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Groan -- Let's try again!

Well, for some reason yesterday, Blogger was presenting all kinds of problems each time I attempted to make a new posting. So, keep in mind that the following was intended to appear YESTERDAY -- Saturday, October 28, 2006. . .


Another, crisp breezy fall day – but the kind with sunshine, so it’s really pretty outside with orange and yellow leaves falling from the trees and formations of birds flying to the south. I wish we had a fireplace because there’s nothing like the sight, sound, and smell of a wood fire inside. Kind of makes me nostalgic for the days of my youth and adolescence when we lived with my grandparents in rural southeastern Pennsylvania. They had a 200 year old stone farmhouse with three fireplaces! Yep, nothing like a wood fire in a fireplace.

So, what’s on tap here at Grand Duchy of Stollen Central this weekend? Well, numerous little things. First, in about ten minutes, I’m going to paint the final bits of the Jaegers zu Fuss – silver musket barrels and brass trigger guards.

Then, I’ll set those to one side and go to work on the 25mm MiniFigs three mounted officers and two SYW cannon, which will become Stollen’s generals and an ADC plus a two-gun battery. There are a few mold lines and a bit of flash to trim from the three officers and their horses, but not much, so the job should be fairy quick and easy. A quick base coat might be a possibility too.

The cannon are a bit more complicated because they require some assembly and, of course, “super glue” to make that happen. Wheels, axels, barrels, and some smaller “fiddly bits” although I must say that I’ve never seen field piece models as nicely detailed! But then I've only ever worked with smaller 15mm sized figures and field pieces before this year.

Finally, while all of this other stuff is happening, my plastic Revell Austrian Horse artillery figures, who will man the two guns, will soak for 24 hours in a bowl of water and Dawn dishwashing liquid. Tomorrow, I’ll scrub 'em, take ’em out, dry ‘em off, and trim mold lines from the figures in question.

Then, if there is enough time, I‘ll fix the 13 figures to temporary 1” square bases with a dot of Elmer’s glue and slap a thick coat of Liquitex black over them. Oh, and I’ll drill holes and place a pin into the mounted officer and his horse -- to provide a firmer, longer lasting connection before gluing the two together with special cement for soft plastic figures.

Hmmm, there’s quite a bit to do! Looks like I’d better get started. "Nach Schmitten!!!" said the soldiers of Stollen to their generals. . .

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