Back from the 'ghan..

FOB 'Somewhere' in Afghanistan earlier this year

I apologise to all of the followers of my Blogs (Unlucky General, Williamite Warfare, BattleofLewes and Unlucky General's Balaclava Build) and I realise I have been silent for quite a while. It was because I have been in Afghanistan for the past year but now I'm back with a planned vengeance - metaphorically. I never get political but may I say that whilst I do not wish to extend any gratitude to the Taliban I am appreciative that they managed to refrain from blowing me up I shall thank fate instead. Anyway, enough of that and may I say for those of you who have bothered to stick with any of my Blogs in over this period: stand by and watch as I have a great deal of catching up to do.

What I have been able to do from Kabul and elsewhere is surf the net and purchase some figures -rather a lot of figures actually (for me at any rate). I have bought half a very large army for my 1674 Williamite Dutch, as many Crimean figures that are available which I require for my Balaclava re-fight, Gladiators, most of my 1:9 scale Wolfe's British army for Quebec, modern British vehicles, more English feudals for Lewes and even some Sudan campaign figures. I was able to do this largely through a vastly improved Australian exchange rate and my access to free postage care of the British Forces Post Office (BFPO) and the Australian Forces Post Office. This has saved me a small fortune.

Whilst on that subject I'd like to extend a very personal and special thanks to Nick Eyre of North Star Military Figures who accommodated many of my orders. This thanks goes also to Trevor of Redoubt Enterprises, Alastair Logan of Kingfisher Miniatures, Jillian and all the Perry's and all the gang at Front Rank who even when their ordering systems did not allow for it, they all managed to facilitate e-mail orders or even re-credit my postage costs in the case of Front Rank. For those not familiar with BFPO and their Australian equivalent, it allows for free postage for packages under 2 kilograms to and/or from bases around the globe.

I'd also like to recognise those same dealers who offered kind words of support throughout my correspondence and transactions with them, several of whom had friends and relatives who have served or are currently serving in Afghanistan and other theatres of operations. Their support and of course the timely arrival of their packages were greatly treasured by me over my time in country and I hope to do them justice at my work table. Thank you all again.

One company stands out for me; however, who were seemingly 'unable' to assist me. In spite of the postage being of no cost for them, Wargames Foundry were the only company which remained obliged to retain any calculated postal charge. That together with their conspicuously high unit rate price left me, let's say disappointed.