A Painting Progress Update. . .

Here is where we are with the first six Austrian limbers and teams. . . complete with thumb in the photo.

A flurry of painting activity over the last several days as and when time has permitted. The horses have been done in a mix of alkyd oil and acrylic glazes over undercoats of acrylic yellow, red, and various lighter browns. My usual two coats of acrylic gloss once everything is done will impart a shiny, even finish to everything.

Lady luck has been kind so far, and there have been only a few mistakes that require the necessary touch-ups given the close proximity of everything on its bases. I prefer to paint my vignettes and wagons/equipment already glued to their permanent bases. One of my many idiosyncracies! Painting in this way is not quite like building ships in bottles -- Anyone still do that? -- but it takes some patience and breath-holding.

This evening, the limbers will get a coat of yellow ochre alkyd oil, which will later get a yellow highlight when dry. I'll probably address the riders' uniforms after that and then all of the horse furniture to round things out before glossing the completed figures and finally terraining the bases. Then, it will be time to move on to the half dozen Prussian limbers and teams waiting in the wings.

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It seems my opinions expressed yesterday's post on wargaming TV and movies have sparked some controversy, and I have had several sharp whacks from the cane across the figurative seat of the pants in the headmaster's office. OUCH! Thank you, Sir. May I have another?

However, my respondents have kindly provided some links, which provide additional information on the project, and which I thought I might share here in the interest of fairness to all parties. The project sounds very interesting, there seems to be considerable support for it already, and I hope things proceed according to plan. Still, I must admit to remaining a bit skeptical. Time will tell.

The wargaming hobby is a great one with many different facets, as I explained yesterday, but I am unsure that a documentary movie will necessarily appeal to more than a niche audience even if executed well. We might just have to agree to disagree on that point. Admittedly, I'll probably buckle and view the film myself once it becomes available. Here are the links I was sent for those of you who would like to learn more about the project:

* Go to the project’s website and read for yourself, and watch the promo video. http://miniaturewargamingthemovie.com

* The Kickstarter – which has already massively exceeded its target because plenty of people believe in it – https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/954318608/miniature-wargaming-the-movie-0

* Go to Meeples and Miniatures and listen to Joe being interviewed (from about 51 minutes in).

I have also been assured by one of the film project supporters that the planned documentary is different from anything that has come previously. It's not your father's Battleground series in other words. And now. . . It's time to feed the cats, get the Young Master up, and dressed for breakfast. Just another day of summer vacation here at Totleigh-in-the-Wold.

-- Stokes

It's Early Days Yet. . .

M aking some early progress with Batch A of the Anhalt-Zerbst Regiment over the last several days/evenings. Nothing terribly exciting just yet, but the basic black, brown, and flesh areas are done as are the green bases, and gray undercoat. The latter two areas needed some careful retouching early in the week. Next up, the neck stocks. I might just do these in red for the enlisted men although some of my source material suggest they were black, but I always look for an excuse to shake things up a bit. Any errant splotches of red (or black) can be covered with another application of light gray before I move onto the next step. "Giddy up!" as one Cosmo Kramer might have said. -- Stokes

A Little More Brushwork. . .

A little more brushwork on the first batch of (my version of) the Anhalt-Zerbst Regiment yesterday (Saturday). Taking a different tack this time and addressing many of the details first before the white coats and other larger areas of uniform. The eagle-eyed among you will notice that I've painted the (dark) red stocks of the enlisted men. Always a difficult and frustrating item to paint, it made sense to paint from the inside out as it were and get that particular detail out of the way first rather than try to paint it in later after much other painting has been accomplished. Trying to reduce the need for later retouching of other items on the figures you understand. Hopefully, I will be able to get back to these later today after a second trip back to the Apple Store for help with a couple of new iPad issues and, following the return home, some revision of Google Slides for tomorrow's meetings with my students. -- Stokes P.S. And according t...

And We're Off!!!

Arrrgh! Gotta go back into camera settings on my iPhone to bring all of the frame into focus. Blast! Painting is underway on the 60 or so Minden Austrians, which are slated to become my version of the Anhalt-Zerbst Regiment of AWI renown. More or less indistinguishable from Austrians of the era really, right down to the red facings and turnbacks, but the eventual flags (already in my files) will set them apart. I went ahead and based-coated all of them over a couple of days lthe last week of August, using a mix of light gray and white acrylic gesso, before next applying my usual basic alkyd oil flesh tone to the faces and hands. In a day or two, I'll hit that with Army Painter Flesh Wash to tone things down a bit and bring some definition to the faces and hands. As usual, the plan is to focus on about 20 figures at a time, splitting the regiment roughly into thirds along with the color party and regimental staff. Depending on ...

Conrad Kinch said…

Nice work there Stokes. I'm not sure I'd have the patience to tackle so many figures at a sitting. I need the fillip of completing something now and again to keep me at it.

I was thinking the other day, after looking at your game with Stokes Junior (an enviable castle that), have you ever considered doing something in the line of a tableau vivant. Perhaps plotting a game on paper (in order to save time) and then recreating it on the table. Perhaps a sort of 18th century Pettygree?

6:08 PM

The Grand Duchy of Stollen

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