The House of War: Shelf #1

 

Hi all!

Well, it has been a busy time for me!  Moving, a new kid, the end of a work year... but thankfully I have finally gotten my new war room all set up!  Thanks to the help of a buddy (and some kind donations from him) and of course for years of great gifts from friends and family... as well as many years of painting toy soldiers... it has all come together!

So over the next few weeks I'll share some photos.  First up?  The first cabinet of toy soldiers!

The cabinets are Detolf cabinets from Ikea, with shelves added (thanks, AesSedai!)  They really work nicely.  The only issue is that packed-together soldiers block the light from hitting the bottom few shelves effectively... but honestly the room is so well-lit it doesn't matter.

So, here it is!

All of the Shelf #1s have the tallest figures I own.  This one has a sampling from my X-Wing collection (including a Royal Guard Interceptor I converted and painted.)  It also has the commander for my old Warhammer army, my Empire General on Griffon.  In the back right I have my little Deadwood diorama that I did.  In the front row are my Space Wolf terminators, and then my growing collection of zombie survivors!

Next shelf is PURE WWII Flames of War Germans.  I made a LOT of sandbags for this collection!:)

The next shelf is another mixed bag... my Fellowship of the Ring and some assorted 28mm Confederate command stands (painted for a game that they weren't actually needed for!).  Then, in the back, I have my small group of 28mm ACW Federals and then a random standard bearer I made when I was a little kid... I figure a throwback or two doesn't hurt!:)

The next three shelves are pure 10mm Napoleonics.  First up?  The Old Guard!

I simply don't have enough shelf space for all the 10mm Napoleonics... a lot of them are still in boxes.  I only had one shelf to really put out 10mm French Infantry... so I decided to do a 1:1 French Battalion!

And finally, here is some of the 10mm Napoleonic French cavalry, ready to run some enemies down!

So!  That is cabinet #1  I'll have more photos tonight, including hopefully of the workbench, where I've just finished some Star Wars Armada ships and started in on another batch of Vikings!

Thanks for coming by!

The toy soldiers are almost all boxed up...

Whelp, the guys who don't have space on the shelf are all boxed up, along with all the terrain... box after box after box of stuff.

Sort of sad... I guess it hadn't really hit me that all these guys were going away:(

The miniatures find a new home...

Well, at least SOME of them do!

So, I finally finished building and putting on the new shelf fronts, and overall I think it turned our really nice.  The War Den is coming together!:)

Unfortunately, a lot of figures didn't make it to the display... no 15mm ACW, no 10mm Napoleonics, no 25mm Russian artillery... but I don't have a lot of space, so choices must be made!  A mistake?  Should the 15mm WWII Germans go, in favor of something else?  They DO take up a LOT of space... thoughts?

Some of the antiques in their new home

Hi all!

Well, as I mentioned, I am currently taking apart the House of War.

That said, all is not lost, as soon I'll be having the DEN of War... albeit without a war-games table.  But still, it should look good for the time being.

Here is one of the cabinets downstairs with its new occupants... my two original packs, my original cartridge box, a repro sword and a repro kepi!

I was hoping to get one or two more things in there, but it was not to be... too crowded!

Anyway... more on the way, as the shelves will be done shortly!

The end of the House of War...

Hi all!  

What on earth is happening with that empty cabinet...?

Well... it's a bittersweet moment here at The House of War.

As many of you know (or at least whoever has kept up on this blog) I have a happy little son.  He is two and a half, and just about the kindest, most lovable child I've ever known.  He loves toy soldiers, and his toy cars (and repairing them) and is a great kid.

And now we are expecting #2... a little girl.  My collection is (OCD) complete!

However, that comes with a caveat... the toy soldier room now has to be converted over to a bedroom:(

Down will come the table, the cabinets will disappear, the prints and antiques will come down... all of it.  

Now, there IS an upside... we have a GREAT downstairs den that doubles as a guest room.  It has lots of wall space, wood paneling, great shelves, a lit gun cabinet... and guess who is taking it over to display his figures?

Yep... me!  So, I'll have some updates over the next few months as I disassemble the table and take apart the room... but the FIRST task was building these sliding-door cabinet fronts to keep my boys safe!  I'll have the "how to" soon, but thought folks might like a peek!

Some day the House of War will return... I do anticipate, someplace down the line, having a permanent man cave in a future home, with several tables and a lot of other extras.  So, someday, I'll be back with something great.  In the meantime, however, a lot of the great photo opportunities will be on hold, with only the smaller projects and all featured.

So!  I hope everyone can stick with me while the House of War becomes something else!

A table chock FULL of miniatures!

Just thought I would share... a "behind the scenes" shot of the photo session for the chateau... and frankly, a damn lot of figures on the table.  Any Napoleonic player would enjoy looking through it all for a while up close... I know I do!:)

A night of looking at toy soldiers and military stuff

Howdy all!

A buddy of mine stopped by tonight for some toy soldier lookin' at and steak.

