Welcome to Steve’s Hobby Blog 

If you were looking for the Arcane Scenery shop, I am afraid that it is now closed as I have now retired from retailing. You can read more about this in a blog article here:

https://arcanesceneryandmodels.co.uk/a-softer-ride/

The good news is that I am still intent on writing a blog to document my continuing involvement in the hobby of modelling, painting and collecting figures, wargaming and of course, history.

I hope that it will provide a useful reference and help to other hobbyists. If it entertains as well as informs, even better! As I write this introduction to the blog, there are some 400+ articles already available. I’m afraid that the links to products that I used to sell will no longer be valid as are the promises of cheap (or free) fast postage. The products themselves are still available – you will have to source them yourselves.

Thank you for your attention. As always, I hope that you enjoy your hobby as much as I do.

Happy Modelling!

All
Battle Reports
Battlefields
Castles and Museums
Guests
Home History
Make History!
Modelling Tips & Ideas
Napoleonic Army
Shop News
Whats on the work bench?
Dinofelis!
Bill Hooks BASH VI Battle Reports
Britcon 2024
Great D'Arcy of The Pale
More Ashigaru
Personalities and Procrastination
Samurai on a Stick!
How's Retirement going?
A Softer Ride
Smilodon not Sabre Toothed Tiger!
How Many Samurai?
Merry Christmas And A Happy New Year!
Lots of Painting Time....
Partizan - Free Figures
More Gendarmes
Boat Hooks at the Other Partizan
Gendarmes
Landsknechts - Finishing The Army
Never Mind the Billhooks BASH 5
Painting Landsknechts
Landsknechts - Building the Army.
Good Grief, it's August!
Workbench round up for May
Building the 'George'
Whats On The Work Bench - April Round up
Bill Hooks BASH IV
Whats on the work bench 30th March 2023
Modelling Irish WOTR/Medieval Cavalry Part Two
Modelling Irish WOTR/Medieval Cavalry Part One
Researching Irish WOTR/Medieval Cavalry
Fire Forge Folk Rabble
A Medieval Carriage
More DeeZee painted models
Perry's Napoleonic Flat Boat Part 3
Piers the Plowman and 'Friends'
Perry's Napoleonic Flat Boat part 2
More Partizan Personalities!
Never Mind the Bill Hooks Deluxe and Partizan
Perry's Flat Boat
Partizan Personalities
Detailing My Great Ship
Crocodile Rock!
Half Way There!
MORE KERN!
Nautical Tips
Sarissa Precision Medieval Cog
Gallowglass
A Visit to the Battle of Bosworth Battlefield
The Death of Nelson
Naval Gazing!
Workbench Round up - first of the New Year!
Seasons Greetings and Happy New Year!
Command Bases and Vignettes
The War room is finished!
Mystery at Carisbrooke Castle
Ox Cart - Final touches
Painting the Ox Cart
Medieval Ox Cart
Another work bench round up!
Rainbow Spitfire and other stuff - Workbench round up
Boromir and Gandalf
No Fighting In The War Room
Bill Hooks BASH part 2 - the Battles!
Bill Hooks BASH part 1- Overview
More Reinforcements for my WOTR army!
Round and Round the Mulberry Bush!
A Visit to Castle Rising
Beaverette Armoured Car
Kern Skirmishers
Zulus at Balaclava
Trafalgar- A wargaming weekend continued
Prelude to Vittoria
Where did the month go?
Workbench update 06 May 2021
Landsknechts!
Basing the Bombard
Bombard in Progress
Battle Games in Middle Earth Issue 7 - Lord of the Rings
When is an Army complete? More Bill Hooking!
From WOTR to LOTR and back...
Happy New Year!
Lord Callan's Retinue
Workbench Update 24 November 2020
Making Medieval Tents!
Hidden Ditch!
Arrow Barrow and more!
Stokes Field- The Prequel
Never Mind The Bill Hooks Scenery
Painting WW2 British Infantry
Ramblings from the work bench
Samurai Scenery.
Never Mind the Bill Hooks Update
BEF Section and Vickers VIb completed
Vickers VIB Light Tank
The BEF force is growing.
Whats on the Workbench? 02/07/20
Dont Panic Mr Mainwaring!
3/1 Royal Scots Battalion Completed
How Many Wellingtons does it take......?
A Hard Contest part 2
