My Dad's Model Collection - Part III

   "Testing... Testing..." *taps microphone* "Is this thing on?!"

 

   The Sinclair Memorial Home for Incurable Tyrants (and Kings) has once again opened its doors! We've been gone for a few months, but we are now back, coming to you live and direct from beautiful and history-filled Ancaster Ontario.

 

   This move has been an exciting one, as my new place has a fully finished basement, which is being converted into a gaming hall, called the War-nasium. I've already got three events booked for the War-nasium this month, and my new gaming table is being delivered this Thursday. The future is bright!

 

   To kick things off here's part III of my Dad's model collection. The Black Watch Highlanders.

  

 

 

    These striking figures are plastic Airfix 54mm Waterloo British Highlanders. My Dad painted this diorama as a gift for my Grandfather, years and years and years ago.

   My Grandfather treasured this piece, and kept it proudly displayed in his office for decades. It has always been one of my favourites, as well. You can really see my Dad's attention to detail and the careful love he put into these soldiers. Gluing and mounting those paper crossbelts and straps must have driven my Dad nuts!

  

   Thank you again for visiting my little corner of the web. It feels great to be back, and there's plenty more to come... including my tribute to the Great War!

 

See you soon!

-Andrew 

My Dad's Model Collection - Part II

   Part II of my tribute to my Dad's collection is a little treat for my American friends, and something of a confession. One of my Dad's most striking dioramas of 54mm Airfix figures was this display of American Revolutionary War soldiers defending a fort. As a little boy it was a particular favourite of mine.

Soldiers manning the parapets!

   I loved the detail, and the feeling of impending action. If you listen closely you could hear the drums of the tyrannical Redcoats and their German allies marching towards the walls. The Continentals stand ready.

Whites of their eyes, and all that!

   In fact, I loved this diorama so  much, (confession time), I actually played with the figures. Here's the catch -- They are in no way meant to be played with! The little packs and pouches are all separate pieces, held on to the model with paper straps. In addition my Dad was very careful about using a minimum of glue, so it didn't take much pressure to pop off a head or a bayonet.

Striking, yet fragile.

   And they certainly weren't meant to be dropped.

Where's Charlie?

   Yup. I said dropped. Each figure is resting on a pin that holds it to the base. As such you can slide them off the base and move them around, like little toys. One day while quietly doing this I, a notoriously clumsy kid, dropped a soldier -- let's call him Charlie. Charlie hit the concrete floor of the basement rec-room with a cracking sound that filled me with blood curdling fear. Terrified at what I'd done I snuck Charlie's battered remains into the garbage and hoped he would not be missed.

   He was.

Charlie will not be forgotten!

   This was sad, as looking back I realize now that Charlie could have been saved, at the price of a tanned hide and a little glue. Worse still, some friends of the family visited with their kids, and I found out years later that my Dad was convinced one of the kids had nicked his model.

   So, there you go! Model soldiers and a confession! Pretty exciting stuff, eh? Thanks as always for stopping by my little corner of the Interwebs.

See you soon!
-Andrew

My Dad's Model Collection - Part I

It's all my dad's fault.

Back in the Seventies, when I was just wee, my dad was bitten by the modelling bug. I suspect his imagination was sparked by the movie Waterloo as well as his insatiable appetite for military history. My dad's chosen scale was 54mm, and in particular he loved Airfix 54mm plastic kits. He used Humbrol oil-based paints, in little metal pots that were a pain to open and would never shut right. I remember him spending hours and hours working away in a little walk-in closet he had converted into a hobby room. It was a mystical place where I was not allowed to go.

My dad's passion for model soldiers was the beginning of my own descent into this mad and wonderful hobby, and so it seemed fitting that I dedicate this blog to his memory. Along with my own projects I will be showcasing his models and dioramas. Here, to get us started, I present his 54mm Airfix Scots Greys, dressed in 1815 Waterloo uniforms.

2nd Royal North British Dragoons, also known as the Scots Greys.

Somebody dropped his hat!

Detail view.

Thanks for visiting, and stay tuned for lots more from both my dad's and my own collections!

Andrew