A Random Selection of Village and Rural Buildings. . .

The tollhouse

These better lighted photographs of a few of my scratch-built buildings are for Pat, who has asked about them in an inquiry he posted about "Grantian" building models over on Jim Perky's Fife and Drum Miniatures Forum.

All of these have appeared previously in two of Charles Grant's Wargamer's Annuals. The first four structures shown are in the most recent 2018 edition accompanying my article on how to build a Baltic German town center, while the large farmhouse and barn at the bottom of the post were, I believe, part of a shorter piece several years back on how to build an East Prussian farmstead.

Any of the buildings shown should work in a Mollwitz-Lobositz context as far as providing the right kind of tabletop window dressing. In any case, I've included our usual runway model pals Frederick II and von Seydlitz to provide an idea of the various building dimensions.

-- Stokes

The village inn and pub. . . The Duke of Brunswick

A half-timbered house

Another half-timbered house

A large farmhouse

With internal ruins for reference

Its large companion barn

Assorted smaller farm buildings and a few lean-tos to vary external appearances.

The village church

The village church from another angle. I plan to construct a second red brick North German church this summer based on an existing structure in the town of Boizenberg, with a rather different tower and spire, plus several additional half-timbered, or fachwerk, houses and warehouses based on now crumbling edifices across the north of Poland, coastal Lithuania, and Riga, Latvia. All just cry out to be constructed in miniature.

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!

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 h...

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...

The Grand Duchy of Stollen

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