A Hard Contest
War Of the Roses Army Progress
Social Isolation and all that
War of The Roses Light Cavalry - part two
Lecourbes Defence of France June 1815
War of the Roses Light Cavalry Part one
Arise King Richard III!
Prussian Jaeger - Bingham Napoleonic days
Cry Wolf! A workbench round up.
Painting War Of the Roses Artillery
Never mind the Bill Hooks - New Battle Report
Work bench update. Mary Rose and Billmen
A bit of Flitting does you good!
Good year - Bad Year?
Tattershall Castle
Nevermind the Billhooks!
Pikemen and the Caribbean.
What's on the Workbench - WOTR and Napoleonics
Painting DeeZee Cavemen
DeeZee Cavemen!
A Weekend of Wargaming!
War Of The Roses Crossbowmen
Black Seas - Age of Sail Battle Game
The Black Watch
John Rattenbury, Sir John Savage and other distractions!
The Other Partizan
DeeZee Woolly Rhino and Cavemen
Warlord Open Day - Salt Peter Demo Game
The Battle of Pea Ridge Arkansas 1862
Portuguese Artillery - Part 2
Portuguese Artillery Part 1
Don't Just Do It.....B&Q it, again!
Rain interupts painting!
Perry Miniatures Mounted Men At Arms
Never mind the Billhooks
Trebuchet
WOTR - Project Update
Get them when they are young!
King Richard III Visitor Centre.
Cry God for Harry!
Painters Block - Goal setting!
War Of The Roses
A Blast From The Past
Bingham Napoleonic Days
Combat at Foz d'Arouce
Ready for the Weekend?
Whats on the work bench? 21/02/19
The First Bull Run
Forlorn Hope.
Rocket Man - Part Two
Rocket Man!
Mining The Lead Pile and Finding Fun!
Bitting and Bobbing!
Happy New Year and a Cautionary Tale!
The Blue and the Grey
Paintvember - The Painting Challenge
Movement trays
Taming the Tartan Terrors!
From Spartans to Tartans
Mortal Gods - Play Testing
Forward, the 79th!
Artillery, Greeks and Highlanders!
June 15th, Jumet - a Black Powder Battle Report
A Test of.....
Hussey and Vanity Fair
Maiden Castle
Artillery Autumn - Jumping the traces...
Battling with Black Powder
Limbering up...
Waterloo Men
50 Shades of Grey - and a Touch of Blue?
Prince Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
What a Distraction!
They think it's all over.....
Genesis of a Terror Bird
French Sailors in the Caribbean - some conversions
Daimyo's Retinue - Progress?
Daimyos Retinue is on the Work Bench!
Napoleonic Zombies!
There's always time....
More for Test of Honour - Scenery & Musashi!
Painting the Nassau-Usingen Battalion. Part two, Batch paint
Painting the Nassau-Usingen Battalion. Part one, the plan....
Toranaga San!
The Battle For Papelotte
Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks!
Papelotte in progress
Pauper Paint Job
Pauper Soldiers
Samurai Cavalry
Does Size Matter?
Another year over, A new one has begun
Merry Christmas!
What! No Blog?
Exciting times at Lucid eye!
Fit to Paint.
Brontotherium!
Shine a light!
Sloop ahoy!
Whats on the workbench?
Desert Island Discs
Cuban War Dogs
Napoleonic War in the Caribbean
All Square - part two
Victorious Miniatures
Geisha Spy
Test Of Honour New Scenario - Battle Report
Jonas Jones Part 3 - Napoleons Foot Guides
Backwards to go Forwards
All Square!
Scenery for Samurai
The Last Samurai
Tankfest at Bovington part 2
Tankfest 2017 Bovington
Wars Of the Roses Part 2 - Stokes Field
Wars of the Roses Part 1 - Warwick Castle
The joys of sprue stretching
New British Heavy Cavalry from Warlord!
Vikings land in Newark!
Ahoy there matie!
You Need Personality
Jonas Jones Rides again!
Painting the Warband
Tori Gate
Turning Japanese!
Basing the 28th North Gloucestershires
Block paint and Quickshade - Batch Painting the 28th
New Weapons for Saga
Down to business - Batch Painting the 28th - Assembly
Researching the Research - Batch painting the 28th Regt.
Why are you still playing Black Powder?
Hammerhead 2017
Belgium 1815: The Battle for the Crossroads
A Test of Will Power...
Cazadores follow up.
Bits and Pieces.
Cazadores Test Shot
Napoleonic Saga?
Take your Pict!
So, Where was I...?
