Cabinette Wars

Guerrillas in the Mist

Well, I've finally walked the walk and put together a blog to capture some of the trials, tribulations, and triumphs(?) of my wargaming hobby.  As I now have more time, and my own dedicated wargaming space (my bijou cabin, or 'cabinette'), there was no excuse left for not returning the compliment to the wargaming blogosphere which has provided me with so much enjoyment over the years.

So this, my inaugural post, features my newly completed 20mm Napoleonic Spanish Guerrillas, a VERY generous gift from Stryker of the "Hinton Hunt Vintage Wargame Figures" blog. 

The figures are mainly Hinton Hunt recasts but include a few genuine castings and even an Alberken(?) among those converted into guerrilla leaders and a crew for 'THE GUN'.  The 'Hinton' guerrillas have been organised into four 6-figure skirmish units, with leaders converted from other figures, the one holding the musket being from a Hinton Hunt muleteer as was one of the gun crew.  I'm reasonably pleased with them but do wish I had used less blue, as with the red headscarves they look a bit garden 'Gnomish', but with muskets instead of fishing rods.  

The gun crew consisting of four modified figures, including two of the guerrillas, is for my Warhammer Great Cannon.  This is for some silliness based around the film 'The Pride and the Passion' starring Cary Grant, Sophia Loren and Frank Sinatra, which was based on CS Forrester's book 'The Gun', which in turn was based on real events during the Peninsular War.

So, to round off, a photo of the full force deploying under the watchful eye of 'El Gordo', my Guerrilla general - a heavily modified Minifig.  

Making a late appearance, just before the man shouts 'Action!', are Cary, Sophia and Frank, made, respectively, from a Newline naval officer, a Lamming female civilian (WW2) and a Newline naval rating.  The mules and oxen are by Jacklex Miniatures.

Finally, why 'Guerrillas (Gorillas) in the Mist'?  Well, I sprayed on the first coat of gloss varnish on a really damp day, indoors, with a brand-new spray can.  This resulted in a heavier coat than intended which promptly started to go cloudy.  Cue a mad panic to brush them down with white spirit (I paint with enamels) and much bad language as in my haste I knocked over the bottle of white spirit.  Luckily, my ever-patient wife came to the rescue to mop up the spillage, leaving me free to thin down the varnish quickly enough that no re-paint was required.