The Grand Duchy of Stollen

I n and around work outdoors and the usual end of semester/term hijinks,, I've managed to apply two coats of Liquitex High Gloss acrylic varnish to the 15 Croats in two sessions.  Mike Siggins turned me onto this particular varnish quite a few years ago now in a private email that popped up in my inbox one day, and I am, and have been, always pleased with the very shiny results.  Especially with two or more coats.  Tomorrow evening, I'll tackle the groundwork and then it's back to those Eureka Saxon cuirassiers.  Giddy up! -- Stokes  

  The eagle-eyed among you will spot the very subtle Leather Brown highlights across the toes, vamps, heels, and a few edges of the boots.  To paraphrase the Mad Hatter, one of my favorite literary characters, "I'm mad.  You're mad.  We're all mad!" [The Cheshire Cat, it turns out, said something akin to the aforementioned.  Not the Mad Hatter.] A nd while the Grand Duke Irwin-Amadeus II attends a special Easter Sunday church service, here's a photograph of the Croats with their long anticipated flag.  Saturday has been spent painting very carefully over David's design in a paint-by-numbers sort of way because computer inks fade over time.   Have to say I'm very pleased with the results of his and my own handiwork combined.  Ahistoric and unofficial, yet easily the best flag yet in the Grand Duchy of Stollen collection to date.  I even managed to get a fairly nice furl that seems pretty close to a large piece of silk blowing in a light b...

  A little more than two months in with these 15 Croat figures, I s pent an hour and a quarter at the painting table early yesterday evening scanning each one carefully for any tiny areas that might need touching-up.  As I mentioned in a previous post, at this point, these are things that only I might notice, and I suppose it would make good sense to simply hush and get on with applying the 2.5 coats of gloss.  That step will allow me to move on to applying my unofficial but no less striking flag (designed by David of Not by Appointment ) followed by the minor terrain on the bases.  After all, who among us can actually see the earring worn by Private G ulyás ?   Made ya look!  So, after a final once-over later this morning (it's 9:45am here currently) that's the plan.  Shiny, shiny, shiny.   Now some figure painters out there might scoff.  Some don't bother with a protective coat after painting has concluded.  Others opt for m...

  S pent about 90 minutes yesterday (Tuesday) evening carefully reapplying the base colors as a highlight to areas of the coats, leggings, capes, and bundles of plunder carried by a few of the figures on their backs.  These Minden and RSM95 Croats were, you might recall, treated with various Army Painter color washes some time ago to add shading to the many folds on each casting.  Taking my cue from Aly Morrison once again although I lack his homemade magic brown liquid, but the Army Painter washes and later reapplication of base colors achieve something similar without straying into garish Technicolor territory I hope.   I still need to dry-brush the rear of the officer's cape to soften the highlights a bit more, but otherwise just about done with this particular step.  And invariably, I see a few places this morning that need further attention.  But very close to the touch-up stage now, and then the glossing can finally happen.  Pretty well plea...

  G etting very close now to the glossing, adding minor terrain features to the bases,and finally the unofficial flag.  A Saturday evening painting session followed by another on Sunday afternoon.  Must redo the top drum head before addressing the drum chords, and hoops.  And then the touch-ups.   Not visible here are the tiny metal fixtures on most of the scabbards along with the sword hilts all of which were a huge pain, and I made many mistakes which had to be corrected this (Sunday) afternoon.  Just could not get the old eyes to focus last night, darn it.  And that was before the two glasses of wine upstairs with the Grand Duchess later in the evening. Still, we're getting very close to calling it a wrap for this batch of figures.  Imperfections aside, they'll do the trick I think. -- Stokes

  With apologies to Sir Paul and Wings, ca. late summer 1979.  We're getting there. A fter two weeks largely away from the painting table due to an overabundance of work and family-related things, I managed to get myself back to the 15 Minden Croats this weekend to work on applying paint to buttons, braid, and piping.  Tedious work with a lot of breathe-holding, holding the figures almost up to my nose under the brightest light, and a few minute mistakes with the brush, but all in all fairly decent results I think.   In keeping with the muted appearance of this uniform -- based on that more or less worn by the Slavonische-Brooder Grenzer -- I have again used Army Painter 'Basilisk Brown' for this step.  To my mind, a brighter yellow would seem at odds with the rest of the painting scheme.  You be the judge. So, we're almost there now.  Just the brass (I use gold) bits along the sword hilts and scabbards, a few visible Fred Buckles (p...

  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