It's New Year's Eve in Krankenstadt Palace. . .

The New Year's Eve costume ball in full swing at Krankenstadt palace.

Back in the capital city of Krankenstadt after 10 days away at the country house of Aunt Irmgard to celebrate Christmas, Grand Duke Irwin-Amadeus II has organized a masquerade ball for New Year's Eve. Or rather his man Hives has done so.

Already in full swing, the guest list read's like a who's who of Krankenstadt and Stollenian society. While guests continue to arrive and wait to be announced, up in his chambers the Grand Duke struggles to fit into his fabled lobster costume. But he has indulged rather a bit too much during the Christmas festival.

"I say, Hives! Pull the laces tighter! Pull the girdle laces tighter. We're already an hour late, and I've simply got to fit into this costume."

"Sir, I'm afraid I'll have to call for your tailor Monsieur de Bobèche to make some last minute alterations."

"Oh, blast Hives," The Grand Duke despairs, "He is always a bit more familiar than I'd like and insists on taking my inseam dimensions."

As Irwin-Amadeus II and Hives continue their fraught discussion, crates of fireworks are meanwhile delivered and unloaded in the palace gardens below to set off at midnight. And Lady Solange de Badinage, who has contrived to be invited to stay in one wing of the palace during the New Year's celebrations, has vowed that January will be when she at last gets Irwin-Amadeus II to propose marriage to her. Of course, it would help her cause if The Grand Duke was himself aware of those same plans.

And is that? Why, yes! It is. Over there. The Prussian ambassador to Stollen, Herr Heinz von dem Salat is at the punch bowl. In the guise of a pineapple of course. He is already arranging to sit down at the card table in a side room across from Bishop Sivert Tiburtius for a game of Grobhäusern or Mariagenspiel. Of course, the fact that both men are inveterate gamblers and cheats at cards complicates the picture somewhat.

Yes, the evening is shaping up as one of farcical intrigue.

-- Stokes

Comments

Whiskers said…

Well observed Sir.
Happy new year!

3:03 AM

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

And We're Off!!!

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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...

The Grand Duchy of Stollen

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