Paint Stripping Part 3 - After some testing.

A while ago I did a few posts on paint stripping.. (See Parts 1 and 2 in the blog history).

At the time, someone said they had heard Coca Cola was worth a try and acetone free nail polish remover.


So here are the results.




Coca Cola - 100% original full fat(Sugar) coke!.. well.. it made some of the paint sticky, it had no effect on the miniatures material, be it metal, plastic or resin. Paints from Vallejo, GW and Army painter, showed no real weakness to it.. on some older models the stuff did soften the paint a little but, compared to Detol (pinesol solutions) it was no where near as good.






Acetone Free Nail Polish Remover - This stuff is odorous.. if you like the smell, great, but don't sniff too much, or you will put your health at risk!!! It might be acetone free, but that means it has had one chemical replaced with another! (or more likely many). Also don't spill it on your nice polished table tops, or you will be heading for the yellow pages to get it repaired!


However.. it eats paint! Yes. It works pretty good. I mean, on metals and most plastics and resins.
The "Most" bit however is key. I tried it on some GW plastics.. without issue.
I tried it on some resin scenery pieces I picked up off a bring and buy a couple of years back, and it worked fine. I also threw in a resin GW cr*pc*st, sorry fine-cast figure! DONT! I don't know what resin they use, but it didn't seem to like it. Metal figures however, not an issue.
Now, it did pretty well with most paints too, but there is a cost consideration. If you can get Detol cheap, then you tend to get more for your pennies, than nail polish remover though prices to vary.

However, I have found detol may discolour and go cloudy, but it still strips paint. I found the acetone free nail polish remover evaporated far faster and after a couple of dippings of 48hrs etc, it started to loose its effectiveness faster than Detol.



So now I am back to using Detol and only use the acetone free nail polish remover for metal figures where I need to get the figure turned around quickly.

So.. over all I still rate Detol! For price, re-usability, effectiveness and lower chances of killing me or making me seriously ill.

The biggest tip for detol.. soak the figure in it, then rince the figure off in detol, yes, detol, not in water. Use a tooth brush, but don't touch water on it, till the paint is off the figure. As, as soon as you add water, it nullifies the pine-sol content and causes any part dissolved paint to go rubbery and very stringy! So have one pot of clean, detol, to put the "soaked" figure in and use to wash off the paint in following a soak, before then rinsing in hot water.

Klear Pledge : Replacement for Klear - Home made dip.

Well, for many years those plastic modellers out there, used an acrylic floor polish, called "Klear".
It has a few uses, one of which was it could be used to make washes or dips for shading models.

The problem was it contained ammonia. And as the chemical is pretty toxic etc it was banned in several countries and so the "Klear" liquid (which happened to be indeed, clear or transparent) was removed from sale.

Then a replacement with no ammonia was released.. here in the UK it is called "Pledge Klear Multi-surface wax, 750ml".

 

It is no longer clear in colour and is in fact white.
But I am reliably informed, that it dries completely clear.

So as the zombie horde are still in progress and doing individual hi-lighting on each of the 100 or so figures is just out of the question time wise. I thought I would give the Pledge a go and make my own wash/dip.

Though I won't be actually dipping the miniatures as army painter suggest with their product. I will instead by painting it on with  a brush.

I have picked up two bottles of Dayler Rowney Permanent Acyclic Artists FW ink.. Sepia and Black (not Indian, just plain black, FW Indian ink has less particulates in it, you want the particles).

Now the inks were £5.50 ish each. And the Klear/Pledge was £4.99.. so for  about a tenna UK price wise,  you can make 750ml or more of your own wash.

The big area of debate is do you use it neat or do you use De-ionised water to thin it a little. Hmm not sure, so some experimenting will be needed I can see.

The other question is, as dried paint has a rough surface, it has a high surface tension. This means when you apply dip, or washes, it tends to stick to flat areas and pool.
So you get shadows where you don't want them. Some people get around this by warming up their dip to lower the viscosity. That can work.
Over thinning of your dip/washes with the likes of de-ionised water tends to lead to streaks.
So I am considering doing a pre dip of the figure in plain Klear/pledge and seeing if that helps the second cost to flow or not.

So I have some experimenting ahead. Will try and get a few photos up of the results. But it could be a little while. As my speed painting is still not that speedy! :)

So happy painting folks.. and watch this space.

Paint: GW comparrison chart.

Here is a nifty link..

http://www.dakkadakka.com/wiki/en/Paint_Range_Compatibility_Chart

Gives you the same or similar paint colour for various ranges of GW and others paint collections.

Handy may be for some people.

So thought I would share it.

Tutorial: Mixing your own washes.. APJ Guide.

