Monday, November 19, 2018

Back in the Saddle Redux




Wow, it's been nearly a year since the previous post.  A lot has happened. I retired at the end of July.  In August, we moved to a city out past Sacramento where the rent is cheaper and most of the kids & grandchildren live closer.  Nice town too, with enough hills to make the road cycling more interesting.  Haven't found much for the mountain bike yet, but sooner or later I hope to discover some good trails.

Work ?  Except for the people, don't miss it a bit !  Although I do have recurring and mildly disturbing dreams in which I'm still working the same type of job.  Hopefully, like dreaming of cigarettes after one has kicked the habit, they will eventually subside.

And after a long hiatus, I have resumed painting.  Finally all the paints and supplies are out of storage.  I've set up a nice workspace in the garage which fortunately has a window which lets in a good amount of natural light.  Getting somewhat cold out there now but still tolerable.


So what do we have here ?  This is a 40mm Renaissance knight ca. 1500 from Heinrichsen Zinnfiguren.  Nice old flat, the original set of landsknechts were issued in 1885.  He is casting # 46 in the series and about the only suitable mounted figure in the set. I bought the casting as a one off from Jim Horan a few years back and just got around to painting him.  I understand from Dr. Grobe of Heinrichsen that the mold is damaged, so for better or worse my paint job will have to suffice.  Here are a couple more close-ups.




What next ?   I recently stumbled across some interesting 40-45mm semi-flats (with emphasis on the flat) made in Russia.  All told they are 32 different for the Italian Wars.  They're somewhat crude, but still appealing and match well for size with Meisterzinn.  I got 24 and will post in groups of 8.  But here's a taste.







16 comments:

  1. Nice to see you are painting again! You have a great way of painting with a lot of contrast and color!

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  2. Nice to hear from you again , it's 5 years since I took early retirement and it was the best move I've ever done (well except getting married - in case the Mrs reads this ) . excellent looking figures as well !

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  3. Great to have you back posting. I took early retirement four months ago and have no regrets. Figures look great. I look forward to seeing the Russian ones.
    Alan

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  4. Great figures, nice to see you back and I hope you enjoy your retirement.

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  5. Great to see you back in harness Corporal, and as always stunning work on the figures.

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  6. "Retired" is the best job I've ever had!

    Great figures, great painting, esp the armour. This is one of the periods where flats feel especially appropriate.

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  7. Yeah! Steve is back in action. Eclectic figures and great painting... and inspiration. Happy retirement. John B

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  8. Gents, thanks very much indeed ! It feels good to be painting again and I appreciate the warm welcome back.

    Regarding retirement, I'm nearly 68. Optimally I should have worked a few more years to ramp up the Social Security benefits and company pension amount. Such is life in the USA. But mentally, I was burned out from years of working in a stressful technical environment. It was time to go.

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  9. I have always felt the flats paint up in a way that I would like rounds to look, but is probably impossible to achieve because they are rounds. Lovely troops - and probably just the thing for 14th-15th Century.

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    1. Interesting observation, Ion. And one I think I agree with. The Heinrichsen figures are of course true, classic flats. I for one am glad the 19th Century legacy has been kept alive.

      The WIP shot is of the Russian Three Heroes figures. Of course they're not the real deal, being very much in the style of home castings. For thinness, they're pretty close to the original Holger Erikssen Prince August figures.

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  10. Great to see you're back in action - have missed your paintwork! - the pics here are lovely.

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  11. Welcome back.The painting is as good as ever.

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  12. Beautifully painted flats and a joy to see. Glad to see you returned to blogging after a busy year.

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  13. Coolio- I knew you would always go back to your 40mm love. That knight is ace!
    Cheers
    Ths

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