Christmas Preparations. . .

The Grand Duke Irwin-Amadeus II paints the first squadron and staff of his Swedish cavalry regiment in 30mm at the desk in his study that overlooks the frozen fountain and snow-covered grounds of the Residenz.

Hives enters the private study of the Grand Duke Irwin-Amadeus II. . .

Hives: (Peeks around door) Excuse me, Sir?

Irwin-Amadeus II: (Busily applying green paint to trooper figures) Yes, Hives? Have you brought that refill of coffee I asked for an hour ago?

Hives: (Hesitates) Ummm, no, Sir. Frau Goetterfuncken has stepped out for a moment, and none of the remaining kitchen staff seem to have any clue about how to operate one of those French presses.

IA: Blast! Oh, well. Too much coffee makes my painting hand less steady. Hives? Better wait on that coffee until the midday meal with my ministers then.

H: As you wish, Sir (Remains standing just inside doorway).

IA: (Starts to paint once more, but glances in Hives' direction and wrinkles brow) Was there anything else, Hives?

H: Yes, Sir. There was the small matter of a brief message just arrived via courier.

IA: (Adjusts painting glasses and begins painting again) Yes, Hives? What was it then?

H: It seems the Lady Leonora Christina von Grandin and her party were delayed for a few days in Riga where they were to embark on a ship bound for Stockholm, and (pauses). . . your letter of invitation reached her.

IA: (Taken aback) Oh. . .

H: Yes, Sir. And it appears that her parents met her there where her father had been conducting some business in the city before they all returned home together.

IA: (Puts down paintbrush) I see. . .

H: Indeed, Sir. All three members of the von Grandin family and their party have accepted your Christmas invitation. They plan to be in Krankenstadt by early next week.

IA: (Color drains from his face) Oh. . . no. . .

H: Yes, Sir. It does seem to be something of an awkward position you occupy at that moment.

IA: Yes, Hives! Thank you for pointing that out to me. I'd almost missed it.

H: And there is also the matter of how to deal with your Aunt Irmgard and her annual Christmas invitation, Sir, which you accepted weeks ago.

IA: Thank you again, Hives. Thank you. That little detail had almost escaped my attention too. Oh, dash it all! Looks like I'm in it up to my neck. And just as I was starting to make some headway on these Swedish dragoons.

H: Indeed, Sir.

IA: (Looks at ceiling in exasperation) Oh, Hives! Hives! Why on earth do things like this always fall into my lap? The Lady Leonora Christina is a most stunning example of the fairer sex,

H: Indeed, Sir. She is a healthy young woman.

IA: (Making a pained expression) But that laugh.

H: (With caution) It is rather. . . (clears through gently) pronounced, Sir.

IA: (Shudders) Pronounced? Hives, her laugh is like another person in the room. It has a personality all its own. Like those socially awkward cousins most of us have but never talk about.

H: The Lady Leonora Christina von Grandin is your distant cousin, Sir.

IA: (Rinses brush and caps paint) You see what I mean, then.

H: Indeed, Sir.

IA: (Stands, smooths clothes, and adjusts wig) Well, Hives, I suppose there is just one thing for it.

H: What's that, Sir? To send a letter of regret to your Aunt Irmgard?

IA: No, Hives, no. Lunch at the club. Please cancel that midday meeting with my ministers and have a coach brought round to the side entrance of the palace in half an hour. Maybe I'll be able to sort out something during the ride there.

H: Very good, Sir.

Curtain falls.

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

And We're Off!!!

Arrrgh! Gotta go back into camera settings on my iPhone to bring all of the frame into focus. Blast! Painting is underway on the 60 or so Minden Austrians, which are slated to become my version of the Anhalt-Zerbst Regiment of AWI renown. More or less indistinguishable from Austrians of the era really, right down to the red facings and turnbacks, but the eventual flags (already in my files) will set them apart. I went ahead and based-coated all of them over a couple of days lthe last week of August, using a mix of light gray and white acrylic gesso, before next applying my usual basic alkyd oil flesh tone to the faces and hands. In a day or two, I'll hit that with Army Painter Flesh Wash to tone things down a bit and bring some definition to the faces and hands. As usual, the plan is to focus on about 20 figures at a time, splitting the regiment roughly into thirds along with the color party and regimental staff. Depending on ...

The Eventual Anhalt-Zerbst Regiment. . .

The Anhalt-Zerbst regiment musters in the drill square to sort themselves into platoons and companies during the coming weeks Fall maneuvers if you will. A large dose of real life the last few days with the start of classes next Monday, various preparatory meetings, and finishing up a few other things this week. But, I managed to sort out 60 or so Minden Austrian infantry from the pile and get 'em stuck to temporary painting bases. Must carefully drill out the hands of several NCOs for flagpoles and pole arms this weekend before the usual basecoat. I'm thinking of mixing the usual white gesso with the usual light gray to kill two birds with one stone so to speak. Applying both base- and undercoat in one fell swoop as my grandmother used to say. In the meantime, the recently finished squadron of Saxon cuirassiers has been placed carefully in one of the clear acrylic boxes on my shelves until I have the suitable flag to affix. -- Sto...

The Grand Duchy of Stollen

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