A Few Kodak Moment Photo Updates. . .

Here's a general photograph of the first 29 Huzzah figures, showing where they stand in the painting and varnishing process. Although it's hard to see in this picture, we're getting very close to completion here.

No time for painting last night (Monday evening), but as you know, I managed to squeeze in a few hours this past weekend. So, it seems like a good idea to share a few photo updates. You can see that the current crop of figures is getting very close to being finished. Just a couple of small details, some black touch-ups, and the flag to finish. I also need to redo the gold lace on the officers' coats, so that I have distinct pairs of lace loops across the front of their coats. Then it's onto a couple of coats of Future/Klear acrylic floor finish and blah, blah, blah. . . You Stollen regulars know the drill as well as I do by now! ;-)

Here, we have a close-up of a company NCO. He's not perfect by any means, but at arm's length and on the tabletop, he and his cohorts will look impressive I hope.

And finally, here is one of the first 16 infantry privates. Taking a cue from Phil Olley and his Spencer Smith figures, I've decided to go for mass effect this time rather than try to paint every minute detail sculpted onto the figures, or correct every minor mishap with the brush. While it's still important strive for a neat standard in one's painting, I won't worry about it if I color slightly outside the lines. . . contrary to my first grade teacher Mrs. Parsons, who admonished my classmates and me for doing just that. It ain't the Sistine Chapel ceiling after all! But I digress. Even from two feet away, these figures should look pretty darn good when they are done.

Presenting the Anspach-Bayreuth Kuirassiere!!!

Here they are, with the rearmost nine figures still drying, three squadrons of the Anspach-Bayreuth Kuirassiere, now in the service of the Grand Duchy of Stollen. And now, it's onto that artillery!

Having a "No Day". . .

F or the almost 20 years that she lived in Mexico, one of my late mother's Irish friends frequently mentioned having a "No Day." A day with no social obligations, chores, tasks, or other work that interfered with whatever personal interests took one's fancy on the day in question. Since today -- a gray and chilly Saturday -- is Mom's birthday, the Grand Duchess is out with friends, and the Young Master is ensconced on the sofa in the TV room with a cold, yours truly is taking his own such No Day. I think Mom would approve of my decision to make the world go away, as the old Eddie Arnold song intoned, even if only for a little while. So, I will spend Saturday afternoon focused on that first squadron and small regimental staff of Eureka Saxon cuirassiers. These have stood waiting untouched over on the painting table for almost three weeks while we skied and otherwise gadded about with snowy, winter outdoor activities. I hope to share a painting update Sunday a

Keepin' an Eye on the World Going By My Window . .

'The Nap at the Palace' by Jose Triado Mayol N ot much in the way of hobby-related activity happening here in the Grand Duchy lately. Sigh. And no surprise there really since there are only so many hours in the day, only so much mental and physical energy to spare, and you sometimes simply just have to give in and know when to say, um, "When!" A glass of wine and/or evening yoga by the hearth with the Grand Duchess (who has practiced for over 20 years), and then off into la-la land. Zzzzzzzzz. More immediately, I'm recovering, mentally speaking, from a grueling Friday in which I was involved with three (online) conference sessions, one right after the other, followed by a 90-minute meeting at the end of the day. Also virtual. My brain has been mush ever since, so an easy, completely unproductive Saturday watching intermittent snow fall outside (no accumulation however) and drinking coffee while the visiting handymen completed some repair work down her

The Grand Duchy of Stollen

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