A Lovely Thank-You Note from. . .

Thank you everyone for your delightful New Years wishes. It’s really very nice to be part of what is becoming a large circle of wargaming friends and acquaintances around the globe. Who knew back in late 1983, when all of this model soldier lunacy began, that I’d end up part of such a fun group of like-minded people? Likewise, I hope the new year finds all of you well and happy in wargaming and life in general.

On other fronts, the Grand Duchess and I just returned from 3 ½ days outside of Waukesha, Wisconsin, where we skied like maniacs at the Lapham Peak Cross-Country Ski Area, just off of Interstate 94. 25 miles of groomed trails (and we explored/skied most of them), many of which are lighted after dark until 10PM! We are tired and a little sore, but we had a blast and each feel that our respective skiing techniques have improved somewhat.

Finally, guess what was waiting in our mailbox when we returned? A small envelope mailed from Southampton, UK, containing a typed and signed thank-you not from the one and only Donald Featherstone!

I sent Mr. Featherstone a Christmas card with a short note in early December, thanking him for the fun and inspiration his work continues to inspire. I never expected that he might reply in kind. The note reads:

Dear Mr. Schwartz (I don’t know your Christian name),

Many thanks for your card and note. It is good to know that so many people around the world have found pleasure in wargaming and that I helped to get it started. I know so many people in your country and love them all!

Yours sincerely,

Don Featherstone

What a neat piece of memorabilia to tuck into one of the several Featherstone-authored books here at Stollen Central. And what a gentleman Donald Featherstone is!

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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