Being a Modern Unitarian...with a giggle.

 At the risk of offending some, I thought I would post what I consider a very funny musical skit regarding my personal faith walk as it stands today. With tomorrow being Good Friday and Sunday being Easter, I hope this will allow some to enjoy the diversity or opinion of others. Have a giggle. Don't take things too hard. And please remember that your Higher Power loves you no matter what. 

Being a Unitarian, albeit of the more traditional New England version, I wish the best to all of my fellow carbon based bi-pedal life forms. 

And now... enjoy..

If you can't get a giggle from this... you may need to watch it again.

I promise proper toy solider stuff will follow soon. After I'm done laughing at this video for the tenth or eleventh time.. 

Cheers;

Eric

I have been to.....The Pentagon

 Yes, THAT Pentagon. The five-sided insane asylum that is the reported home of The Good Idea Fairies. 

My course trekked up the highway to Alexandria, VA for a tour and a briefing with Q&A with a senior Warrant Officer in Force Management. 

And once we got there.....there is a lovely sign stating that no photography was allowed, except in very specific locations and circumstances. 

Fortunately, the current Duke of Saxe-Appeal was speaking about the Duchy's latest NATO commitments, especially since Sweden and Finland are now members, as well as the most recent updates on UN Peacekeeping Operations. 

 As we toured the corridors, it was hard not stop every couple of feet to check out the different artefacts and displays. There were paintings and panels speaking to all aspects of American military history. 

Despite what you see in the movies, the building itself is really a jumbled collection of small offices, random support services (like a flower shop) and cubicles that are smaller than my Boss Collective's offices, which are pretty average by my employer's standards. The food court was typical American shopping mall set up. The Big News is they are getting a Five Guys Burgers and Fries...coming soon! 

One of our guides said you can always tell visitors and newly assigned personnel, since they are the ones staring at the maps on the wall with a glazed look and blank, almost despondent expression trying to figure out where they are and where they need to go. 

And whilst I could not get any pictures, except for the one above, I did manage to get one thing at the gift shop.... 

Now I can say I've been there, done that, and got the coffee mug to prove it... 

It's a chilly, rainy, rainy, rainy day here in the Duchy. A good day to keep that mug filled with a hot coffee.

Wednesday Update

 Just a quick mid-week update on painting progress. Nothing too crazy, just some additions to my 1745 Project and my French and Indian War collection. 

First up, are three piquets from the Irish Brigade. Those are from left to right, Regiments Dillon, Lally, and Rooth. These are from Minden Miniatures. Wonderful figures, too. 

I do have figures for Regiment Berwick in the Lead Mountain. I hope to get to those soon. As well as figures for Regiment Escossais. 

The next up, are some command figures for my French Milice. These are Sash and Saber figures, which paint up quite nicely. 

Finally, I've got a few Abenaki leader figures, also from Sash and Saber. I've got the main body of the warband on the painting table. 

I do apologize for the poor lighting and quality of the photos. When I get home and get back to my proper painting table, I'm sure the lighting will improve. I can't say the same for the quality or quantity of my painting... 

Saint Patrick's Day In The Morning

 The last two days here in Dixie Doodle Land have been so warm and nice, that all hobby activities have come to a complete stop, except for walking the local battlefields. More of that anon.

But as it is Saint Patrick's Day and as I'm Oirish heritage, it seems fitting to delve back into the Ducal Archives to pull out some appropriately themed pictures. 

All the back in 2020, I ran a series of games based on a set of rules written by my friend Ross and influenced by One Hour Wargames. They were designed as a simple three game campaign set in the 1798 Irish Rebellion. 

Prominently figured were the two commanders, Lord Flatbroke (an avatar of my friend Brendan, who lives in the UK) and "General" Lannigan, after my dear friend, the late Jerry Lannigan. I also added my friend John The OFM in the guise of Father Carroll, SJ, perennial advisor to the First Nations and pain-in-the-ass to Les Anglaise in New France. This time, The Wormhole brought him to Ballykillbilly, to advise Mr. General Lannigan... 

Both sides, organized above, onto movement trays. The respective commanders mounted on round bases of their own. 

Both sides at their respective starting positions. I used a gridded table for this series of games instead of my normal ground cloth. It was, after all, supposed to be quick and such. 

Things went fast and furious, but ultimately, poor dice rolling for the British led to the Oirish being able to get into stabby-stabby range with their pikes and it caused the Redcoats to run like rabbits. 

I really enjoy this period. The comic opera-bouffe atmosphere that I create bears absolutely no resemblance to the horror of that time. But despite that, I have a deep and abiding interest in this period. My ancestors came from County Meath and County Cavan, so for me, this will continue to be a period I shall play. 

