The Grand Duchy of Stollen

  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 ...

  The Anhalt-Zerbst regiment musters in the drill square to sort themselves into platoons and companies during the coming weeks  Fall maneuvers if you will. A large dose of real life the last few days with the start of classes next Monday, various preparatory meetings, and finishing up a few other things this week.  But, I managed to sort out 60 or so Minden Austrian infantry from the pile and get 'em stuck to temporary painting bases.  Must carefully drill out the hands of several NCOs for flagpoles and pole arms this weekend before the usual basecoat.   I'm thinking of mixing the usual white gesso with the usual light gray to kill two birds with one stone so to speak.  Applying both base- and undercoat in one fell swoop as my grandmother used to say. In the meantime, the recently finished squadron of Saxon cuirassiers has been placed carefully in one of the clear acrylic boxes on my shelves until I have the suitable flag to affix.   -- Sto...

  The next unit to go under the brush.  I give you the Anhalt-Zerbst Regiment! A propos of nothing, I found an AI that, among other things, easily removes backgrounds from photographs, leaving just the subject in the foreground to paste into or against another background.  Pixelcut.ai it is for anyone who might like to mess around with it to see what it can help you produce. Otherwise, just wrapping up summertime activities before various meetings and things kick in Monday morning at 9am with classes beginning the following Monday the 25th.  While I well and truly enjoy working with (most) undergrads, my colleagues, developing/revising courses, and the scholarship of teaching and learning in general, I really could do without the departmental and program meetings which always go on far too long and come at less than convenient times whether in-person, or online.  Sigh. I know, I know.  Lots of people in the world right now with far worse problems, so I sho...

  A fter a week away from the painting table as real life and the approaching fall term encroach, I returned to the chair this afternoon and finished the various buttons on the trumpeter's coat.  The squadron is now ready for the usual 2.5 coats of acrylic gloss varnish, which I'll start tomorrow (Monday) evening.   In general, I am very pleased with the way the figures and their mounts turned out.  Some of the details are wrong, of course, but overall they don't look half bad.  I'll see about the squadron standard in due course.   Looking ahead, I think a regiment of infantry is in order before I return to cavalry and a monster regiment (36+) of Minden Austrian hussars.  I've found a unit that wore basically red uniforms with  red saddle cloths and valises, so that should help move things along a a fairly rapid pace (he said).  Watch this space! -- Stokes

    A rmed with a second cup of fresh, strong coffee, I messed around a bit this morning with artlist.io using its image to image function in an attempt to convert my hand-drawn map from September 2006 to something that more resembles an old map from the mid-18th century.  And just like my experiments with Ninja AI in June, the results are mixed.   The above map is pretty good, but Artlist keeps fouling up the place names and has trouble putting a faint overlay of hexes across the entire area.  Hexes, admittedly, are not likely to be found on any genuine maps from the era in question, but there we are.  Frankly, I prefer the appearance of the Ninja map, but there were problems getting it to correct its errors.  Grrrr.  As is the case with so much having to do with the various AI's out there now, the output generated is a direct result of the prompts entered.  For text alone, and when you develop a lengthy, highly detailed prompt, it is...

    I t's amazing how something as simple as applying two coats of Citadel 'Warboss Green' (ex-Games Workshop 'Goblin Green') can enliven a unit of figures and get 'em that much closer to glossing and completion.  In much the same way that applying fleshtone early in painting process helps bring the figures to life.  Just some limited dry-brushing to bring out the manes, tails, and some equine musculature, and I'm calling my version of Saxony's von Polenz Cuirassiers, circa 1733, done and dusted.  Longtime visitors to the Grand Duchy of Stollen might recall (the blog will turn 19 years old in September) that I generally go for an old school approach when it comes to unit bases and paint them a nice, bright green.  Exceptions include command vignettes, skirmishers of one kind or another, transport, camp followers, and various other civilian one-offs.  The approach is not to everyone's taste, but I like the cheery toy soldier appearance once everything...

