Tin Soldiers History - some inspiration

As I head into the fullness of autumn and winter the time for painting becomes more available as evenings tend to be spent more indoors and the outdoor needs are dealt with only on an as needed basis.

So often I find myself seeking some new inspirations for the painting projects, the following video of a Russian program (likely from 2012) with English dubbing makes accessible an amazing tale of both toy soldiers of Hans Christian Anderson and Russia, from pre- during and post- Soviet era.

Part 1 starts it all off, near the end a Zinnfiguren Napoleonic retreat set is shown, I have many figures from that set.

Part 2 goes into the detail of museum collections and a special family collection in Russia.

Part 3 shows the creation of these amazing works of art and answers the question of what Hans Christian Anderson's toy soldier likely looked like.

I'm busy casting now the minis I plan to work on over the coming winter, mainly ECW to complete a Royalist opposing force to my own Parliamentarian one.

While the Bavarian components of my Napoleonic forces are also likely to see some brushworks over the winter season as well.

I'm also likely to generate some new sci-fi miniatures for sales next year.

What are your plans to round out the year at the workbench or tabletop?