Step 8.0 The Guidons. . .

Definitely not perfect, and nowhere near as artistically done as some by others, these three squadron guidons should nevertheless do nicely. There is some medium brown highlighting on the Habsburg eagles, but it is not showing up in the photograph. I prefer to paint my own flags because I feel they match my painting style better than commercially produced items. So long as they look kind of like what they purport to be from three-six feet away, I'm happy.

Well, painting time has been scarce the last week or ten days for all of the usual reasons now that we are a few weeks into the fall semester and school online for The Young Master. But I have managed to finish the three squadron guidons above. Although they don't stand up to close inspection, and certainly would never win any awards, they should look pretty good at arm's length once fixed to the bearers' right hands and stirrups.

I went ahead and gave 'em two coats of acrylic gloss this afternoon to help protect them from my clumsy fingers during the delicate and tedious crazy gluing stage. All that remains now are the three drums plus touch-ups and acrylic glossing, and then the long dragoon saga comes to an end. Sort of. There is the matter of those last eight or nine to bring the regiment up to strength, which is to say the three regimental staff and six horse grenadiers.

-- Stokes

A Sunday Afternoon P.S.

I woke early today with more than half a mind to print out and overpaint three new guidons with an aim toward improving them. However, looking the the three in the flesh with that first mug of coffee, I changed my mind and decided to stick with these. They really don't look that bad in the fresh light of a new day. The photograph snapped last night under poor lighting conditions really does not do them justice, and they almost (almost) possess the same slightly exaggerated Gilder- and Mason-esque charm that enthralled so many of us 35-40 years ago. Much like some people never managed to leave behind the 1960s, I suppose, I've never managed to leave behind the photographs presented in the pages of those early issues of Miniature Wargames and Wargames Illustrated. The first two dozen or so of each were, in a word, magical. . . Saving throws totally unnecessary.

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...

Happy September 2nd!!!

T his weekend, the question of what, precisely, constitutes an "imagination" came up in an online forum of which I am a part. To be fair, the issue originates from further afield in a Facebook group that I am not a member of, but I weighed in with my own view. The following was in response to the question posed yesterday (Sunday) morning by an exasperated member of my own rather more gentlemanly town square, who had been met with a strident response to information he shared about his (admirable) hobby activities on said FB group. Here is, more or less, what I wrote: To my mind, the concept of imagi-nation(s) is a broad one. It can range from historical refights or what-if scenarios/battles/campaigns between armies of a particular era, to completely made up combatants operating in a quasi-historical setting, to the rather generic red and blue forces of the Prussian Kriegspiel that examine a particular tactical problem, task, or exercise. ...

The Grand Duchy of Stollen

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