Work area and work in progress

I could use a bit more space still, mind...

Finally got some desk space cleared in my office - we have an old (1860s) house with some connected outbuildings down the side of the garden, one of which is my office (the other's a music room) - so now I can officially not upset the Domestic Authorities by taking over her kitchen table. I just upset her by not being in, instead.

I have another desk to the left of that one, which I can use as well once its tidy. Needful purchases soon include a decent daylight lamp and magnifier, since the only light in there at present are a bunch of fluorescents. Missing from the photo is the cheap and cheerful brush holder I picked up from HobbyCraft this afternoon.

The paints are sitting on a monitor stand, under which are a couple of Really Useful Boxes holding a bunch of small (ex LOTR partwork) paint pots. The two bigger boxes to the right hold 20mm x 20mm (plus multiples) and 25mm x 50mm (plus multiples) bases, after an orgy of de-spruing a whole load.

The BBC bottle cap mountain is reduced a bit...

To the left is the figure stash (I've given up trying to hide it from 'er indoors) as well as a box of plastic bottle caps for use as painting holders - I scavenge these (saving them from being thrown away!) from work at a rate of about half a dozen a day.

Current work in progress is the Warlord Pike and Shot Battalia, being painted as ECW Royalists. I'm doing these the lazy man's Army Painter way - spray undercoat (actually Humbrol French Blue for this batch, since I don't have a local stockist with the non-boring Army Painter colours in), then flesh, belts, boots, hardware, hair and hat, dip, base and varnish. This is actually another race against time, as I have until Royal Wedding Day to paint as much as I can - which basically means all painting needs to be done in a week from tomorrow.

Also note my favourite liquid poly cement...

Useful note for anyone else assembling the infantry:

1. The correct left arm for each right arm + musket combination is the one nearest it on the sprue
2. Your sanity will be preserved much longer if you attach the left arm at roughly the right angle first!

Note the already-undercoated figures PVA'd to bottle tops ready for detail work. I've undercoated a full unit of infantry (40 pike and shot) and should have the firelock group undercoated by the end of tonight.

For spray undercoat, I Blu-Tak things to what's affectionately referred to as the 2"x1" of many colours... currently it's blue :D

The next sprue ready to paint...

Someday, I should clear out the clutter under the table!

Anyway, so that's my painting setup. Hope you like it.

Coming soon - next instalment of the horse colour saga, and the last two weeks' battle reports.