The Grand Duchy of Stollen

S till a few areas perhaps in need of a final wash, but the basic white is about finished for the current 20 figures slated to become the Anhalt-Zerbst Regiment.  Trying to avoid the Hollywood Smile look you understand, so very light gray is preferable to bone white.  Belts and webbing, however, along with the fronts/tops of shoulders and elbows -- where the fabric of the coats would be stretched tight -- are closer to pure white.   Still a ways to go, but they don't look half bad en masse. In the next day or two, I'll talk more about the planned hussar project for 2026 which will follow completion of this 60-figure unit.  I should probably have my head examined, but I must admit that I'm looking forward to getting back to some cavalry even if they are the dreaded hussars.  Feel free to remind me of that 'round about September.   Back to the painting tomorrow at some point, but for now I have a date with the Grand Duchess by the fireside for some ...

  Yours truly captured by the Grand Duchess on the trails mid-afternoon on New Year's Eve 2025 F rom one kind of white to another, the Grand Duchess and I slipped away for a couple of hours of local skiing just 10 minutes up the road from the house.  Once home, we enjoyed large mugs of peppermint hot chocolate with tiny marshmallows, before showers, and my return to the painting table.  Just nine more coats to apply white washes to, and then its onto the multitudinous brass buttons and cockades/hackles.  As usual leaving the drummer details for last, but he should be pretty quick to, ahem, brush up once the other 19 in the current batch are finished. Happy 2026 Everyone! -- Stokes The light of my life, the Grand Duchess Sonja before we unloaded the skis, poles, and clipped in to begin our tour through the Michigan woods. And one more of yours truly schussing quietly through the woods.  You can't quite see here, but it was snowing lightly as we skied, making the ...

  N o, not a post about skiing or hiking through the woods after a snowfall, but a qick update on the middle batch of 20 Anhalt-Zerbst figures.  I've been working on applying white almost washes for the last few days here and there as Christmas activities and festivities have permitted.   Started on the coats themselves yesterday (Monday) evening.  The two figures at left in the rear rank were the first to be issues with their coats.  I'm making a real effort to keep everything in very light shades of gray (almost white) and apply three or four washes only to the uppermost areas like the tops of shoulders, left forearms thighs on most figures, and bottoms of their waistcoats.  Oh, and the pipeclayed shoulder belts of course.   As I mentioned some weeks back when discussing the first batch of 20 figures, I find washes to be an inexact science, especially when using white, which can be a difficult color to work with under the best of circumstan...

  T he 2025 stollen shortly after the Grand Duchess dusted it with confectioner's sugar late Boxing Day afternoon.  We've enjoyed about a quarter of it so far, and while good at anytime with anything, for my money Sonja's stollen is best with fresh, strong coffee. Ambrosial! In toy soldierly news, I am getting very close to finishing the current batch of 20 Anhalt-Zerbst figures.  They're coming together nicely I think.  Stay tuned for a Kodak moment update! -- Stokes

  Of the many vintage images of Saint Nicholas/Father Christmas/Santa Claus collected during the last 20 years or so, this one has to be my favorite. T he ground is once again white with fresh snow east of the sun and west of the moon in the far off Grand Duchy of Stollen. Billowing, silvery drifts are piled throughout the country. The rivers and lakes are frozen solid. The woods are still but for the distant jingle of sleigh bells in the bracing air. The sky is slate grey, and heavy coal smoke hangs over the villages and towns. It is Christmas Eve here in the Grand Duchy, somewhere very near to the easternmost reaches of Frederick’s Prussia, sometime during the mid-18th century.  Citizens of Krankenstadt bustle to and fro through snow-covered streets of the small capital city of the Grand Duchy, running last minute errands before the Christmas festival begins in earnest. The red brick North German Gothic storefronts feature special Christmas items and treats like the marzip...

  M ore than a couple of painting sessions yesterday (Saturday) and today, working solely on the muskets carried by most of the 20 figures currently under the brush.  Specifically, musket barrels, bayonets, ramrods (Yes, you read that right!) and firelocks/pans just above the musketeers' left hands.  These items were touched lightly with Gun Metal, using a 000 sable round, a color which I prefer to straight silver in this instance.  Look very carefully.  It's there.   The various brass fittings followed and took an age over several sessions in the painting chair late this morning and throughout the afternoon.  Miraculously (some might suggest kindly), the painting gods smiled on me throughout, and there were relatively few misplaced blotches to clean up later.  It is not always so.   To be sure, there were a few flubs along the way. Along with hissed blue language.  But it could have been worse.  Overall, though, I'm relat...

