Updated Campaign Area Map. . .

The Stollenian Ministry of Cartography has managed fairly well at long last.

Following quite a few failed attempts by Claude to make the fixes I requested -- It has been a very frustrating couple of days to say the least. -- I finally used my preferred online photograph editing application to make those edits manually and sharpen up the image overall. So, I've finally got the map looking very close to what I've been after since the very first hand-sketched and colored map way back in September 2006. And here we are. Complete with a faint hex overlay and a scale of miles in the upper right corner.

Each hex is roughly equal to a day's march, assuming poor, ill-defined roads across the region and that armies of the era typically marched at the rate of their transport and pontoon train(s), which is to say a walk with occasional forced marches notwithstanding. Anyway, I'm relatively pleased with the outcome. There is one last very minor point that I might try to fix later (ok, two), but for now, we'll leave it and move onto other more pressing things.

Speaking of which.

It's time for another driving lesson with the Young Master behind the wheel (it's Saturday afternoon as I write this post) and then a couple of late afternoon errands before potting a bunch of new annuals outside along the front walk early this evening following supper. After dark, it's finally time to cement my Anhalt-Zerbst figures to their permanent bases. Watch for a couple of photographs of the finished regiment tomorrow!

-- Stokes

Comments

Richard said…

The map is looking very good. I gave up using AI for creating accurate images for my history lessons. It always managed to get the place names and borders wrong regardless of having been given the details.

1:39 AM

WSTKS-FM Worldwide said…

I'm just about there, Richard. Even with very clear, repeated instructions, three different AI's simply could not get my map of an IMAGINARY place right without screwing up other details. It was maddening. I can well imagine your own frustration with actual places, names, and events. For some things AI can be very useful, but but for many (most?) others we (and our students) still must do the work ourselves.

Kind Sunday Regards,

Stokes

10:32 AM

The 18th century? What's the Fascination?

Hessian musketeers by All the King's Men Toy Soldiers of Snellville, Georgia, U.S.A. Just a quick post post today, but I thought the above question might be interesting food for thought. Obviously, there is an array of possible periods, theaters, and conflicts that might catch our eyes. But what is it about the era 1700-1799 -- either real, or imagined? Is it the commanders and politics? The fairly straightforward tactics? The myriad of uniforms and flags? The variety and scope of the conflicts? The patchwork of various and sundry petty states, (at least in Central Europe)? I'm very interested to learn your thoughts. Don't be a lurker! Please leave a comment -- or even two or three. Have a nice day everyone!

An Early July Hussar Update. . .

Marginally neater in appearance with green bases, girths, and ivory horse markings added, but I need to neaten up some hooves now before moving onto the rest of the tack. W here in the world did June go? While I still ponder the answer to that question, how about a quick painting update on the first batch of 14 Minden Austrian hussars and Nadasdy? Good. I'm glad we are of a like mind. Still on the sloppy side, but I've managed to move things along, painting the green bases, white (ivory) horse markings, and beginning the miles and miles of tack adorning the various horses. I always like to begin with the girths spanning the horses' ribs which helped hold the saddles in place. Even with the figures mounted individually on temporary painting bases, these can be kind of tricky to access, but there we are. I've also used various Army Painter washes (Mid-Brown and Strong Tone) as well as their Speed Paint (Grim Black) to make the manes and tails of the horses a bit m...

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...

The Grand Duchy of Stollen

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