Waiting in the Wings. . .

Various recently arrived Minden figures along with a lone Eureka Saxon grenadier in the back plus some odds and ends added to provide visual interest. I'm not sure whether the fellow kneeling over the deceased musketeer is cocking his musket, or pausing to rifle the body for plunder before continuing on his way.

Any available free time today (the Grand Duchess is away at a conference, so it is just the Young Master and myself all weekend) shall be devoted to adding the groundwork to the various bases beneath those frolicking aristocrats, their servants, and their picnic table and crates. However, there is little time to waste to and much to be done before my current obsession with small tableauxs is cured.

From left to right, Hives and the Grand Duke Irwin-Amadeus looking over the shoulders of two engineer officers, along with aunts Irmgard and Waltraud. These two scenes in miniature are intended to go along with the larger frolicking aristocrats scene although they can certainly stand on their own too.

Minden Austrian officers debating some point or other. These are destined to become a small group of opinionated, though woefully uninformed and ill-advised, engineer officers. If the stars line up properly, I should be able to paint them quickly: basically just basecoat of acrylic gesso, tan undercoat, white highlights, with red small clothes and facings. Plus faces and the horse. . . of course.

And here are the Minden and RSM95 figures destined to become a reinforced company of pioneers/sappers/miners/what-have-you. Again, they SHOULD be fairly quick and easy to paint, but we'll see how things actually transpire in the coming weeks. Gotta love those Austrian uniforms!

And besides the figures pictured above, I've made the decision to tack down all of those previously painted RSM and Minden general and ADC figures -- save for a few who will remain singly based to function as ADCs -- to bases, in twos and threes, over the next month and apply some scenic ground materials, to add yet more visual interest for my tabletop. Can full terrain ala the Wargames Holiday Centre be far off? Mmmm. . . . Nah! I like my old school bright green table. It's just got that certain indefinable something about it, but having a number of interesting little scenes spread around -- besides the large units of figures and scenery of course -- really adds to the overall visual impact of the thing. Hmmm. That's starting to sound like something Charles Grant Sr. once wrote.

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...

The Grand Duchy of Stollen

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