Upcoming--Anza!

It is that time of the year again--the National Brigade Napoleon Re-enactment at Anza, California.

This year's event looks to be bigger and better than last year (which was a ton of fun). The event takes place on 16 acres of high desert land between Temecula and Palm Springs. In fact, the terrain bears a striking resemblance to the terrain in Spain and Portugal. A large, earthen redoubt has been constructed (with 10ft tall walls).

Units will be attending from around the country. The turn out is slated to be the best ever. If you have any interest in the period, please come out. I promise an experience you won't forget.

For more information, please see this site.

Ich Dien!

Something Different

To supplement/compliment my re-enacting hobby, I have recently become interesting in military figures (aka toy soldiers). There is a company, Sierra Toy Soldier (http://www.sierratoysoldier.com/) that has a store located near my home. The store has a large collection of soldiers in many scales and from many different time periods. I recommend checking them out, some of the figures are true works of art.

I couldn't stop at merely collecting the toy soldiers. Instead, I am interested in the numerous kits available. The kits are usually resin or white metal and come unassembled. After a bit of assembly and some detailed painting, some truly awesome results can be made.

Since a European trip in the mid 1990's, I have been sitting on one such kit. It is now time for me to put it together and paint it. I have also ordered a figure represented the 28th Gloucester Regiment at the time of Waterloo. I hope that he will turn out well.


I will post my progress as I begin this new project.

Ich Dien!

Boots once again

This is another post about the Hessian boots that I ordered in August of 2007. The boots were finally shipped last Friday (04/04/2008) and were delivered today (04/08/2008).  Unfortunately the boots were delivered to a house I no longer reside in.  In fact, I live about 360 miles away from where the boots were sent.  

The mistake was noticed this morning, before the package was delivered.  A call went out to UPS to change the delivery address.  This was reflected on the tracking webpage but when I went to see if an updated delivery date was available I noticed the package had been delivered.  UPS customer support wasn't able to provide much help--once the package has been delivered not much can happen.  They suggested I have another one shipped--which is unacceptable due to the fact that it took me 9 months to get the first pair!

I was able to call my previous landlord and hopefully something can be worked out so that I can get the boots without further hassle.

Ich Dien!

Officer's Sash

Today my officer's sash arrived. I ordered the sash a few weeks ago from G. Gedney Godwin. You can see a photo of the sash here:

Now the trick will be learning how to properly wrap the sash around my waist for the re-enactment event coming up.

Ich Dien!

Metalwork Shipped!

I called Military Metalwork in England this morning to check on the status of the order I placed last year. Since the order has been taking so long, in the past few weeks I have made quite a few calls.

Last week I was told that my order would ship on Monday (3/31). I tried calling on that day, but only got a voicemail. This morning (4/1) I called and to my surprise was told that the order was on its way to me!

It will take between 7 and 10 days before the order reaches me. Until then I just have to be patient and resist the urge to check the mailbox constantly. Hopefully everything is in the order, or its back to the phones I go.

Ich Dien!