12,000+ Visits to The Grand Duchy!!!

Hello there, men! Just a brief note to say thanks to all who have made the Grand Duchy of Stollen a part of their web routine during the last year. The Stollenian court and its ministers extend a hearty “Thank you” to one and all.

The Grand Duke Irwin-Amadeus II (at left) is very pleased to see that tourist numbers have rounded just over 12,000. Indeed, this is seen as one of the reasons for his return to semi-normalcy. In recent weeks, his doctor and advisors report, the Grand Duke has even begun to take a greater hand in the day to day affairs of state here in Krankenstadt Palace.

While those closest to the Grand Duke report that it is still difficult to coax him from the recently laundered and pressed lobster costume (his intermediary Roman senator’s toga having been discarded – at least for the time being), Irwin-Amadeus seems to have left the malaise of early summer behind. Of course, there is always hope that he might be lured back into a manner of dress more suited to a ruler of Stollen.

The Grand Duke also wishes it to be known that he looks forward to (re)establishing relations with his imaginary 18^th century neighbors directly. And there are even rumors that he will lead a small force of reinforcement into the field, to join the observation corps already in place along the southern frontier between Stollen and its enemy, the Electorate of Zichenau.

Visitors to the Grand Duchy of Stollen can also look forward to a retrospective, of sorts, for the passed year here very soon. For now, it’s back to trimming the mold lines from that huge batch of Revell 1/72 Austrian grenadiers. Charge!

Comments

Stagonian Jeff said…

"Send him those scientific treaties on the habits of lobsters"

"Immediately, your Majesty."

"And, Rudy, make sure that it can't be traced back to us."

"Of course, your Majesty. Those are elementary precautions -- which I always use."

5:37 PM

meadows boy said…

Congratulations from the Grand Duke of Davidsberg!

cheers

David

7:16 AM

A Little More Brushwork. . .

A little more brushwork on the first batch of (my version of) the Anhalt-Zerbst Regiment yesterday (Saturday). Taking a different tack this time and addressing many of the details first before the white coats and other larger areas of uniform. The eagle-eyed among you will notice that I've painted the (dark) red stocks of the enlisted men. Always a difficult and frustrating item to paint, it made sense to paint from the inside out as it were and get that particular detail out of the way first rather than try to paint it in later after much other painting has been accomplished. Trying to reduce the need for later retouching of other items on the figures you understand. Hopefully, I will be able to get back to these later today after a second trip back to the Apple Store for help with a couple of new iPad issues and, following the return home, some revision of Google Slides for tomorrow's meetings with my students. -- Stokes P.S. And according t...

Basic Reds Done at Last. . .

S till quite a way to go with the current batch of 20 human figures and a horse (of course), but they're actually starting to look like something after all of the red distinctions. Quite a bit of painting in hour-long sessions the last week as and when time has allowed. Mostly applying the basic dark red to facing areas and turnbacks followed by the inevitable touch-ups to clean up wobbly edges and those misplaced, minute splotches of Citadel Khorne Red. They're looking like so many Austrian infantry regiments of the era at this point, but the eventual flags will turn them magically into the Anhalt-Zerbst Regiment, more or less, of the AWI period. But I'm getting a bit ahead of myself. One frustrating point (ahem) of sad discovery. I've started trying to use those Winsor & Newton 'Series Seven' brushes (#1 rounds) purchased last spring, and the blasted things simply will not keep a point. Very frustrating since I have heard over the y...

It's Early Days Yet. . .

M aking some early progress with Batch A of the Anhalt-Zerbst Regiment over the last several days/evenings. Nothing terribly exciting just yet, but the basic black, brown, and flesh areas are done as are the green bases, and gray undercoat. The latter two areas needed some careful retouching early in the week. Next up, the neck stocks. I might just do these in red for the enlisted men although some of my source material suggest they were black, but I always look for an excuse to shake things up a bit. Any errant splotches of red (or black) can be covered with another application of light gray before I move onto the next step. "Giddy up!" as one Cosmo Kramer might have said. -- Stokes

The Grand Duchy of Stollen

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