The Grand Duchy of Stollen

"W ell, Sir," as my maternal grandmother used to begin the occasional statement, good fortune has smiled on us again here in the Grand Duchy of Stollen.  Thanks to lots of hard work and crossed fingers, not only has the Grand Duchess been offered a plum position at a Big Ten University, but they have also offered yours truly a full-time lecturer appointment, which seals the deal.   Generous compensation, moving allowance, excellent schools for the Young Master, further opportunities for professional development, more interesting service possibilities, and so on, and so forth.  The kind of opportunity that does not come around very often you might say. We will sell up, pack up, and leave our digs of the last seven years here in Central Illinois (where the Grand Duchess has been since 2001) come mid-June for snowier environs (and much better skiing conditions) in East Lansing Michigan where we'll both join the faculty of  Michigan State University ...

Here's where things stand with the pioneers at the moment. T hings have been slow on the painting front the last month or so thanks largely to lots of student papers, conferences the week before Spring Vacation, and so forth.  You'd be surprised how much time it can take preparing for and conducting these post-Topic Proposal Paper interviews in which I try to coax most students through the process of actually narrowing their proposed topics and deciding what it is they want to say about them.  This particular task should have been accomplished and/or articulated within said papers, and there were explicit written directions circulated well in advance of the assignment due date, but there you are. However, spurred on by General de Latte's own impressive recent efforts with a fine looking batch of SYW Prussians (???) at The Duchy of Alzheim, I sat myself down at the start of this week to get going again.  Enjoyed a couple of evenings applying oil glazes over my usual...

The Minden pioneers currently in progress with one coat of white acrylic gesso applied.  One more coat, and the painting can commence. S ome weeks.  Sigh.  Started off with a nasty cold and fever, which came on Saturday night last week and required cancelling two days of classes last Monday and Tuesday.  As much as I wanted simply to pull the covers over my head, tell the world to go to hell, and sleep though, there were about 50 undergrad papers to read, consider, and assign grades.  Then, the Grand Duchess left town midweek for another conference, or consulting gig (I can't keep 'em straight anymore), which meant that yours truly became solely responsible for coaxing the Young Master through his daily activities, taking him to and from school, meals, etc., etc.  I already do quite a bit of this everyday anyway, but when one becomes the only parent overseeing all of this stuff for several days, well. . .   Let's just say that single parents...

The Corps of Pioneers, all ready for base-coating and then painting. W ell, I managed to get the various tools and things glued into the hands of the two dozen Minden pioneers yesterday, as mentioned previously, and I'll apply the white gesso basecoat (two thin coats) on Saturday.  With any luck, I might be able to apply green to the bases, fleshtone, and gray to the eventually black hats on Sunday.  The reading and preparation for classes on Monday is a bit lighter this weekend, so completing a bit more at the painting table is a distinct possibility.  We'll see how things play out. Look very closely, and you'll spot those scratch-built facines in the hands of three figures in the right-hand company.  You'll also observe that I decided to give one company digging tools and the other wood-cutting implements.  Each company also has a wheelbarrow of appropriate 'stuff' to help set the scene whenever and wherever the Corps of Pioneers is deployed. ...

My Minden figures lack the dashing headgear worn by the fine pioneer fellow above, but the colors of his uniform are extremely pleasing to the eye.  When I came across this particular illustration a few evenings ago, I knew at once that I had found my inspiration as far as colors are concerned.  And by the way, the grenadier to his left also sports a most attractive uniform.  Hmmm. . .  I might just have to add a unit of those at some point. F inally managed to find a copy online of the illustration, which I found originally in one of my books on Prussian and Hanoverian SYW-era freikorps, and on which I'll base the uniforms for my own two dozen Minden pioneers.  Speaking of which, I just spent an enjoyable hour or so carefully cementing digging and chopping tools into their hot little hands as well as a ladder, a couple of balsa "boards," and a few scratch-built facines in miniature.   Yes, yes.  It has been a fairly idle afternoon here at ...

