Confusion, Intrigue, and Paranoia Reign in Wake of Palatial Pie Fight

Today, Stollenian ministers and advisors have gathered to determine the precise cause and order of events behind the pie fight, which disrupted a planned luncheon and meeting between Irwin-Amadeus II and the Prussian ambassador to Stollen, the jocular Herr Heinz von dem Salat. Few are sure how the post-bathing pie fight began, although everyone who was present has an opinion.

There are any number of suspects although no arrests or inquiries have been made. Is it the dastardly French mercenary General Philip de Latte, currently in the service of the Electorate of Zichenau and reportedly operating from somewhere inside the Stollenian frontier? Or is it the noted dessert chef, currently serving the kitchen of Krankenstadt Palace, Antoine Pont Neuf de Gallia? Is it instead a ruler from one of the many apocryphal 18th century states of Central Europe?

Herr Heinrich-Schatzi von Pelznikkel, who drew the short straw yesterday and so assumed personal responsibility for bathing Irwin-Amadeus, later receiving several cherry pies in the face for his troubles, opined that the Graf Maurice of Stagonia might be the instigator behind yesterday's palatial dessert debacle. Other ministers and advisors whisper that Graf Maurice in fact sent the right-handed lobster costume claw on purpose, fully aware that what was needed was a replacement left-handed claw.

Still others feel that mischievous agents from Hesse-Engelberg, the Duchy of Alzheim, or the Reconstituted Byzantium might also have had a hand in yesterday's dramatic turn of events. Suffice to say, there is much finger pointing in Krankenstadt this morning and little of substance offered in the way of explaning yesterday's spoiled luncheon.

Finally, some palace staff quietly suggest that Irwin-Amadeus himself, a man always appreciative of the rediculous, the sublime, and the absurd, staged the pie fight. However, this claim too remains unsubstantiated at present. If our Grand Duke was the man behind the pie fight, he isn't saying today, but instead seems content to sit in the shade outside the palace with a gin and tonic, chuckling contentedly to himself.

-- Katrina Bettina von Heffelfinger, Die Krankenstdat Tageblat

The Eventual Anhalt-Zerbst Regiment. . .

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...

And We're Off!!!

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 ...

Presenting the Anspach-Bayreuth Kuirassiere!!!

Here they are, with the rearmost nine figures still drying, three squadrons of the Anspach-Bayreuth Kuirassiere, now in the service of the Grand Duchy of Stollen. And now, it's onto that artillery!

The Grand Duchy of Stollen

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