Happy New Year from the Grand Duchy of Stollen!

It’s hard to believe that 2007 is almost history! Where did the year go? My grandmother always told me that the older one becomes, the faster time seems to pass by. I think she was right.

With that in mind, what has that rapidly dissolving time been used for during the last twelve months here at Stollen central? Well, let's pause and reflect a bit. It's ben a pretty good year here in Stollen I think.

First, there has been painting, and a lot of it apparently, including Revell dragoons (30), RSM95 grenadiers (63), a monster-sized Revell infantry regiment (80), plus some Revell artillery and MiniFig cannon (13+2), RSM95 generals (2), and Spencer Smith/Holger Eriksson cavalry most recently (12). Total of painted figures for 2007? 200+! That’s a record for me.

Next, let’s not forget that there was lots of real estate constructed early in 2007 too. Many townhouses, a bridge, town gate, and etc. were featured right here a year or so ago. Several of these were again seen only a few days ago. There is still a church awaiting its coat of paint. And yesterday, I finished painting the two Magister Millitum round pavilion tents in (more or less) the national colors of Stollen and Zichenau plus another hill -- this time three layers. Photos to follow on January 1st!

Finally, there was lots of fun "contextual narrative" (Geeze, can you tell I endured graduate school?), focusing on a bizarre cast of characters like Oberfeldwebel Klatschen, Heinrich- Schatzi von Pelznikkel, poor, old Irwin-Amadeus II and the their fellows. Who could forget when the Grand Duke refused to remove his gamey lobster costume at the height of the Stollenian summer? And let's not forget the duel between Klatschen and the arrogant and foppish colonel of the 4th (Trakehnen) Dragoons late last winter. Why, Stollen even had its first battle against the Electorate of Zichenau late last week in the Action at Zollamtstadt. Unfortunately, the latter won the field that day.

Despite these setbacks,however, the Grand Duke somehow manages to keep his good humor. He wishes each and every one of you a Happy New Year and good gaming/painting/collecting in 2008!!!

P.S.
It began snowing steadily at about 3PM this afternoon and is laying all over the ground. We already have about an inch and the forecast calls for 5-6"" total!!! And the expected high temperature for tomorrow? Only 18 degrees Fahrenheit. Could be the Grand Duchess and I ring in the new year by skiing tomorrow morning.

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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