The Grand Duchy of Stollen

Almost there with the final third of the Anhalt-Zerbst Regiment! F ollowing a day of clean-up and mowing outside (seven or eight bags of grass clippings and winter debris all told, whew!), I returned to the painting desk for 6o minutes or so after a shower, fresh pajamas, and dinner with the Grand Duchess.  Armed with a fresh mug of dark roast coffee, bright lights, and a "let's get this done!" attitude, I went to work about 7:45pm.   Roughly an hour later, the remaining buttons on waistcoats and red lapels were done, and I could breathe again (as the great Robert Plant sang in 'Little by Little' about 1985).  Not too many mistakes along the way although there were a few in the tighter spots.  Grrr.  But nothing that couldn't be fixed in the mix after the fact. Now some might sigh and say, "Stokes, why on earth do you go to such lengths and paint things like buttons and horse hooves when absolutely and categorically no one else will notice those details ...

  F riday evening. And while the Grand Duchess whips up some of her Massaman Curry upstairs, I couldn't resist sharing a photograph of the entire Anhalt-Zerbst Regiment. Yes, the final 20 figures or so still need buttons on their red lapels and waistcoats plus flags and touch-ups before glossing and permanent basing.  But still. As usual, I've brightened and sharpened my photograph just a bit in Fotor, which does a nice job as long as you don't ask AI to do too much.  Found out the hard way when I realized, some months back, that figures were appearing with backwards heads, arms, and gargoyle-like facial features! 60+ figures altogether, in keeping with my approach for almost exactly 20 years of the Grand Duchy of Stollen Project.  Sheer painting willpower?  Easily entertained?  Or just a terminal case of Johnny One-Note?  You be the judge.    Just how long has it taken us to get to this point with this particular unit?  Well, I started ...

  H appy Easter everyone!  Well, as the delightful old tune by The Beatles goes, it's getting better all the time (and couldn't get much worse).  Despite a solid week of reviewing  and evaluating student learning team projects (My brain is mush, and I'll enter the grades tomorrow), I've managed to squeeze in a few brief painting session here and there during the evening hours after the house quiets down.  But anyway.   With the notable exception of the many buttons and the flags, we're just about there except for a few minute touch-ups with flesh tone, to cover blemishes on a couple of faces and hands where I have managed to slop a dash or two of other colors since the faces and hands were first tackled back during the winter.  Here are a couple of shots taken this morning and brightened in Fotor (my usual online editor) to illustrate where we are with the third and final batch of the Anhalt-Zerbst Regiment. Wow, that first sentence was a gallop!...

  Nearly there with the white highlights on the third and final batch of the Anhelt-Zerbst Regiment this Sunday morning at the end of March. T he Young Master and Grand Duchess are away for a few days visiting friends and relatives in our old stomping grounds of Central Illinois since our progeny has his Spring Break this coming week.  It's a whirlwind trip though.  They'll be back this evening, and he has his wisdom teeth removed on Tuesday.  Sadly, ahead of the Easter holiday, so the Easter Bunny will have to bring our Paul a variety of soft things to enjoy (cups of chocolate pudding/custard?) since chewing will be a challenge for a few days while his mouth heals up So, Bad Dad has been free to hang out down here in Zum Stollenkeller a bit more than usual with coffee, the cats, and paintbrushes in hand.  I've managed numerous sessions in the chair since Thursday evening to tackle the many remaining tiny details on the final batch of the Anhalt-Zerbst Regiment...

Y ou thought I'd forget, didn't you?  Here's a quick work in progress shot of where things stand with the final third of the Anhalt-Zerbst Regiment on the morning of March 19th.  Black, red, and (most of) the brown highlights added.  Cords and finials await a light dry-brush to brighten up the gold which received a wash of Army Painter Strong Tone a couple of evenings ago.  One bayonet has been bumped and needs to be straightened.  NCO's polearm needs a dab of brown near his hat to touch it up.   But then. . .  It's onto the white.  I'll start with the waistcoat and belt around the figures' waists this evening.  Breeches will follow, then the shoulder belts, and finally the coats themselves.  Time-consuming since I like to do this through a series of almost washes for a more natural blend built up from the light gray undercoat to almost white highlights on the fronts of shoulders. upper backs, and anywhere else it seems likely that ...

  My usual trusty placeholder until today's later Kodak Moment.  Be sure to check back later! N ot much progress to report during the last seven days.  But after a busy week, it was back to the painting desk for a couple of three (my late grandfather's expression) sessions in the chair.  Time to finish the visible hair, queues, and mustache or two. For these, I decided to try a couple of the six or seven Army Painter Speed Paints I ordered back in January following the Christmas holidays.  We can blame Rudy at the Culloden Painting Studio , who uses quite a few of these and has really impressive results.  But then he is a professional with younger eyes than yours truly at this point. Anyway, I went with the Ruddy Fur for the hair on all of the figures and the Grim Black, both applied at full strength, for the queues, both applied with a #1 Cottman round that still has its good point.  These water color brushes also work well for miniature painting I th...

