More Information from Stollenian Agents. . .

Agents currently in the service of Stollen's General von Drosselmaier fed him a disturbing piece of information this morning while he dined at the breakfast table al fresco on a low ridge to the east of Saegewerkdorf . It seems a previously overlooked unit of infantry has been discovered and confirmed as part of vile Stagonia's order of battle -- the notorious red-coated Grosfurtzen Grenzer!

Their presence with Major General Drednoz's army means that the Grand Duchy of Stollen is somewhat outnumbered in terms of, not only cavalry, but also where infantry numbers are concerned. When informed of this latest development early today, von Drosselmaier seemed unaffected by the news, first finishing his softboiled eggs, followed by a dose of snuff and a good sneeze. He next replied to the valet who conveyed the information from his spies, "Very good. That will be all for now. Clear the table and fetch my horse."

Just what went through von Drosselmaier's mind at that moment? It is of course hard to say since the general is known for his guarded public nature, especially where issues of military importance are concerned. However, the officers closest to him in the field suggest that von Drosselmaier is not terribly worried by the news, noting that the General, who has been up since 3am, is now napping in the shade of a nearby tree with a copy of yesterday's Die Krankenstadt Tageblat folded over his face!

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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