Anhalt-Zerbst and More Experiments with AI. . .

The next unit to go under the brush. I give you the Anhalt-Zerbst Regiment!

Apropos of nothing, I found an AI that, among other things, easily removes backgrounds from photographs, leaving just the subject in the foreground to paste into or against another background. Pixelcut.ai it is for anyone who might like to mess around with it to see what it can help you produce.

Otherwise, just wrapping up summertime activities before various meetings and things kick in Monday morning at 9am with classes beginning the following Monday the 25th. While I well and truly enjoy working with (most) undergrads, my colleagues, developing/revising courses, and the scholarship of teaching and learning in general, I really could do without the departmental and program meetings which always go on far too long and come at less than convenient times whether in-person, or online. Sigh.

I know, I know. Lots of people in the world right now with far worse problems, so I should hush and be thankful. Back to toy soldiers!

I am leaning toward adding another infantry regiment to the Electorate of Zichenau's forces, this time the based heavily on the Anhalt-Zerbst regiment as it probably appeared during the American War of Independence. I'll use a batch of 60 or so Minden Austrian line infantry from the infamous Drawer o' Lead to my immediate left here at my desk in Zum Stollenkeller. An hour or so this evening to stick 'em to temporary bases ought to do, and I've already got a very nice speculative flag designed a few months back by David of the Not by Appointment blog, who really does some amazing work with his secret blend of source materials and technical know-how.

On a related note, there is a neat Facebook page belonging to a group of reenactors who model the Anhalt-Zerbst Regiment. The photographs alone are well worth a look. Of particular interest is the fact that much of the nominally white pieces of uniform are in fact a creamier shade of off-white wool or linen. A point worth keeping in mind for those of us painting white uniforms. I might have to revise ever so slightly my current approach which involves damp-brushing white over a light gray undercoat.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Gotta check the stock of temporary card bases for painting and maybe cut out a few more strips to hold five or six figures each, making painting a bit easier. Huzzah!

-- Stokes

Here are the recently finished von Polenz Cuirassiers with the background neatly and quickly removed using Pixelcut.ai. Haven't figured out what to do with the image next, but just consider the possibilities.

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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