Nearing the Finish with Batch #3. . .

Having a "No Day" this Saturday, as my late mother would have put it. Just saying no to everyone, everything, and enjoying some me time. What better way to do that than to continue brushwork on the current batch of 16 figures? I thought you'd agree.

This time around, I tried taking pictures with my iPhone. I think they are marginally better than those taken with my now venerable Sony Cybershot although I am not quite sure. In any case, PixlrX still is not cooperating and refuses to open any of my images, so these are the raw pictures without any autofix, adjusting for brightness, or cropping.

Still, they provide a reasonable idea of where things are at the moment.

Remaining tasks include the queues at the back as well as highlighting visible hair and curls at the temples, mustaches, and metallics (musket barrels and firelocks plus brass fittings, cartridge pouch badges, and the few visible buttons), plus the inevitable touch-ups. And then I will be free to forge ahead to the final 13 officers, NCOs, and musicians plus the ol' mounted officer and horse before flags, glossing, and permanent basing.

With the start of school on September 1st for yours truly, maybe we are looking at another month's work on the current unit? We'll have to see, but I am eager to finish these, so The Young Master and I can return to his battalion of Prussian garrison infantry.

I'd also like to tackle a couple of mounted generals or perhaps a couple of guns with crew in time for Young Paul's 12th birthday at the end of October, or Christmas if time becomes scarce in the meantime. The latter is probably the more realistic view if we are honest.

Beyond that, another squadron or two of cavalry followed another regiment of line infantry, this time an Austrian regiment with some wonderfully striped flags is the plan. But we're getting ahead of ourselves here! Quite a bit in the planned queue before that particular project takes shape.

-- Stokes

Comments

Wellington Man said…

Your endless patience with these enormous regiments always pays off spectacularly, Stokes. These are looking fantastic.
I try not to think too much about what's lined in the queue when I'm painting, but usually fail!
Best regards
WM

1:28 PM

Matt said…

I do admire your "big battalions". They are coming along very nicely and I am very interested in your future plans. I have definitely developed a leaning towards the tricorne era of late but on a far more modest scale.

3:56 PM

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...

Basic Reds Done at Last. . .

S till quite a way to go with the current batch of 20 human figures and a horse (of course), but they're actually starting to look like something after all of the red distinctions. Quite a bit of painting in hour-long sessions the last week as and when time has allowed. Mostly applying the basic dark red to facing areas and turnbacks followed by the inevitable touch-ups to clean up wobbly edges and those misplaced, minute splotches of Citadel Khorne Red. They're looking like so many Austrian infantry regiments of the era at this point, but the eventual flags will turn them magically into the Anhalt-Zerbst Regiment, more or less, of the AWI period. But I'm getting a bit ahead of myself. One frustrating point (ahem) of sad discovery. I've started trying to use those Winsor & Newton 'Series Seven' brushes (#1 rounds) purchased last spring, and the blasted things simply will not keep a point. Very frustrating since I have heard over the y...

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

The Grand Duchy of Stollen

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