Mittwoch, 31. Dezember 2014

Last post of the Year 2014

Hi my friends,

at this moment i wish you all the best and send in the last post of the year 2014 some impressions of the things i have done in the last days...


My Paintstation, with the Bengal Lancers and my new present, and british cavalry sword 1902....


I love it....


It will take a watch place at my whisky bar...



At the time, i work on the bengal lancers and the BIF Scots Fusiliers...



If i have a break....a good cup of tea and flashman...


Working again....


My dear Lizzie ...my honey cat sleeps the days...


First project 2015 to finish..the Lancers...

Greetings, Gordon aka Andreas

Dienstag, 23. Dezember 2014

Historical German - a special book Review

Hi all over the word,

The found...
i found an amazing case book in my person libray. An news paper case book from the year 1884 in german. The newspaper was the "Allgemeine Illustrierte Zeitung". Funny moments i had, as i read that the german people in this time had an eye on Sudan and all what is there going on.

There are the Pics for you. Happy time. Till next year !
Allgemeine Illustrierte Zeitung
Über Land und Meer
1884 Jahrgang



Baker Pascha

The Mahdi (left)


Sudanese...

The Battle of Tokar

Impressions of Sudan

Africa Conferenc, Lord Granville in the middle, Lord Cromer (Evelyn Baring) on the right


I wish you all the best,
Gordon

Montag, 22. Dezember 2014

Ivanhoe - Movie Review 10

Hello my friends,

on this movie monday, i want to start talking about the old knight movies, and beginn with "Ivanhoe" from Walter Scott. The movie with Robert and Elizabeth Taylor is amazing. He is the middle of three movies from early middle age till the late middle age of the earth history from the year 1952.

The film was the first in what turned out to be an unofficial trilogy made by the same director and producer and starring Robert Taylor. The others were Knights of the Round Table (1953) and The Adventures of Quentin Durward (1955). All three were made at MGM's British Studios at Elstree, near London.

The Story

Richard the Lionheard (Norman Wooland), King of England, vanishes while returning from the Crusades. One of his knights, the Saxon Wilfred of Ivanhoe (Robert Taylor), searches tirelessly for him, finally finding him being held for ransom by Leopold of Austria for the enormous sum of 150,000 marks of silver. Richard’s treacherous brother, Prince John (Guy Rolfe), knows about it, but enjoys ruling in his absence.

Ivanhoe returns to England, to the house of his estranged father, Cedric (Finlay Currie), to be reunited with his love and Cedric’s ward, the Lady Rowena (Joan Fontaine), and to beg his father’s help in raising the ransom. Cedric refuses to help a Norman king and orders his son to leave. Wamba (Emlyn Williams), Cedric’s court jester, begs to go with Ivanhoe and is made his squire.

Two separate parties of travellers arrive and are granted Cedric’s hospitality: a Jew, Isaac of York (Felix Aylmer), and Norman knights Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert (George Sanders) and Sir Hugh de Bracy (Robert Douglas), and their entourage. That night, two of the Normans try to rob Isaac, but are foiled by Ivanhoe. Not feeling safe, Isaac decides to return to his home in Sheffield; Ivanhoe offers to escort him there.

When they reach Isaac’s home, Ivanhoe secures his help raising the ransom in return for better treatment for the Jews once Richard returns. Rebecca (Elizabeth Taylor), Isaac’s daughter, visits Ivanhoe secretly in the night to reward him for rescuing her father; she gives him jewels to purchase arms and a horse for an important upcoming joust. She falls in love with him, despite the great social gulf between them,in that Jews are not allowed to marry Gentiles.

Nearly everyone of note is at the tournament, including Prince John. Norman knights loyal to him defeat all comers. Just when it seems that they are victorious, a mysterious new Saxon knight appears, arrayed all in black, with white trim, his face hidden behind his visor. He does not give his name, but challenges all five Norman champions. He easily defeats the first three, Malvoisin, Ralph, and Front de Boeuf (Francis de Wolff), one after the other, and also wins the fourth bout against de Bracy, but is seriously wounded in the shoulder. He is soon identified by many as Ivanhoe. When Ivanhoe salutes Rebecca after his first victory, Bois-Guilbert is immediately smitten by her beauty. In the last joust against Bois-Guilbert, the weakened Ivanhoe falls from his horse. He is carried off, to be tended to by Rebecca.

Fearing Prince John’s wrath, the Saxons depart; Ivanhoe is taken to the woods under the protection of Robin Hood (Harold Warrender). The rest make for the city of York, but are captured and taken to the castle of Front de Boeuf. When Ivanhoe hears the news, he gives himself up, in exchange for his father’s freedom. However, the Normans go back on their word and keep them both. Robin Hood’s men then storm the castle, freeing most of the captives. In the fighting, de Boeuf drives Wamba to his death in a burning part of the castle and is slain in turn by Ivanhoe. Bois-Guilbert alone escapes, by using Rebecca as a shield, while de Bracy is defeated and captured by Ivanhoe after attempting to do the same with Rowena.

Meanwhile, the enormous ransom is finally collected, but the Jews face a cruel choice: free either Richard or Rebecca, for Prince John has set the price of her life at 100,000 marks, the Jews’ contribution. Isaac chooses Richard. Ivanhoe entrusts the ransom delivery to Cedric, but promises Isaac that he will rescue Rebecca.

