Pontonier Update #5: The Tiny Details. . .

We're getting very close to the two wrapping things up with the pontoniers. Right on schedule. It's rare when that happens. And I'll bet you didn't know that actor David Soul (of Starsky and Hutch fame) had an ancestor who fought for the Grand Duchy of Stollen, did you? Can you spot him?

Another nice painting session this evening after the Young Master's bedtime, and I finished up a few remaining tiny details, including brass buttons, wigs, and hair in a few different colors as well as retouching the brass buckles on some of the figures where these are not covered by gaiters.

Except for the pontoons, which I'll finish tomorrow, I'm satisfied, and will call the two companies of pontoniers done except for retouching a few of the green bases. I might even be able to apply my usual two coats of acrylic gloss varnish tomorrow too. And then on Sunday, it's time to turn my attention to General von Bauchschmerzen and his uhlan escorts luring in the background.

I must admit, it is a very nice feeling when painting goes so quickly and easily, but then I think that's due more to the high quality of the Minden figures, which are easy to paint to a good standard, than it is to any great skill on my part. Who knows? But I do like the way things have turned out.

-- Stokes

Here's another vintage Scandinavian Christmas greeting card (it reads 'Happy Christmas Wishes') that I suspect is Norwegian given the farm wife's sweater and the mountains in the background. Along with her farm's nisse and the cat of course. The tradition goes that you set out a bowl of warm, rich cream porridge in the barn for the nisse on Christmas Eve to keep him happy and content, ensuring continued good fortune for the coming year.

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!

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

Keepin' an Eye on the World Going By My Window . .

'The Nap at the Palace' by Jose Triado Mayol N ot much in the way of hobby-related activity happening here in the Grand Duchy lately. Sigh. And no surprise there really since there are only so many hours in the day, only so much mental and physical energy to spare, and you sometimes simply just have to give in and know when to say, um, "When!" A glass of wine and/or evening yoga by the hearth with the Grand Duchess (who has practiced for over 20 years), and then off into la-la land. Zzzzzzzzz. More immediately, I'm recovering, mentally speaking, from a grueling Friday in which I was involved with three (online) conference sessions, one right after the other, followed by a 90-minute meeting at the end of the day. Also virtual. My brain has been mush ever since, so an easy, completely unproductive Saturday watching intermittent snow fall outside (no accumulation however) and drinking coffee while the visiting handymen completed some repair work down her

The Grand Duchy of Stollen

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