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.