  The halfway point, more or less, of the gradually mustering 80-figure regiment has been reached. A fter various batches of student papers sucking up most available free time during the last couple of weeks or so, I have at last managed to apply the usual two coats of glossy acrylic varnish to the Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach contingent.  They don't look too bad if you'll pardon me saying so myself.   But now, it's time to address those two dozen or so Minden pioneers for the next two+ weeks before returning to the monster 80-figure regiment and the third batch of 20 RSM95 Prussians, slated to become the white-coated (with red facings, turnbacks, etc.) Saxe-Coburg contingent that was also part of the Ernestinisch Sachsen Regiment during the SYW period.  The Minden pioneers, for their part, are waiting to have various tools and implements cemented into their hands once I purchase a new tube of superglue gel at some point on Thursday, followed by the usual basec...

All ready and waiting for their basecoat of white acrylic gesso. . .  two companies of pioneers and a mounted officer, complete with loaded wheelbarrows and a bucket! J ust  a bit of time this morning before getting the Young Master up for preschool and then getting to work on some student papers and admin stuff myself.  There might be some skiing with the Grand Duchess this morning too on the fresh, powdery snow we had yesterday, but my lower back is giving me trouble, so we'll see.   Strained something yesterday morning while rinsing my face after shaving at the bathroom sink, and YOW!  It just goes to show you that even  with routine exercise and stretching, sometimes you turn or bend just the right way, and the unexpected pain takes your breath away.  It's much better this morning, but the skiing just might have to wait a day or two. Anyway, I spent a couple of hours at the painting table yesterday evening, preparing the Minden pione...

Just about ready for glossing, here is where things stand this morning with the current batch of 20 RSM95 figures.  Nothing fancy, and far from perfect show-piece painting, but not too bad either.  More important, they are almost finished! S ometimes, the stars line up and time spent at the painting table goes off without a hitch.  And that's how yesterday evening's two-hour session -- #8 for this particular batch of figures -- went.  Mostly.  I first touched up the rear of the shoulder belts where necessary after painting in the black ersatz pigtails and followed with a tiny, careful dab of white on the chests to suggest a bit of shirt peeking out from beneath the blue coats just below the red stocks.   Then, it was time to hold my breath and carefully line the hats with white 'tape'.  Only two minor slops, which were easy to fix with some very thin black afterwards, but I think the point of my Cottman #1 round has seen better days, an...

Here is where things stand after a Friday evening painting session (Session #5), another on Saturday afternoon (Session #6), and third on Saturday evening (Session #7).  Still a way to go, especially with the drummer, who lags a bit behind the other 19 figures in the batch. T he title says it all, but I managed to get through the red parts and most of the white parts on these Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach musketeers during the last couple of days.  Whew!  I might be able to finish them tomorrow, but if we get the snowfall predicted, I am afraid cross-country skiing with the Young Master and Grand Duchess will trump figure painting.  We don't get enough snow as far as I am concerned in our neck of the woods, so I've got to enjoy it when it comes.  We'll see what, if anything, actually falls in the night.   Still, I must admit that I think these are some of the most attractive uniforms I've ever painted.  All primary red, blue, and yellow save for the...

Here's where things stand after a couple of nice painting sessions this weekend.  Time now for red facings, turnbacks, and various smaller details. M oving along reasonably well with the current crop of 20 or so figures, which are being painted in uniforms worn by the Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach contingent of the Ernestinisch Infantry.  Drummers, according to a couple of sources I am referring to, wore brown laced coats faced red hence the rather odd color of the drummer at left.  An old illustration from a packet of German cigarettes, I think, that matches pretty closely the written Kronoskaf 'Project Seven Years War' description of one possible drummer uniform worn by Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach drummers. So far, I am not displeased with the way things are going, but my new bottle of Liquin Original is not imparting the flow qualities to my alkyd oil colors that I've become used to in the two years since I began using it.  Grrrrr. . .   So, it took rather...

Still lots to do, but at least they are starting to look like small men.  Sort of. T wo good painting sessions today, the second to last day of a rather long Christmas and Winter break from school.  The first was actually this afternoon, as the Young Master played in the outer room of Zum Stollenkeller and periodically asked to come into my inner sanctum to see what ol' Dad was up to.  The second, concluded a short while ago, about 9:15pm here.     Anyway, the brushwork completed today really just paves the way for the more interesting colors over the next couple of evenings, which will really help this batch of figures come alive.  For now, painting was limited to fleshtone, gray undercoating of eventually black areas (ala Peter Gilder and Doug Mason), and the green figure bases.  Next up, and in this order, I'll apply the following thinned Winsor&Newton Griffin alkyd oil colors: 1) Ivory Black to hats, shoes/gaiters, scabbards,...

