Skip to main content

Saxon General and Officers Finished. . .

Three Saxon officers surround their Major General -- Not a Lieutenant General as reported wrongly yesterday.  Too much gold lace on that one! -- as he points to something in the distance. 

Submitted for your viewing pleasure -- or, at the very least an example of how NOT to go about painting your figures -- the promised Saxon staff and aide-de-camp.  The coats and saddlecloths look redder in these photos than is the case in person where they are very much more Alizarin Crimson than they seem here.  Likewise, the good general's horse is less orange that it appears in this series of photographs.


Another shot, this time made with a crane borrowed from the late Orson Welles.  Call it my own Touch of Evil moment.  Believe it, or not, this series of shots was done all in one continuous take.


And sometimes, nothing seems to go right.  As I was applying the Liquitex acrylic gloss varnish last night before bed, what do you think happened?  Yep.  Knocked over the whole darn bottle and spilled about half of it all over one end of the painting table.  Luckily, none found its way onto the radios or any figures, but. . . rats!  Just rats!  Then, this morning, while applying the clumps of shrubbery, the small tube of super glue gel seemed to get a mind of its own and kept oozing everywhere.  Absolutely everywhere.  One more time, though, I was fairly quick on my feet and managed to avoid getting any of the stuff on the figures you see here.  Oh, the unmitigated hardships we endure for our hobby. 


And one final photograph of the Saxons.  But, oh bother!  I could not get Janet Leigh's people to return my calls.  I had hoped to have her pose in the middle of the three-figure vignette.  And then, I discovered that she passed away in 2004.  Rats!  Skunked again.


Bad things happen in threes, though, right?  So I think the wisest thing to do would be to take an evening off from the painting table, retire early to bed with a wee dram of single malt (purely for medicinal purposes of course), and allow the air to clear before beginning on the next vignette.  A Minden Austrian hussar officer peering through the mist across the battle while an RSM Croat takes pot shots at some unseen nearby enemy.  Not a general officer or ADC, but simply a nice display piece to enliven some corner of the table top.

Comments

My Dear Heinz-Ulrich,

Many commiserations on the chain of unfortunate events that have plagued you in the past day or so. However, varnish and glue woes aside, these figures are quite nicely done and betoken your artistic efforts.

It is away to the hobby table for an afternoon of basing and priming as well as gluing together a new regiment of Redoubt miniatures.

Advent blessings to you and your royal family,

Gerardus Magnus
Archbishop Emeritus

Who was it that said "In wargaming, even the simple things become difficult"?

Glorious figures, worth the wait.
Bloggerator said…
These are of course the hazards of the business, dear Stokes. Do not bemoan your misfortunes. Rather instead be glad you are not undertaking a vigorous regime of old school home casting. imagine yourself with one of your wife's saucepans on the gas hob in the kitchen whilst clad in flying helmet, goggles and gauntlets. There is much to be grateful for.
Thanks for the kind words, men! And I suppose you're right about the home-casting and molten metal, Greg. Still, I'll absolutely have to have a go with some of those Prinz August molds one day.

Best Regards,

Stokes
Fitz-Badger said…
Excellent cinematography and costuming! I really do like the look of your painting style. It suits these figures and the era quite well.
Thank you, Fitz! I'm reasonably well pleased with the way they've turned out.

Best Regards,

Stokes
marinergrim said…
Painting to a high standard as always sir!
A single malt is always welcome especially with a side order of a good book.
Old School ACW said…
Ahem, that being said, splendid work. You're an artist, old man. Yours is a lovely expression of the "wash and line" style as expounded by Mr Gilder.
Thomo the Lost said…
I can sympathise, on those occasions when Thomo the Lost does find his way into the office, if he has been super-gluing the night before, there is every chance that the finger print lock on the door will not read my finger-print.

The office gave me a magnetic card for those times. Since having the card, I have glued my fingers less.
Conrad Kinch said…
Stokes,

Looking sharp old man. You've done a fine job - your figures remind me of the porcelain I saw in Charllotenburg palace a few days ago. They evoke a sense of time and place in a powerful way.

I must also commend you on your pictures, what do you use to shoot them?
tidders2 said…
Super generals, lovely work.

Nice to see some figs in Saxony uniforms. My Wittenberg army is painted as Saxon units, the generals still wear white - may get them re-dressed at some time.

Hope to get the Saxon Leib-Gren Garde painted at Xmas (time permitting)

regards

Allan
Thank you again for all of the kind remarks and observations, gents! Funny how it has taken almost 30 years of painting to arrive at this sort of old school style. Time and eyesight permitting, I hope to refine it some more over the next couple of decades.

Best Regards,

Stokes

Popular posts from this blog

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