  While much painting remains to be accomplished, the final third of the Anhalt-Zerbst Regiment takes on a pleasing appearance with the addition of highlights to the black and red areas of the miniatures. E xcept for Tuesday evening, I've been spending 45-60 minutes a day, maybe a bit more, carefully highlighting the black areas and now the reds on the current and final batch of the Anhalt-Zerbst Regiment.  Almost finished with the latter this Saturday morning.  By the way, for these highlights, I have used my usual 'Charcoal' by Ceramcoat and Vallejo 'Red.'  Sadly, our quiet Spring vacation is coming to an end, which means I need to spend some time today organizing a few things for next week when classes reconvene.  And some (at least) of the students return to campus for class on Monday morning, although any break seems to accordion out in either direction to be almost twice what has been officially designated by the university and put on the calendar. ...

  I returned to the painting desk for about an hour Sunday evening to retouch a few of the light brown water bottle straps across the front of several chests and add a bit of Army Painter red wash in that crevice between the left lapel and musket stock.  As my Welsh step-father might say, they're starting to look very smart. M arch 1st.  The first weekend that bookends our spring vacation at my university.  And like clockwork, I came down with the same nasty cold and slight fever the Young Master brought home earlier last week. The very day before I was due to leave for my last solo ski trip of the season up north.  Blast!   Everything was packed and ready to load into the car early Friday morning for the slightly more than two-hour drive north.  But I realized about 10:30 Thursday evening that I felt rotten, and it would be a mistake to proceed as planned.  Sigh. Felt even crummier Friday morning with chills, nasal congestion, and sore throa...

 

  A fter several sessions in the painting chair over 2.5 days (periodic rewards for getting through different batches of student collaborative projects. . . Whew!) , the basic red areas (Citadel Khorne Red) are finished.  Shoulder straps, lapels, cuffs, turnbacks, and the visible inner linings of officers' and ensigns' coats.  I used my trusty old Leow 000 sable [showing its age, sadly] and a brand new Cottman #1 round to carry out the reddening.  Time consuming and tedious in places, but it's done. Following another round of edge clean-up (Sunday evening?), I'll begin highlighting the black, brown, and red areas before moving onto highlights for the various white areas.   And then it will be time for the multitudinous details.   Still lots to do, but they're beginning to come together. For now, I'm off to join the Grand Duchess for a glass of wine upstairs by the hearth.  My eyes and mind are fried.  G'night everyone! -- Stokes

  O k, back in the painting chair for a about an hour or so the last couple of evenings to hold my breath, carefully paint in the very thin lighter colored water bottle straps (Ral Partha Leather Brown), teach the cats a few quietly muttered blue words, and then clean up various edges to tidy up this third and final batch of the Anhalt-Zerbst Regiment.  All in all, a couple of good evenings' brushwork I think.  Relatively pleased so far.  At least they look a bit neater.  This evening, the plan is to begin applying Citadel Khorne Red (my preferred dark red undercoat) to the shoulder straps (easy), the turnbacks (tricky), and visible insides of the officers' coats (trickier).  This step might take a couple of evenings depending on how things progress.  Stay tuned! ------ The ol' body is bouncing back nicely from the recent three-day weekend of skiing up north.  Tired, well-worked muscles and joints, yes, but not stiff or sore, which I take as a goo...

A photograph of the main grooming contraption, a Piston Bully if I have it right, returning to the garage early Saturday morning this last weekend when I again escaped two hours north for three days of cross-country skiing. T ime to get myself back to the painting bench this evening (post-ski trip) from some more brushwork on those Anhalt-Zerbst infantry.  Probably the very thin leather brown water bottle straps first and foremost.  If that goes well, then maybe I'll finish the evening's session with something easier, cleaning up a few edges around shoes on the green bases.  We'll see how it goes.   The following details my most recent jaunt up north for an extended weekend of cross-country skiing.  Feel free to skip if that's not your cup of tea. ------------ M anaged to get a few shots early Saturday morning (Valentine's Day) of the main snow grooming contraption at the end of its morning run along all 35km+ of trails at  Forbush Corner Nordic Center...

  B asic brown areas (Vallejo Chocolate Brown) about finished except for the drum and a few additional bits.  Time permitting, I'll finish these this evening before cleaning up various edges with my usual Quaker Gray undercoat.  If that goes quickly, I realize that I need to touch up the green bases around more than a few shoes.  But I've also gotta pack my bags and the car. Tomorrow it's another sojourn north early in the day for a couple of cross-country skiing clinics Saturday with a guest coach (some kind of former champion in the sport), who, it turns out lives not that far from us in the Lansing, Michigan area.  Should be fun since one of my usual coaches is also signed up for these same two sessions.  He's a good guy originally from Pennsylvania (like yours truly). Back to real life by late Sunday afternoon (sigh) for a couple of more weeks before Spring Break.  With, hopefully, one more trip north for some late season skiing before cleaning, st...

