The Spoils in Closer Detail. . .

The fully assembled Berliner Zinnfiguren Prussian mobile field forge with Fife & Drum limber horses and an RSM95 rider.

A few of you asked the other day for a peek at the items schlepped home from Berlin recently by the Grand Duchess, so here you are.

-- Stokes

Various Willie (Suren) 30mm ladies of ill repute, with The Naughty Lola at the center of things, and a 30mm Black Hussar Prussian military chaplain. I'd say he has his work cut out for him.

More 30mm Willie (Suren) sutleresses and vivandieres. I'll use these in two or three small vignettes, one of which will include a couple of soldiers' wives tending a large pot of laundry over a fire and hanging wet things on a line.

A 30mm Willie (Suren) plucky stable lad and running farm girl.

A 30mm Willie (Suren) bishop. This one has, as yet, no practical application, but he was too good to pass up since he bears such a marked resemblance to Monty Python's Terry Jones. "Oh no! It's. . . da Bishop!"

30mm Willie (Suren) dueling gentlemen, their seconds, and spectators. A neat little vignette all on its own. Eventually, I'll either add these to that bunch of Jacdaw frolicking aristocrats, painted in the spring of 2013, or make them dueling officers as part of a larger camp scene that I'm mulling over.

More 30mm Willie (Suren) figures, this time male servants and musicians, who will definitely become part of General Phillipe de Latte's retinue at some point in the not-too-distant future. A very special "Thank-you" to my friend Stefan Schulz for his extremely kind and generous donation of the figures shown here and in the preceding photograph. Much appreciated, Stefan. Vielen Dank!

Finally, one of several items I purchased last Friday from Fife & Drum/Minden, which arrived Tuesday this week. The 1/56th Fife & Drum French marshal on horseback, who is destined to become the "new" version of that most notorious cad and bounder. . . the French mercenary-adventurer and veteran of the Seven Years War. . . General Phillipe de Latte. I opted to have him holding a spyglass and with his head covered, but the figure comes with an extra head and right arm holding his hat in salute, so there is a bit of room to create just the figure you want. Just two small drops of Gorilla Super Glue, and voilà! De Latte's arm and head were firmly in place.

The Eventual Anhalt-Zerbst Regiment. . .

The Anhalt-Zerbst regiment musters in the drill square to sort themselves into platoons and companies during the coming weeks Fall maneuvers if you will. A large dose of real life the last few days with the start of classes next Monday, various preparatory meetings, and finishing up a few other things this week. But, I managed to sort out 60 or so Minden Austrian infantry from the pile and get 'em stuck to temporary painting bases. Must carefully drill out the hands of several NCOs for flagpoles and pole arms this weekend before the usual basecoat. I'm thinking of mixing the usual white gesso with the usual light gray to kill two birds with one stone so to speak. Applying both base- and undercoat in one fell swoop as my grandmother used to say. In the meantime, the recently finished squadron of Saxon cuirassiers has been placed carefully in one of the clear acrylic boxes on my shelves until I have the suitable flag to affix. -- Sto...

Presenting the Anspach-Bayreuth Kuirassiere!!!

Here they are, with the rearmost nine figures still drying, three squadrons of the Anspach-Bayreuth Kuirassiere, now in the service of the Grand Duchy of Stollen. And now, it's onto that artillery!

And It's the End of September!!!

Saxony's Ploetz Cuirassiers, an illustration lifted from the Kronoskaf website, which has thus far guided my spectacularly glacial painting of 30 28mm Eureka Saxon cuirassiers purchased all the way back in October 2016. A gray, cool Saturday here in Mid-Michigan with rain in the forecast. The Grand Duchess is away at a conference, so it's just "The Boys" here at home. The Young Master (almost 15) has retreated to his room for something or other following breakfast while I have stolen back down here to Zum Stollenkeller (masquerading as my office) with a second mug of coffee and both cats comfortably ensconced nearby. Enjoying the late morning and still in my pajamas! Not much planned for today beyond designing a couple of promotional flyers for workshops my department is presenting (small parties we will throw?) in October and November. With maybe a bit of on the next podcast script. More important, I am toying with the idea of returning for an hour or...

The Grand Duchy of Stollen

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