Second Batch of SSM Cavalry Nears Completion!

Many thanks to those of you who have sent your congratulations about the new house! The Grand Duchess and I are currently up to our eyeballs in various pre-closing details, like setting up house inspections, roof inspections, radon gas tests and the like. Gosh, the movies make it look so easy kids! Still, it’s a terribly exciting period in our lives, and although these things have taken lots of time the last several days, there has still been some room for some steady painting in the evenings.

I’ve also heard from Randy Frye in Northern Illinois about the chance of a July or August game with him, Bill Protz, and Jim “Alte Fritz” Perky. Although the game will likely take place at Randy’s home, the possibly might also exist to inaugurate my own future wargaming room/table, which I have yet to christen with some kind of simultaneously silly, and yet clever name. Wouldn’t that be something?

Sonja and I were bouncing ideas around a few nights ago after dinner. She didn’t care for the obvious Winston Churchill inspired War (Game) Room, so for now the future sight of battles between Stollen, Zichenau, and their tiny allied principalities on the northeastern end of Fredrick’s post-SYW Prussia has a more Germanic twist to it – Das Zinnfigurenzimmer! It’s a mouthful if one pronounces the z’s in the correct German accent (as a “ts”).

I’m not wedded to this idea though as it leaves out my plastics, which make up the bulk of my forces. We’ll see, but it’s too bad that Henry Hyde has already used “Loftwaffe” for himself, but then I won’t be in the attic either. As my grandfather might have joked after a couple of scotch and waters, however, “I’ve been in the basement all my life!” So, maybe something like Die Kriegspielkeller is more in order? Well, there’s plenty of time to work out all that!

Anyway. . . In the above photo from last night, you will see the middle batch of Spencer Smith cavalry in front of the initially completed squadron to the rear. I’ve completed everything except the yellow coat tail turnbacks and officer’s folded back lapels, the metallics (swords/scabbard tips and related details) and the white horse markings on muzzles and legs.

I was actually up very early today (3AM) since I could not sleep anymore. I took the opportunity to do a little painting over coffee while the BBC World Service online played in the background. Thus fortified against the early morning chill, I worked on five figures’ yellow turnbacks. I also went back and fixed some ill-defined areas on the first twelve figures with careful black lining (not visible here). If things go according to plan, I should be able to wrap up painting on this batch either Saturday or Sunday this weekend. Then, after a night or two off, it’s back to work on the third and final batch of figures for the regiment, a squadron of which fought for the Electorate of Zichenau in last month’s Action at Zollamtstadt.

Finally, the unnamed “wargaming project” is coming along slowly but surely. I have more or less decided on what information to include. A few of the pieces – I hesitate to call them chapters just yet – have been written already, but much remains to be developed more fully. I’ve also managed to compile a list of US and UK hobby publishers to query. So, that’s where we stand at the moment with that.

Thank you again to everyone who took the time to send me thoughts about one or another of the questions that I asked in an earlier post. Now I’ve got a few (?) more. I’ve examined my various Christopher Duffy titles for information on how battles were fought more or less during the mid-18^th century. But Professor Duffy sheds little light on earlier conflicts of that same 100-year period.

With that conundrum in mind, might some of you Stollen regulars be able to shed some light on how tactics differed in, say during the Great Northern War or War of Spanish Succession? I do know that pikes were still used early in the former, and infantry/cavalry formations were generally deeper than they became later, but is there anything else to it? What about the War of Austrian Succession? I’d sure appreciate it if some of you could provide some fairly concise guidance on the matter or refer me to specific books, please.

Ok, this post has grown long enough. Back to work!