  B etween work commitments and time skiing, either solo, or with the Grand Duchess, I have managed to find some time for painting too.  The basic black areas -- hats, cartridge pouches, shoes/gaiters, and a few scabbards -- are now finished.  For interested parties, Vallejo Black was the color used for this particular series of steps. Little by little, the figures are taking shape.  Browns are planned for this (Saturday) evening after supper.   Trying out a few recently purchased Army Painter Speed Paints for this step.   And of course, a few touch-ups around the right shoes and beneath the left shoes to cover a few misplace splotches of black and/or cover tiny spots of gray basecoat on several figures.  Using  my trusty 000 sable of many years for that to reduce the risk of further mistakes and muttered blue language you understand.   As a reminder, this the final third of my version of the Anhalt-Zerbst Regiment. In the meantime, anot...

  B ack from another skiing weekend up north, I settled into the painting chair Monday evening for about 35 minutes of very basic brushwork.  While I don't always start with the green bases (typically Citadel Warboss Green), much of the time it makes sense to include these as one of the early steps along with flesh areas, blacks, and browns before moving further into the painting process. Single coat coverage over light gray basecoats is usually not an issue with Citadel paints.  But I see this morning that another coat of green is in order, so I'll tackle that quickly this evening before moving onto the black areas: hats, cartridge pouches, shoes/gaiters, and finally the few sword scabbards among the officers, ensigns, NCO, and possibly the drummer (I never remember). ------------ The skiing weekend was amazing by the way.  Besides my own activities Friday, Saturday, and half the day Sunday, I assisted with the 5k race Saturday morning.  There was also a much f...

  D espite the recent flurry (pun unintended) of cross-country skiing adventures solo and with the Grand Duchess, I have managed to occasionally put brush to paint and embark on the final third of the eventual Anhalt-Zerbst Regiment.  Here's where things stood as of about 9pm yesterday (Wednesday) evening when I rinsed my brush.  Look closely, and you'll note the basic dark red (Citadel Khorne Red) neck stocks (gray for officers), followed by clean-up with another application of Quaker Gray carefully trimmed in around the neck stocks to avoid spoiling earlier brushwork.  All of which was carried out with my venerable Leow 000 sable round that I've used for more than 20 years.  Probably closer to 25 at this point.  For now, we'll have to leave it there as I am departing about 8am tomorrow morning for the two+ hour drive north to our favorite Nordic Ski center, where there is a Saturday morning race I am supporting in one way or another.  Not racing myse...

  F or the final third of the Anhalt-Zerbst Regiment on this frigid day!   Obnoxious alliteration aside, and with the temperature hovering right around 0 degrees Fahrenheit (-17.7 C.), it seems like a smarter idea to forego skiing today and get some time in at the painting desk.  As you'll see, I just trimmed the North Star wire poles down a bit and Gorilla Glue'ed the finials into place.  I'll make the cords look a bit more dynamic later this afternoon, and possibly trim another five or 10mm from the bottom ends before cementing them carefully into the hands of the ensigns.   And do the same for the NCO's polearm.   Then I'll basecoat the three with my usual blend of white acrylic gesso and Quaker Gray craft paint.  Might also touch up a few spots on the others too before adding flesh tone to the remaining three faces and six hands this evening.  Between planned ski tours tomorrow (one solo late in the morning and another with the ...

  A  shot of yours truly taken by the Grand Duchess after lunch in the yurt at Forbush Corner Nordic Center on Sunday as we headed back out toward some more challenging intermediate and advanced terrain a few kilometers further along the trail. Conditions were about as close to perfect as one can get.  Cold, plenty of snow with more falling throughout the weekend, and many winter smiles as one of my coaches up there refers to happy skiers.   And there were record numbers this weekend!  250+ adults on Saturday alone. Lots of families or parents, grandparents, children of various ages, and even babies being towed in Burley ski trailers (usually by the fathers) out on the trails and in the yurt for breaks on Saturday and Sunday, which suggests at least to me that cross-coutry/Nordic skiing is far from dying like some doomsayers moan.  It's doing quite well in Michigan at least.  Admittedly, our own trail adventures were not quite The Heroes of Telema...

  B efore my mind turns to other pursuits of a cross-county/Nordic skiing nature, it seems like a good idea to document the remaining third (or so) of the Anhalt-Zerbst Regiment.  Here they are.   Amazingly, I had the foresight tto basecoat and apply the basic fleshtone to these too at some point during the autumn months before stowing them in one of my clear acrylic boxes where various painting projects reside in full fiew on a shelf above my painting table.  They are thus fully visible and in mind but protected from dust, feline paws, errant teen-aged fingers, and the like.  Not touching Dad's things seems to be a  skill that has been really difficult for the Young Master to internalize.  Ahem. Returning to the point at hand, the eagle-eyed among you will notice that the two standard bearers and an NCO have yet to receive their acrylic Quaker Gray-Gesso basecoat mix.  Must drill out their hands first and glue the various staves into place y...

  A short while ago, I put the finishing touches on the middle third of my version of the Anhalt-Zerbst Regiment.  And not too many necessary touch-ups either.  Sometimes, the stars line up rather nicely.  As I always say, not perfect, but pretty good middle aged eyes and (often) caffeinated hands notwithstanding.   Taking a break for a week or so since we're having a long ski weekend up north next weekend. That means ski prep and packing in the evenings this week.  Huzzah! -- Stokes