Battle of the Toys. . .

No, not the long (and sadly) defunct wargaming magazine from the 1970s, but the battle between the Nutcracker and the Rat King. Isn't it called the Battle of the Toys, or something like that? At any rate, I looked around for a picture of said battle some weeks ago when I compiled all of these illustrations and photographs that I've been featuring here, but I wasn't able to turn up much. However, I finally found the above picture by typing simply "rat king" and lo and behold. . . Here we are! I like this picture because the Rat King and nutcracker look suitably ferocious and determined respectively.

Comments

Bluebear Jeff said…

Stokes,

I like it too . . . as I've enjoyed all of these illustrations.

It is snowing heavily here today on Vancouver Island. They predicted "light snow" and 10-15cm (4-6") . . . but we've already hit that and it is now snowing more heavily now . . . and they've changed the prediction to "heavy snow".

So even if you don't, we will have plenty of snow for cross-country skiing . . . too bad we don't ski any more.

-- Jeff

1:52 PM

Capt Bill said…

Very cute indeed!...Bill

3:20 PM

Bluebear Jeff said…

Bring your skis, Stokes, we've got close to a foot of new snow . . . and it just keeps coming.

Also, with the photos you're taking and the accounts you're writing, do you think that you might have another article for BATTLEGAMES before you're done? Henry might be interested (since it is a BATTLEGAMES scenario).

-- Jeff

4:35 PM

Fitz-Badger said…

"We're" getting some snow here in southern California! The high today where I live was only 45 and I'm not at a high elevation. The mountains are getting snowed in and the freeways, highways and other roads over the mountains to the north are or were all closed for a while (not sure if they're opened yet). Then after tomorrow I'll be off to Milwaukee for the holidays, enjoying a brisk and white Christmas I believe.

9:09 PM

Anonymous said…

Love all the pics Stokes. They give your blog a real Christmasy feel. Unfortunately, we haven't got any snow here in the UK, well not where I live up in the north of England. Shame really, I for one, would appreciate a snap of what we're missing.

Steve

4:56 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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