The Grand Duchy of Stollen

The current crop of wagons after some dry-brushing and washes with light gray to weather them a bit. C aptain's log. . .  Stardate 30 July 2014.  Summer is in full swing here in the Grand Duchy of Stollen as it no doubt is for many of you in the Northern Hemisphere.  July has been delightfully unusual in our little part of the galaxy this year.  With the exception of a day or two here and there, it has been unseasonably cool and green, something that is not typical for this time of the year in the midst of Central Illinois.  Usually by this time, it is hot, dry, and the grass is uniformly brown most places.  Hopefully, August and September will continue in a similar temperate and comfortable vein.  Cross your fingers and toes! At the moment, I am listening online to Norwegian State Broadcasting (NRK), Program 1 out of Bergen on the west coast of Norway, a place where I spent a lot of time in a previous life about 15-20 years ago.  The progr...

  A large two-wheeled cart -- its load of freight is yet to be painted -- by Blue Moon, I think.  The driver is of course from the wonderful Minden line.  No attempt was made to model the reins between the driver and his horse since I wanted something that would stand up a bit better to handling, especially when the Young Master is a wee bit older and I indoctrinate. . . er. . . um. . . introduce him to tabletop wargaming.  You know, one of those many compromises all of us make in one way or other with our painting and modelling.  Y ou know, some mornings, just nothing goes right.  For instance, after a difficult and challenging breakfast with the Young Master, who clearly got up on the wrong side of the bed today, I retreated to the relative safety of Zum Stollenkeller with another mug of black coffee for some much needed time away from wife and child.  And to take some nicer photographs of that recently completed first batch of five wagons and...

Here they are, the first batch of wagons and carts all done except for a bit more Woodland Scenics foliage material to masquerade as clumps of weeds along the edges and down the middle of  each base. O k, I'm calling them just about done, barring a bit more tinkering with foliage material from Woodland Scenics this evening after the Young Master's bedtime.  What I was aiming for with the ground cover on each base was the impression of very minor, unpaved, and narrow roads, paths really, with grass and weeds along the sides.   I recall reading somewhere in the last 20+ years of so -- perhaps in Jac Weller's Wellington at Waterloo ? -- that prior to the mid-19th century many so called "roads" on the continent of Europe were rather vague and neglected.  As a rule, many were not paved, they could be 10-40 feet in width, depending on importance and proximity to population among other things, poorly defined and maintained, and treacherous in rain or winter weat...

Here is where things stand with those first five wagons and carts.  Freshly glossed with two coats of shiny stuff and all done save for a wee bit of ground cover on the bases to approximate sandy tracks in the political, social, and cultural backwater that is the Grand Duchy of Stollen, somewhere in the vicinity of present-day Latvia. I n case anyone has wondered recently whether or not I've fallen from the edges of the earth, the answer is no.  Just trying to do too much with the little remaining free time before things begin gearing up for the autumn semester in about six weeks.  Sigh.  I'm already thinking about what needs doing where syllabi revisions are concerned (shakes head sadly). On a slightly more positive note, I am extremely close to wrapping things up with the first five wagons and carts plus teams and drivers/drovers as you will observe above.  Only 11 to go, and then it's time to get to a rather large regiment of RSM95 infantry that's been...

This photograph shows the dark red -- not really right for a smaller room -- that was the old color. T he Grand Duchess and Young Master return sometime Monday evening, barring delays along the way due to predicted strong thunderstorms of course.  Yours truly has been busy the last week or so with some surprises for them, including repainting the upstairs bathroom as well as uncluttering (decluttering?) the living room and library on the first floor. Of the two of us, I am really the more domestic.  While the Grand Duchess makes some fantastic things in the kitchen, I am the one who does our laundry each week, makes the beds, and keeps the first floor of the house straight and vacuumed.  It will come as no surprise then that it has occurred to me in the last 18 months or so that the rooms on the first floor could look even better with some careful rearranging and through simply putting away other various smaller items.  You know, getting rid of that cluttered ...

