Palace Cats ....

The Queen's pet cats (Courtez and Cherry) decide it is too busy and noisy in the throne room so they decide to go outside

 They pause in the entrance hall to look at a new statue ...

 then outside, where they watch the coaches and march with the guards

 then on into the garden where they ride on the backs of Larry & Lucy (the palace llamas) for a race around the fountain...

 then after that a little rest before they head off into the grounds for some hunting ...

40mm: Dismounted general staff - conversions (unpainted)

I wanted to represent the mounted general staff of both Wittenberg and Saxe-Jarlsberg on foot, so out with the green-stuff and a few sessions of work managed to get them done.

I tried to choose figures, heads etc that matched the mounted rider as close as I could, where necessary a bit of extra green stuff has been added to the mounted figure to match up.

Here they are in shown the raw before they get painted, next to their mounted counterparts.

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Firstly Saxe-Jarlsberg, their commander Count Pottsendorf (modified Creartec home-cast officer with Front Rank head).

 his Aide (modified Creartec home-cast officer)

 

and the military advisor from Noverre (modified Irregular Miniatures officer with Front Rank head).

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And for Wittenberg, General Waldebeck ( modified Front Rank AWI hessian officer)

with his second in command Count Boritzy (Irregular Miniatures hussar top half with bottom half coming from a Creartec home-cast officer)

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aha ! the next thing to do is paint them ....

40mm: Saxe-Jarlsberg garrison troops

I already had 12 painted figures for this unit;  I've added three more; drummer and marching figure front Front Rank and a standard bearer made using a Creartec homecast with a Front Rank head.

The Herzog of Saxe-Jarlsberg inspects the garrison troops of Karlebach near the border of the disputed region of the Hofland ....

Wittenberg: Guards on parade...

 inspired by watching the 'Trooping of the Colour' yesterday - thought it would be nice if the Wittenberg guard troops had a similar parade for the King

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The parade ground with all the guards in place, with plenty of people who've come along to watch ...

The King, Field Marshal and commander of the guards on horseback, with the Queen and royal family on the viewing stand.  

The King rides around to inspect his guards ...

The signal for the parade to start, a 21 gun salute by the guards corps artillery ....

The band moves to the centre and the foot guards start their march past ...

they march round the parade ground ...

and then past the King ....

the foot guards have returned to their positions and the mounted band move into position..

the horse guards start their march past. Led by the Chevalier Guard, followed by the Horse Grenadiers and the Guard du Corps..

They trot past the King ....

The parade is over and the guards form up to escort the King and royal family back to the palace ...

The horse guards lead the way, with the Queen and her children in the coach, followed by the King at the head of his foot guards ....

40mm: some 'rustic' fencing...

I wanted some more rustic looking fencing for my 40mm gaming, I had a fair amount of Pegasus Hobbies fencing , so I decided to use that as my base. I simply added some cardboard strips to the fencing, see below (original on left, modified on right).

 

After a quick paint up here they are providing a enclosed area for some cattle

Oh we like sheep ....

I completed painting a pack of Front Rank civilians and some sheep that I purchased at a model railway exhibition - the finished items inspired a little story about Brother James ...

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Brother James and Cantor (the court inventor) are in deep discussion about sheep, the point revolves around the statement of the medieval meta-physician von Hagendas that all sheep have the innate ability to fly; Cantor states that according to his calculations if a sheep could be trained to hold its legs correctly they would at least be able to glide; Brother James doubts this exceedingly and asks Cantor if his work is for shawn or un-shawn sheep. There erudite discussion is interrupted by a monk ...

'Ahem, Brother James, the Abbot wishes to see you'. It would appear that the Abbot of St Wigberts has heard of Brother James's eventful night out in Wittenberg (see here) and has requested his presence.

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Brother James excused himself and went with the monk, they made the short journey to St Wigberts in about a couple of hours. After a meeting with the Abbot, he was given his penance. He was to spend a night of prayer in the chapel of St Barnabas and then spend the next five days preaching in the local towns against the perils and pitfalls of the drinking to excess.

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Brother James carried out his penance dutifully, he preached in the all the local town squares, spending his last afternoon at Wilhemstadt.

On his way back to the monastery he stopped, his attention caught by the sound of the sheep bleating in a field. He had this idea that sheep could be trained to sing (after a fashion), which he had often argued about with Cantor. Now he decided to try it out, he entered the field and attracted the attention a few sheep and sang to them, they seem to bleat along with him ...

 Well done said Cantor to the sheep, you are doing very well; lets try it again from the the first bar...

Sheep in chorus: Bah, Baah, Bah, Baaaah, Bah.....

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what will Brother James get up to next ....