Skip to main content

Happy Day After. . .

Another seasonal image, but less traditional this time.  It's Calvin and Hobbes napping by the fire at Christmastime.  Looks like a sound idea to me!  Sadly, the comic strip ended on December 31st, 1995, but you can still find anthology books of Bill Watterson's brilliant stories all about an imaginative boy (Calvin) and his stuffed tiger (Hobbes), their philosophizing, misadventures, mishaps, and general mischief.  These resonate with the Young Master as much as with yours truly, and I presented our son with two of his very own Calvin and Hobbes books this Christmas, which were an immediate hit.  He liked especially the one entitled 'Something Under the Bed is Drooling.'


Happy Day After as my late. and much missed, maternal grandfather (also a fan of Calvin and Hobbes above) used to say.  A quiet Boxing Day here at Stollen Central as we continue to overindulge on leftovers, cookies, candy, and and the afterglow of Christmas Day.  

At the moment, I am enjoying that first mug of coffee, it's 9:43am, and I''ve got some Christmas jazz playing online as I type this post.  Not really sure what the day has in store.  The best sort of of day I think.  No firm plans.  No obligations.  You just sort of see where things take you. 

However, I plan to sit down in the painting chair for a couple of hours for some more work on the blasted 14 RSM95 French cuirassiers in bearskins, which got lost in the shuffle during the run up to Christmas proper.  And then there is a scenario to choose for a Christmas solo game either tomorrow, or the next day.

And speaking of soldierly things, the Grand Duchess came through yet again, giving me a neatly wrapped small package that contained some Minden Austrian staff on foot, General Franz Leopold von Nádasdy, as well as some Austrian dragoons.  Ahhh. . .

-- Stokes

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

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...