The Iron Duke at the Battle of Waterloo, 18 June 1815.  U sually the day escapes before I realize it, but not today!  Hence the picture above.  Next year is, of course, the biggy.  The 200-year anniversary of the Waterloo campaign, but I am just as likely to be distracted by the "static" of family life and somehow forget.  So, I'll mark it today.  Somewhere, I have an old cassette of French Napolonic marches.  I wonder if it still even plays? It's very odd, but the era when the battles that comprise the Waterloo campaign took place, 199 years ago, does not seem that far away to me.  Maybe that's due to my steeping myself in the campaign for so many years? Some of you long-time Grand Duchy of Stollen visitors might recall that my first 20 years or so in the hobby centered on creating 15mm corps level Waterloo-era forces.  A goal that I never quite reached thanks to a number of common enough wargamer mistakes: not enough time (blame tw...

Another couple of steps completed on the first five carts and wagons. T he Humbrol fumes seem to have abated somewhat here in Zum Stollenkeller .  My friend the 6' rabbit pokes his large head less frequently through the wall to my left at least.  The oil glazes have now been applied to the ox, horse teams, and mule as have the alkyd oil fleshtone and black to the hats, heavy riding boots, and a few pairs of shoes.  Time to let everything dry out a bit before painting the human clothing, and picking out various other details. As usual, I have tinkered a bit with my painting approach, this batch of figures being no different.  For the black areas this time, I undercoated with an acrylic gray before applying Winsor and Newton Alkyd Oil black this morning, thinned liberally with Liquin Original.  As Peter Gilder suggested many, many years ago in one of those Military Modelling guide booklets, it looks pretty darn good already.  Highlighting and shadows a...

S o, Stokes.  How are things going with that supply and pontoon train?   Reasonably well, albeit at a leisurely painting pace.  The Grand Duchess and Young Master are away for 2+ weeks at the in-laws, and I am enjoying the utter peace, quiet, and time to myself.  Thoroughly. You can see from these two photographs that the first four wagons and a vivandiere cart are about finished, and it's time to turn my attention the various beasts of burden and riders/drivers/drovers and the vivandiere herself.  Most of the horses have been given an undercoat of Humbrol enamel yellow, orange, or one of two browns.   The air down here in Zum Stollenkeller was redolent with the aroma of solvent-based Humbrol this morning.  Cannot begin to fathom how many millions of brain cells I must have killed during last evening's two-hour session at the painting table.  However, I was able to make the coffee this morning and managed to shower and dress a s...

D on't look now, but guess who finally got off his painting you-know-what yesterday evening?  Yes!  And I managed to apply a white basecoat of acrylic artists' gesso to the first five wagons, carts, and associated beasts of burden.  So, it seems like the latest painting funk might -- just might -- be losing its grip on me.  If all goes well today, I'll begin slapping paint onto at least some of these this evening. Now, one of you asked the other day how I plan to paint the teams and wagons/carts since they are already glued to their permanent bases.  Well, here goes.  1) I went ahead and glued everything to its permanent bases simply to have something to hold onto during painting.  I've become used to doing this with all of the officer and civilian vignettes painted during the last 18 months or so. 2) Last night, I used as large a brush as possible to apply my white acrylic gesso basecoat.   3) Runny washes of the gesso were applie...

The fully assembled Berliner Zinnfiguren Prussian mobile field forge with Fife & Drum limber horses and an RSM95 rider. A few of you asked the other day for a peek at the items schlepped home from Berlin recently by the Grand Duchess, so here you are. -- Stokes Various Willie (Suren) 30mm ladies of ill repute, with The Naughty Lola at the center of things, and a 30mm Black Hussar Prussian military chaplain.  I'd say he has his work cut out for him.  More 30mm Willie (Suren) sutleresses and vivandieres.  I'll use these in two or three small vignettes, one of which will include a couple of soldiers' wives tending a large pot of laundry over a fire and hanging wet things on a line.  A 30mm Willie (Suren) plucky stable lad and running farm girl. A 30mm Willie (Suren) bishop.  This one has, as yet, no practical application, but he was too good to pass up since he bears such a marked resemblance to Monty Python's Terry Jones....