  T he second batch of Anhalt-Zerbst figures is shaping up reasonably well. After a number of days of 45-90 minutes painting sessions, the reds, blacks, and (most of) the browns are finished.   Musket detailing with limited highlighting of the stocks is next on the agenda.  Time permitting, I might also add the tiny white straps on the flap of the knapsacks hanging over the right shoulders of the musketeers.   The RSM95 grenadier (in bearskin) lacks this particular feature.   This particular figures is, you'll note, out of step with with everyone else.  Not unlike yours truly.   Let's dub the miniature in question Grenadier Lennert Etwasschraeg , who hails originally from a farming family in the Tyrol.  Impressively tall but not necessarily the brightest bulb, his mother nevertheless  has high hopes that he might meet a nice Saxon milkmaid outside of Zerbst and settle down.   Once the 60-odd figure regiment ...

  T ackling the reds on the current (middle) batch of the Anhalt-Zerbst Regiment.  The Citadel 'Khorne Red' turnbacks left a lot of areas that needed cleaning up with careful reapplications of my preferred Quaker Gray undercoat and black, but the figures look, if not quite all present and correct, then at least more pulled together for now.   Once their cuffs and lapels have been done, again with the darker red, then I'll go back to apply dots and dashes of Vallejo 'Flat Red' as a highlight.  And then it will be back to things like shoulder belts, musket barrels, straps, etc. before finally applying washes of white to various areas of uniform, mustaches, drummer, and so forth.   And finally the many, many brass buttons, hat hackles, and corner tassels. Whew!  Trying to squeeze in at least an hour of painting time a day to get this batch done and dusted by Christmas Eve.   We'll see.   The plan is to begin the final third of the...

  F inally managed to get out for about 90 minutes midday for the first jaunt on my old Fischer classic skis at a nearby park that has actually rolled trails for skate technique.  Not quite enough snow yet for classic tracks, but that didn't stop many of us from taking a tour through the Mid-Michigan woods.  Quite a few other skiers out early this afternoon.   I was a bit wobbly for about the first 10 minutes, but I soon found my balance and stride, doing pretty well for the first outing this season.  Some nice glide and no wipeouts.  Even managed a few tricky downhills.  Yes!!! Besides yoga and meditation with the Grand Duchess, there is nothing that makes me feel as happy and at peace as cross-country skiing.  Except a ski tour with her. . .  Or shiny toy soldiers, fresh coffee, and cats in no particular order.  It was not so today, but plenty of couples skiing is on the way over the next few months along with the Young Master, wh...

  E xactly 20 years ago -- appropriately enough on Leuthen Day 2005 -- the idea that became the Grand Duchy of Stollen hit me like a bolt out of the blue as the Grand Duchess Sonja (a professor of German and Eastern European Studies) baked a stollen for her German language students across the hall from my old office ("The Purple Room") in the apartment/flat we had at the time in Bloomington, Illinois just two blocks from the university.   The butterflies were thick that day.  It was a snowy, cold Saturday [actually December 03, 2005. . . NOT Leuthen Day].  Final Exam Week was poised to start in a couple of days.  I was sitting at the computer happily reading about toy soldiers on one or another online forum.  I had recently discovered the now defunct Yahoo Old School Wargaming Group along with Henry Hyde's original Battlegames  site, just before the much missed magazine came into being, and Phil Olley's original  Phil's War Cabinet sites al...

  T he first (roughly) third of the eventual Anhalt-Zerbst Regiment stand ready for glossing, slated to commence tomorrow (Saturday) afternoon once things calm down here post-Thanksgiving guests.  And holy moly were the the lapel buttons hard to render on the left of each figure along the musket stocks!  In most cases, though, I managed a reasonable semblance I think. The figures are not perfect, of course, but they ought to look pretty good once all 60+ are finished, flagged, and based.   After that, there is something special in the painting queue for 2026 of which more anon. You'll no doubt wonder why I am such a glutton for painting punishment when I disclose those particular plans in the new year.  As the late Brigadier Young once noted in that title so near and dear our hearts' Charge! Or How to Play War Games (1967), it's madness. There can be no other easy explanation. In the meantime, the next batch of 20 Anhalt-Zerbst  figures now await thei...

  H appy Thanksgiving to U.S. celebrants wherever in the world you might find yourself, and a belated Thanksgiving wish to our incredibly patient neighbors in Canada (less than an hour from my doorstep here in Michigan).  Quite a few Canadian family friends over the years, plus a number of colleagues here at Michigan State, so a big shout out to you.  The world has gone mad as my late maternal grandmother used to say.  Or, more accurately, not "the world" but rather us.  But we will come to our senses and get through the current situation one day.  Eventually.  Some say that awakening is already happening, but I remain skeptical.  We'll see. In more pleasant news, still here and still ticking along in the Grand Duchy, losing a few minutes here and there but still keeping time.  More or less. Almost finished with the MANY brass buttons on those first 20 Anhalt-Zerbst figures before the glossing stage.  No time for painti...