I spotted this guide on the net, done by the talented Mr Lester Bursley, of Awsome Paint Job, Commission painting service. He has a fair few videos up on his you tube page and guides to painting space marines of various chapters.

In addition he also has a few guides.. one on cleaning brushes and its nice to see, he like me uses The Masters Brush Soap.

Any.. given the rising costs of washes, the fact that GW are now charging silly money and keep changing their washes, I decided it was time to look at getting better results from my washes and getting some consistency.

So was pleased to see this guide there is more info and photos of various ink effects;

http://www.awesomepaintjob.com/index.cfm/resources.recipes

Well worth a look.

I have in the past, just used artist ink mixed with de-ionized water (prevents minerals  that you can get in tap water, changing the colour when dry) and a tiny drop of washing up liquid to thin it. The result is ok. But it tends to be quite shiny, and you run the risk of bubbling and bubble marks with the detergent.

So having see the how Lesley does, I am going to keep an eye out for some of the Acrylic Medium and give it a try. As I still have a fair few zombies in my horde to paint, they are good test subjects for a few wash shades.. so time to experiment. I will try and update you on how it turns out and if it is a cost effective solution here in the UK.. I think the acrylic medium is a fair bit cheaper over in the USA.. so will be interesting to see.

Serious Painting Skill..

Every now and then I come across a website or photos etc of some serious modelling talent. Painting skills that just make me seeth with envy.

And these are some of the best.. have alook and feast your eyes on the attention to detail. I love dioramas, when they are done well. When there is a nice sence of story and drama.

From: http://www.fullrepent.fr/spip.php?article113

From: http://www.fullrepent.fr/spip.php?article113

Click on the links to see some more and mean. MORE! stunning work. Seriously impressive. Unfortunately the poor chap has passed on. But what talent he had.

Nice river technique and finish with Minwax Polyurethane Varnish

I have seen a fair few attempts at rivers in the past. Some really good ones. Some dire ones. But I spotted this video via a link on TMP and though it worth a share.

The basic fabrication is pretty simplistic. The tip with the sand is very effective and one I will copy my self I think. The other was the water effect. The painting tips are pretty understandable.

But the glossy finish is achieved using Minwax interior Polyurethane Varnish.
He has applied a couple of coats. And the effect is great. Not tacky and not too shiny.
One tip to definitely note for future.

Magnets and Interchangeable weapons etc.

One of the more popular techniques that has grown in recent years is the use of rare earth element magnets, to allow model parts to be attached and intechanged or removed for storage etc.

There are lots and lots of you tube videos on the subject. So I won't be going into the technical details. However someone asked me if I new a UK supplier.
I didn't at the time. However I do now

http://www.guysmagnets.com/

Found the link in a you tube video.

The other source appears to be ebay for many.

Size wise, I am still looking into this. Partly for my starship troopers miniatures. But also partly as some scenery pieces that I fancy making to be able to seperate for storage.

So any way a brief post on the topic.

Paint Stripping - Part 2

Well as a bit of follow on from my previous article about paint stripping and the agents in use by some of our gaming community and my preference for Dettol.

Today, I picked up a bottle of "Acetone Free" nail varnish/polish remover. I have been told by a fellow club mate, that it is the agent he uses.

Also, the enquiry was made, what about Coca Cola.. of either variety.. it certainly eats teeth, so will it eat paint.

So anyhow, some expericements shall be following in a day or two as I test out these agents and see if they can be added to the armoury of paint strippers.

So, watch this space.


(See Paint Stripping Part 3 for more info) 

Clutter - The gamers evil addiction..

So you are a wargamer, right.?

You have a dedicated painting table, correct.?

But somehow the world conspires to cover it in masses of ever growing clutter..

It is a conspiracy it tell you. Last year I had a pretty good clear out and managed to get the point where my painting chair was free to use and the painting table.
Now I can barely see either. Hmmm where did it all come from. And what is it?

The answer is, its stuff I hauled out to look at when I had a whim and interest in something and then somehow never got to put it away. Worse, the place that is came from has now been filled, with something else.

So, yes, its storage problems partly.. and just the fact that was gamers, I am not alone in buying new things here and there without really contemplating if I needed them. I just had grand ideas which have yet to be realised in the main.

So.. yes, it is time to be more strict and cut the clutter and buying. To paint what I have and to keep it organised and tidy.

Hmmm de-ja-vu is springing to mind.. was this not what I said last year..

So anyhow, it was and I am know it was. So operation table clear #2 is now about to commence. The aim to liberate my painting table.
However moving the clutter aside will not suffice this time. I need to sort some longer term storage of paints and tools etc to keep it the table tidy. Not only so I may paint, but also so I may be able to tackle some of those modelling jobs where cutting etc is required.

