The composite battalion of grenadiers nears the finish line. Almost. Besides the white trim on the red silk bags, you'll notice that I've added a dark gray highlight (now, there's an oxymoron) to the edges of the officers' cocked hats and the upper reaches of the other ranks' bearskins.
What would Waterloo Day be without a little toy soldiering in the form of painting? So, after lunch, I held the ol' breath for half an hour or so and applied thin lines of white to the latest batch of six enlisted men (the back row of figures in white uniforms at right), specifically the red silk bags atop the bearskin bonnets.
The brief session went reasonably well with only two or three very small touch-ups necessary, despite The Young Master and one of our cats playing nearby, which diverts the concentration considerably. Ahem.
In any case, I'll tackle the final six figures this evening, and then all that remains to do are the two brass drums. I will probably not attempt to apply brass faceplates to the bearskins, as worn by the Kurkoeln and Hessen-Darmstadt troops on which these are based for two reasons. First, the bearskins on the Minden Austrians that I have used, and of which I have scads remaining in the lead pile, do not have that particular feature sculpted onto them. Second, given that, the better part of valor is to be satisfied with how things are coming along and not risk fouling up what has so far been a reasonably good paint job.
You know? Why risk time consuming mistakes with the brush at this late stage?
In other news, The Grand Duchess left this morning for a conference in Hawaii. A week in Hawaii! No matter. The Young Master and I will continue enjoying our summer vacation together in her absence.
He has been finished with school for about a week and, besides playing outside, the occasional bike ride with Dad around the neighborhood, practicing his piano, various appointments of his own, plus a visit to the periodontist for Dad's stitches to come out this morning, has started his own school. Menagerie Elementary School began yesterday.
Young Master Paul, in the role of teacher, takes his animals through an attenuated day, teaching and reviewing all manner of subjects like mathematics, science, reading, and social studies as well as keeping his animal students in line during class time and supervising them at both lunch and recess periods. For a child who complains loudly about school and compares it to prison, he sure seems to like/miss it already.
Clearly his 3rd Grade teacher Mr. H. really made quite an impression this year. Who knows? Maybe we have another (future) educator in the family?
-- Stokes
Menagerie Elementary is in session! Mr. Paul getting his animals ready to start the school day this morning with The Pledge of Allegiance.
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