15mm Old Glory Union Generals - Meade & McCLellan

 

At center is the General Grant I finished in 2018, but joining him are previous army commanders, Mead (sic) and McClellan. 

I suppose I could go and add the "E" that Old Glory left off, but I won't. 

These are Stuart McDonald's Essex Union models along the sides.

These had been taking up space on the workbench for years, so glad to have gotten them off. War of Rights, as I've mentioned, has really boosted my interest in the Civil War lately. 

I've got to repaint that set of Gallia? stone walls, one of which is in the background here. 

A regiment of Stuart McDonald's Essex Union. He was a great painter - I miss him a lot. 

General McClellan

Those stones in the wall were "decorative filler" that I super-glued together, primed and painted. 

General Longstreet will be the next vignette from this line of models. What's next? A unit of Essex Virginians? Or those Blue Moon Pirates? Or something else entirely? Hard to say. 

As always, thanks for looking - questions, comments and followers are welcome and encouraged! I'm doing more and more on Facebook so follow my page there too! https://www.facebook.com/One-of-My-Men-Became-Restless-100659928063858

15mm Peter Pig - Pirates - Dockside Characters, Swivel Gunners, & Plunderers

Three more packs of Peter Pig Pirates completed. These might, indeed, be the last of them. I have Corsairs, and definitely more government forces, but I think this is it for the pirates - these are the Dockside Characters of course.  

I fancy these "guards" on the left as more like a police service, though I think I should have painted them in white uniforms to lend themselves as Spanish. This is an Imagination project and I'll fold in Renaissance figures in here as well, so it doesn't really matter all that much. 

 

Somehow, these seem a lot more bleached out than they do under my "sun" lights. 

The Plunderers

This is how they appeared last night before highlighting the bases ... something is not quite right ...

In any event, I have lots of other brands to paint up in this collection, but next up will be rank and file Blue Moon Pirates, already well underway. Skin, some purple cloth, and firearms can already be seen in the blurred background here. 

As always, thanks for looking - questions, comments and followers are welcome and encouraged! I'm doing more and more on Facebook so follow my page there too! https://www.facebook.com/One-of-My-Men-Became-Restless-100659928063858

St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 - in New Orleans

Yes, this is the same cemetery seen in Easy Rider, and, it's like, was incorporated into Disney's The Princess and the Frog (Lafayette Cemetery). I came to get ideas on how to paint and weather those great big crypts from Old Glory's 25/28mm Dracula Wars range. They are beautiful models, and I've never been sure my skills were up to the task of painting them, but I think I have a better sense of what to aim for. They aren't next by any means, but a boost in confidence is a step towards tackling these giants! 

We were told to stick to the tour guide, but I needed as much pictorial references as I could get so I was the laggard in the small group I was attached to. Still, in no particular order, here all are my unedited shots, starting from the outside wall:

There were a number of well-maintained tombs in here that I just skipped over. It's the decay I want to document. 

Long story short - Cemeteries are above ground in New Orleans because of the frequent flooding. Historically, coffins would come floating to the surface during heavy floods, tipping out their contents and spreading untold disease and death. 

Our very informed guide at right, but I wanted to see where dirt fell and accumulated on urns on pedestals. That looks like a course off-white drybrush over a brown/black

These bricks are more brown than "brick red."

This is the future burial site of actor Nicholas Cage. The pyramid was built over an existing tomb, keeping its means of entry (or exit, muuhahahaha) intact.

This is the tomb of Homer Plessy of "Plessy v. Ferguson" fame. 

The tomb of Marie Laveau - Voodoo Priestess or a nurse who dressed hair on the side?

Patron saint of hairdressers - note the hair ties that litter the area. They have to clean out all the "donations" people make. The triple XXXs are attempts to get Laveus to grant the wishes of the vandal. 

Bonus! Everyone I showed this to guessed it almost immediately. This is the Buckner House (a private residence) which was used as the exterior for the 2023 Haunted Mansion film,

This is the one that illustrators drew upon for The Princess and the Frog, but alas, it was closed. Cool gate though. A wind was blowing those leaves over the gravel and was making spooky loud scuttling sounds even at 11 something in the morning.  

As always, thanks for looking - questions, comments and followers are welcome and encouraged! I'm doing more and more on Facebook so follow my page there too! https://www.facebook.com/One-of-My-Men-Became-Restless-100659928063858