John has her condemned to be burned at the stake as a witch, but Ivanhoe appears and challenges the verdict, invoking the right to “wager of battle,” which cannot be denied. Prince John chooses the conflicted Bois-Guilbert as his champion. The Norman makes a last desperate plea to Rebecca: in return for her love, he is willing to forfeit the duel, though he would be forever disgraced as a knight. She refuses, saying “We are all in God’s hands, sir knight.”

In the battle to the death, presided over by Malvoisin, Ivanhoe fights with an axe and Bois-Guilbert a mace and chain. For most of the battle, Bois-Guilbert has the upper edge, but in the end Ivanhoe prevails, mortally wounding Bois-Guilbert. As he lies dying, Bois-Guilbert reaffirms to Rebecca that he is the one who loves her, not Ivanhoe. Rebecca accepts that Ivanhoe’s heart has always belonged to Rowena, and Richard and his knights (with Cedric as an escort) return to reclaim his throne from his usurping brother.


I think a good movie for this time in the year. Nextweek we talk about the other two Knights of the Round Table and Quentin Durward.

Regards,
Gordon









Montag, 15. Dezember 2014

Young Winston - Movie Review 9

Simon Ward
Hello my dear Friends ! And once again, a movie that I think is very good. Young Winston. The life of Winston Churchill in the pre WWII era.
Once again, Simon Ward, you will often encounter him in my movie reviews.


The very humorous manner of presentation is fun and gives a glimpse of the late Victorian era. The clichés and class differences.

Young Winston is a 1972 British film based on the early years of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
The film was based on the book My Early Life: A Roving Commission by Winston Churchill. The first part of the film covers Churchill's unhappy schooldays, up to the death of his father. The second half covers his service as a cavalry officer in India and the Sudan, during which he takes part in the cavalry charge at Omdurman, his experiences as a war correspondent in the Second Boer War, during which he is captured and escapes, and his election to Parliament at the age of 26.

Churchill was played by Simon Ward, who was relatively unknown at the time but was supported by a distinguished cast including Robert Shaw (as Lord Randolph Churchill), John Mills (as Lord Kitchener), Anthony Hopkins (as David Lloyd George) and Anne Bancroft as Churchill's mother Jennie. Other actors included Patrick Magee, Robert Hardy, Ian Holm, Edward Woodward and Jack Hawkins.


Antony Hopkins
Robert Shaw
The film was written and produced by Carl Foreman and directed by Richard Attenborough. It was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Screenplay, Best Art Direction (Donald M. Ashton, Geoffrey Drake, John Graysmark, William Hutchinson, Peter James) and Best Costume Design.[3]



Have an nice Week. Enjoy.

Gordon
 

Samstag, 6. Dezember 2014

Workbench Report

Hope you all have a nice Weekend !

Yesterday evening i spend my time to finish and begin some projects. After looking the canadian movies in begin to paint the BIF from Perry Miniatures Range.


The Canadians is an funny project. The BIF is an "what was when" project of the Perrys and based open the Trent Affaire and an maybe War cluster of the british Empire during the american civil war from 1860 till 1866.

Take a look...
This is the canadian Militia Bataillon.... 


for the colours i have used napoleonic one.



Even i finished the Dragoons.....



...and the Heliograph and Royal Engineer Team arround Major Dudley and Lord Wimsay...


Cheers, Gordon


Donnerstag, 4. Dezember 2014

Masters in Miniatures - New Stuff



 
Excited I finally received my copy of the Masters in Miniatures.

Signed by Michael and Alan Perry. Wow. I love it. Very detailed and even with hidden joke in the captions.
Ok, ok .... I think it is worth the price  ... here are two pictures to it.

Beautiful rest of the week!
 
Cheers, Gordon
 

Montag, 1. Dezember 2014

North West Police - Movie Review 8

Hi guys...it is Movie Monday !
The last of the three Movies about the "Canadians" i want to review is North West Mounted Police, an 1940 American adventure film produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Gary Cooper and Madeleine Carroll.
 The STORY:

Texas Ranger Dusty Rivers (Gary Cooper) is sent to Canada during the 1880s in pursuit of outlaw Jacques Corbeau (George Bancroft), arriving in the midst of the Riel Rebellion. Dusty meets nurse April Logan (Madeleine Carroll) and quickly falls in love with her. However, she is already involved with Canadian Mountie Sergeant Jim Britt (Preston Foster). Dusty and April have become involved with one another, which becomes evident to Jim, to whom April wishes to remain loyal.
Meanwhile, April's brother, Ronnie Logan (Robert Preston), who also is a Mountie, is in love with Corbeau's daughter, Louvette (Paulette Goddard). Louvette loves Ronnie intensely and is determined to protect Ronnie in the coming fight at all costs, using Ronnie's feelings for her father's benefit at times.
Corbeau is eventually tracked down to his hideout. When the showdown between Dusty, the Mounties, and the supporters of Corbeau finally arrives, Louvette tricks Ronnie, and ties him to a chair to keep him safe, after he had given her information vital to the Mounties' planned attack on the outlaws. Ronnie is unable to warn his fellow Mounties and Rivers that they are riding into a trap. The lawmen are ambushed and think Ronnie is a deserter. Dusty Rivers helps to turn the tide of the battle and Sergeant Jim arrests Corbeau. Rivers tracks down Ronnie at Louvette's hideout and convinces him to turn himself in, however, he is killed in a case of mistaken identity.
Afterwards, Dusty Rivers is set to return to Texas, but first gives April and Jim his blessing.


That was canada in british times. Nextweek i will show you "Young Winston".
 In memoriam of Simon Ward.


Greetings,
Gordon