  I t's been stop-start, stop-start quite a bit here in the Grand Duchy the last few weeks, meaning that time at the painting desk has been scarce, but I've managed a bit of work now and then building up white washes on the coats, breeches, and waistcoats of the first 20 or so figures that will eventually comprise my version of the Anhalt-Zerbst Regiment, circa1770s in the Colonies.  Here, we see them just after Saturday evening's session concluded, when I finished the last six figures (front rank, furthest to the right).   Not quite happy with the drummer's sleeves.  A bit too much glaring 'Hollywood Smile' white, so those need some more attention, but otherwise they look reasonably good en masse.  Must check my to do list, but I think just drum cords, shoulder wings, buttons, and a few other dabs of gold here and there on the tips of scabbards (or sword hilts), and Bob's just about your mother's brother.  A few touch-ups too, but otherwise they're ...

A few sessions in the painting chair to complete the red facings and turnbacks on (roughly) the first third of my Anhalt-Zerbst regiment.  After a few evenings of brushwork, I managed to get that particular series of steps all done this rainy October afternoon following an unplanned run to the supermarket for that most important of domestic materials.   Kitty litter . Once home, and following the related chore (Jeeze Louise!), I was able to return to more pleasant and interesting affairs with the paintbrush.  Beyond their many buttons and careful washes of white to the light gray undercoat on coats, waistcoats, and plus fours, there is not much left to finish on the foot officer, his NCO, or the musketeers before the usual final touch-ups ahead of glossing. The more detail laden drummer and mounted officer are next, since these figures always require a bit more care and attention. On a related note, Big Lee's latest vlog over at Miniature Adventures -- on metal fig...

  A busy last few weeks here in the Grand Duchy, so painting has slowed somewhat, but I've recently redoubled my efforts with the brush, and here is where things stood with the first (roughly) third of my version of the Anhalt-Zerbst Regiment after about 90 minutes yesterday evening.   Time to highlight the red facings now -- you can already see where I've started on the mounted officer and two privates at left in the rear rank -- before moving onto a few details like the drum, the colonel's saddle cloth, fringe, and so forth. I'll finish with a couple of washes of white on the raised areas of arms, thighs, and chests/upper backs and a few of the usual very dark gray highlights on the black areas before final touch-ups and glossing. For white and red in particular, I find that a careful wash or three yield(s) more subtle results than applying these paints full strength directly from the bottle.  Of course, it's an inexact science, so take that with a grain of salt....

  S till quite a way to go with the current batch of 20 human figures and a horse (of course), but they're actually starting to look like something after all of the red distinctions.  Quite a bit of painting in hour-long sessions the last week as and when time has allowed.  Mostly applying the basic dark red to facing areas and turnbacks followed by the inevitable touch-ups to clean up wobbly edges and those misplaced, minute splotches of Citadel Khorne Red.   They're looking like so many Austrian infantry regiments of the era at this point, but the eventual flags will turn them magically into the Anhalt-Zerbst Regiment, more or less, of the AWI period.  But I'm getting a bit ahead of myself. One frustrating point (ahem) of sad discovery.  I've started trying to use those Winsor & Newton 'Series Seven' brushes (#1 rounds) purchased last spring, and the blasted things simply will not keep a point.  Very frustrating since I have heard over the y...

    A little more brushwork on the first batch of (my version of) the Anhalt-Zerbst Regiment yesterday (Saturday).  Taking a different tack this time and addressing many of the details first before the white coats and other larger areas of uniform.   The eagle-eyed among you will notice that I've painted the (dark) red stocks of the enlisted men.  Always a difficult and frustrating item to paint, it made sense to paint from the inside out as it were and get that particular detail out of the way first rather than try to paint it in later after much other painting has been accomplished.  Trying to reduce the need for later retouching of other items on the figures you understand. Hopefully, I will be able to get back to these later today after a second trip back to the Apple Store for help with a couple of new iPad issues and, following the return home, some revision of Google Slides for tomorrow's meetings with my students. -- Stokes P.S. And according t...

M aking some early progress with Batch A of the Anhalt-Zerbst Regiment over the last several days/evenings.  Nothing terribly exciting just yet, but the basic black, brown, and flesh areas are done as are the green bases, and gray undercoat.   The latter two areas needed some careful retouching early in the week.  Next up, the neck stocks.   I might just do these in red for the enlisted men although some of my source material suggest they were black, but I always look for an excuse to shake things up a bit.  Any errant splotches of red (or black) can be covered with another application of light gray before I move onto the next step.   "Giddy up!" as one Cosmo Kramer might have said. -- Stokes

  Arrrgh!  Gotta go back into camera settings on my iPhone to bring all of the frame into focus.  Blast! Painting is underway on the 60 or so Minden Austrians, which are slated to become my version of the Anhalt-Zerbst Regiment of AWI renown.  More or less indistinguishable from Austrians of the era really, right down to the red facings and turnbacks, but the eventual flags (already in my files) will set them apart.   I went ahead and based-coated all of them over a couple of days lthe last week of August, using a mix of light gray and white acrylic gesso, before next applying my usual basic alkyd oil flesh tone to the faces and hands.  In a day or two, I'll hit that with Army Painter Flesh Wash to tone things down a bit and bring some definition to the faces and hands.   As usual, the plan is to focus on about 20 figures at a time, splitting the regiment roughly into thirds along with the color party and regimental staff.  Depending on ...