Gentlemen, start cutting!

Step One -- Measure and cut out the end and sidewall pieces from the heavy card(board) that you have hoarded and transported from one residence to the next for 20 years. An analyst would very likely have lots to say about that, but I digress! Anyway, take care to get your angles correct on the gabled end pieces and make sure your pieces are cut square. This is where the small carpenter’s square and steel edged ruler come in handy. If cutting out any curves or arches, keep your fingers out of the way, cutting slowly and carefully, so you are pleased with the results. If all goes well, you should have the four basic walls and the base of your model cut out in 15-20 minutes.

The dimensions of the pieces shown above are:

End Walls – 2 ¼” x 5"
Side Walls – 1 3/8” x 3"
Base – 3 ¼” x 3"
Cutout for Archway – 1 3/8” x 1"

Although I based my various building models on the features of actual structures, I did not copy any one building exactly. Instead, go for the general look and feel of the place and period in question. And it’s ok to make your structures slightly underscale. That way, they don’t take up unnecessary space on the table top. But take care to design your houses and other buildings, so that they are taller than the figures with which you plan to use them. After all, it would look silly to construct houses that are 1” tall if your figures measure 30mm or more from base to eye. In the next post, we'll talk about gluing these walls together and adding a roof to the basic structure.

A Little More Brushwork. . .

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...

Basic Reds Done at Last. . .

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...

It's Early Days Yet. . .

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

The Grand Duchy of Stollen

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