Looking Ahead to the Next Project. . .

Strapped for time this week, what with the start of the new semester on Monday next (January 9th) and the usual preparation for that. But I did take a few minutes to glue down a company of jaegers to their Litko 3mm ply bases last night before my own bedtime.

I've gone this time for a mix of singletons and small vignettes on ROUND bases to represent light troops in more open order that can be sprinkled around the peripheries of tabletop battlefields. Contrary to expectations, I like the look quite a bit.

So much that I will probably give my envisioned company of generic 'Double Blues,' which will form the other half of this composite light battalion, similar treatment when the time comes. Hmmm. I've also got a third, as yet unpainted, company of Croats that could do with a similar presentation.

But that is putting the cart before the horse and deviating from The Plan before we even get started in earnest. Someone swat that butterfly, please!

In the meantime, I must gloss and base Austria's Wied Infantry at the back during this weekend. You'll note the painting bases stacked in the background.

Again, my favored 3mm ply from Litko, which to me provide just the right look for my units once everything has been cemented into place and -- in the case of light units, command vignettes, and other one-offs -- given the minor terrain features One-Two.

Which is to say, some sparse grass, maybe a bit of scrub or small brush/bushes, a tree stump or possibly a short length of log. You know, for added visual interest and help set the scene of jaegers operating along the edges of woods or some far off flank away from the main line of battle.

-- Stokes

Comments

Pechlivan said…

I'm looking forwards to seeing the finished product. Including some small vignettes in the unit seems like a very interesting idea!

3:52 AM

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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