  A wee   bit behind my time with the self-imposed July 31st deadline, but I managed to complete a myriad of the small details remaining during a 2.5-hour session in the painting chair Friday evening (August 1st).  I won't bore you with a long list of these.  Suffice to say that most are too small for anyone but me to notice at more than arm's length.   If these were the old crude Peter Laing 15mm castings, then ok.  Splash on the general uniform colors in lighter tones to show up on the table before moving on to the next batch of figures.   However, many tiny nuances have been masterfully sculpted onto the Eureka castings, so it seems a shame to ignore them altogether.  I know, I know.  But one should at least make an attempt to suggest some of the finer points of uniforms and equipment if and when possible when working with miniatures in sizes 18mm or larger.  But that's just me.  In any case, I was able to address these...

  A n afternoon session in the painting chair followed later by an evening session after a long post-dinner walk around the neighborhood.  Most of the minute brushwork today focused on the squadron officer, trumpeter, and standard bearer.  Very few mistakes to fix, but I managed to wick those away with a clean damp brush before the paint set in all by one instance.   Even managed to nail the trumpeter's sleeve chevrons without too much trouble.  The trick is to adopt a feather-like touch, almost like what I imagine a surgeon must use and tease the paint onto those tiny details.  And hold your breath. I had to use quite a bit of creative license, especially on the trumpeter since I lacked detailed information for the early 1730s-era uniforms beyond the illustration shared earlier, but I'm reasonably pleased with the results so far.  In a few days, everyone will get gold buttons simply because I like the added glitter they give to tabletop units, es...

A gray, intermittently rainy Saturday here in the Grand Duchy.  The perfect excuse to get myself into the painting chair for a couple of sessions devoted to various and sundry small, even minute details on these 14 Eureka Saxon cuirassier castings.   These included 13 mustaches (Vallejo 'German Camo Black-Brown'), valise straps (Vallejo 'black'), and highlights on all of the leather cartridge, sword belts, and gauntlets (Vallejo 'Flat Earth').  I also busied myself with some additional touching up/highlighting to the visible turnbacks in the facing color (Army Painter 'Fur Brown').   Again, probably a bit light for the 'coffee brown' facing color of the regiment during the early 1730s, but we want it to show up on the table.  Wargamers' artistic license as mentioned in an earlier post. But what about the trumpeter?  Here, I also applied Vallejo 'Flat Red' as a highlight to his coat collar, turnbacks, and waistcoat plus carefully pain...

  A fter two days, the hat and saddle cloth lace is done.  Whew!  I also highlighted the visible facings/turnbacks with Army Painter 'Fur Brown.'  Probably lighter than the actual coffee brown described, but artistic license and all you understand.   Next up three more tiny details: the gold loops holding the white ribbons onto the hats, mustaches, and the cuirass waist belts.  After that, gunmetal and brass  on the carbines and slightly lightened 'Leather Brown' highlights on the shoulder belts and gauntlets.  Somewhere in there any visible buttons [and sword baskets] as well.   The trumpeter and his mount will be two of the last things to tackle before final touch-ups and eventual glossing.  I'm aiming to have 'em all done by month's end, just two weeks and a bit more away.  Can he do it?  Stay tuned to find out. -- Stokes   

A pplying brown highlights to the carbine and pistol stocks where visible this (Saturday) afternoon, and thought I'd continue by tackling the yellow lace on one of the troopers.  You know.  Just to see what that might look like.   As I have tended to do in the recent past, I used Army Painter 'Basilisk Brown'  to avoid anything more garish and glaring.  Must admit I kind of like the results.  Much more businesslike than, say, a bright yellow that might have been more at home on the sets of The Bugaloos, H.R. Puffenstuff, or Sigmund and the Seamonsters .  Showing my age there you understand! But I'm getting ahead of myself a bit.  Or perhaps behind?  Still quite a few bits of brown and brown highlights to attend to first.  Back to the salt mines as my grandfather used to joke once the (reheated) coffee break concludes. -- Stokes