Time to Quit Fooling Around. . .

The almost finished Hanseatic flags and standard bearers in question. These were the town flags for Bremen (L.) and Elbing (R.). I like them very much, and so borrowed both into my semi-fictitious setting. They strike me as just the thing for a regiment based on the infantry of the period from Hamburg, Bremen, and Luebeck.

I finally got down to business this afternoon and painted two Hanseatic flags, which will, after glossing, join my 60-strong regiment of RSM95 Hanseatic infantry that I completed back in, oh, late 2011 I think. They still need a couple of coats of acrylic gloss, but I'm calling them almost done save for a few final touch-ups.

This (Saturday) evening, I managed to return down here to Zum Stolenkeller, where I assembled two Minden Austrian guns that have been floating around here since 2014 (?) and the two French 8pdr. guns given to me this Christmas by the Grand Duchess. I also glued a number of artillery tools into the hands of several French, but soon to be Lauzun's Legion, gunners. All in all, not a bad way to get back into the painting and modelling chair after too many months away. Onward and upward as they say.

-- Stokes

Sunday Morning. . .

Thank you everyone or your kind comments about the flags above. I typically copy files culled from the web into MS Word, resize, print, cut out, and attach them to flagpoles. Then, I carefully paint in my own colors and try to add some subtle highlights here and there before glossing everything. It is not a fast process by any stretch.

This morning, however, I am fired with enthusiasm, and if I can get through preparations for Monday's class quickly enough, I hope to return to the painting table to tackle another pair of replacement flags that have been sitting around for a year now. Time to get these done! I can then move on, in good conscience, to all of the cavalry waiting in the wings. Yet more painting backlog that should have had considerably more attention during 2017.

Still tinkering with online photo editing tools via Pixlr (Photoshop Elements is better, and I really need to purchase an updated version). This time, I have used Pixlr's 'Sharpen' and 'Denoise' to get a finer, better defined photograph of ol' Fred and his good buddy von Seydlitz.

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

Search This Blog