The Cold Has Returned to the Grand Duchy of Stollen!!!

This late Christmas gift finally arrived in the mail yesterday afternoon, but it was well worth the wait. Wow!

Yesterday's mail brought the above title to my hot little hands, and I can't say enough about it after a delightful evening spent in bed with a cup of coffee and the book in question. Suffice to say that the writing and quality of Wargaming in History: The Seven Years War raises the bar considerably for all wargaming literature. Neither does it seem an overstatement to suggest that the book is just as engaging and charming as those two classics, held in such high regard by many of us, namely Charge! (1067) and The War Game (1971) . On a personal note, I think Charles Grant even surpasses those two works here. If you have not yet purchased Wargaming in History: The Seven Years War, do so at once. It is an amazing read and a feast for the eyes. Enough said.

On another note, I've just learned of a new blog, which might be of some interest to many of you visitors to the Grand Duchy of Stollen. Have a look at the Alte Zeit Figures blog, which details the sculpting, casting, and (hopefully?) sale of exquisitely proportioned and detailed 30mm miniatures in the style of the old Stadden range. The Seven Years War is one of the projects currently underway, and if the Prussian dragoon sculpting right now is anything to go by, I might have to see if I can eventually get some of these figures if and when they become available commercially.

Ok, I've got a baby to wake up and feed breakfast. Enjoy your day wherever in the world you find yourself!

Comments

Bluebear Jeff said…

So, did you like the book?

-- Jeff

4:42 PM

Die alte Aechzener said…

Curses! You fiend! I could resist, when I saw Alte Fritz lauding this to the skies, and I just about managed to steel myself to ignore the second glowing review, but ... alas for my poor flat pocketbook, I couldn't resist a 3rd blandishment.

Now to expect arrival for a couple of weeks, agog with anticipation ....

6:36 PM

tidders2 said…

Yep ! great book. Had it in time for Xmas and kept looking at it again and again ..

That new figure range looks promising, have to keep any eye on developments

-- Allan

7:02 AM

Paul said…

You would make a great salesman Stokes,
ordered my copy today along with the war game
companion.

Paul

8:22 PM

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

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