A Bright, Sunny, and Cool Fall Day. . .

The Indra Club on the Grossefreiheit in Hamburg, Germany, where the Beatles played for 48 consecutive nights, before the police closed it due to noise complaints, from August to early October 1960. The band then was moved up the street to the larger, wilder Kaiserkeller Club where they continued almost until being deported at the end of November that year.

Although I am (before Young Master Paul arrived two years ago that is) an avid Nordic skier (avid, but definitely not Olympic material by any stretch of the imagination) and enjoy the winter, Fall is my favorite season. Here in the Grand Duchy of Stollen, we have one of those incredibly blue days with cool temperatures, and the leaves are starting to change colors and fall from the trees. Ahhhh. . . Reminds me of when I was a child and teenager, growing up on my maternal grandparents' place in rural southeastern Pennsylvania about two hours outside Philadelphia.

Which is just a roundabout way of saying that I managed to get in a couple of hours of painting last night on the current batch of nine Minden hussars. They are starting to look like something though there is still much to do before they are all finished. I fear I might run out of Citadel (ex-Games Workshop) Goblin Green though, which is the color I usually apply to the bases of figures. Now that I think of it though, I do have a quart of Olympic Grassy Meadow, that I use on my tabletop and hills, which might be just the ticket if I thin it a bit with some water. We'll see how much painting I can complete this afternoon.

Tonight, however my amateur rock & roll band The Indras has yet another date (we've been averaging two-three gigs a month for the last 18 months or so). Click on the highlighted link to be transported magically to out website, which yours truly designed some months ago. The cold that all three of us have suffered with during the last three weeks here at Stollen Central finally seems to be all gone, so I should be able to manage Long Tall Sally and Kansas City/Hey, Hey, Hey pretty well tonight. But I digress.

Be sure to check back in here later today, or tomorrow for a hussar painting photographic update. Only three weeks to go until the November 5th Painting Challenge deadline. Will Stokes make it, or perish in the process with a paintbrush in his hand?

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...

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!

And It's the End of September!!!

Saxony's Ploetz Cuirassiers, an illustration lifted from the Kronoskaf website, which has thus far guided my spectacularly glacial painting of 30 28mm Eureka Saxon cuirassiers purchased all the way back in October 2016. A gray, cool Saturday here in Mid-Michigan with rain in the forecast. The Grand Duchess is away at a conference, so it's just "The Boys" here at home. The Young Master (almost 15) has retreated to his room for something or other following breakfast while I have stolen back down here to Zum Stollenkeller (masquerading as my office) with a second mug of coffee and both cats comfortably ensconced nearby. Enjoying the late morning and still in my pajamas! Not much planned for today beyond designing a couple of promotional flyers for workshops my department is presenting (small parties we will throw?) in October and November. With maybe a bit of on the next podcast script. More important, I am toying with the idea of returning for an hour or...

The Grand Duchy of Stollen

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