Skip to main content

So much to do, so little time. . .

Yesterday was a full day. Besides speed painting a battery of Zichenauer artillery (above) for the upcoming “Action at Zollamt” and working a bit on preparing the Spencer Smith/Holger Eriksson cavalry for painting, we had SNOW!!! So, it was fairly easy for the Grand Duchess to coax me away from the painting desk for a couple of hours yesterday.


We visited Ewing Park, a local municipal park, where we had a delightful 90 minutes on skis exploring the various sections and paths of the park. It was also fun watching the 75 or so children and fathers sledding down one of the bigger hills. The 2007-2006 Nordic skiing season has begun in earnest!

Today, we have about 6-7” of the fluffy white stuff. So, following a late breakfast, we’ll pick up the Christmas tree, follow with another jaunt on the cross country skis, and then decorate this evening after supper. Hmmm. . . toy soldiers, fresh snow, skiing, a purring kitty, and Christmas trees. Life is good. Oh yes, and somewhere in there, I’ll put in a bit more time on the artillery battery, do some Christmas cards, and tally final grades.

Comments

tradgardmastare said…
Looks wonderful - I really envy the amount of snow you get.We mainly get rain in the winter these days but last night's heavy frost was beautiful.
Hve you ever thought of raising ski troops for the Duchy ? The Norwegians had very effective ones in both the 18th and 9 th centuries. They also had sledge bourn artillery as well as ammunition/ supply wagons on sledges pulled by men on skis. Some super modelling ideas .....
11:44 AM
Bluebear Jeff said…
Actually, Stokes, your "speed painting" already looks better than my finished figures.

Cross-country skiing is lots of fun (as long as one doesn't turn it into exercise). I'm glad that you and the Grand Duchess had a chance to do some.


-- Jeff
6:51 PM
Der Alte Fritz said…
Stokes: I live a few miles north of you and it sounds like you got a bit more snow than we did in Hesse Seewald (around 8" total north suburbs of Chicago). I would be most happy to ship all of it to Tradgardland (or Scotland, as the case may be) as I would not miss it one bit. I'm dreaming of a green Christmas.

I like the artillery crew in the red coats. Where did you get the giant gun models?
1:07 AM
old-tidders said…
it looks a bit cold out there in the snow !

-- Allan
7:04 AM
WSTKS-FM Worldwide said…
Thank you for your friendly remarks, men! The pr-Christmas snow here in the Grand Duchy has been great fun. Funny how the flat, endless stretches of cornfield outside of town look so beautiful with a good covering of snow.

Got a few little things finished on the artillery crews last night, including the officer's horse. They are just about done. Fritz, the cannon are 25mm MinFig SYW pieces that Tom Dye of GFI fame had cast for me last year when I made a small order to supplement my Revell 1/72 plastics.

We'll be in Chicago all day today, but maybe I' can get to work on the guns late this evening. We'll see. :-)

Best Regards,

Stokes
8:52 AM
abdul666 said…
Stokes,
the Zichenauer artillery looks quite impressive!

Enjoy the snow, but don't risk frozen fingers delaying too much the painting of the Cavalry (Cavalry *has* to be rigt in time..)

Cheers,
Jean-Louis
3:08 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Presenting the Anspach-Bayreuth Kuirassiere!!!

Here they are, with the rearmost nine figures still drying, three squadrons of the Anspach-Bayreuth Kuirassiere, now in the service of the Grand Duchy of Stollen. And now, it's onto that artillery!
14 comments
Read more

And It's the End of September!!!

  Saxony's Ploetz Cuirassiers, an illustration lifted from the Kronoskaf website, which has thus far guided my spectacularly glacial painting of 30 28mm Eureka Saxon cuirassiers purchased all the way back in October 2016. A gray, cool Saturday here in Mid-Michigan with rain in the forecast. The Grand Duchess is away at a conference, so it's just "The Boys" here at home. The Young Master (almost 15) has retreated to his room for something or other following breakfast while I have stolen back down here to Zum Stollenkeller (masquerading as my office) with a second mug of coffee and both cats comfortably ensconced nearby. Enjoying the late morning and still in my pajamas! Not much planned for today beyond designing a couple of promotional flyers for workshops my department is presenting (small parties we will throw?) in October and November.  With maybe a bit of on the next podcast script. More important,  I am toying with the idea of returning for an hour or...
3 comments
Read more

Happy September 2nd!!!

    T his weekend, the question of what, precisely, constitutes an "imagination" came up in an online forum of which I am a part.  To be fair, the issue originates from further afield in a Facebook group that I am not a member of, but I weighed in with my own view.  The following was in response to the question posed yesterday (Sunday) morning by an exasperated member of my own rather more gentlemanly town square, who had been met with a strident response to information he shared about his (admirable) hobby activities on said FB group.  Here is, more or less, what I wrote: To my mind, the concept of imagi-nation(s) is a broad one.  It can range from historical refights or what-if scenarios/battles/campaigns between armies of a particular era, to completely made up combatants operating in a quasi-historical setting, to the rather generic red and blue forces of the Prussian Kriegspiel that examine a particular tactical problem, task, or exercise.   ...
6 comments
Read more