A Railway Adventure, Feudal Flags And Warriors (of the Plastic persuasion) 

A day in the life of a border town in the Midlands

I counted them all out......The Calm Before The Storm......A Tale Of Railway Adventure!

For some time now, I have wanted to have a game that involved or even centred around my lovely tin plate Hornby railway pieces. I am the first to confess that I am not a train fanatic and was hugely disappointed as a child in the 1960s, when I realised the train set someone bought me for Christmas just went round in a circle....endlessly! I have since then however, grown older and wiser (although some would dispute the latter claim!) , enabling me to appreciate the charm of, in particular, the 'o' gauge tin plate trains. I love the tactile feel of the tin plate rolling stock and the associated buildings and now have a small collection to add further colour to my toy soldier adventures. I can't envisage a complete train layout as I do not have the space but I suspect I will add more pieces to my little collection.....just because......

All Aboard!

The game will be played out as time and family allows, but will involve a desperate attempt to transport a very important personage to safety by rail, before the town falls to an overwhelming enemy force. Off table barrages, armoured vehicles, street fighting and desperate defences will be the order of the day. A number of individual personalities may have an impact on the outcome, depending on the whims of the dice. I hope the game will live up to my own expectations and produce some moments of fun and excitement. My next blog post will tell the tale! In line with previous precedent, I thought I would show you the town going about its business before the arrival of the hostile forces on its outskirts.

Any old iron!

A stroll in the park

Waiting at the level crossing

Tally ho!

The Admiral and the mem sahib!

Blowing the whistle!

The level crossing and signal box

The Town Territorials....a splendid sight!

The Paddock

Petrol rationing ?

Railway cuttings

Lovely day Vicar!

Daily deliveries!

A Policeman's lot!

It was not long before the town received the news they had been dreading and the evacuation began in the face of the advancing Socialist forces. Work quickly commenced to put some improvised barriers and barbed wire in the main thoroughfares. Whilst the townspeople had largely left the VIP was on her way to board the train to take her to safety. 

The noise of artillery and battle is coming closer with the defenders on the outskirts of the town beginning to fall back for the last ditch defence of the train line. How will it all end? Who knows...maybe it will all be settled by the roll of a dice.....or two?

Waifs and strays.....Feudal flags of war ....vive la faux French!

One of the great things about common interests is friendships made and generosity freely given to fellow enthusiasts. I had recently sent my friend Michael a couple of refurbished Britain's flower beds to compliment his  newly built model houses. In return he insisted on making me some banners for my faux French medieval forces. I don't know what I expected, but the beautiful hand drawn and painted banners that arrived in the post exceeded my expectations! I have mounted them on cut down plastic call to arms English Civil War pikes. These are flexible and fit well in the hands of most of the figures made to hold separate weapons. I have given them all a temporary custodian for the purpose of these photos, although some will probably be permanent.

I will let the photos speak for themselves.

There were one or two chaps who weren't impressed though ! 

Thanks again Michael. For anyone who isn't familiar with Michaels blog, I heartily recommend a visit to 'Wargaming with 54mm toy soldiers'. Follow the link in my favourite blogs list.

Three cheers for.....Plastic Warrior reaches 200 issues!

Congratulations to Paul, Brian and Peter ,and everyone else who has contributed to the amazing achievement of 200 issues of my favourite toy soldier magazine! If you have an interest in plastic toy soldiers then you should be a subscriber to this magazine. Its great value and in full colour. 

To subscribe, contact  Paul Morehead, email address, pweditor3@gmail.com. You won't regret it!

Tara a bit!