It's Leuthen Day 2020!

 

The 3rd Prussians attack Leuthen by G. Dorn.

 

A dark, chilly December Saturday here at The Grand Duchy of Stollen.  And after joining in a meeting of the Virtual Wargaming Club late Saturday morning, I plan on retiring to the painting table to undercoat the last nine Minden Austrian dragoons, which are part of that massive cavalry regiment I've worked on since last May.  

On the continuing rules and gaming front, The Young Master and I plan to playtest some charge to close combat rules tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon too.  We're planning our next proper game for Boxing Day on December 26th.

I also plan to build a village church with a few surprises in store based an article by Charles Grant in an early Wargamer's Annual from back in 2011 or 2012.  And, best of all, The Young Master has another belt test just before Christmas in his ongoing Tae Kwon Do sojourn, when he will very likely move into the upper echelons with, I believe, a purple belt.  From that point forward, he will be part of what they term 'Black Belt Prep.'  

So, overall a bit of welcome balance returning to life here at Stollen Central, helping to close out an otherwise pretty awful year.  Still, to borrow a line from the late Marty Feldman as Eyegore in Young Frankenstein (1974), could be worse.

-- Stokes

 

A Painting P.S.

There is nothing quite like the inspiration that comes from observing what others in the hobby are doing with their painting and collections.  Today's Virtual Wargaming Club meeting online was just such an occasion.  While I could only spare 60 minutes to join in, what an hour it was!  Top notch painting and enjoyable banter from 18 or 19 leading lights in the hobby around the world.  

As a result, the painting muse visited a few times later in the afternoon, and I've made some early headway on those last nine Austrian horse grenadiers.  They won't win any awards yet, but the light tan and yellow ochre acrylic base-/undercoats are dry, and I've also applied Citadel Warboss Green (ex. GW Goblin Green) to the bases.  

Tomorrow, in an around our playtesting of charge and close combat rules, I plan on applying fleshtone to faces and basic horse coat colors using Burnt Sienna and Sepia oils as well as acrylic Light Buttermilk for the trumpeter's grey mount.  How wonderful it is to feel the painting mojo return.

 

 The light tan, a mix of acrylic tan and white gesso, was applied first, followed by the yellow ochre, a darker gray for the trumpeter's horse and then, after dinner, the green on the figure bases.  Recently, I've been mixing basecoat and undercoat to help reduce the number of steps before completion of painting.  During a normal year, this might have helped speed along painting output somewhat, but with everything that has fallen into our collective lap -- and I mean society in general -- since the emergence of Covid-19 late last winter, that has not happened.  The best laid plans of mice and men.  Hurry up and wait, a concept with which ex-military personnel everywhere will be familiar, seems to be "the new norm," a phrase on everyone's lips six or eight months ago.