We all thought you would like to put a face to a name...this is Tony on his 70th Birthday last year in Llandudno, where Tony and Tina had spent the day. As they had on the Sunday before his passing....
 

Dear readers, 

We, Tina (Tony's wife), Laura and Laraine (Tony's daughters) are heartbroken to tell you our beloved Tony passed away peacefully on Friday 12th May. 

The three of us have taken huge pleasure in seeing Tony's enjoyment in sharing what we all thought was a very niche hobby, and finding a community of people who appreciated and shared his passion for the military and military history. 

Tony was new to the blogging world when he set this page up in 2018 and it was a huge learning experience for him. We all loved his excitement when he began receiving comments on his posts, and we thank you for welcoming him into your community and taking the time to read, share and comment with your thoughts on his posts.  We know how much he enjoyed debating various points of view with some of you! 

We are immensely proud of Tony's writing talent, his passion for books, the sheer creativity of his Imagi-Nations series and of course the skill and many many hours he dedicated to building his army. 

We intend to leave this blog here for you to enjoy and we hope it continues to inspire you.  We believe it is a legacy to Tony's passion, talent and creativity. 

Thank you to those who took the time to share your best wishes for Tony; Steve J, Kevin Robertson, Ian Drury and Mark, Man of Tin. Your kind words were appreciated. 

Tina, Laura and Laraine. 

Dear All

For anyone who regularly reads Tony's Blog.

I'm Tina Tony's wife, Tony was taken seriously ill on Tuesday 9th May. He is currently in intensive care at our local hospital. As such, this Blog is going to be silent for for a short while, until Tony's return.

Take Care, Tina

MODELLING TOOLKIT.

 PART 1.   SMALL TOOLS.

This article is all about the small tools I use to build my armies. I shall do a separate post about the larger tools I use later.

From left to right the above photo shows an emery board, I use these for all light filing tasks like sanding the end grain on wagon bodies after the sealer has dried, (see the post on constructing GS wagons). Next are tweezers which I use to place the star transfers I use on flags. Next is a sharp round file that I use to make locating holes for horse harness wires on wagons, (see the article on constructing GS wagons). Next is my metal ruler used to measure out balsa blocks to cut into wagon/trailer bodies and to mark up plastic card for cutting into horses. Then comes my sanding "stik" used for heavy filing. My craft knife is next , used for just about everything including cutting out horses, trimming wagon and trailer shafts to length and even locating transfers correctly. My pencil is used for record keeping and marking balsa and plastic card for cutting. Lastly are my scissors used to cut out horses, trimming flags to size and the tilts on GS wagons to shape.

This photo shows my pack of metal files, two of each shape. These are used for cleaning up the cuts in      screws  for cavalry and filing the grooves in screws used as standard bearers, see the post on making flags.                   

                 

This picture shows my razor saw used to cut balsa for vehicle bodies and of course my cutting mat. I do all my work on the mat as can be seen by the paint stains. I use the other side with the metric measurements   when cutting trailer and limber shafts to length.                                                                                           

                                            

This final photo shows the sticks I use to stir paint, one for each colour together with the pen stand I use to hold wet brushes while I scratch my nose etc. and the "nail" tool I use to open paint tins and  create the bend in horse harness wire as well as just poking things around generally. This tool came with some emery boards I found cheap somewhere hence the pink colour !!!!!         

I hope this is useful in showing the tools needed for basic modelling and demonstrates the start up costs need not be too high for the beginner.    

                                                                                                   

BOOK REVIEW: THE ANARCHY.

THE RELENTLESS RISE OF THE EAST INDIA COMPANY.

This book was recommended by Steve J in his excellent blog so I bought a copy from Amazon.

I am pleased to report this book is just as good as Steve said. It covers the period from the establishment of the EIC  in 1599 through the early years as just another Western trading company until around 1765 when the EIC transformed into a major power in India and on to 1803 by which time the Company was in direct control of the whole  sub continent. 

The book is very well written and researched and gives a excellent account of all the various individuals both British and Indian who, each in his own way, encouraged the extraordinary growth of the Company. The sheer scale of the Company's activities is incredible. It was clearly the first global conglomerate yet wielded military power on a scale never seen before or since. The various military campaigns are discussed in rather limited detail although the background to each is covered in depth to illustrate how each contributed to the endless growth of the Company.

The EIC eventually became too dominant a factor in the British economy to be allowed to continue operating without increasing UK government control which resulted in a series of legislative changes during the first half of the 1800's. This culminated in the transfer of all the Company's possessions to the Crown  in 1859 after the Mutiny. The EIC limped on as a rump trading company for a few more years and eventually ceased trading in 1874 when it's charter finally expired.

An excellent book on the early history of British India and the rise of the EIC and recommended to all interested in either or both of those subjects.