Anhalt-Zerbst Regiment Based at Last!!!

Yes, 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

Comments

Andy McMaster said…

That's a fine and proper size unit! Been enjoying following your progress. Well done!

Now crack on with those hussars!

11:47 AM

Tim said…

They look magnificent.

12:36 PM

tradgardmastare said…

Splendid unit and a splendid effort! I look forward to following your progress with the next one. Just a thought but do the new unit and you of course deserve a small battle , a few units a side. Set it up , play and everyone back to barracks in a relatively short time frame.?

1:00 AM

The Good Soldier Svjek said…

A grand looking regiment , well done sir !

2:13 AM

Duke of Baylen said…

'Free at last! Free at last!' Oh, what, there's another unit already waiting to be painted next.
Congratulations on these, they look great. Also, it's reassuring to others like me that not everyone can paint 500 figures in an afternoon to display cabinet standards. Slow and careful work produces great results as shownhere.
Stephen

2:20 AM

pancerni said…

Wonderful work. Your steady progress reports have been working towards this event. The Hussars will be fun to work on, and both units no doubt strengthen the Army of Grand Stollen.

7:16 AM

Anonymous said…

Congratulations on unit completion. It must be very satisfying. To date I have just one (1, ie less than 2) completed 3 company strong 60 man unit of infantry. Your dedication is inspiring. Cheers Pat

5:03 AM

WSTKS-FM Worldwide said…

Thank you again everyone for your kind words and interest in the ongoing Grand Duchy of Stollen project! Funny how certain things, like the guitar, cross-country skiing, and toy soldiers, remain life-long interests long after other things fall away or drift in and out.

Kind Regards,

Stokes

8:06 AM

And We're Off!!!

Arrrgh! Gotta go back into camera settings on my iPhone to bring all of the frame into focus. Blast! Painting is underway on the 60 or so Minden Austrians, which are slated to become my version of the Anhalt-Zerbst Regiment of AWI renown. More or less indistinguishable from Austrians of the era really, right down to the red facings and turnbacks, but the eventual flags (already in my files) will set them apart. I went ahead and based-coated all of them over a couple of days lthe last week of August, using a mix of light gray and white acrylic gesso, before next applying my usual basic alkyd oil flesh tone to the faces and hands. In a day or two, I'll hit that with Army Painter Flesh Wash to tone things down a bit and bring some definition to the faces and hands. As usual, the plan is to focus on about 20 figures at a time, splitting the regiment roughly into thirds along with the color party and regimental staff. Depending on ...

Sunday Morning Coffee with AI. . .

A rmed with a second cup of fresh, strong coffee, I messed around a bit this morning with artlist.io using its image to image function in an attempt to convert my hand-drawn map from September 2006 to something that more resembles an old map from the mid-18th century. And just like my experiments with Ninja AI in June, the results are mixed. The above map is pretty good, but Artlist keeps fouling up the place names and has trouble putting a faint overlay of hexes across the entire area. Hexes, admittedly, are not likely to be found on any genuine maps from the era in question, but there we are. Frankly, I prefer the appearance of the Ninja map, but there were problems getting it to correct its errors. Grrrr. As is the case with so much having to do with the various AI's out there now, the output generated is a direct result of the prompts entered. For text alone, and when you develop a lengthy, highly detailed prompt, it is...

Warboss Green Bases. . .

I t's amazing how something as simple as applying two coats of Citadel 'Warboss Green' (ex-Games Workshop 'Goblin Green') can enliven a unit of figures and get 'em that much closer to glossing and completion. In much the same way that applying fleshtone early in painting process helps bring the figures to life. Just some limited dry-brushing to bring out the manes, tails, and some equine musculature, and I'm calling my version of Saxony's von Polenz Cuirassiers, circa 1733, done and dusted. Longtime visitors to the Grand Duchy of Stollen might recall (the blog will turn 19 years old in September) that I generally go for an old school approach when it comes to unit bases and paint them a nice, bright green. Exceptions include command vignettes, skirmishers of one kind or another, transport, camp followers, and various other civilian one-offs. The approach is not to everyone's taste, but I like the cheery toy soldier appearance once everything...

The Grand Duchy of Stollen

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