So, paint storage.. this will be one issue to investigate. Lots of commercial options out there, but most are pricey and most don't fit what I want. I need some sort of paint rack to take vallejo paint bottles and hold them horizontal, so i can mount the rack vertically against some shelves. I can see some engineering being needed.

Anyways, this is one project to get things started. The other is also a clear out of some non progressing projects and miniatures.

Will post some photos of how things progress in the coming weeks.

Stripping Paint - The wonders of nature..

Apologies for another gap in postings. I have been busy with other life issues. But managed a bit of work the last couple of days. Not painting as such, but preparing for painting. Had a few older minis, with dire paint jobs that needed stripping back to bare metal.

I have been using the same basic technique for a while. And I thought I would pop down some tips here.

Stripping Agents

Simple Green - Firstly if you search the Internet you will get lots of info about how our US cousins do it. Using "Simple Green", an environmentally friendly cleaner that is hard and pricey to get here in the UK.
Its a good agent, not nasty and works on both plastic, metal and resin and won't eat or soften green stuff.

Brake Fluid - (yukkk), some people swear by it. But frankly, it stinks, its nasty, you have to wear gloves with the stuff and you cannot under any circumstances pour it down the drain in the UK. The Environment Agency / or SEPA will jump down your neck as they regularly test for the stuff and it ain't worth the fine. You can of course, take it to your local council waste refuse collection point, who should have a safe disposal method. This works on metal, metal and metal.. put it on some resins it will cause reaction. And it will dissolve some plastics.
BUT if you metals were made with some stranger alloys, brake fluid can taint the metal. Just ask anyone who's had a car, vandalised with the stuff. It requires the surface rubbing back.
So frankly.. for the hassles, avoid like hell is my advice..

Fairy Power Spray - This is a UK brand domestic cleaner. Works on metals. Will weaken super glue and it reacts with green stuff. Works on some plastics. Best to test before hand.

Nitromors - Industial grade, paint remover.. nasty, horrid stuff with lots of fumes. But it will eat anything paint wise. Also will eat your plastics like no tomorrow into big sticky glupe that may catch fire! But on metals its fine. But the usual safety proviso, you cannot pore this down the drain either, its wickedly horrid to wild life etc.


Mr Muscles oven Cleaner - An oven cleaning foaming cleaner. Seen it used, but never tried it my self.

Dettol - The brown, smelly stuff, that turns white and cloudy in water. Yes, detol. It contains an natural agent called "pinesol". In fact this is the same active ingredient in simple green I believe. It does smell. But as long as you wear gloves, or your skin on your hands will go dry, and you have an open window nearby to mitigate the fumes its, perfectly safe. Its also not as nasty to be pored down the drain. This is my cleaner of choice for a couple of reasons.
It works on metals, plastics, it does weaken super glue, but it won't eat green stuff.

Water - Yes, good old H2O.. Simple and can be very effective. Pop the miniature into warm water and leave and leave.. if you are in no hurry, leave for weeks on end. Occasionally swishing the water round. Add a bit of salt as well, to make it slightly salty and it can lift off and soften some paints. Or some orange juice/citric acid. Its a slow lengthy process and might not work with some heavier paints.

So those are the agents that I know people have used or have used my self.

So how do you use them..?? I hear the voices in the gallery cry.. well..

Oh OK, I suppose it would be mean to just leave it there..

With the oven cleaner and power spray, people tend to put the minis in a bag. Spray in the cleaner, close the bag and leave 24hrs. Then rinse under water and scrub with tooth brush etc. can take a couple of treatment's to get lots of layers of paint off, and out of the deeper recesses in the mini.

With the likes of detal, simple green etc, just place figures into an air tight container with lid, cover with the liquid and soak for 24hrs. Remove, scrub and rinse. You may only have to do this the once. But sometimes a second soaking will work. Bits of paint will come off as they soak and so each batch or jar full will usually do about 10 to 20 minis before it becomes horrid and grim and needs disposing.

Break fluid - Well you are nuts if you use it. So don't!

Tools

Time - Yes time.. leave the figures to soak. Don't rush. The longer the better. I see on forums people saying a few hours of soaking is enough, then they comment that it takes ages scrubbing the paint. If you use Dettol like I do, I leave for at least 24grs and most paint will come off, inc glossy oils. I tend however to leave models soaking for weeks.. I have one resin bridge currently in a bath of dettol now 12 months. Why.. errr because I forgot about it.. lol. The paint has all bubbled up nicely and it just need a scrub.

That is one things to note. None of the above will work without some mechanical work. They will soften the paint and break the adhesion to the figure, but not the dissolve it completely.
Toothbrush - No not the one you use to actually brush your teeth, but a cheap new one (old ones tend to have worn out bristles at funny angles). Best tool in the box. Work the brush in straight strokes and then in circles. Circular motions help get the bristles into the deeper details and nooks.