Whoops! Santa got it wrong again...
A Review of the Year Part 2
A Review of the Year
O.C.D? - No, just organised.
Are you Napoleon or Wellington?
The Battle of the White Hart 1815
Painting War
Stay Focused...Portuguse and Panzers
The Portuguese Project Progresses
Portuguese Men of War.
Man Down!
Doing Up The House.
Sons of Dana are ready for battle
What did the Romans ever do for us?
Beyond the Wall.
Yet more Irish!
The Boys are Back in Town!
The Retreat from Fort Josephine, St. Ailleurs 1810.
Rules for Old Wargamers with Short Attention Spans!
'Sharp Tomahawks!'
The Scenario is broken!
The saga continues.
And the Wooden Spoon Goes to....
Footsore Irish Slingers - Done!
An Irish Saga
A rest is as good as a change!
British Napoleonic Spare Wheel Wagon
Austrian Artillery Fusilier Battalion
Round Base, Square hole.
The New Partizan Venue and other ramblings...
The Campaign has started!
Maroons of the Caribbean
What are you reading then?
Bolsover Castle
Snow Bears!
Campaign General Completed!
Sir Sydney makes his debut.
32nd Foot ready for action!
Soap opera painting - The 32nd Regiment takes shape.
The 32nd (Cornwall) Regiment of Foot
One by One - Done, done, it's on to the next one!
Trouble with Cavalry
Paper Soldiers!
The Retreat from Bitteburg 1816
To Battle with the 11th Light Dragoons.
Beth Shalom Holocaust Museum
British Light Dragoons - Perry Miniatures Plastic Boxed Set
Napoleons Coach - Finished?
An Ongoing Saga!
'Tis The Season To Be Jolly!
Slow Coach...
The Battle of Bitteburg Part 2
The Battle of Bitteburg 1816
Napoleons Carriage on the Workbench.
New Range of Scenery.
Hello Sailor!
Painting flesh - Charles Baynon Style
Making the mountain into a molehill.
The Marines are coming - Part 2 - first batch arrived!
MOAI!
The Marines are coming!
Lion Rampant - The Nine Bastards!
A confession.
There's something about a uniform....
Wheel Wagon, Pig and Partizan
The National Civil War Museum Newark
The Legend of the Hartlepool Monkey!
A Clear Work Bench!
Battle Report - Polish/Italians Vs British Napoleonics....
Muskets and Tomahawks - take the Fort!
Rain Starts Play!
A little knowledge....
Napoleonic Field Forge completed!
The Age of Simar - One mans meat.....
Summer madness....
Prussian Artillery Ready For Battle
Waterloo June 13th 2015!
Prussian Artillery 11 June 2015
Black Powder for Club Nights
Prussian Landwehr Cavalry 28th May 2015
Painting Horses - Prussian Landwehr Cavalry
Small is beautiful!
Scenarios for Black Powder
Muskets and Machetes!
Pikemen, Prussians and Pterodactyls
It's All About the Base......
Glyptodon and Mammoth clear the work bench!
Little Bingham Population Explosion!
The Imperial War Museum North
Climbing the Lead Mountain!
New from Lucid Eye - the Savage Core Range!
What Constitutes An Elite Unit?
Slow Progress with the conversions.....
Whats on the Workbench - More Hanoverians!
How to win the battles and lose the war...
Varnish trouble!
The retinue is ready!
Whats on the workbench 15 January 2015
More tales from the Jungle!
There's something happening in the Jungle!
The Somersetshires take shape!
What's the use of Bidowers?
Whats on the Workbench 20th November 2014
The Lion is Rampant - Again!
Whats on the Workbench 23 October 2014
Whats on the workbench 16th October
Whats on the Workbench 9th October - Neanderthals & Hanoverians!
The Lion Rampant!
Whats on the Workbench 25/9 & Deezee Miniatures
Collecting an Army......
Warlord Hanoverian Infantry
If You Go Down To The Woods.....
What's on the Workbench 28 August 2014
History surrounds us.
Free Postage until the end of August
Batch Painting Prussians - Part Two of Two
Batch Painting Prussians! Part one of two
It's too darned hot!
What's on the Work Bench 26th June 2014
Battle Report - Waterloo 2014
What's on the Workbench 14th June 2014
The Heroic Stand of The Inniskilling, 27th Regiment of Foot
What's on the workbench 8 June 2014
Battlefield Visit - La Haie Sainte - Waterloo