I wish you all a good day, no matter what holidays you celebrate. 

But here's a little something from the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem.. 😏

The Brown Deer Clan Arrives from the Pays d'en Haut

 Voyaging from the land of the Potawatami, the Odawa (Ottawa) and the Menominee, the Brown Deer Clan has presented themselves, today, to Ontonio at Fort L'Ecuyer, to ask to join in the upcoming campaigns against Les Anglais and their allies. 

Promises of glory to the young warriors, a chance to prove themselves in a raid, and possibly bring something of material value back to their homes, has led them to come east. 

With winter rapidly departing and signs of an early spring evident, this could augur well for the fortunes of New France. But only time will tell.

My friend Bill P., from Brown Deer, WI, very kindly gifted me some First Nations figures that were surplus to his requirements. They were already black primed and just needed a bit of tidying up to be ready for painting. I did a very simple paint job to get them completed quickly. Along with several other figures, I'll flock them this weekend. 

Most of the figures are RSM, with one lone Hinchliffe, and one other figure whose provenance I am unsure. 

Thank you, Bill! I hope they will play well on the table with my Milice and Colonial Regulars.

What I Am Reading Right Now

 A recent purchase from Mark T. in New Jersey found me with eight new volumes to add to the Ducal Library. Mark has a variety of interests, including the early colonial period of North America, which is one of my prime periods. I've bought several books from him before and I have never been disappointed. 

I brought two of these books back with me to provide much needed "mental floss" on my course.

The first of these, New Worlds, Old Wars, is a survey history of conflict between colonists and First Nations from first contact with Powhatan in 1607 to the Abenaki War in Maine, which occurred in 1675-1678, and was an adjunct to King Philip's War. 

The author, David Childs, is a former RN Officer and academic and his style is clear, concise, and, shall we say, very direct with regard to the colonists' attitude towards Amerindians. It was refreshing for me to see an author not shy away from the motives and prejudices of the English settlers. Childs also shows how an imperfect understanding of each other by both sides exacerbated conflict, despite the efforts of some individuals on both sides to reduce tensions. 

I would highly recommend this book for a wargamer or a person who has an interest in the First Contact period and early colonial history. Especially if your rules offer the potential to semi-role play a leader or Hero type figure, that would add a lot of flavour to a game, this is a good resource to help flesh out a game of, say, Songs of Drums and Tomahawks. 

The second book, Connecticut Unscathed, by Jason Warren, is a really fantastic volume which looks at a slice of the King Philip's War story, specifically focused on the colony of Connecticut. And yet it brings out a much bigger subject. Perhaps we look to narrowly at KPW and it should, instead, be called The Great Narraganset War. 

Warren's writing style is dynamic and his research is extensive. He makes one think and I really love that. Warren delves into tactics and The How and The Why. Basically, the reason Connecticut did not suffer nearly as bad as the other three New England colonies was because of better intelligence, better relations and use of First Nations allies, and a more flexible and dynamic mission command system. 

Another book I would highly recommend. 

Now, to get back to painting the Abenaki, the Wampanoag, and the Generic First Nations figures on my painting table... 

Happy National Toy Soldier Day!

Was I surprised when someone who knows about my hobby wished me a Happy Toy Soldier Day? 

Um...just a little. 

Am I surprised there IS a "national XXX day" for toy soldiers? 

Well, considering it's also National Grammar Day, National Music Day and National Pound Cake Day... 

Not really. 

Of course, I cannot let today go by without a little celebration. 

So here is my contribution. 

First, an opening prayer, homily, and a Benediction...from Father Carroll, SJ, who routinely advises my Canadien Milice, Ballykillbilly rebels, and First Nations warbands. 

The Jebbies and the ICBs may follow different paths, but their Message is pretty similar. 

"Blessed be the Toy Soldiers, for whom we play"...

Next are some fine members of the North Shore Regiment (New Brunswick), recently painted in The One True Scale of 1/32nd... 

Of course, without the appropriate reference materials, we would only be guessing on how to paint our figures. 

These were acquired this weekend from Rob D, from the HAWKS. Along with my friend Ross, the two have convinced me I need to get a few figures to try out a new period... just a few figures... for a small game... 

And, of course, the WHY of Toy Soldiers... 

In this case, The Great World War One Flying Ace making his appearance on the table at a recent show.

 In my mind, there isn't a better symbol of the fun and joy associated with playing with Toy Soldiers, than this fellow here. 

To all my fellow hobbyists, I wish you the joy of the day. And if you happened to stumble upon this blog, I hope you will take a moment to find the simple pleasure of a game of Soldiers. 

Playing at Soldiers is so much better than actually doing so.