The Grand Duchy of Stollen

Completed a few small things on my Von Laurenz Musketeers yesterday. The main things left to complete are the muskets and the central flag design. I tried painting a vaguely Austrian/Russian-looking eagle on one side and was not pleased with the result, so I painted over it with orange and again have a blank orange lozenge to illustrate. Anyway, finishing by September 1 st will be no problem although the application of a clear protective “varnish” might have to wait until next weekend, depending on available time this week.

I’m almost there! In keeping with my painting pledge made on OSW at the end of July, the 2 nd (Von Laurenz) Musketeers are almost finished. A marathon four hour session yesterday afternoon enabled me to complete the shoulder belts, blue highlights on the coats, and the white drum cords on the third and final company of the regiment. They look pretty darn good for my first attempt at painting soft plastic figures. Here’s what remains to finish in the next few days: Musket Stocks Musket Barrels/Bayonets/Spontoons Gorgets/Sashes/Stirrups on Mounted Colonel Stirrup Straps Center of Flag Black Touch-ups Spray Coat of Dullcote Protective Varnish Hopefully, I can knock off several of these remaining steps today. For your information, I’ve used a combination of media on these figures, turning to a mix of primarily acrylics along with a few oils and, in the case of the figures’ bases, a green shade of enamel by Humbrol. My earliest basecoat was diluted white Elme

By now, you’ve seen my projected orders of battle here and noted that they are quite ambitious. The same occurred to me too, especially where the forces of the minor players in the campaign are concerned. So, this small problem got me thinking into the wee hours late last night in bed before I fell asleep. Since my imaginary principalities (Pillau-Zerbst, Pillau-Reuss, Werben-Steinau, Tauroggen-Fiebus, and Zeller-Schwartzekatz) are sparsely populated, I’ll have each furnish just a company of infantry -- or a squadron of cavalry -- or a half battery and crew. This neat idea developed while I was browsing through Philip Haythornthwaite’s The Napoleonic Source Book (1990) yesterday evening, reading about the numbers and types of troops furnished to Napoleon I by all of the various German duchies and principalities. Some of the smaller states furnished the French with just a company or two rather than entire battalions or regiments. It hit me like a bolt out of the

Pillau – Zerbst, Pillau-Reuss, Tauroggen-FIebus, and Zeller-Schwarzekatz – (Various Uniform Colors) General Phillipe de Latte Foot Brigade – Gen. Katzenjammer Bad Schwartau Grenadiers (Red) Prinz Lebrecht’s Musketeers (Lt. Blue) Von Goshenhopper’s Frei Battalion (Green) Grand Duke’s Light Infantry (1 company) Cavalry Brigade – Gen. Hansel von Pfalzgraff Frauenburg Frei Hussars (1 Sqn.) Heyderkrug Artillerie Company

Electorate of Zichenau – (White) General Anders Gedacht von Gluehvein 1 st Brigade – Gen. von Schnitzelmeyer Leib Regiment (The Loyal 1 st ) Leib Grenadier Garde 10 Th (Princess Nene’s) Fusiliers 2nd Brigade – Gen. Ulrik von Pongs 8 th Ermland Musketeers The Hansa Pandours Electoral Pioneer Regiment Cavalry Brigade – Gen. Quintus Albertus Supercilius von Phoebus 3 rd (von Todtelbein’s) Hussars 4 th Kurnersdorf Dragoons 5 th (Masuren) Kuirassiers Royal Kompanie of Artillerie %

Before heading to the painting desk for the evening, here is the composition of my projected imaginary armies: Grand Duchy of Stollen – (Dark Blue) Count Alexander von Ostenburg-Buttinski 1 st Brigade – Gen. von Drosselmaier Prinz August’s (Kurprinz) Regiment 2 nd (Von Laurenz) Musketeers Flickenhoffer Fusiliers 2 nd Brigade – Gen. Konrad von Blau 4 th Sapper Battalion Jaegers zu Fuss Cavalry Brigade – Gen. Erasmus Montanus von Bose 6 th Hussars Mittau Dragoons 2 nd (Grand Duke’s) Horse Grenadiers Grand Duchess’ (Waltr

Here's a link to Donald Hauser's Electorate of Vulgaria, located somewhere just to the south of the Grand Duchy of Stollen and its immediate neighbors. Donald's initial posts are an interesting and fun read -- and naturally the RSM figures he uses for Vulgaria's army are a joy to behold. Nice painting Donald! Click on: http://electorateofvulgaria.blogspot.com/

I managed to finish the orange turn-backs on the final company this morning. In addition, I went ahead and painted the white cords on the now almost completed drummer for the third company. As predicted, with its orange hoops and white cords, the drum is striking. It’s even more impressive with the drummer! Next step: the white straps and shoulder belts, followed by the blue highlights for the coats, and finally the white loops of lace on the coats. Miraculously, I've made no serious mistakes with the paintbrush! Go Figure -- Hey, was that a pun? Later. . . I’ve just finished painting the white straps for the haversacks and knapsacks. Yes! My wife and I are headed to a colleague’s for drinks this evening, so the shoulder belts and blue highlights on the coats will have to wait until tomorrow evening. Still, I feel like I’ve managed to get in a couple of good painting sessions today – unusually for a Thursday! You know, I might actually just be able to g

