The Grand Duchy of Stollen

  Here's where we are with the current batch of Austrian hussars as we inch along bit by bit toward the goal of an eventual four-squadron regiment of 55-60 men and horses.  They're actually coming along pretty well I think.   As usual, my iPhone 15 Pro Max photograph has been cropped slightly, brightened, and sharpened in Fotor.   N o.   Before you ask,  I h aven't attempted the hair, queues, and mustaches (as threatened) since last we met, but a bit more progress nonetheless on the current 15 Minden Austrian hussars and Daddy Nadasdy.  I decided to stick to larger, marginally easier areas for Saturday's two or three painting sessions.  Here's how that brushwork unfolded.   First, I applied Army Painter Speedpaint 'Black' to the sheepskins followed by very limited dry-brushing with 'Charcoal Gray,' one of several bottles of cheap craftpaint that serves my purposes well when it comes to highlighting anything black.   N...

  A long way to go before these approach anything like "finished", but at least the miles of horse tack have their basic black coat.  The martingales, in particular (the strap running from the girth around the ribs between the front legs), were an absolute bear to paint.  Even with a very small 000 brush.  I still managed to get black paint all over the GD place and had to come back later to cover up those many blotches with the various browns used for the horse flesh itself.  Not fun.  July was a discouraging month as a result, hence the break of several week's duration that stretched into August.  Sometimes I find that the best remedy for hobby frustration is to do other things for a while and just. . .  take a break.  Easy enough to do during the summer months.  Climbing back onto the horse now though (ahem). On that note, I've used Army Painter 'Fur Brown' and Vallejo 'Mahogany Brown' for the chestnuts, and Vallejo 'Chocolate Brown'...

  My usual picture placeholder until I have a suitable photograph to share. T hank you to everyone who has checked in during the last month and bit to see how the first 14 Austrian hussars are coming along.  NOT finished yet.  I've been struggling to motivate myself to pick up the brush since the last post at the start of July.  BUT. . . I can report that the basic horse furniture is almost finished.   Another session or two planned for today, a very gray (and possibly) rainy Saturday, so just the sort of day one needs to press on and get the job done. That's about all you can do when painting horses.  The end results are usually worth the time and effort, but getting there is a painting trial to say the least.  Spent a couple of hours yesterday (Friday) evening working on reins and bridles, making several mistakes along the way (Grrrrrrr. . .), which will need to be addressed by trimming in the original horseflesh colors once all of the various r...