Mmmm Waffles (oh and painting research)

Right, you lot time for another forced history lesson (this may hurt). Over the last two weeks the Folly of War has been in dry dock in Belgium. Why? Well, if you were not aware a rather large war happened there from 1914-1918. I have spent the last week in a small, trench ridden part of Brugge (or Bruges if your from the French bit). What a fantastic opportunity to do some research for some new painting projects (and eat waffles). My first stop was the Tynecot Commonwealth cemetery. This really put into perspective how many men (just on the Allied side) lost their lives in a very pointless way. The stones seemed to stretch into the distance with name after name of the men who had fallen during the "Great War". The really sad thing was the many graves with the words "Soldier of the Great War" engraved upon them. This meant that when the body was found it was too damaged to identify.

This was found in a field!!
German Officer Armour. 

With the sombre part of the visit finished on I travelled to the town of Ypres. This town had suffered Greatly during WW1 and was ultimately levelled by constant bombardment by both sides. The Germans captured the town early in the war but the constant back and forth nature of trench warfare meant that town suffered constantly. What was remarkable about this little town (except for the waffles) was a tiny backwater pub called "The First World War Curiosity Museum". Outside, it looked like a standard Belgium bar. However, inside the walls were covered with a variety of artefacts found by the landlord around the surrounding countryside. As I went into the garden the bar turned into a trench works museum (very strange). It was easy to find inspiration for new projects here. I especially enjoyed looking at the German heavy armour worn to protect officers. You can see where forge world got their ideas from for their designs for the Death Korps Grenadiers (I can't believe the guy just found this).

Can you see the similarities?

Looking at this exhibition has really made me consider buying a very small 500 points Death Korps force (it will have to be small considering it is £36 pounds a unit). The problem is that this particular army screams to be a massed infantry army but I would only be able to buy one squad a month. Meaning that even a 500 point force would take approximately 6 months to finish due to monetary constraints (damn you forge world).

Finally, leaving 1914 Belgium (and the waffles) I went to Dunkirk. I haven't touched Flames of War for a while due to 6th edition coming out but this gave me some more ideas for further Flames projects. Dunkirk was a very hard fought battle by both the French and the British during early stages of the WW2. The Germans had the Allies surrounded with evacuation the only option. Hundreds of ships and boats (some of which came from my local area) sailed under constant fire to rescue thousands of British and French soldiers. The Early war game has never really interested me but Dunkirk may have sparked my interest. I really recommend that if you are stuck for painting projects... go on holiday. Simple as it may sound these little trips can inspire you to make and create some wonderful things.

Some inspirational dioramas to help think about future projects.

In other news, I have been beavering away with the Angels and I will have some more pics of them next time. Till next time, pack up your troubles in your old kit bag and its a long way to Tipperary. Now where did I put my last waffle?