Greg Horne at the Duchy of Alzheim has been kind enough to provide a link from his site to this one, so I thought I'd return the favor here. Read all about his imaginary country, wargames, ongoing painting projects (using the lovely RSM figures), and more at: http://mavisming.blogspot.com/ Perhaps the ministers of Alzheim and Stollen could work out a secret alliance and attack Frederick the Great's Prussia on two fronts? ;-)

11:19PM Just finished a productive session on the Von Laurenz Musketeers. This evening, I managed to paint the white lace loops on the coats of two companies. They looked good before, but this little touch really makes ‘em look really fancy! In addition, I painted the collars and cuffs of the third and final company the usual bright orange. I also painted the drum hoops the same color, so my drums will look striking, I hope, when I paint the cords too. Tomorrow, I’ll paint the turn-backs orange and start, at least, on the white straps and shoulder belts. If this goes well and fairly quickly, then, I’ll go ahead and do the drum cords on the three drummers. Meanwhile, September 1st loom son the horizon! Rollin', rollin’ rollin’ -- Keep those paint brushes rollin’. . .

Here it is August 22, and I've got quite a way to go before finishing the first regiment in my imaginary 18th century armies -- the 2nd (Von Laurenz) Musketeers, who will fight for Stollen. The last couple of weeks, I've resorted to working on company-sized batches of figures at a time, so that actual painting progress is faster and more apparent to the eye. So, this afternoon, I finished the white straps and shoulder belts on the second group of 19 figures. Two companies now look almost complete -- and pretty good if I do say so myself! Until ten days ago (or so), I plowed my way through the entire 63 figures assembly line fashion, one color or area of the figures at a time. I reached the point though where visible progress was not readily apparent. So, scaling back and working on one section of the unit at a time seemed like a reasonable answer. Seems to work pretty well. Still, I'll have to move it in order to complete the regiment by August 31st, thereby meeting t

For Immediate Release: Diplomatic Standoff Intensifies between the Principality of Pillau-Zerbst and the Electorate Zichenau War Likely as Foreign Ministers Race to Find a Solution Schmitten, The Principality of Pillau-Zerbst 20 May 1768 -- The disappearance in February of Pillau-Zerbst’s Princess Valerie, betrothed to the French mercenary officer Phillipe de Latte, has sparked considerable upheaval in diplomatic circles. Recent issues of Der Schimtten Zeitung have been filled with numerous articles on the matter. Popular consensus blames Zichenau’s Prince Ruprecht II for Valerie’s abduction. Indeed, agents for Pillau-Zerbst report that a young woman matching her description was seen at various springtime social events with Prince Ruprecht. Generals Organize Their Armies along Frontier Diplomatic efforts have failed to produce an amicable solution so far. Last weekend, the Pillau-Zerbst assembly called impatiently for war to decide the issue during

The Grand Duchy of Stollen and its enemies/allies, with their inflated delusions of grandeur and influence on the European stage, are set more or less within the real Europe of the late 1760s. Stollen's main enemy is the Electorate of Zichenau to its southwest. The two are separated by a large and, as yet, unnamed river. Stollen and Zichenau are surrounded by several tiny principalities (PIllau-Zerbst, Pillau-Reuss, Werben-Steinau, Tauroggen-Fiebus, and Zeller-Schwartzekatz), who vacillate between allying themselves with and/or fighting against either Stollen or Zichenau, depending on how the wind blows on that particular day. Geographically, all are sandwiched between extreme East Prussia , Courland, and Poland . My imaginary states occupy only about 100 square miles on the map of Northeastern Europe . They are not influential on the larger political stage of the continent in the post SYW years, which is how I rationalize the geographical space they occupy an

This is the question Prince Ruprecht is reported to have uttered to Princess Valerie as she climbed into his stagecoach late one night in the winter of 1768 before they rode over the frontier separating her own Pillau-Zerbst from the prince's Electorate of Zichenau. And her answer of course was, "Ja, schatzi -- Ich bin deine liebhaber!" This, then, is the reason for the latest round of hostilities between my tiny imaginary countries on the fringe of Europe. Welcome to the blog I have created to tell the ongoing story of my own imaginary 18th century wargame campaign! My inspiration comes from the Old School Wargaming group at Yahoo, Greg Horne (the man behind The Duchy of Alzheim blog -- I love your figures Greg!), and my own fascination with Young and Lawford's chestnut classic Charge!: Or How to Play Wargames, which goes back to 1994 when I purchased a reprint of this wargaming classic. Soooo -- I'm creating two small armies, as well as a few mercenary units