Birthday #12 Is Fast Approaching. . .

 

Paul von Stollen ab und zu Hasenpfeffer along with staff all basecoated and ready for painting.

One benefit of amassing a pile of unpainted lead, or in my case a drawerful, is that very often you can root around and find just what you're looking for without too much trouble or thought when it comes to that next painting project.  And so it has been with the latest smaller effort before diving back into another large unit of infantry.

The Young Master will have his 12th birthday at the end of the month (Can you believe it?), and I thought it would be fun to present him with his very own tabletop avatar: General Paul von Stollen ab und zu Hasenpfeffer, an officer of the Baltic German nobility who served in the Russian army during the Seven Years War but has more recently transferred to the Stollenian service.  

So, Thursday evening after his bedtime, and before my own, I stole back down here to Zum Stollenkeller, opened the Drawer o' Lead, took out my plastic organizer boxes of Prussians and other miscellaneous figures, rooted through everything, and at last selected three miniatures that form the command vignette above.

Central to the scene is the Minden Miniatures version of Russian General Fermor, who will become Paul von Stollen.  He is the guy on horseback pointing at the poor Prussian subordinate on foot.  The third figure in the background (a courier by Crann Tara I believe) reaches into his pouch for paper and pencil.  You know, for a feeble attempt to change the orders of units already set in motion toward the enemy.  

For simplicity and speed, I'll paint all in either dark green, or dark blue with red facings with copious amounts of gold or silver lace where appropriate.  Nothing fancy this time around.  No fancy glazes or oils beyond the fleshtone. Just good old-fashioned block painting and limited highlights with acrylic hobby and craft paints followed by a couple of coats of high gloss acrylic varnish and some limited terrain on the the vignette base.  

Still, it should help jump start my son's own collection nicely.  Down the road, I have some RSM95 Prussian dragoons that might be just the thing for providing him with a couple of cavalry squadrons to throw at my flanks in future games.  But that is putting the cart before the, ahem, horse just a bit. 

Anyway, depending on how this current mini-project goes and is received, I might just paint up a two-gun battery of Russian artillery for one of his Christmas gifts.  Should be able to do that without too much trouble even in light of my glacial approach to painting!

-- Stokes