Along with some other recent purchases from Scenic Express, I got these rather nicely done hay bales.
As you can see, there are about 5 large round bales
ad about 20 oblong bales.
Round bales with some 25mm peasants for size comparison - I believe the figures are Hinchliffe.
They were painted at lest 30 years ago.
Square bakes with a different batch of peasants.
Speaking of Hail and Bale, I was scheduled to run my Egypt vs. Assyria game with To the Strongest! this afternoon at HAVOC in Shewsbury, MA. New England got hit with a late Spring snowstorm. he weather wasn't bad for our area, but snow up to 10" or more was forecast for Eastern Massachusetts at one point. So it was with much hemming and hawing (and multiple weather forecast and radar map consultations that I decided to go ahead with the game rather than bailing out. Fortunately, although the 2nd half of the trip was marked by snow and sleet all the way, it was too warm to stick and the roads stayed clear, so I made the trip safely and in good time. Thus the game went on as planned (a report on that anon, of course).
ADD: While I had these figures out, I gave them a coat of dark Magic wash. These are the "after" shots...
Maybe the medium would have been better, as it made the tunics look rather dirty.
On the other hand, they ARE Peasants. so maybe dirty is right!
The second unit has predominantly shades pf ghrey for their tunics.
The dark wash worked better here, I think.
The usual view one gets of Peasants forced onto the field of battle!
Those are Haylacious scenics, Peter!
ReplyDeleteGood one, Jon!
DeleteLooks fantastic and realistic!
ReplyDeleteI thought they were very nice items as well.
DeleteLooks like a useful purchase there Peter. Late March - very late for a snowstorm, surely? Good to see you proceeded with the game though.
ReplyDeleteThey should be useful "table dressing". Snow in April is not that unusual in Southern New England, but usually just overnight. Just North of the Worcester area, I think the colder temperatures allowed significant accumulation (Vermont-New Hampshire-Maine). The snow really impacted attendance. Sunday the weather was beautiful, though, sunny and high near 60 degrees - go figure!
DeleteUseful scenery and good looking dirty peasants!
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
Yep, they got "down and dirty" with the (? sheep) dip!
DeleteInteresting stuff. Did rectangular bales exist in the pre-industrial age? When did we first start rolling them? I have never stopped to think about this.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of thinking about stuff. When does the snow usually start? I may be heading up to Montpelier in early November this year. What should I expect?
The round bales are definitely a modern thing. As for earlier times:
DeleteHay presses built in the 1820s still exist. These surviving examples were built into barns. They were basically a vertically-oriented wooden frame, somewhat like a hay chute. They were a two-story affair, in some cases. Hay was pitched in to top and pressed with a large weight block that tamped down the hay. It was something like a cotton bale press. The purpose was to pack hay for shipment. The bales were rather larger than made by the later portable metal hay presses and even later field balers. I believe these early stationary hay presses when out of use in the 1880s, for the most part, and the portable metal presses -- which we call stationary presses today -- rather quickly replaced them. These too were used mainly for hay that was destined for shipment. Their use declined after the general adoption of automobiles and trucks, and the concurrent disappearance of "urban" horses. Field balers were developed in the 1930s, but general adoption dates from the later 1940s."
So, use even during the Napoleonic wars is stretching it... but I won't tell if you don't! :-)
DeleteAs for Montpelier (in Northern VT) in early November, the trees will be barren, and significant snow uncommon but FAR from impossible, so be prepared.
DeleteThanks for the insight, and the history lesson. This is one of my favorite parts of this hobby!
DeleteMine as well ; I never know what other interesting tidbits of knowledge it may lead me to!
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