Month: July 2017

Sudan project "Egyptians" part II

          Up until the 11 they have 10% off. Plus if you register, create a login, you will get 10% automatically. So it is 20% off this weekend. Being that I am out of Egyptian and Sudanese soldiers, it was perfect timing. Link

        The last of the Egyptians. 2 stands @ 5 dudes a stand is about all you get out of the Waterloo set. I need to find a better source for Egyptians!

        One would think I would have cranked these dudes out faster with 90% of them being white!

         No “tuffs” for these guys. Once there is more than 2 stands I will “tuff” them all together. This way they will look uniform with the basing.

Yearly goal 700 painted for the Sudan project. 333 done. 10 more down. Another 367 required to reach the goal.

Argentina and Hitler, I am in Cordoba!

         Where in the world is Hitler?

        Did he die, escape, are the Russians full of shit?

        Nah really he is dead. Hitler was born in like 1880 something. He is long gone. Along with any one who would have been a first hand, creditable witness is also long gone.

Living in Argentina how can I not go have a look for my self? It is also winter Holidays here. We drove the 4.5-7 hours to La Falda. 4.5 to 7 hours, yes because the roads here are not exactly highways. More like old route 66!

         The hotel Eden is in La Falda, Cordoba. The owners at one time maybe supported the Nazi party. Or at least that was the Argentine government’s claim when they seized the property in 45. Then gave it back after a year or so.

(remember Argentina declared war on Germany in roughly April 1945. Germany gave in May 1945.)

         Hitler never stayed in the Hotel Eden. 150 some odd meters behind the hotel, is the hotel mansion. This is where Hitler reportedly stayed for 4+ months.
        The mansion is privately owned. The hotel is a tourist spot. Say you were to get permission to visit the Mansion. Access is by going to the hotel, walk thru the gate on the right side and along the right side. Once in the rear of the hotel, there is a small house on the right, a donkey pen in the center. Between these two is the gate that will lead you up a farm road to the mansion.

Hotel Eden as it is today

Some guides hate the Hitler questions and others see the value. No one comes to see the hotel! Not one guide repeats the same year Hitler was here. 1947 or 1948. They run a ghost tour at 10pm. This is the best tour as the day part is included.

          The Hitler and Hotel Eden story all comes from an old lady that worked for the hotel. She is long dead now. The lady says she saw Hitler at the hotel. Maybe even attended the man?

         The US FBI investigated and a document was issued to the lady and the hotel. I did not get to see either. The originals are both at the La Falda History museum. And a Nazi party letter or letter from Hitler?

Belgrano, Argentina

         About 150km south is a german village, Graf Belgrano. They are famous for the Octoberfest. An excuse to sell you shit Belgium beer at greater than x5 the cost. (Local beer is 25 a liter, Berlin is 75 a half liter) Tastes like and IPA and Blue moon mixed.

         More importantly, there is a claim that this is where Hitler died in Argentina. The rumour is that in a large stone house within walking distance of this sign is where he died.

         The people, tourist center, and bar tenders are not interested at all in talking about any Hitler shit. They say you should go north. My local asset said this all changed 3 years ago. Back then, they would take you to the house and you could see the room. She never said where they buried his ass.

Strangely you can buy Kriegsmarine T-shirts in most shops. Not current German navy shirts, but the Graf Spee is available. And other famous battleships.

         I have been in and out of Argentina for 7 years, living here for 2. I have been all over the country, but never saw Nazi era shirts available. Hell I had even spent years in Europe, including Germany and on German bases.

The crew of the Graf Spee was unloaded onto an Argentine tug????

Beer, Hitler, Mountains, and roasted goat was this past week’s adventure.
       

Sudan project "Egyptian" part I

 Both Egyptian and Sudan minis come form the Waterloo box. It is a mixed lot of dudes. I will need a shit ton of boxes. 12 egyptians and 12 Sudanese per box. The rest are mostly unusable! You get a lot of officers!!!!

I will need to look for another source for both. At least you get enough Officer types to create characters across the campaigns.

This is the best color paint guide I could find. I will be using it for my Egyptian forces.

They have a very basic color scheme and limit number of colors. Maybe 30 minutes more for highlights and flocking.

Sudan project "Sudanese" part IV

 All the minis are from the set above, based on 60mm x 30mm MDF magnetic. This will be the end of the Sudanese troopers until I pick up the boxes waiting for me in the states.

Two more stands. Plus one for skirmishing.

          This time thru every stand got “tuffs.” I did go back and “tuff” the first 3 stands.

Yearly goal 700 painted for the Sudan project. 323 done. 8 more down. Another 377 required to reach the goal.

Painting Note;

Terrible example of dudes mounted to a block. Any ways they are all in a row.(This block is my time filler block. Any time something is drying, I use this one to keep up the momentum. It also allows me to work on special stands or markers.)

          This year, I started using wood blocks to increase the speed at which I was able to paint. They work great and I am painting faster than even. So much so that I got some jenga blocks waiting for me stateside.

          The down side is, if you miss something or make a mistake it is carried across all the dudes on the block. Perfect example; the left hand never got painted. You can see the white left hands above. I did not notice until edging the bases.