A Veritable Fleet of Trucks!

The newly completed trucks just waiting for their coat of shiny varnish later tonight.

Here they are, all done except for a shiny coat of acrylic varnish. From left to right: a city garbage truck, a Federal Express truck, a UPS (United Parcel Services) truck, and a United States Postal Services truck. Paul calls the latter a 'Leslie' since that is the name of our local mail lady.

Normally, we teach him to call all adults either Mr., Mrs./Ms., or whatever professional title might be appropriate, but we are actually friendly with our mail carrier and began introducing Paul to her before we knew her last name. So, she remains Leslie to him.   Whenever we are out together in the car, or on foot, and the Young Master spots a small mail van, he calls out, "There is a Leslie!"

For those who might be interested, the trucks measure approximately 33/4" long x 2" high x 11/2" across. I used blocks of wood plus wooden wheels, tiny metal screws, and washers plus various tubes of acrylic paint by Liquitex. I wish I could add a convincing blue eagle to each side of the US Mail van in the right foreground, but my painting hand is not good with large birds. It's a foul state of affairs, but there you are. I suspect that the Young Master will not mind at this point in his life however.

And it seems that this year is shaping up to be the Christmas of wheeled vehicles. He'll be getting all kinds of cars, trucks, and heavy equipment from various family members and Santa Claus. Christmas Day should be loads of fun for him. The vastly increased level of awareness and excitement the Paul displays multiple times daily this Christmas season about seeing the trees and the Swedish star in the front window are truly a joy to behold.

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!

Taking Stock Part II: The (As Yet) Unpainted but Planned OOB. . .

Two companies of Reichsarmee grenadiers painted back in 2017 or 2018. Minden Austrians of course. A lovely early autumn day here in the grand duchy. Bright sunshine and a light breeze with cool temperatures will make for some very pleasant late afternoon lawn mowing in a little while. But first a bit more discussion of painting plans for the future. Last time, I looked back at the various and sundry units, support troops, and civilians that I've managed to paint in the last 17 years as the Grand Duchy of Stollen project has developed. So today, let's look into the seemingly bottomless Drawer 'o' Lead to my left for a clue to the new direction. Be forewarned, it's not going to be a quick job getting everything painted and based, but there we are. The following plans are based on the pile of unpainted figures already here. Any future purchases will be limited to small things that might be needed to fill out the envisioned units (the odd few officers mounted o

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

The Grand Duchy of Stollen

Search This Blog