The Grand Duchy of Stollen

  A fter several short(-er) painting sessions Sunday morning and early afternoon, here's where things stand with the final 15 Croats, based on the Slavonsich-Brooder Grenzer . In keeping with the muted palette, I used Army Painter 'Basilisk Brown' for the yellow facing color.  Fairly easy to apply to the cuffs but trickier for the visible edges of the coat collars.  For a while, I toyed with the idea of applying a slightly brighter yellow highlight, at least to the cuffs, but decided against that in the end.   Fewer things are more frustrating than a snafu+ atop already reasonably good brushwork.  You know what I mean. The trick seems to be to get only the tiniest bit of color onto the very tip of the bristles -- my trusty old 000 sable spotter that I've had for going on 25 years -- and deposit a drop or so onto the visible collar edges.  Be careful to leave some of the dark undercoat showing and wick away any excess with a damp brush quickly before it sets...

  A fter several [shorter] sessions -- three or four? -- in the painting chair today, the musket detailing is finished.  Brass fittings, trigger guards, firelocks, highlighted [musket] straps, and the ramrods in gun metal on the underside of the stocks.  Yes, I realize my head should be examined because no one will ever notice them.  But I know they are there.   One more easy session this evening to tone down the shako plates with an Army Painter wash, which will also bring out some of the detailing, but then I'll call it a day.  The old eyes are tired, and it has been a pretty good day's work with a minimum of mistakes to correct.  Nice when that happens. Tomorrow (Sunday), I'll start the scabbard belts and possibly the brass detailing on the scabbards.  There is quite a bit on the Minden figures, and I'll naturally want to suggest the presence of some on the slightly less detailed RSM95 figures in firing position. -- Stokes    A S...

  B efore heading upstairs to open and enjoy our usual Friday evening glass of wine with the Grand Duchess, I managed to sit down in the painting chair for 45 minutes or so to finish undercoating the musket straps in gray and next apply gun metal to the bayonets.  Saturday, I plan to begin and hopefully complete the various tiny brass details on those same muskets, gunmetal to any visibly firelocks, and small white highlights to the musket straps.   Depending on how that goes, it will probably be time to clean up various edges on the figures and apply a drop of Army Painted wash to shako plates to tone 'em down a bit and help pick out the incredible detailing by the late Richard Ansell, whose work is something to behold. Ok, I've got a cork to pop and glasses to pour.  Goodness knows those of us in the US have a valid reason to drink ourselves into a stupor. -- Stokes

Here's where things stand with the latest and last batch of Croats about a month in.  Still much to do, but they're coming together reasonably well I think all things considered. A n easy, quiet day yesterday (Saturday) for the Young Master and me while the poor Grand Duchess wrestled through flight delays of one sort or another after a conference in New York City.  She finally made it home about 1am this morning about six hours late.  Anyway, three sessions of various lengths in the painting chair yesterday, working mainly on highlighting musket stocks and carefully, very lightly adding the musket barrels.  Added the shako plates for the Minden figures and started the musket straps.  I'll finish the final four of those later today before moving onto other musket details and toning down the very bright shako plates with an Army Painter wash. It's funny what you notice as you work your way through gradually painting a bunch of figures.  Lots of little things...

The cover of the recently arrived new title from Osprey.     A t last, a copy of the new Osprey title, German Troops in the  American Revolution (2 ), arrived early during the week that was.  The long awaited book provides a reasonably detailed take on the subject without covering much new ground, but I am glad to add it to the bookshelf.  Of special note, the brief description of the flags possibly carried by the Anhalt-Zerbst contingent is (new) food for thought.  Sadly, as the the author points out, the one remaining example was lost during the 1939-45 war.  But what about the uniform plates themselves?  These are always inspiring in books of this type and bring to mind visions of units yet to paint and add to the collection.  Dangerous butterflies, right?  Which kind of brings me to my next point. A few years back, I purchased 60 or so "Hessian" Fife & Drum infantry and added the shipment to the lead pile after it was left i...

