The fog begins to lift from over the Grand Duchy of Stollen. . .

The light, the light! I can see the light!

Ah. . . the summer vacation approaches, and there is a little bit of light at the end of the metaphoric tunnel! My daily teaching commitments and May Term are finished as of Thursday the 24th! And just in time for the next 60-day painting challenge, which starts that day and was proposed recently by a loose association of wargaming friends and acquaintances around the globe. So, besides finally having some time to renew the stalled Neu Sittangbad game with General de Latte, I have pledged to complete (yes, FINISH, darn it!) the painting of two RSM95 cannon -- for an RSM crew painted as mid-18th century Saxons (more or less) and a group of Minden figures painted in rather more somber Palatinate uniforms -- and that 32-strong unit of RSM/Minden Croats, which have been gathering dust over on the painting table since late winter.

As soon as the battery has recharged for my camera, I'll post a couple of photos of the RSM and Minden crews, which were completed in early March when painting ground to a halt and gaming began to slow down due to the pressures of teaching recalcitrant undergraduates. But, almost three months of summer vacation beckon. Time to slow down, open the windows, recharge, get back on the bicycle, spend time with the Grand Duchess and Young Master Paul, paint a little, game a little, resume my night owl habits for a while, read for pleasure, and make a few batches of my maternal grandfather's North Carolina Piedmont-style pork barbecue and red slaw with hush puppies. I'll make the inaugural batch for 2012 in two weeks, during the Memorial Day holiday weekend here in the U.S. Mmmm. . . I'm getting very hungry just thinking about it.

Even more exciting, we are finally coming to serious grips with our backyard after four years in the current Stollen Central, so with any luck by mid-July, our front- and backyards will be leafy and rather more groomed in appearance than has been the case so far. After three years of reseeding and other difficult yardwork, the grass in both places already looks highly promising. Funny, the silly, inconsequential things one becomes focused on as a homeowner!

Comments

CelticCurmudgeon said…

Dear Stokes,

Your future work is much anticipated. Did you get your proposal for the fall semester in? Ansd with the end of the course comes grading of final projects or tests. After doing this for forty years, I miss the students and some of my colleagues but not the paperwork.

So, enjoy your painting and more importantly your time with the family. Have a great summer.

Jerry

9:44 AM

The 18th century? What's the Fascination?

Hessian musketeers by All the King's Men Toy Soldiers of Snellville, Georgia, U.S.A. Just a quick post post today, but I thought the above question might be interesting food for thought. Obviously, there is an array of possible periods, theaters, and conflicts that might catch our eyes. But what is it about the era 1700-1799 -- either real, or imagined? Is it the commanders and politics? The fairly straightforward tactics? The myriad of uniforms and flags? The variety and scope of the conflicts? The patchwork of various and sundry petty states, (at least in Central Europe)? I'm very interested to learn your thoughts. Don't be a lurker! Please leave a comment -- or even two or three. Have a nice day everyone!

An Early July Hussar Update. . .

Marginally neater in appearance with green bases, girths, and ivory horse markings added, but I need to neaten up some hooves now before moving onto the rest of the tack. W here in the world did June go? While I still ponder the answer to that question, how about a quick painting update on the first batch of 14 Minden Austrian hussars and Nadasdy? Good. I'm glad we are of a like mind. Still on the sloppy side, but I've managed to move things along, painting the green bases, white (ivory) horse markings, and beginning the miles and miles of tack adorning the various horses. I always like to begin with the girths spanning the horses' ribs which helped hold the saddles in place. Even with the figures mounted individually on temporary painting bases, these can be kind of tricky to access, but there we are. I've also used various Army Painter washes (Mid-Brown and Strong Tone) as well as their Speed Paint (Grim Black) to make the manes and tails of the horses a bit m...

Basic Reds Done at Last. . .

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The Grand Duchy of Stollen

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