Here they are, the second batch of infantry with the new, improved General Phillipe de Latte and his sidekick Major Paolo di Biscotti in the background. D espite a few difficult days, for various reasons, I've managed to get my syllabi updates finished, have set up my course Moodle pages online, and basecoat the 21 figures and two horses above since roughly 11:30am this morning.  Amazing what you can do if you set your mind to it, and the start of the next semester looms.   Monday is Martin Luther King Day here in the United States, so no school for either the Young Master or his parents tomorrow.  I might, then, be able to squeeze in a couple of good painting sessions depending on how the day goes.  This particular batch of figures will be based on the uniforms worn by the Sachs-Weimar-Eisenach contingent of the Ernestinisch Sachsen infantry during the SYW period, more or less.   Below, you can review the various period illustrations -- from th...

All ready for shiny acrylic gloss and basing in the next couple of days. N ot my best painting by any stretch, but they're done and just waiting for the final couple of steps.  Sadly, I've got a four-hour professional development seminar of teaching research and writing to undergrads on campus tomorrow morning, so that will delay everything else by a few hours.  And we just learned today that the wife of a neighbor couple we a close to has had her Cancer return, and it has spread throughout her system -- not the kind of news anyone wants -- so we might spend some time with them tomorrow afternoon, and see if there is anything we can do to assist.  Suddenly, toy soldiers seem rather less important. -- Stokes

Almost there with the Kurmainz contingent.  Nothing fancy, but decent looking, unfussy painting.  It's difficult to observe here, but the green bags hanging from the bearskins have gold tassels and careful gold lining along the outer edges.  I wasn't going to add the latter, but green and gold look so pretty together.  And they are grenadiers after all, you know!  The cartridge pouches were also given small brass badges in the center.  The painting hand was especially steady that evening. W ell, the long Christmas break is coming to a close.  Between enjoying our snow by teaching the Young Master the rudiments of cross-country/Nordic skiing in a couple of local parks, syllabus updates for the new college semester starting next week, and some related professional development activities on campus, there hasn't been much free time the last week or so.  But I did manage to sit down and work on the mounted officer at left last night for a couple o...

Here's where we stand at 10:25pm this evening after another 90 minute painting session. S ome evenings, nothing goes right, and it's best to clean the brushes and quit for the night before one might otherwise like to.  This evening was just such an occasion.  I was all set to paint in the black neckstocks carefully beneath the jaw lines and chins of the figures pictured above.  After about seven or so, it became clear that the ol' painting hand was a bit shaky tonight, and I've now got some touching up to take care of on the faces as the final steps approach before two coats of acrylic gloss.  Grrrr. . .   So, I stopped, snapped a photograph, and here we are. That said, I think I finally have the white shoulder belts defined enough to look passable at arm's length after fooling with them for three or four evenings.  It is, I think, a combination of the sap green glaze and that the bottom edge of the shoulder belts on this particular RSM95 figure...

The green facings, turnbacks, lapels, and waistcoats have been completed in one afternoond.  Whew! A marathon painting session this cold, snowy Sunday afternoon (sadly, not yet enough on the ground for cross-country skiing), so four hours plus spent in the painting saddle carefully applying thinned Winsor & Newton Griffin Alkyd Sap Green.  As usual, a healthy dollop of Liquin Original mixed with a fairly small amount of the Sap Green.  As I gain experience using oils for the bulk of my painting, I find that less color and more Liquin -- No precise measurements, you know.  It's all done by sight and the seat of my pants. --  seem to yield better results, making the color easier and faster to apply and helping the pigment to settle in recessed areas while running somewhat thinner of raised parts of the figures at the same time. Today, I used a #2 round synthetic Grumbacher 'Goldenedge' brush and went rather slowly to minimize errors that might need lat...

