Part II:


But - how to keep such a beard in shape? Doesn't hair usually grow at right angles towards the sky?

This is where the Emperor's court barber came into play - a man named Franz Haby...



... who later, when he became famous - and very rich - through his beard - called himself "Francois"...:



With "the highest approval" (as they said at the time), Haby brought a beard bandage among the people, which was called "parricide"...:



This beard bandage didn't cost much - on the other hand, a pomade-like elixir, with which you had to moisten the "parricide" before going to bed, was really expensive - it was supposed to keep the beard in good shape...:





Wilhelms also slept with such a "parricide"...

What the enterprising "court barber and perfumer of His Majesty" didn't tell his customers was the enormous effort that Wilhelm II made with his "It's done!" beard:

Every morning at seven o'clock Herr Haby had to report to the castle.

Then Wilhelm II first had himself shaved (he was always perfectly shaved, which is why I didn't paint a beard shadow this time!), then the beard was trimmed and the mustache tips of the ruler were trimmed with curling irons...



... brought into shape.

These scissors were preheated in a small portable oven (on the way to the castle)...



This happened daily!

When the "travel emperor" was on the road again (which happened very often, as we now know!), Haby was part of Wilhelm's permanent entourage.

Though I'd rather not imagine what it was like to have a red-hot iron a few millimeters from your face in front of your face every morning just to get your beard looking the way you want it...

And I would like to introduce even less with Wilhem's unfortunate wife, Empress Auguste Viktoria, when her husband - the "parricide" in his face - came into bed with her to father one of the seven children (two daughters, five sons) they had together had!



Oh well...

I painted the beard today, again slightly grayed and with acrylics...



At the very end I took another look at Mr. Kaiser's hair and thinned the strands because they were much too thick compared to the beard hair!

Now they look much more realistic!

And now: "It has been achieved!" The face of Wilhelm II is finished...:
















Cheers

Very interesting read (particularly for someone without a moustache).
One correction though: the German "Vatermörder" (a.k.a. parricide in your text) was an extremely uncomfortable and stiff upturned collar. The "Bartbinde" used by Willy - and all those who wanted to emulate him - would be a moustache trainer.

Picture source: http://thequackdoctor.com/index.php/10-victorian-products-for-movember/

Please pardon the interruption to Martin's excellent article, and not to be too pedantic about it, but "parricide" means to kill a parent, and "patricide" means to kill one's father.

Best,

CC

Nice work so far, and I enjoyed reading about the Kaiser's manscaping regime!

13. Day, November 8, 2022


Before I continue with the hat, it's my turn to paint the cockade!

Three different cockades were used in the Imperial Russian Army - after the major military reform in 1907 that followed the lost war against Japan, they looked like this:

Common soldiers wore this model...:





...NCO's this one..:





The colors orange and black have absolutely nothing to do with the Russian flag or anything, they symbolize "fire" (orange) and "iron" (black).

And for officers this variant was set, replacing the orange with gold...:





This did not change the symbolism - but it was certainly no coincidence that white (silver), gold (yellow) and black were also the colors of the personal flag of the ruling house of Romanov, which was also the national flag for a short time during the reign of Tsar Akelsandr II was...:





This tsarist symbolism was added to the tricolor of the Russian Empire in January 1915 - i.e. shortly before Ultimo...





... but did nothing to change the relentless approach of the revolution.

Kaiser Wilhelm II, sporting the insignia of a field marshal in his Russian uniform, is of course wearing the officer's version...:



So it's the turn of this cockade to be painted today...



... and usually this is the moment when I regularly curse myself for collecting Russian themes!

Because these things are extremely difficult to paint, since they have an oval shape you can't work with simple dots! And the orange/black color combination (or gold/black for the officer's version) mercilessly reveals every botch!

Wilhelm's cockade turned out pretty well, I think it's quite immodest...







... which, however, is less due to my painting skills than to the very good modeling of the figure!

In general, I have to say this:

I have seldom held a figure in my hands on which all the details are made so precisely - and above all so extremely "sharp" cast!

I have long wished for a bust of Tsar Nikolai II in the habit of the Life Guard Cuirassiers or their even more distinguished equivalent, the Chavelier Guard!

It is proven that the Tsar wore both uniforms, with and without a cuirass - but of course with the eagle helmet!








Maybe Eduardo would like to do the last tsar sometime - I would help with the medals and other details as I have plenty of material.


Cheers

That would not be a problem!

If Eduardo says he's going to be the tsar, I'll give him all the details he needs to do it.










Cheers

14. Day, November 9, 2022


And now: the cap!

This is the uniform that Wilhelm the Loudspeaker is wearing in our prototype photo - the parade uniform of a Russian infantry regiment of the line - also mockingly called "regiments with the high house numbers"...:



It was introduced after the comprehensive military reforms after the lost war against Japan in 1907...:



We see black boots, dark blue trousers, a green-brown uniform tunic called "Kitel" in Russia (derived from the German word "Kittel") and a furashka (peaked cap) with a red band and green-blue cap.

Here is an original - the color of the cap lid is easy to see...:



This furashka is a remnant of the previous uniform that still belongs to Tsar Aleksandr III. went back and was worn in the Russo-Japanese War - the color of the cap matched the uniform skirt...:





Officers were free to continue using the old dress and formal dress uniform.

If we look at another Furashka original, the prominent stitching on the front of the hat flap is striking...:



Today I first added this seam and then all the red hat parts with acrylic paints...



...accompanied, whereby light and shadow have already been relatively roughly predefined...:







Tomorrow it's time for the oil paints...


Cheers

Wonderful information!

15. Day, November 10, 2022


So - and now the red Furashka parts in oils...



... unfortunately it is still very shiny

I lined the seams around the decorative piping with black at the bottom and deep violet at the top, which looks better on the red cap band.








Cheers

14. Day, November 11, 2022


The Furashka cover is underpainted with acrylics...:



This blue green (or green blue)...





... is damn hard to hit, and even harder to photograph with any degree of color fidelity!





I'm happy that I engraved the seam on the front of the cap! She gets the Furashka sporadically good...!

Cheers

Looking fantastic Martin.

He does bear a stricking resemblance to Stalin.

A little at most - and only with a cap on his head...


Cheers

Oh yes, certainly with the cap, and from a certain angle.

15. Day, November 14, 2022


With these oil's...



... today I approached the original cap color step by step...:



The devil knows why it now looks bluer under artificial light than it actually is!







Cheers