A Wet and Dreary Day. . .

Hard to believe that all of our snow and ice are gone, and the temperature outside is nearly 50 degrees Fahrenheit with rain and wind! So what better way to spend the day than inside here in Zum Stollenkeller with the boys. In the first photograph above are the eleven figures of the first batch of Flickenhoffer's Fusiliers that are entirely finished.

Just below, you can take a gander at the rest of the first company, which is awaiting the application of gaiter buttons and the usual two coats of Future/Klear acrylic floor finish later today. The eagle-eyed among you will notice that the standard has been painted too. It features the checkered yellow and red Zichenauer eagle against a mid-blue background, which is the facing color of this particular regiment.


And in the third photo below, is a slightly closer view of said standard. I don't remember where I found the original design, but it is based on the Silesian flag carried by landwehr from that province during the Napoleonic wars. I liked it very much, so I changed the background color, resized it a bit in MS Word, and then printed it out. After careful trimming with an X-acto knife and metal ruler, I carefully applied Elmer's Carpenter's Glue (it holds much better over time than the plain old white glue), and finally wrapped it around the flagpole.

After a few minutes, I gave it some wrinkles to approximate the look of blowing in the breeze. Finally, when it was good and dry, I painted over the computer ink with my GW acrylic paints using #1 and #3 round brushes with good points, adding my own silver edging to match the lace of the regiment's most senior officers -- it's colonel and his adjutant as well as the RSM and standard bearer (company officers do not have silver hat lace). Now, it's not up to par with the wonderful flag work of Phil Olley (who paints his standards and guidons on actual small pieces of linen) and John Ray, but it will do just fine for the Electorate of Zichenau.



Last of all, let's get back to the sadly neglected Action at Pickelhaubewicz. I reviewed Jonathan's instructions and questions about musket ranges and which troops might have fractions of move distances left in the next room and sent the requested information to him last night. At the moment, I am awaiting his reply. Hopefully we can finish Move Eight this weekend. . . and maybe start Move Nine in which the Stollenian half battery can FINALLY come into play!