  A fter an almost two-hour session in the painting chair this evening, the shoulder belts for the cartridge pouches, straps for canteens, and sundry pouches/bundles are just about finished.  I used a few different browns for variety, and see that I need to clean up some edges here and there before continuing with the next step.  But my eyes are fried, I'm tired, and we lose an hour of sleep to Daylight Savings Time.  Heading off to bed now with a large bowlful of red grapes and a few clementines for good measure. -- Stokes

  T wo painting sessions this Saturday morning, applying the usual light gray undercoat to white cartridge pouch belts, where visible, across the backs and chests of the figures.  Depending on how time runs today -- I am working via Zoom this afternoon with a colleague to prepare a presentation/discussion for next Friday -- I will return tonight after the evening meal for white highlights.  Still lots to do of course, but we're getting there. -- Stokes

  Which one looks the most like the late Jon Lord to you? H ere's where we stand with the batch of now 15 Minden and RSM95 Croats after catching up Private  Gulyás (now with a muted yellow and blue cockade on his shako) and tackling the combination of mustaches, hair locks, and queues in three or four different shades of brown.  A particular challenge was allowing those slivers of ears to show and NOT obscuring the tips of noses with tiny flecks of paint.   Briefer than usual painting sessions helped, of course, but  definitely not feeling like a highway star with the paintbrush after several sessions focused on these related details during the last couple of days.  Whew!  Never what you might call fun, these particular details on figures of any size have always been a real challenge for my painting skills and concentration.  And it hasn't become any easier these last 40+ years or so.  Still, they look reasonably good, and I can now mov...

  A fter just a couple of painting sessions during the last two days, an evening and an early afternoon, Private Gulyás is beginning to resemble his fellows although with a few notable differences to set him apart on the table.   The eagle-eyed among you might notice a slightly different blue was used for his leggings although that then received the usual Army Painter blue wash.  Likewise, his dolman was given a dab of GW Korne Red followed by Army Painter red wash.  Last, his headgear features a red cloth top and, like several others in the unit, his dark red cape (the same two-part blend of Khorne Red and red wash) has been fashioned into a bundle stuffed with plunder and loot of one kind or another.   Now, for some reason, I can't help but imagine either the late Frankie Howard or, perhaps, the equally departed Bob Todd in the role of Pvt. Gulyás were anyone ever foolish enough to bring the feature to the silver screen during the 1960s or 70s. Robin...

The until recently missing figure, known henceforth as Goulash the Shirker.   S ounds like a lost episode of Wallace and Gromit , eh?  Sean the Sheep might want to keep his head down though. Just returned from another extended ski weekend sans the Grand Duchess and Young Master, it's Spring Break Week, and time to get myself back to the painting table to maintain some forward momentum.  There's a skate ski reference in their somewhere given my work on V1 and V2 Alternate technique the last few days.  But I digress! I've decided to name this particular figure Gulyás the Shirker because, well, he is something of a sad sack who manages to avoid his duties, delay following orders, and go suddenly absent without leave.  Sort of a Balkan Beetle Bailey who gives his sergeant fits and, as a result, is more or less on permanent KP duty.  Or at least anywhere the action is not.  The moniker seems rather fitting for a misplaced figure that has managed to escape ...

A nother 90 minutes or so in the painting chair yesterday evening once the house was still.  The session saw very slow painting with a fairly new #1 synthetic round in which I carefully applied acrylic colors to the capes slung over the shoulders of most of the Minden figures comprising this 14-figure company.  The RSM95s in the firing pose have their capes fashioned into overstuffed bundles atop their upper backs.  I've turned a couple of these around to show them here.   Most figures had a coat of GW Khorne Red applied to their capes while the others received light gray, a yellowish leather brown, or dark brown.  The red, leather brown and light gray will get corresponding Army Painter washes this evening if time permits.  Since I pull out of here tomorrow morning for another solo cr0ss-ocuntry skiing jaunt two hours north, a bit of grip and glide waxing is in order for two pairs of skis, so we'll have to see how things progress.   In any c...

    B ack in the painting saddle this evening after an amazing, yet very tiring, ski trip up north during the weekend just ended.  Tonight's painting session was all about giving this company of Croats a good washing.  The washes really helped define the basic larger areas of the figures, tone down the initial colors just a bit, and add some richness to those same browns, blues, reds, and yellows.   Various Army Painter products were used including Strong Tone, Mid-Brown, Blue, and Red washes.  The figures are still wet in this photo, but I missed the officer's dolman, plus discovered the underside of a left arm still in need of its basic Mahogany Brown (Grrr. . .).  Will have to attend to those first thing tomorrow evening. But, they don't look half bad at this point.  I'm even toying with the idea of  not going back to highlight raised areas with the original colors as initially planned and just leave them as is .  I kind of like ...

