And We're Off!!!

 

It seems -- SEEMS -- that I have at last completed my penance and found favor with the Blogger Gods once again.  

Activity has not ground to a standstill since my last post two months ago however.  I've been at work on various things like woodland bases for the tabletop, painting a bunch of barrels and crates to go with my supply train painted back in 2013 or so, flags for The Young Master's 3rd (Prussian) Garrison Regiment, and most recently have begun base-coating 60+ Minden Austrian infantry.  

This batch of figures is slated to become a version of the Wied Regiment with green facings and some less commonly seen striped flags from the early part of our period.  I finished applying a mix of light gray mixed with white acrylic gesso, my preferred base coat, to the first 20 figures last night and will continue today or this evening as and when family life permits.

As usual, I have also been tinkering with my home brew rule set 'A Tangled Mass.'  An ongoing and enjoyable exercise, you understand, that has seen me trying to clarify and nail down basic rules for approximating -- though not simulating -- the fog of war, troop morale, and the difficulty of getting one's troops to carry out orders and reach their objectives in a game setting.  So, lots of six-sided dice, colored bingo chips, and perhaps also playing cards. . .  Especially if I can find a deck that looks suitable for the mid-18th century.

The Grand Duchess and Young Master are all set to take off on a two-week mother-son trip to visit cousins and grandparents in the Pacific Northwest.  I am headed first to Washington D.C. for a few days to visit my sister before the two of us drive down to North Carolina to bury our mother's ashes in the family cemetery next to our grandparents.  Ol' Mom, some of you might recall, died in August 2020, and the mess that Covid made of everything meant that we have delayed the memorial service and burial until now.  

Sadly, The Grand Duchess made the annual summer-grandparent plans and flight reservations months ago before the date for Mom's memorial and burial were dropped in our laps by my uncle, who is organizing and planning the service.  So, as Bertie Wooster might say, there we are.  I think Mom would understand though.  She was never one for kerfuffle and preferred to roll with whatever life tossed in the way.  She would have been more concerned with getting to the local BBQ joint for the Central NC version of pork BBQ, red slaw, hush-puppies, and iced tea, which is what we plan to do following the service.

Once, the immediate family is back in Michigan though, The Young Master and I have a few games of toy soldiers planned in which we will face each other across the tabletop yet again during July and August with the newly flagged garrison regiment and numerous wooded copses dotting the field.  Hopefully some worthy Kodak moments will come about as my son in all likelihood trounces yours truly one more time.  You've never seen someone roll fives and sixes like this kid does.  It's uncanny.

In any case, please do be good enough to check in again in the next few days for an update.

Kind Regards,

Stokes