal…

I have been registered for the operation… Which will hopefully happen sooner rather than later…

The “Myopic Shift” that you get with Cataracts has been fairly severe… So I am getting new glasses and a new prescription to compensate…

This may actually allow me to get some painting in…Which would be nice.

Fortunately I don’t have too many problems reading… So there might be a few book reviews/recommendations on the way…

Although I have been told not to overdo things…

All the best.   Aly