Whats on the Workbench 29th May
What's on the Workbench 22 May 2014
What's on the Workbench 15th May 2014
What's on the workbench? 8th May 2014
Blitzkrieg tanks - What scale do I choose!!
Bolt Action Tanks!
Spotlight on Zvezda - new in this week!
MiniArt Models - New Releases
News This week!
Chasseurs Ste. Domingue - Carribean part 3!
New in this week. Airfix, Zvezda & Italeri New releases!
Caribbean modelling project - Part 2, Basing
New in this week!
Caribbean modelling project
Monday Round up
Personal Projects: Rob's rats...
Monday round up
Monday round up
Ebob and Fray Bentos
Monday Round up
Just a note...
Monday gaming post
Monday Models
Friday round up
Mondays Rule
Friday Round Up
Hussar Part 3 [Now with Words!]
Good Friday Egg Up
Friday Round Up
The king is helpless
Friday Round Up
Hussar...part 2
Hussar! (Part 1)
Napoleonic Farmstead by Pete Harris
Tomb Stalker
Friday Round Up
Another putty history post
Friday Update.....or not
Richard I
Edam good figures
Friday Round Up
L'eau de Steve's Wagon
Beginners Guide to Painting British Napoleonic Infantry (part 2)
Beginners Guide to Painting British Napoleonic Infantry
Friday round up
The Only Wargamer in the Village
Do just do it and B&Q it! A guide to making a war games table.
Tuesday Roundup...
Guest Modeller of the Week: Bernard Lewis
How to shop with Arcane Scenery: the eBay store
Arcane Scenery's little secret
Friday round up...
Friday round up
Welcome Back WarGames Factory
Friday Round Up
Friday round up part one...
Hail Caesar Review
Wagons Roll!
Sharp Practice – My first major skirmish!
Just in from Pegasus - French Infantry
New Challenger from Revell!
The Blog is back!
POSTAGE AT CHRISTMAS
It's Snowing.....Yippee!
Where did a month go.....
Stock Updates - New into the shop this week
The latest sets from Italeri
Albion Alloys at Arcane Scenery
Napoleonic Flank Companies!
New releases from Zvezda - Great War Germans
New 1/32 Scale German Mountain Troops
New Saxons Sets - Thegns & Fyrd from Wargames Factory
My First Napoleonic Skirmish!
Bolt Action Waffen-SS
German Imperial Guard!
Plastic German Infantry from Bolt Action - sprue shots
I owe Clive Owen an apology
Even more new releases...Pegasus Models
And More...this time from Mantic
And there's more....from Italeri
New releases, New releases, New Releases!
First Choose your weapons
History, it's the future....
New Unseen Lerker & Trees......
More Goodies from Airfix! New Resin Scenery.
New From Airfix....Well nearly......
THE VIKINGS ARE COMING!
Hurrah for Hussars! New in from the Perrys
NEW! Victrix British Napoleonic Foot Artillery 28mm
New In From Italeri.. German Paras in Tropical uniforms
Super glue is great....but there are other adhesives!
Coming soon from Italeri.....
New From Mantic! Skeletons and more!
NECRON APOCALYPSE!
A Review of the year - My Top Ten, Part Two!
A Review of the Year-My Top Ten
Happy New Year! Resolutions & Predictions.......
Merry Christmas from the Necrons!
What's in the Box: Victrix 54mm Napoleonics
Losing a Battle isn't all bad.
From Timpo to Victrix...54mm scale figures
Royal Mail: Britain's worst company.....Actually it's not...it's very good
How to strip paint from Plastic Models safely.
Necron Genesis or How I Built My Necron Army part 2
James May is Spitfiretastic!
New In From Zvezda - Polish Uhlans.
Mantic Games Launch Kings of War Elves!
Getting the best from Spray Paints
New 1/32 scale Figures from Airfix
Wraith Wing conquers again!
NEW FRENCH CAVALRY FROM THE PERRY'S
New From Italeri...
Douglas Bader tactics work for Necrons too!
Cheap Paint!
What's in the Box? - Gothic City Buildings
More from Mantic! Kings of War Elves.
Pic & Mix Dice!
Necron Genesis or how I built my Necron Army Part 1!
Trade Gossip & News
NEW ARCANE SCENERY SCENERY!
New High Elves from a New Company!
45 years of kit making!
Weird Boys & Immortals
We are up and running!
Huston, we have lift off.......nearly!