Sunday, 28 August 2022

A start with Mark’s Little Soldiers

 Yesterday saw me unpack and start a few of MLS soldiers which arrived in profusion this week. They , as said elsewhere, are well cast, tall and with minimal flash. They are a easy to paint compared to others I tried recently. However l am currently tired and caught up with real life , if not physically then mentally. August, as we go through the latter half of the month, becomes a lead up to Jan’s anniversary on the 30th. The girls need extra support to negotiate this time be they local or far away.This was compounded this year by what would have been my late father’s 95th birthday on the 26th. There is a sense of relief when we enter September.

Anyway a start has been made with painting and I have even made a simple conversion, more of which anon. 

The above picture is of some of my reading currently. I can’t seem to find the suitable Tintin volume around the house but am looking. It’s the one about King Ottokar. Anyway what has been developing in my mind are two tiny states which have come out from what was the former Austrian Hungarian Empire . One ( a tad like Mark’s Slovskan) is a well equipped modern army with a Czech vibe whilst the other is rather more backward looking, overly bureaucratic and less modern in tactical outlook. It is based around Austrian and Hungarian armies of the period. I will use Mark’s Bergland figures for it. Name suggestions welcome!

So here we are. Watch this space for further developments…

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18 comments:

  1. Mark Man Of TIN28 August 2022 at 08:10

    It’s good to have something shiny to look forward to when you make it through this difficult time to September. You could always invest in a shiny new copy of King Ottakar Sceptre too!

    For a Nation names, try the hundreds of random ones on:

    https://www.name-generator.org.uk/country/

    https://www.fantasynamegenerators.com/country-names.php

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    1. Mark Man Of TIN28 August 2022 at 08:18

      The Black Isle - Tintin in Scotland https://blog.historicenvironment.scot/2020/11/tintin-inspirations-for-the-black-island/

      Delete
    2. Anonymous28 August 2022 at 08:28

      Try the TINTIN webpage https://www.tintin.com/en/albums/king-ottokar-s-sceptre
      for some of the illustrations

      Delete
    3. Anonymous29 August 2022 at 08:14

      I have sent off for a shiny new copy, it arrives today.
      Alan tr

      Delete
  2. Neil Patterson28 August 2022 at 08:59

    Graustark v Ruritania? Ostmark v Moravia? Or any combination therein?
    Neil

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous29 August 2022 at 08:15

      Great ideas, thanks!
      Alan Tradgardland

      Delete
  3. Maudlin Jack Tar28 August 2022 at 09:43

    King Ottokar's Sceptre is the Tintin book I think

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    1. Anonymous29 August 2022 at 08:15

      I am looking forward to renewing my acquaintance with it…
      Alan Tradgardland

      Delete
  4. Anonymous28 August 2022 at 10:17

    Getting the 'unable to sign in to comment' message!
    Anyway, if you're ever looking at using aircraft in your operations, look at Blue Rider Publishing:
    https://blueriderpublishing.com/
    They do a number of books on this such as 'A Scale Modeller's Guide to Aircraft from the Adventures of Tintin'!
    And as the site says, 'Decals, Books and Magazines for Aircraft Modellers' - they do the decals as well.
    The books themselves are basically full of colour drawings of all the aircraft showing colour schemes, markings and contex. Well worth it, also available as ebooks.
    (To be fair, just now looked up when I posted it on my blog and you commented!)
    https://easterngarrison.blogspot.com/2020/11/aircraft-from-adventures-of-tintin-etc.html
    Rob

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    1. Anonymous29 August 2022 at 08:16

      Very tempting, l recall it now…
      Alan Tradgardland

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  5. Jim Duncan28 August 2022 at 11:05

    Well done Grasshopper.

    Here's a little tip for a young one like yourself.

    When 'undercoating' or 'priming' these sort of figures in 'old school' style paint the figure base the same colour and this will help the final 'smooth' finish of the whole figure. I expect the base colour will be green.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous29 August 2022 at 08:16

      An excellent tip, many thanks.
      Alan Tradgardland

      Delete
  6. Brian C28 August 2022 at 11:31

    My figures have pretty prominent mould marks on the legs but nothing onerous. A few worms, a trend in moulding and casting that really annoys me - amazing that Minifigs and Hinchliffe managed so well without them ;-) Although troops usually had helmet/coat/trousers of a single colour I fancy a more colourful outfit as per some of Kevin Dallimore's painting for Mark.
    And do take it easy for a few days and recharge the batteries.

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    1. Anonymous29 August 2022 at 08:17

      Thanks for advice. I look forward to seeing what uniform colours you decide upon…
      Alan Tradgardland

      Delete
  7. David Morfitt28 August 2022 at 19:53

    Look forward to seeing this develop. Are you going to create some appropriate heraldry (yes, and flags! ;-)) for them?

    Cheers,

    David.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous29 August 2022 at 08:18

      Thanks, now that is a thought…
      Alan Tradgardland

      Delete
  8. nundanket28 August 2022 at 23:28

    I like Neil's suggestion of Moravia, but I would have that as the Czech-style state. For the others, why not pick a province of Hungary or Slovakia?
    https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/Hungary_1941-44_Administrative_Map.png

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous29 August 2022 at 08:18

    Interesting additional advice, will investigate today…
    Alan Tradgardland

    ReplyDelete

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