While the Grand Duchess is away. . . playing Mah Jong no less. . .

From left to right: The regimental inhaber Herr Colonel Heinrich von Heide along with his standard bearer and trumpeter. These are going to be a fun bunch of figures to paint and a nice change after all of that white-coated infantry last spring and summer.

Imagine! The nerve! So, obviously I have had a couple of hours to myself this evening. And what better way to spend that spare time than working on some RSM95 wargaming miniatures.

Just a little bit of painting on the first three figures tonight: green bases, the faces, and a quick coat of Liquitex black acrylic paint on the horses and tricornes. I like the blue-black of this particular color -- very suitable for noble cuirassier steeds. It dries quickly with a nice sheen and a stretchy surface, so it stands up well to handling and doesn't flake off of metal or plastic figures. An added benfit of Liquitex is that it helps prevent the black gesso undercoat from rubbing off the ears and muzzles of the horses plus the boot toes of the troopers before I finish everything and slap on a couple of protective coats of Future/Klear acrylic floor finish.

So, only about 60 minutes of work this evening while listening to Croatian Radio on shortwave -- in Croatian, English, and Spanish no less -- but it's really amazing what you can accomplish in a week's time if you make yourself sit down for an hour or two each evening. Marathon painting sessions can be very productive and a great deal of fun, and I certainly enjoyed them at 17 or 18, but I suspect that consistent regular painting is far more productive and produces faster results.

The great love of my life, the fair Grand Duchess Sonja, and I are of to the Chicago suburbs tomorrow to visit. . . Yes! The fantastic mid-blue and yellow IKEA!!! Always a fun trip and after ABBA, Gustavus Adolphus, and our old grad school friend Helena up in Minnesota, possibly Sweden's greatest contribution to the world! ;-)

P.S.
And let's not forget the late, great Holger Eriksson either!

The 18th century? What's the Fascination?

Hessian musketeers by All the King's Men Toy Soldiers of Snellville, Georgia, U.S.A. Just a quick post post today, but I thought the above question might be interesting food for thought. Obviously, there is an array of possible periods, theaters, and conflicts that might catch our eyes. But what is it about the era 1700-1799 -- either real, or imagined? Is it the commanders and politics? The fairly straightforward tactics? The myriad of uniforms and flags? The variety and scope of the conflicts? The patchwork of various and sundry petty states, (at least in Central Europe)? I'm very interested to learn your thoughts. Don't be a lurker! Please leave a comment -- or even two or three. Have a nice day everyone!

An Early July Hussar Update. . .

Marginally neater in appearance with green bases, girths, and ivory horse markings added, but I need to neaten up some hooves now before moving onto the rest of the tack. W here in the world did June go? While I still ponder the answer to that question, how about a quick painting update on the first batch of 14 Minden Austrian hussars and Nadasdy? Good. I'm glad we are of a like mind. Still on the sloppy side, but I've managed to move things along, painting the green bases, white (ivory) horse markings, and beginning the miles and miles of tack adorning the various horses. I always like to begin with the girths spanning the horses' ribs which helped hold the saddles in place. Even with the figures mounted individually on temporary painting bases, these can be kind of tricky to access, but there we are. I've also used various Army Painter washes (Mid-Brown and Strong Tone) as well as their Speed Paint (Grim Black) to make the manes and tails of the horses a bit m...

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...

The Grand Duchy of Stollen

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