Spray me with WD40. . . PLEASE!

This old standard from the historical Duchy of Courland (part of modern day Latvia) will provide the model for eventual Grand Ducal standards, which will be added to the line infantry regiments of The Grand Duchy of Stollen along side their existing regimental standards.

It seems that a pernicious painting funk is making the rounds for a number of us in Bloglandia at the moment.  Sigh.  I have been a complete and utter painting sloth since. . .  What was it?  March?  While I've tinkered a bit with prepping my pontoon and wagon train for painting these last three weeks, it has been difficult to get the coveted painting mojo stoked up again during the Grand Duchess' prolonged absence in Berlin, and my acting as sole parent and beneficiary to our son.  

To be up front about it, the Young Master has been an angel most of the time, easy going, and a pleasure to look after, a responsibility with which I am already more than well acquainted.  However most evenings following his bedtime, I've simply retired to bed early either to read, watch a movie, and/or listen to international shortwave radio broadcasts until late into the night on my trusty little Sony ICF7600.  Radio Habana (Cuba) and Radio Australia are my two current stations of choice.  All of that has, in itself, been rather nice.  Old, familiar, and comfortable hobbies of long standing, so I'm not complaining too loudly.  But still.

Where more toy soldierly things are concerned, sometimes periods of relative inactivity are good for taking stock and looking ahead in the hobby.  For instance, I have decided (eventually) to increase the number of standards carried by each line infantry regiment in my two small fictitious armies to two: the existing regimental standards and an as-yet-unpainted monarch's standard.  I might also take the opportunity to replace the MiniFigs standard bearers I've used since starting the Grand Duchy of Stollen project in 2006 with Minden Prussian and Austrian standard bearers, which.  I've never been quite happy with the fire hydrant-like, squashed pumpkin look of the former, and the Minden figures will go much better with both my Revell plastics (slender 1/72 scale but on the tall side) and RSM95 metals.  

I will take the opportunity to add tassels and cords to the various flagpoles.  This seems like a nice small side project to undertake during the inevitable next painting funk, or, perhaps, as a small pause next winter during the long Christmas break, which will still help move things in a forward direction  But in the meantime, it's best to get cracking on those wagons and carts. . .  plus the various goodies that are almost on their way home from Berlin via the Grand Duchess and her large suitcase.

-- Stokes

And this old Polish-Lithuaian standard will become the standard of the conniving Princess Antonia III of the Electoratae of Zichenau.  Like the Stollenian line regiments, those fighting on the Zichenauer side will have this standard added to the regimental establishment already in place, in this particular case 80 figures, including mounted colonel, staff, and four companies of 19 figures each.