    A hasty shot of where things stand after the most recent hour in the painting chair this evening.  The final company of Croats is beginning to show a faint glimmer of what they might eventually become.  Used a #4 round -- with a good point -- to finish the remaining brown coats but nevertheless made several small mistakes that required touching up at the end of the session.  Sigh.  Time to rinse the brush and put things away then.   Another round in the painting chair will have to wait until next week.  I've got a pair of cross-country skis to apply both glide and kick wax to tomorrow evening after packing for the weekend, and I depart Friday morning at 9am.  Should arrive by about 11:30 for a good half-day of skiing at Forbush Corner just outside of Fredric, Michigan before a full day (with skate lesson) Saturday and another half-day Sunday before heading for home.   See you on the other side! -- Stokes

  V allejo Mahogany Brown in fact.  Spent about 90 minutes yesterday evening painting carefully around previous brushwork to avoid too many mistakes.  Two or three errant splotches were nevertheless wicked away before they dried, but another will need to be touched up at some point.   It was slow going, not helped by the fact that my stock of #2 and #3 rounds seems to be depleted, and I was forced to rely on brushes with worn out tips of the bristles.  These are the sizes I have always used for most of my paining over the years.  #4's and #6's for large areas of color or base-coating with #1's and 000 for tiny details.  Anyway, must place an order at some point today (it is currently 6:37am here) when a few spare moments present themselves Maddeningly, I had to retouch the blue on one of left legs when the color began lifting from the white base-coat as I wicked  away one of the misplaced -- and subsequent -- splotches of brown intended for t...

After applying the legging colors on two or three more figures, I plan to paint the coats with a nice reddish brown I've selected before moving onto the mustaches and hair.  The various basic uniform colors with then each get an Army Painter wash in a similar color before retouching with the original color(s) as a highlight.  Borrowing from Aly Morrison's magic brown liquid approach.  The various currently dark brown areas will also get a highlight in one of several lighter, leathery browns to add visual interest. O k, plugging away with these 15 Croats getting in about 45-60 minutes most evenings, and here is where they are at this point.  Still lots to do, but the addition of the mid-blue really makes 'em "pop" as the cool kids were all saying 10 or 12 years back.  We'll see how much I am able to get accomplished this week before taking off up north on Friday morning for a solo skiing weekend however.  Admittedly, the thought of assembling a small travel ...

  My usual cheery place holder until I have opportunity to share new photographs of the current figures under the brush. A pleasant 45 minutes or so in the painting chair yesterday evening following the evening meal applying Army Painter flesh wash to 15 faces and 30 hands.  In a day or three, I'll use a small brush to retouch a few high points in these areas with the original flesh tone.  Black neck stocks and scabbards this evening, however, with possibly basic dark brown for the musket stocks depending on how time goes.   A photo update will follow in the next post, not so much because it is necessary, but because I am simply tickled pink by the sharpness and depth of field possible with the recent iPhone update.  Why not?  Suddenly, near professional looking photographs are within easy reach, so it seems a shame not to include another in-progress photograph or two.   But right now, it's time for another mug of coffee before showering, sh...

O k, not very much to look at just yet, but the basic black and flesh tone have been applied.  Next session, I'll tone down the flesh with some Army Painter flesh wash and then carefully do the black neck stocks before moving on to blocking in the basic uniform colors, which is to say a dark reddish brown for the coats, and a medium blue for the dolmans and breeches.  If that goes well, I might as well start blocking in the musket stocks and other brown areas, but that will probably need to wait until the third painting session.  Hey, it's a start. -- Stokes

  A few images "borrowed" (Ahem!) from the online world for artistic inspiration, cheif among them the Project Seven Years War (Kronoskaf) website.  Not sure where I stumbled across the digitized version of the Knoetel print, but I could hardly leave it out of this post. A veritable feast for the eyes it is. The dark brown and blue uniform apparently worn by the Slavonisch-Brooder Grenzer during the latter part of the SYW has always struck me as highly attractive, but I plan to add a few splashes of other colors here and there to provide a bit of visual (and plausible) interest.  After all, one-time irregular troops in the field and all that. . . Ok, following lunch and the current mug of coffee, it is time to begin.  As a non-fan of NFL football, I can't think of a nicer way to spend Superbowl Sunday afternoon and possibly evening.  I know, I know. . .  I plead much needed self-preservation given the current state of the world. -- Stokes

