An Argument in Hauverstover

At a distant point in time years past, the duchy of Hauverstover was ruled by the Duke and Duchess Steinmauer. Gerhard Steinmauer had met a dark haired, blue eyed hellion named Elke Osterwald and had been totally smitten. Their courtship was a tempestuous one. Elke had led Gerhard on a merry chase before accepting a proposal of marriage.

When it became time to form an army for the defense of Hauverstover, the topic of uniform coloring had risen. Gerhard liked a white coat with blue pants, while Elke preferred a gray coat with dark red trousers. In a moment of compromise, a blend of blue and red was suggested for the trousers and a dark purple was adopted. Both Gerhard and Elke claimed this compromise as their own idea and had great fun over the years arguing about it. However, when it came to the coat coloring, neither would budge a bit.

Duke Gerhard was very close to making a proclamation that the Infantry dress would be white coats with purple trousers. He was in his study, drafting the order, when a quick tap on his shoulder redirected his attention. He turned to see Elke looking at him with a particularly mischievous glint in her eye.

"I have interesting news my dear stuffy old Duke!"

Gerhard just quirked an eyebrow, and awaited the announcement. The last time had been about gophers eating the tulip bulbs in the gardens and how a cute little rat-terrier would solve the problem. The dratted dog was constantly getting muddy paws on his boots.

"My love, you are going to be a father. I hope you are pleased."

The Duke was overwhelmed with emotion, and grabbed his wife for an embrace. They laughed and kissed and stared at each other, both delighted with the news.

"Elke my dear, this is so wonderful. May I grant you anything? The Moon? Just say the word! "

By this time, Elke had noticed the draft of the order. With a quick smile, "Gray Coats?"

The Duke smiled and wrote the following order. "On all odd numbered infantry regiments the standard dress will be a white coat with dark purple trousers. In honor to the duchess, the even numbered regiments will have gray jackets and dark purple trousers."

Over time the gray-coated regiments became known as The Duchess' Guard. That general order stands to this day.

ACW - Finished Limbers

I just put the finishing touches on my 15MM ACW limber project for Longstreet. They came out pretty well, that is they will be okay for table top quality. Now I can get back to my Maurice / Hauverstover project. That is of course, if nothing else grabs my fancy.

Over the years, I have experimented with different mixes of static grass colors to arrive at something that looks good on the table top. But I have never been completely satisfied. This is another batch that is close, but still not exactly what I am working for. It is almost there, so I am recording the formula for later use. Maybe with just a couple more tweaks it will be what I want

• 2 TBSP - Medium Green Static Grass
• 1 TBSP - Harvest Gold Static Grass
• 1 TBSP - Green Grass Fine Turf
• 1 TBSP - Summer Lawn Blend Flock and Turf

The limbers from the front

The limbers from the back

Now, I think I had better get a new coat of wax on my car before winter sets in. Happy gaming!

ACW - Limber project

The ACW Union Artillery Limber project is almost complete for my Longstreet forces. These are in 15 MM using Old Glory castings. I have never found the need to paint limbers before. Simply turning an artillery base around indicated that it was limbered or not. I may resort to that same technique in the future. After this project is done, I will have two Union Artillery Limbers, the issue is the cost of an actual cannon model per limber. Seeing these two cannon effectively out of play drives a stake into my parsimonious personality.

An overall view of the pieces that will go into two limbers. The draft horses were painted very plainly. Most of the time was spent on the harness. A few of the horse models were given socks and blazes but I didn't go overboard.

This is a little closer view to the models that represent one limber. I am now to the point that I just want to get these done so I can go back to my Hauverstover project. Since these are limbers and will not be on the table top that often this level of quality is going to be good enough. By the way, nice focus on the shot. I was aiming for the horses in front. Auto-focus evidently decided to ignore me.

Finally, I looked all over the interweb and through the Osprey books to find the correct painting for a triangular pennant. Everything I could find stated that flags were either rectangular or swallow-tail. This is a compromise, that I found in one of the Osprey books. I am also showing this little guy because his mustache came out perfect.

Finally, on recommendations from some of the Basement Generals, I took a little road trip over the past weekend to Harrisburg, Missouri. A little town in the middle of the state about 15 miles north of I-70. The target was a BBQ joint named Lonnie Ray's. If barbeque is a favorite of yours, make this pilgrimage. The brisket was amazing. I will making this trip again soon!