The Grand Duchy of Stollen

Looking very sloppy at this point.  Grand Duchess, Young Master, and lawn permitting, I'll finish the dark red undercoat on everything across two or three painting sessions today. S natching some time here and there the last few days to apply a 'Bergundy' undercoat to the 14 Minden Austrian hussars currently on the painting table, with a planned red highlight to be added later.  Lots of nooks and crannies with these as you might imagine given the dolman and pelisse modeled on the castings among other items.  But absolutely everything was red according to much of the information on Kronoskaf about the uniform(s) worn by the Warasdiner Grenz Hussars, so I can't complain too much. I've approached this step -- my own blue period -- like one might when repainting a room interior.  Trim in the outer edges first (using a #4 round brush with a decent point, time consuming to say the least) and the fill in the inner areas more quickly after the fact.  With necessary touc...

  A bit haphazard, but painting IS moving forward after a fashion. N ot the comedic sound of TV or cinematic pirates, but of frustration.  Tried a couple of horses yesterday using the Army Painter speed paints in my collection, and was not pleased with the results.  Blotchy, muddy-looking coats.  Blast! That wasn't supposed to happen.   After fooling with two, I decided that normal hobby acrylics would give a better result that I can live with, and chose a couple of Vallejo browns and a third from Army Painter.  The latter must contain less pigment because it required a couple of coats to get even coverage over the gray basecoat. Should've listened to my inner painter ("Wait, Stokes!  Not so fast!"), saved the time, and frustration by sticking to the usual approach of many years.  And should not have been seduced by the Youtube videos of a professional painter.  Live and learn as the saying goes. Where the speed paint did perform well w...

  T he basic fleshtone, Winsor-Newton Griffin Alkyd Oil (dries in 24 hours), has been applied.  I'll tone this down later with my usual Army Painter fleshwash, which settles nicely into the eye sockets plus other facial and hand details, making everything a bit less peachy-orange and more akin to what your skin might look like after several weeks of living rough exposed to sun, wind, and probably not washed very often.   For now, there are a few remaining nooks and crannies that the gray basecoat managed to avoid, so some quick touch-ups are in order.   And then, it's onwards to the basic horseflesh.  Mostly chestnuts in a couple of lighter browns planned with a  couple of darker bays and , of course, a grey of some kind for the trumpeter.  I've decided to experiment with speed and contrast paints after watching several Youtube videos from Culloden Painting Studio , of whom I've spoken before. En avant mes amis ! -- Stokes

  Time to get down to the actual application of paint now I think. F inally managed to finish applying the gray basecoat to the first squadron of 14 Austrian hussars and Ndasdy there at the back corner, who seems to be looking for his errant trumpeter.  That took longer than usual, despite use of a #10 round brush, thanks to all of the nooks and crannies on these figures.   Although I have attempted use of spray primers in the distant past, good coverage always seemed to be an issue, so I have continued for most of my 40+ years behind the brush to tackle the important basecoating step with that most useful of tools. . . a paintbrush.  As usual, my preferred basecoat is an inexact mix of white acrylic gesso and acrylic craft paint, 'Quaker Gray' by Cermacoat. But I finally wised up a little bit. The bottle of the latter was, after many years of use, about a third full.  It dawned on me that I could simplify things a bit and also ensure consistency by squeezi...

  Early September 2006.  Hand-drawn and colored during our final camping trip of the summer at Lake Evergreen outside of Bloomington-Normal, Illinois where we lived and worked at that time.  The area was also a favorite destination for our bicycle club the McLean County Wheelers, typically about a 33-35 mile ride there and back. The second version from just 10 days or so later in mid-September 2006.  Created using Microsoft Paint with pasted in compass rose and text entered manually later with Word. The most recent version of the map, finalized at the start of June 2026. A question was posed by one Der Alte Fritz (Hi, Jim!) in yesterday's comments, asking how I created the map for my semi-fictitious campaign area.  Well, since you asked. . .   The short answer is through repeated attempts and experimentation with various AIs since late May or early June of 2025. I began with Ninja -- I read online that it was good for image creation.  Not sure I ...

  O k, now we're getting somewhere.  At last.   All 14 hussars seem to be firmly in place atop their horses with the final two sword arms cemented into their shoulder sockets and, apparently, curing without issue.  And would you believe the Gorilla Glue gel grabbed right away on the final arm?  There ought to be a law. But, we had gentle rain all night, which sounded lovely through the open bedroom widows.  And the sun is out this morning, so a bit of clean-up in the flower beds outside once things dry off and maybe a trip to our local big box lawn and garden store for a few bags of mulch, which the long suffering Grand Duchess has asked me to see too since last, oh, the end of last summer.  I know, I know. . . Happy Saturday everyone! -- Stokes

  W hile awaiting the arrival of his trumpeter, Nadasdy observes from the rear of the cutting mat as I attach sword arms to hussars and reattach two of them to their mounts (Grrrrrr. . .).  A tedious couple of early steps that are a challenge at the best of times.   This morning, I discovered that about half of the 14 hussars, cemented to their horses yesterday afternoon, failed to grab (Gorilla Glue gel anyone?!), so they required a second attempt.  Of those, the two at the right rear have still failed to cure with a firm join in place, so this is the third try in two days.  They need to be firmly attached to their horses before I attempt to cement the sword arms in place.  Can't recall when I have ever had so much trouble getting riders cemented into place using gel!  Waiting around on these kinds of delays is maddening, but part of the process.  I guess.  The Minden Prussian hussars that I tackled back in 2011-2012, painted as Lauzun'...

  T he final revised version of  of the Grand Duchy of Stollen and its immediate environs, a few decades before the region was swallowed up in the various partitions of Poland.  Should you wonder, the Grand Duke Irwin-Amadeus II and his gentleman's personal gentleman Hives subsequently decamped for England, where the former purchased a place in Sussex and lived out his days enjoying games of croquet with various guests on the west lawn. -- Stokes

  The first 14 Austrian hussars seated precariously atop their respective, and masterfully rendered, 1/56 mounts. T hank you everyone for your kind comments about the recently (and finally) completed Anhalt-Zerbst Regiment.  The fictitious second battalion in the pay of the conniving Princess Antonia, Elector of Zichenau.  The notorious French mercenary-adventurer, General Phillipe de Latte (her not so secret paramour), commands Antonia's army in the field of course.   His aide de camp, the mustachioed Major Paulo di Biscotti, has, in turn, been absent without leave for some weeks.  Rumor has it he has been on a grand tour in search of the perfect cappuccino.  Di Biscotti was reportedly last seen in Florence.  Or was it Trento?   But I digress!  The Anhalt-Zerbst project was a slog at times, but it's done at last, and I'm happy to add it to the Grand Duchy of Stollen collection.  The 60+ figures have been, for the time being, s...

Y es, you read that right.  All 60+ figures comprising the three companies (a Charge-sized line regiment) of the fictitious second battalion of the Anhalt-Zerbst Regiment have been affixed to their permanent bases. The dimensions are those suggested for 25mm units of line infantry within In the Grand Manner .  I fudge things a bit by basing my musicians and a few third rank corporals individually.  Look carefully and you'll spot them in these two photographs shot just a few minutes ago on the morning of June 1st.  About nine months (!!!) after I started them.  But no time to dilly-dally admiring my own brushwork.  I've got a large, heavy box of Minden Austrian hussars over on the painting desk just out of frame to the right, and it's time to open and organize the first batch of 14 or 15 and glue the sword arms in place before the usual base coat of white acrylic gesso.  Onward and upward, eh? -- Stokes