We finally put up the new pack, along with a kepi... looks pretty sharp on the top of the cabinet.  Moved the print to the near one.

Also sold him the small army of toy soldiers to the right.  A very fair price, I do think, especially since I got them at a fair price originally and they have frankly sat in a closet for three years untouched... better to have them out there and completed!

Finally, also put together some spare British bits to make a little "objective" marker of sorts of a British square... I figure it should be useful for some photos or something visually interesting!

Another Amazing New (or rather, "quite old") Gift!

Howdy all!

First off, sorry it has been so long... work just ended up, and I'm hosting something like four BBQs in 12 days... plus, a LOT of housework getting ready for the baby.  I'll have more coming at some point, of course... maybe Vikings, or maybe Napoleonics.   Not sure:)

In the meantime, however, I thought I'd share a gift I just picked up.  A friend of my in-laws, who has been RIDICULOUSLY kind in the past, sent this along my way!   It is a northern backpack. Apparently they are fairly rare... a wooden frame with leather.  The 22 on the back I am assuming refers to the 22nd New York State Militia, but I am not 100% sure about that.

Anyway... a really amazing gift!  What kills me is that the gent who passed it along to me has a STUNNING single daughter... I am trying to convince my pregnant wife to leave me so that maybe I can marry his daughter, but I don't seem to be having much luck:)

So... now I need to figure out how to display it!  I may switch it off with my other pack for a while... I particularly adore the company marking on the back.

**LOADS** of GREAT eye-candy... terrain, Old West, and loads'o'antiques!

Howdy all!

Well, went over to my buddy's place today... took a bunch of table shots, played a bunch of 15mm Cowboys on the big table, and even took some photos of the room and some random stuff in it!

First up... the table shots!

Okay, first up, a shot of the table from the town side.  Please excuse the white board balanced on the edge... it is for record-keeping for a shoot-out:)

You can also see the unpainted fort, placed near the center.  It was taken out shortly after this photo... just wanted to see the layout of the fort.

Here is a shot of the mountains at the end.  You can see some swampland at the bottom left corner... if you look close, you'll even see a buck sheltering in the swamps.

Here is a shot of the mountains from the far side.  You can see the road leading out to the plains, and the camp on the near slope.  On the far mountain you can just make out the miner camp.

Here is a close-up of the nearest camp.  We finished playing and my buddy put out my gang in the camp.

Here is a more well-lit shot of the mountain pass.

Here is the far mountain, with the miner camp.  You can actually see the miners in this shot... two up top (one actually right against the tree) and two guys down below.

On a tall mountain peak, a wolf perches up on a log and howls.

Now, let's get to town!  Here is a shot from outside of town.  You can see the taller grasslands on the right.

Here is a shot of the homestead just outside of town... my buddy is using it as his home base for his gang leader.

Another shot of town, from the far side.

The train pulls up, and a man who has to leave kisses his girl goodbye.

Another shot of the backside of town... the priest is down on the lower left, visiting a grave.

A shot up main street.

A kid runs along the sidewalk in the center of town.

Folks walking around town.

The Chinese laundry.

A moment from the start of one of the gunfights we had tonight... the saloon owner doesn't see the cowboy drawing his weapon...

Now, as for games themselves... we played a bunch of hunts!  Here is "Red" from my gang hunting a wolf.  I think this one got away.

Johnny Ringo, from my buddy's gang, kills himself a cougar... I think he made some dough on that pelt!

The Wells Fargo coach comes out from the valley...

... but just as it hits the plains...

... some cowboys gallop out!

We tried to hijack maybe four stagecoaches today, but they all got away... you don't want to risk your boys too recklessly!

At the end of the night, my gang rests up!

Also, here are a few "craft" shots... first up, here is the bottom of these figures.  Remember, they are 15mm... the infantry is mounted on a button, and the mounted figures on a penny!

Here is a shot from the side.

Here are all the cowboys in their case.

My gang... Hitchcock on the left, boss leader William in the center, and "Red" on the right.

Here are a few shots of the room!  One kepi (artillery I believe) with some swords (decorative) and a few other bits.

Other side of the fireplace, including the hand-stitched Irish Brigade flag.

The mantel over the fireplace... the 15mm ACW troops normally aren't there.  Neither is the kepi; it normally lives on the drum, but was moved for a moment.

The .45s my buddy recently got.  You can see glimpses of the 28mm AWI collection to his left and right.

The K-98 he also got recently... it is an original (repro sling) in AMAZING condition.  Notice near the center left of the barrel the swastika/eagle emblem... just ahead of the K-98 forward of the breech.

Just one of the ridiculous number of shelves all around the edges of the room... note the customized Tigers on the front left of this shot, and the early war CSA unit at the back corner in havelocks.  There are about eight shelves like these of 28mm ACW in the room, along with 10 or so additional big plastic crates of the rest of the 28mm ACW collection under the table, about 20something shelves of 28mm AWI, a huge 28mm WWII shelf, a huge 15mm WWII shelf, and some other assorted figures.

Anyway... hope all have enjoyed!