Clanking Back into Action. . .

Human and basic horseflesh almost finished. A mix of Minden, RSM95, and Fife & Drum figures. Look closely. Can you pick out the RSM95 conversion?

As predicted some weeks ago, the current academic term is indeed a bear, and it seems like there is always a new batch of student papers to read and grade. Whew! So, finally, three weeks into the current painting challenge, I got off my you-know-what and sat down to the painting table for a couple of hours earlier this afternoon to work on a second round of staff vignettes for the Stollenian and Zichenauer armies. These will be painted, more or less, in Prussian, Saxon, and American Continental Army uniforms.

Anyway, a delightful time was had slopping on oil-based flesh and various browns, which were thinned down with Liquin Original. Now, the real work begins as I take care of smaller details on each base, painting one at a time to completion before moving on to the next. Sadly, we are joining a few friends for supper this evening, which normally would be nice. But, between you and me, I'd rather get into my pajamas after dinner and the Young Master's bedtime and steal away back down here to Zum Stollenkeller to resume painting. You know what I mean?

Later. . .

I was greeted this Sunday morning by the delightfully faint aroma of oil paint and Liquin when I opened the door to Zum Stollenkeller with coffee in hand . The sun is out, the air is cool, and the house is still. For the moment, at least, all seems right with the world.

Comments

CelticCurmudgeon said…

My Dear Heinz-Ulrich,

Everyone needs a calm moment of reflection away from the pressures of society. I, too, love the ability to simply clear my mind and place glorious colors on wonderful toys. And even better is the time when this can be done with a hot cup of coffee on the table. Just avoid repeating my silliness of absent-mindedly dipping the paint brush into the beverage.
My very best for a totally joy-filled autumn!
Gerardus Magnus
Archbishop Emeritus

10:41 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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