  A fter a few weeks away due to skiing, work related stuff, and a maddeningly dried out tube of super glue gel, it's back to the painting table to begin tackling the third and final company of Minden and RSM95 Croats.  They've been knocking around my spares box for years now.  Time to do something about that.  When finished, they will join two other companies painted way back in 2010 or 2011.   This particular company will carry, the eagle-eyed among you might notice, a semi-fictitious swallow-tailed flag, of which more anon.  But it's a beaut courtesy of David of Not by Appointment fame.   Tomorrow (Sunday), flesh tone, blacks, and possibly another area or two of color.  Somehow, I have managed to free up the entire day, so who knows where things might end up.    Perhaps even more exciting, from a photographic point of view, I have also upgraded the ol' iPhone after quite a few years of using an iPhone 7.  That mea...

  S till must touch up the edges of the green bases, hit the places most likely to be touched with another spot of the Liquitex acrylic high gloss varnish (suggested to me years ago in a surprise email from Mike Siggins), and retouch one of the officers' chin and right cheek, but we're just about there with these 16 figures and horses.   Not my best work, admittedly, but they'll do nicely at arm's length.  Although I don't think the likes of Doug Mason and Phil Robinson have anything to worry about.  ;-)  When I return to the second batch of 14 Saxon cuirassiers, the facing color will be different, and I'll vary the color of the narrower right shoulder strap, opting for a leathery brown.  Might actually use a Saxon standard for those too, but we'll see when we get there.  Time now to move on to the 15 Croats lurking in the background.  That will probably have to wait until next week since most of my spare time this week will be spent preparin...

  The three of us skiing outside of Gaylord, Michigan in January 2023.  An amazing day with ideal temperatures, near perfect trail grooming and glide, exploring a new network of trails through the North Michigan woods.  My wife even got to try out -- some might say absconded with -- my new skis that day and approved of the purchase/two-year wait for them to arrive from the Madshus factory in Norway.  Ski camber does eventually wear out with use, so it was time to upgrade after 20+ years on the original pair, purchased at G Sport in downtown Trondheim way back in December 1999.  The pair in question has become my rock skis for less than ideal conditions although they still wax up quite well.   W ell, here we are.  Another Saturday, and a busy weekend in store.  But that's ok given most of the activities on the agenda.  On the toy soldier front, glossing will commence in earnest later this evening for those 16 Saxon cuirassiers. If all goes...

  A lmost finished!  Just a few more, small, extremely minor bits to touch-up before glossing.  But I managed to tackle a few more of these yesterday afternoon.   A second such session in the painting chair followed during which I printed, trimmed, and attached the standard to the flagpole after a coat of varnish to protect the computer printer inks.  The evening saw a third session to highlight a few folds here and there on the flag, using some slightly lighter green washes of the facing highlight, which, to my eyes at least, makes it look a bit more like wrinkled silk flapping in the breeze. Now, although these Eureka figures are sold as Saxon cavalry, and the uniform is based on that worn by the von  Plötz Cuirassiers -- Uniform details gleaned from Summerfield, Kronoskaf, and a few additional sources. -- I gave them one of David Morfitt's recent generic Austrian cuirassier standards.  David does yeoman's work with his carefully researched and...

My cheerful painterly picture placeholder (borrowed from somewhere on the web) until I have another Kodak moment to share.   F inishing those 16 Saxon cuirassiers this weekend come hell, or high water!  And after only almost a year.  I know, I know. Spent a very pleasant hour or so early yesterday evening looking over each figure and horse, several of which required no attention while a few others did.  Mostly tiny touch-ups to sword blades and/or scabbards along with some very fine lining using a dark Army Painter wash to define the shoulder wings of the trumpeter and kettle drummer.   In a few instances, the painterly errors were so tiny that I decided to ignore them.  After all we must cling to the few threads of rational thought left to us, right?  Mulled wine and Yatzi by the hearth with the Grand Duchess followed later. Today (Saturday), just a couple of small touch-ups left and then the flag. Might even get 'em glossed by Sunday afternoo...