The Grand Duchy of Stollen

Still quite a way to go, but we're getting there.  Dark red -- Citadel Khorne Red -- to the  facings and turnbacks next, followed by light gray to the shoulder belts.  Then, it will be time for sparing highlights. A s and when time has permitted this week, I've applied black and dark brown onto those areas destined eventually for a dab, dash, or blob of dark gray and medium brown highlights.  I've also looked carefully over the dark blue areas to make sure the white basecoat has been completely covered, remedying any situations where I've somehow not managed that given the extra time and care taken to avoid lousing up the already painted horses.  These areas will get a very sparing medium blue highlight when the time comes. As noted last year (?) in an older blog post, or perhaps in an article somewhere, I find that you paint, paint, and paint for what can seem like ages with little apparent visible progress.  But suddenly, almost as if by magic, everything...

Still a long way to Tipperary, but the addition of fleshtone to the faces makes 'em come alive just a bit more, eh? A difficult day here at Stollen Central, but an hour or so in the painting chair early during the afternoon kept my mind off things for a little while.  Ol' Mom decided this morning to share the results of a scan she had last week, and the results are not good if you'll excuse my oversharing.  Basically, cancer throughout her body, and from what she related, it sounds we are looking at palliative care sooner rather than later.  She does not want to go through radiation and/or chemo therapy given the extent of her illness at this point.  A life-long smoker, Mom had a small stroke about a year and a half ago and came back after almost 20 years in Mexico to her house in North Carolina to see specialists in Raleigh-Durham.  She has been actually pretty good since then, but she, my sister, and I visited her attorney in March of last year, where she dre...

Here are the initial 36 dragoons and horses, the former with their dark blue undercoat all done. H ere and there, I've managed to tackle two-five dragoons at a time whenever I can't stand staring at documents taking shape on the computer screen any longer and need 30 minutes or so to let the ol' mind go blank for a bit.  Even managed to apply all of this dark blue without any major brush mishaps.  A new #4 round was broken out for this step, and it made things so much easier though repetitive.  Very repetitive.  Henry Hyde (or maybe it was the enigmatic Michael Button?) once mentioned something about the zen of painting large units many years ago in Battlegames , and I try to channel the spirit any time I sit down to for another one of these BIG regiments.  Actually, if one thinks of it as just three squadrons, it doesn't really seem that off the rails.  At any rate, the color used for the undercoat is one of my two remaining bottomless bottles of Ral Parth...

A rather Citizen Kane angle, but it shows off the regiment nicely, I think.  Six horse grenadiers are on the way from Minden, but I'll tackle them as well as the officer and trumpeter at left in September once the initial 36 are finished. S natching a few minutes here and there as and when spare time presents itself.  As planned, I finished basecoating the last twelve figures yesterday evening before turning in, and I have begun applying the very dark blue undercoat today, three after breakfast before starting work for the day, and another four a little while ago after lunch before returning to work and the world of real life.  It ain't all it's cracked up to be, is it? -- Stokes

About two thirds of the way through base-coating the dragoons themselves and awaiting the addition of six horse grenadiers in bearskin bonnets. A ll work and no play makes Stokes and even duller boy.  So, I've played hooky for a couple of hours this morning after breakfast by applying a coat of the usual white acrylic gesso very carefully with a worn out #4 round brush.  Thus far, no mishaps with the brush to spoil the horses.  Hopefully, I'll be able to return this evening to complete applying the white gesso to the last dozen dragoons before fleshtone and a very dark blue undercoat to just about everything tomorrow.  But time now to get back to some real work before The Young Master has his online Tae Kwon Do leadership class later this afternoon here in Zum Stollenkeller .  -- Stokes

The 36 Minden horses have been peeled from their temporary cardboard painting bases, and I'm now carefully checking the fit of everything on the permanent Litko 3mm ply bases which measure 60mm across, by 50mm deep. A little quiet time to myself this afternoon here in Zum Stollenkeller .  And what better way to spend it than by sitting down to the painting table for some more work on those 36 Minden Austrian dragoons?  Since the horses are all done, it seemed like a good idea to fix them to their permanent bases, which was accomplished in fairly short order.  I'll leave painting the green onto them until the riders are all finished and everything has been glossed.  Previous experience demonstrates that even with careful handling of the green permanent bases, considerable touching up is necessary post-glossing.  So, I've decided this time to leave that -- painting the wooden ply bases with Citadel Warboss Green to match the bases of the horses that is -- until t...

Yes, we've been here before.  But I am especially fond of this painting by David Morier (1705?-1770), which shows a grenadier of the Batthyani Dragoon Regiment with a few different details from those given elsewhere online.  I might give my own officers red breeches and saddle cloths.  You know.  Just to keep things interesting. W ell, things have been a little quiet here at Stollen Centrale the last few weeks.  Nothing virus-related, thank goodness, merely the usual intrusion of real life into normally free summer daytime and evening hours.  Lots of professional development this year in the form of two online courses all about. . .  Wait for it. . .  teaching courses online.  I am also going up for promotion in the fall, so there has been lots of time consuming activity gathering all of the materials into a portfolio and writing a teaching narrative, which has proven surprisingly difficult.  All of which is to say that there aren't enou...