F or the almost 20 years that she lived in Mexico, one of my late mother's Irish friends frequently mentioned having a "No Day." A day with no social obligations, chores, tasks, or other work that interfered with whatever personal interests took one's fancy on the day in question. Since today -- a gray and chilly Saturday -- is Mom's birthday, the Grand Duchess is out with friends, and the Young Master is ensconced on the sofa in the TV room with a cold, yours truly is taking his own such No Day. I think Mom would approve of my decision to make the world go away, as the old Eddie Arnold song intoned, even if only for a little while. So, I will spend Saturday afternoon focused on that first squadron and small regimental staff of Eureka Saxon cuirassiers. These have stood waiting untouched over on the painting table for almost three weeks while we skied and otherwise gadded about with snowy, winter outdoor activities. I hope to share a painting update Sunday...
Here's my last structure for a while until I decide to start on making a few extra bridges for those Table Top Teaser scenarios. It's an East Prussian, er, uh, um, "Stollenian", farmhouse-barn structure. I still need to add the internal balsa "ruins" and reinforce the four posts that support the second story overhang, but this is the basic shell. It's based on the four photographs, culled from the web, that follow, and I'll try to give parts of my farmhouse a similar fachwerk treatment, time, caffeinated painting hand, and tired eyes permitting!
Here's an old farmhouse that's now on the Lithuanian side of the border. I found it, I think, by doing a web search for houses in Lithuania Minor, or something like that. Lithuania Minor (Klein Litauen in German) was that slice of East Prussia where most of the people outside of towns were ethnic Lithuanians and spoke, not suprisingly, Lithuanian or a dialect thereof.
This combination farmhouse-barn is actually in the former West Prussia, present day Northwestern Poland. My model house above resembles it most closely.
Here's another similar house, but this time in present day Northeastern Poland.
And for good measure, here's one more farmhouse of the type I've tried to approximate with my, as yet, unpainted model above. This structure is also in present day Poland, but was once lived in by a German -speaking farm family until 1944 or '45.
Comments
Rob
Take a look in a good grocery store (upscale type) for some "fancy" bamboo toothpicks. They make far better posts than what you're using . . . they have one pointed end and one "filial" end . . . and that is the end for making great posts.
They often come in round plastic dispensers . . . often on cardstock backing. Look in the "kitchen accessories" type section of the store.
Oh, and the photos of the houses are wonderful . . . as is your model.
-- Jeff
Also, that's an excellent project, Professor.