Another New Look for the GD of S Blog. . .

Do children even send letters (or perhaps text messages by now) to Santa Claus and Father Christmas anymore? Or have we done our cynical best as a society to ruin that for them?

Well, I don't know about you, but I was not happy with yesterday's failed experiment with a more dynamic appearance for the Grand Duchy of Stollen blog, which also made blog administrations behind the scenes more difficult that necessary. So, back to the drawing board! However, on the suggestion of one commentator, I have found a nice image of 18th century damask wallpaper that I have set as the background of the blog. For the time being, we'll leave things as they are. I'm not 100% pleased with the blog's appearance, but I lack the time and inclination to get into learning HTML, which might permit easier manipulation/customization of things here.

No painting last night as I was simply too wiped out by evening to contemplate picking up a brush. I woke at 4am yesterday morning due to some noise on the street or something and was unable to fall back to sleep. Finally, I gave finally gave up the ghost a little over an hour later and rose just after 5am, operating yesterday on only about 4 hours of sleep. Sigh. Afternoon naps, sadly, are out of the question right now since we cannot get the Young Master to be quiet enough for Dad to remain asleep longer than 10 minutes or so. Oh, he has his afternoon quiet time, actual naps being relegated to the past at this point, but the concept of quiet reading, coloring, or contemplation for 2-3 hours in the late afternoons sometimes continues to elude him at only three+ years of age.

Anyway, I'd better get to that final stack of student papers in my briefcase now, so I can get that wrapped up and off my mind for a few weeks. After The Indras' final gig tonight, it's time for some pre-Christmas activities, a social occasion or two, final shopping errands next week, and some serious painting in the evenings. And then there is Neu Sittangbad to lay out and resume once again, General de Latte willing and permitting. A busy time indeed!

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. . .

S till quite a way to go with the current batch of 20 human figures and a horse (of course), but they're actually starting to look like something after all of the red distinctions. Quite a bit of painting in hour-long sessions the last week as and when time has allowed. Mostly applying the basic dark red to facing areas and turnbacks followed by the inevitable touch-ups to clean up wobbly edges and those misplaced, minute splotches of Citadel Khorne Red. They're looking like so many Austrian infantry regiments of the era at this point, but the eventual flags will turn them magically into the Anhalt-Zerbst Regiment, more or less, of the AWI period. But I'm getting a bit ahead of myself. One frustrating point (ahem) of sad discovery. I've started trying to use those Winsor & Newton 'Series Seven' brushes (#1 rounds) purchased last spring, and the blasted things simply will not keep a point. Very frustrating since I have heard over the y...

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