Tuesday, March 5, 2024

Give me 26 lead soldiers and I will conquer the world

Today is a day for celebration! And it's a double celebration!

First, I'm celebrating because Mark, on his fantastic blog at https://manoftinblog.wordpress.com/
shared an email of mine along with a link to my website, and he greatly appreciated the photos with the Playmobil figures!

But I'm also celebrating because Alexei from distant Russia has had freed from the printer the tournament knights by Hans Burgkmair the Elder, which I had prepared some time ago by extracting them from images found on the internet.
You can find them in the "Print & Play" section.

I invite you to visit Mark's blog, which contains many interesting gems if you're a fan of toy soldiers in all their possible variations.

The title of this post is actually taken from his blog, a quote I had never heard before.

This particular quote has left a strong impression on me.
26 lead soldiers are none other than the letters of the alphabet found in typewriters, the letters were made of lead and letters alone have a very limited meaning. However, when letters are combined into words we are able to communicate thoughts and ideas.
This quote, dating back over 200 years and attributed to Benjamin Franklin, is still relevant today.
If Franklin was referring to the printing press, the power of written communication has gained an even wider reach thanks to the Internet. Letters and words remain powerful weapons, regardless of how they are delivered.

It's truly beautiful and exciting how passions and interests can bring people together, even those who are far apart, especially in times like these.

Here are pictures of the tournament knights made by Alexei





The author, Hans Burgkmair visibly pleased





















Monday, January 22, 2024

Peter's Paper Boys March Again

 













Finally, I managed to complete this project, although I'm not entirely satisfied with the result. As a fan of American Military History, I've been following several authors on YouTube for some time. Among them, one of my favorites is Chris The Redcoat. I took the liberty of using a photo of him in uniform to create a paper miniature version, which I then adjusted to the scale of Peter Paper Boys.

The initial idea was to create a diorama of an entire brigade consisting of 4 regiments, but in the end, I managed to complete (almost) only one: the 54th (West Norfolk) Regiment of Foot. The other three, including Chris's regiment, are ready, but I still need to print and cut them. Trust me, this work is not as time-consuming compared to working on the originals and modifying the color details of the uniforms.

The choice of the 54th infantry regiment is because it is portrayed by another of my favorite authors, Brandon Fisichella. I populated the diorama using the Von Lossberg Hessian regiment that I snipped some time ago. Unfortunately, the limitations of my smartphone don't do justice to these beautiful paper soldiers created by Peter Dennis. But don't worry, we're only at the beginning of my journey.






Playmobil meets Warhammer - Grudgebringers from Shadow of the Horned Rat


 

Playmobil Recoats


 

Playmobil Knights with custom fabric flags


 

Blue Dragoons with fabric guidons

 

Monday, January 15, 2024

New Cape

New test, this time I devised a type of cape for use on characters with full armor.