Some Evening Musings...

A warm night in the Imperial Duchy of Blagovia, with a soft, gentle breeze blowing from the west. Looks like summer has finally put in an appearance and I for one am not thrilled. It was 32 Celsius today, with a humidex that pushed the temperature into the high 30’s –and this is still May! His Grace is making a concerted effort to finish the bottle of Sangiovese, which he opened for dinner, and is currently listening to Bach's: Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G major, as performed by the Freiburger Barockorchester. Highly recommended.

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While recently going through some old boxes I found the following minis. They were given to me by my friend some years ago, who in turn received them from family in Germany many years ago. I like the look of them, and they have been well played with over the years. Prussian I think? I wonder if I should conscript them into the Blagovian Army, or perhaps some Battenberger Grenadiers for the shelf ???

Victoria Day

This weekend is the unofficial start of summer in the Great White North, celebrated with a long weekend and fireworks, and the opening of cottages. Barbeques, fishing, weekends at the cottage, and the dog days of summer are upon us. I remember getting especially antsy this time of year when I was a youngster. The days in class seemed to get especially slower and drag as we started to approach the summer holidays. I just couldn't wait for school to finish so that I could hop on my bike for day long rides, or long, long games of street hockey, soccer, and baseball, not having to come in until the streetlights came on, or if my parents were inclined to sit on the porch and enjoy the evening, when they went in.
As a child, in preparation for the summer break, on the Victoria Day long weekend I would bring the bike up from the basement, where it was stored in the winter, take out the hose and a bucket with soap and water, wash it from stem to stern, adjust the brakes, pump up the tires, tighten the seat, and my final act was to grab a can of oil from my dad and thoroughly oil the chain. Wonderful memories and days! To those north of the 49th parallel I hope you have a wonderful and safe May two-four weekend.

Progress

The 1st Blagovian Infantry Regiment is complete, and awaiting basing and flags. The Hussar Regiment is almost done as well. Time to order some reinforcements!
I think I will add a Grenadier Company to the 1st Regiment, and get some artillery (12 pounders and crews). I will also grab some mounted officers. This should be enough Blagovians for now, and should see me through into the summer. I think come the Fall I will start to build up some Leutonian and Tutun-Bey Forces.
I have also decided to develop another Imagination which I will keep far more whimsical. To be honest, my Blagovian, Leutonian, and Tutun-Bey armies have been kept somewhat "historically accurate," in that their uniforms will be (are) based on real ones. The original plan that I had was to be able to fight historical battles as well as fantastical ones. The new Imagination will be located somewhere in the German states, where exactly has yet to be determined, and will be much larger than my current Imaginations. Of course, this nation will be allied with Blagovia and Leutonia, so you may see a battalion or two fighting alongside the above mentioned nations against the hated Turk.
Instead of creating a new blog I will create a subsection of this one where I can post the ongoing situation and battle reports. I'm not sure whether to stick with 25mm, or go with 28mm, or even 1/72 (20mm). Once I settle on a scale I will plan out the units I intend to raise. One thing is for certain however, after having received "permission" to recruit within its borders from Phil Olley, there will be a regiment of Battenberg infantry. Let's see where I go with this one.

Still Here.

Although the blog has been idle of late, I have not. The forces of Blagovia have been gradually building, and I now have 1 battalion of infantry painted, a regiment of hussars base coated and ready for final painting, and two cannons done. Not bad given the glacial speed at which I paint and the numerous distraction of the "real world." I will endeavour to post some pics of my finished miniatures soon. Even though no one seems to looking at this blog, let alone reading or following it I will continue to keep on with it.

Happy Easter

 From His Grace, and everyone in Blagovia. Happy Easter!

The Imperial Duchy of Blagovia

The following is a map that was commissioned by His Grace, Duke Borislav V. It is the most up to date version of the Duchy. I really like the way this turned out and the map offers a wonderful selection of terrain on which to fight some battles!

Still Here

Well, well. It has been some time since I last posted, but this is not due to a lack of interest in this blog, but due to an especially hectic work schedule the last month. Unfortunately, my painting output has come to a complete stop. I have almost completed a battalion, and have found a level of detail which has the double bonus of being aesthetically pleasing, and quick to paint. The hardest part for me has always been determining when a figure was good enough for a "Table Top Standard." It's easy to forget that, when painting details on a miniature, the vast majority will simply not be visible from 3 feet away. I have always been of the camp that super details everything, which is great for display purposes, but results in an extremely low output -something not desirable when assembling an army. I will try and post some pictures of the units that I have finished thus far in the next few days.