A February Painting Challenge Update. . .

This is the sight that greeted us Thursday morning. Time to fire up the snowblower. We had about 12" on the ground before it was all over.

Well, sir. . . We're down to the last couple of days in the current painting challenge, and I have just about finished those 22 Minden and RSM95 Prussian/Austrian musketeers except for the sword knots on two of the ensigns and, of course, the flags and finials, which I hope to address tonight and tomorrow (Sunday the 28th). Naturally, my camera is not charged, and my phone is two floors above me in the bedroom at the moment, so be sure to check back here for some photographic updates later. With any luck, glossing and basing will follow later in the week, and then it's onto several camp follower vignettes among which lurk a few surprises.

Right now, it's a waffle breakfast and then off to ski/toboggan with the Grand Duchess and the Young Master before all of our snow melts. We had about a foot of the stuff Wednesday and into Thursday here at Totleigh-in-the-Wold, but, very sadly, the weather forecast predicts rapidly rising temperatures well above freezing for the next few days, which means that much will melt, and what remains will refreeze and become crunchy. Hardly optimum for cross-country/Nordic skiing, so it's time to take advantage of what could be our last snow of the winter season.

-- Stokes

Still my little old '98 Corolla to dust off. I attended to that later in the day once the snow had finally petered out.

And I could hardly post photographs of our recent snowfall without documenting THE BEAST, shown here without its coating of snow before use that Thursday morning. Almost as soon as we accepted these new jobs here in Michigan last spring, we looked at each other and said simultaneously, "We'll need to buy a snowblower!"

Skiing in Lower Michigan, Saturday, February 27th. There is a park about five minutes from us with all kinds of trails and loops to explore. I was out for about two hours and never repeated a trail. Slow going at times, and I am definitely out of shape, but the glide wasn't bad for wet, ungroomed snow, the temperature was pleasant, and it was absolutely quiet except for the sound of my skis. Delightful!

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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