Starting to come together a bit more with the current batch of figures. T hings have gone so quickly and smoothly so far that we were bound to slow down considerably when it came to applying white to the coats and shoulder belts as well as touching up areas that are destined for eventual Sap Green with additional dabs of (total absence of) color.  So, two consecutive and tedious evenings applying white, somewhere between a wash and damp-brushing in consistency, have produced coats that are a very, very light gray, almost white on the raised areas really.   The mounted officer and standard bearer in the back row were given an extra application of white on the shoulders, upper arms, and chests to make their coats a wee bit brighter as one would expect for officers, who usually wore better quality garments.  And then it was time to touch up the cuffs, lapels, waistcoats, and turnbacks in preparation for the Sap Green facing color, the same shade of green used for...

Here's where we are with the current 23 figures as of midday Friday. M anaged to squeeze in a couple of painting sessions last night, a longer one followed by a shorter one later.  As indicated in my last post, I have managed to complete the application of fleshtone, Yellow Ochre, and Ivory Black to the requisite areas of the regimental command (lurking in the background) and the Kurmainz grenadiers in the foreground.  Very pleased with the Yellow Ochre on the breeches now that it has dried.  It looks less tan than I feared while applying it and more mustardy yellow, which is what I hoped.  Just fine.   Next up, judicious damp-brushing of white onto the coats -- taking care to leave plenty of the tan undercoat showing around the edges -- and then Sap Green on the facings, turnbacks, waistcoats, and bags hanging from the bearskins.  Then, it will be time to begin picking out smaller details with the usual Citadel and Ral Partha acrylics.  If...

The current batch of figures underway. M anaged to snatch about two hours yesterday evening -- New Year's Eve here -- for some early painting of the first 23 figures of the monster composite regiment. When you have a small child, and your usual babysitters (female students) are away for Christmas Break, it's difficult to make plans.  However, the Grand Duchess and I opened a bottle of sparkling wine just before Midnight and drank most of it before hitting the hay an hour later.  Funny.  I can vividly recall staying out all night a few times during the first half of my 20s when it came to New Year's Eve celebrations.   The wonderful old Knoetel illustration (the Kurmainz grenadier at far left) on which I'm basing the RSM95 Austrian grenadiers above at far left. Anyway, the figures currently under the brush above will be painted, more or less, as grenadiers from Kurmainz by the way, so white coats, straw breeches, green facings, turnbacks, and waistcoats...

The commanding officer of the generic mid-18th century supply train (completed during 2014), General Alfons von Bauchschmerzen, a birthday gift to me in 2014 from the Young Master. O k, here we are!  General von Bauchschmerzen, his wicker carriage, two-horse team , and uhlan escort are done.  Not perfect, the eagle-eyed among you will undoubtedly spot a few tiny details that have left to the imagination, but the overall effect looks reasonably good to me.  There are three coats of acrylic gloss on the figures and carriage, which has made everything look nicely Gilder and Mason-esque -- shiny, shiny, shiny -- and then the usual sand from my maternal grandmother's creekbed (collected n the summer of 1984) followed with Woodland Scenics fine grass scatter material and a few clumps of foliage material, to approximate weeds and small shrubs. The sand and fine grass material are held down with acrylic matt medium, which dies flat and without warping the base.  The f...

After von Bauchschmerzen and his coach are done, it's onto this 80-figure regiment of RSM95 figures that have been in the eadpile for about seven years now. I t's a long road, but someone has to walk. . .  er, um, uh. . . paint it.  So, after the good General von Bauchschmerzen (lurking in the background here) is finished, it's time for a return to the fighting troops after about two years of painting various vignettes of one kind or another. So. . .  It's onto this rather large bunch of figures, which will be painted up as a composite fictitious regiment.  However, the uniforms will be based on those worn by troops that marched and/or fought for:  * Kurmainz (white with mid-green facings/turnbacks) * Saxe-Weimar (blue with red facings/turnbacks and straw yellow smallclothes) * Saxe-Coburg (white with red facings/turnbacks) * Saxe-Hildurghausen (blue with yellow facings/turnbacks and white smallclothes). The plan is to follow my usual procedure fo...