Various useful 30mm Willie figures and a Prussian SYW-era mobile field forge, courtesy of Berliner Zinnfiguren, a truly amazing little model that comes almost fully assembled. C ontinuous insane laughter.  Nothing more need be said really. -- Stokes

You and a guest are cordially invited to attend a formal ball, hosted by the Grand Duke Irwin-Amadeus II, to be held this evening at Krankenstadt Palace.  Festivities are to commence precisely at the hour of nine o'clock. I t seems, The Grand Duchy of Stollen blog has picked up another couple of followers during the last few days, raising the number to 201 souls who, apparently, are interested in my various and sundry occasional meanderings here.  In any case, a hearty welcome to you, thank you for your interest (it's nice to share one's hobby with like-minded people around the globe), and please continue to check in during the coming weeks when things will, hopefully, become a bit more interesting than has been the case in recent months. -- Stokes P. S. The Grand Duchess is wending her way home circuitously from Berlin at the moment, via either Copenhagen or Amsterdam (maybe both), through New York's JFK and finally to Chicago O'Hare, followed by a four-...

This old standard from the historical Duchy of Courland (part of modern day Latvia) will provide the model for eventual Grand Ducal standards, which will be added to the line infantry regiments of The Grand Duchy of Stollen along side their existing regimental standards. I t seems that a pernicious painting funk is making the rounds for a number of us in Bloglandia at the moment.  Sigh.  I have been a complete and utter painting sloth since. . .  What was it?  March?  While I've tinkered a bit with prepping my pontoon and wagon train for painting these last three weeks, it has been difficult to get the coveted painting mojo stoked up again during the Grand Duchess' prolonged absence in Berlin, and my acting as sole parent and beneficiary to our son.   To be up front about it, the Young Master has been an angel most of the time, easy going, and a pleasure to look after, a responsibility with which I am already more than well acquainted.  H...

A little 3 in 1 Oil or WD40 might be just the thing. W ell, the spring semester has been finished for a little over two weeks now and grades were submitted on April 30th.  Still, it's been hard to get the painting gears moving again even though they were clicking along smoothly during January-March.  The Grand Duchess left a number of days ago for three weeks in Berlin to visit some archives and meet with a few people in her field, so I've been otherwise occupied looking after the Young Master. He has been a hoot, and easy to get along with, since his mother left last Wednesday.  Clearly, a real sense of humor and fun has developed in the last 18 months or so.  As wonderful as that is, and much to my chagrin, I have also found that when the Young Master is able to make me laugh, it becomes very hard to exercise parental authority and restore order.  He simply stops listening and continues to clown around if I giggle at his antics.  So, a great deal o...

A photograph of racing dogs seemed more appropriate, given my current state of mind, than racing horses. W ell, Sir, we are almost there.  The final day of classes is next Tuesday after which I have final drafts of papers to read and final course grades to submit online.  And then it's time to start painting all of these wagons, carts, and teams.  Our friend in Berlin, "Tante Anita," took delivery of the Berliner Zinnfiguren 30mm forge last Saturday, which the Grand Duchess will transport home in her carry-on baggage when she returns after her approaching three-week research tip to Berlin in May.   Naturally, I'd love to be in Berlin during May myself, but there you are.  The Young Master and I will hold down the fort in Mom's absence.  Meanwhile, the Grand Duchess will enjoy, by all accounts, and judging from the photographs I've seen online, a a rather posh apartment somewhere on the western edge of the city.  Let's just say it looks ra...

Berliner Zinnfiguren Prussian FIeld Forge, item #207/PR95.  A hearty thank-you to Jim "Der Alte Fritz Purky" for steering me in the right direction in more than one sense.  Photograph swiped from the Berliner Zinnfiguren website. A hhh. . .  I've just place an order with Berliner Zinnfiguren in Germany for the above item, which will complete my transport/logistics and pontoon trains.  Ok, who am I kidding?  There are a couple of Perry wagons/carts that I want to add down the road, but for now, we'll call it done. The current wagons and carts have been waiting patiently for some time over on the apinting table as I dig out from beneath various student assignments, planning for classes four days a week, and work I've been involved with in planning for this year's intitiation ceremony for the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi.  Rewarding once the day arrives, the ceremony happens, and it's done for another year, but a royal pain in the neck (some days) wh...