Toothpicks - Wooden tooth picks are great for those hard to reach stubbon spotts of paint. Some people use metal tools, but on plastic figure you can easily scratch them and leave visible marks for when you come to repaint.

Ultrasonic Cleaners - These machine generate sound waves that create bubbles of air that vibrate off dirt. And can work on loose paint. The problem is, they tend not to work and a sole solution. You still need to soak your minis in something first to loosen the paint and then you still need to scrub them up afterword. Though apparently the scrubbing takes a lot less time. But unless you are doing a lot of stripping and I mean a lot, and invest in a high quality one (probably over £100 worth with heating ability/timer/variable settings) you won't see any real benefit.


Notes

Note there will be fumes with dettol. Nothing too bad, but enough for some people to find horrid and so opening a window helps.

Watch out for small parts. It is easy to miss small parts in the bottom of your solution, and tip them away only to discover it later. So don't work with running water over a sink with the plug out. Run the water in a bowl and periodically tip it out.

Gloves & Glasses.. - I would say wear gloves always. The sticky soft paint residue is horrid and never mind the effects of long term exposure to the chemicals. Just wear gloves. Good old marigolds work a treat. And a set of safety specs or goggles is a good idea too. Dettol or cleaner flicks when using a tooth brush. Don't get it in your eyes. Its not nice.

Kitchen town is always handy. And newspaper. I tend to have a bowl with an old sieve in it, that I put the scrubbed models into and then soak in water to remove the detol residue. A couple of rinses in clean water and then dried, and you are ready to paint.

Then I can examine them and either give them a second soaking or return them to mount galena to await their time on the hallow table of artistry.!


So.. there you go.. bet you are glad you read all the way to the bottom..


(See Part 2 for more!)

Scarily nice terrain..

Further to my previous post about finding people with skill and their production of scenery that makes you just a little envious.. ok,,  a LOT envious..
Have a look through this German site..

http://gidian-gelaende.de/

And his gallery on his Mordhiem board..

http://gidian-gelaende.de/Material_HP/Wolfgang/Mortheim/album/index.html


Seriously impressive work.

Let the Zombie Horde Begin - Part 3b Painting begins.

I have managed to get some more work done on the first batch of zombies.. the bases are now done, and more importantly the gore is added and they have had a wash.
So what do you think? 

Gore and bases done! Only varnish left to go!

 The gore was done with three colours of red.. a dark, a middle and a bright red. The burnt cadmium was the dark. Basic Red was the middle and the fresh blood was Game Colour blood. This latter is pretty bright and without a wash over the top, is too bright I think.

I started with burnt cadmium and covered lower edges of wounds and did some blood marks on clothing. I wanted them to look gory but not over done. I think making a figure look bloodied is an art. A lot of people get too heavy with the blood, and they forget dried blood looks almost black. For a first attempt, and with no previous work to go on, I am pretty happy with the look so far.

Close up the bloody and gore and wounds.

More blood and gore.. the light is making the red a little bright.

Those these were cheap figures, the details comes alive with paint on.

The detailing may be softer on VFM figs, compared to others, But you find more as you get painting.

So you can see the group as a whole. The bases were done with my usual three tone system. A dark, a middle and a light. The dark base colour is bases on to completely cover the base. The middle tone goes on with a moderate dry brush. The lighter tine then goes on last with a light brybrush. I chose the grey, as usually I go with brown and I use Silfor Tufts to detail the bases. But I decided the grey worked well and as often these will be in a modern environment, (when I make the buildings, that is! ) I went with grey. Also I think I made do my hero's and survivors with brown bases. That was its easy to tell them apart. But time will tell. 

First 15 zeds ready to roll into the varnish shop!

Zombie Dogs, bases dones the same way.

As you can see I have done the zombie dog bases the same way. I could get some off white and pick out a few individual stones on the bases, to break them up a bit, but give the time and number (still over 100 zombies to go!) its a lot of work. I will see.

The final step will be a gloss coat of varnish as a protective layer. Maybe two coats. As I suspect these figures will get a lot of handling. Then a matt varnish over the top to get rid of the shine!

I see a lot of people using matt only varnish and frankly its a waste of time. Matt varnish will not protect your figure. It will give it a nice flat look and add thin layer, but it is a thin layer. You need a sealing gloss varnish to protect your figures.

Note, the other advantage of doing a gloss layer followed by a matt layer, is as the matt varnish wears away, you will see you figures getting shiny. When that happens, its time for another coat of matt varnish. Before the varnish layer is completely worn away.

Warning - The following may come across a bit patronising!

A tip with varnish. Many people get a white milky look! And scream "nuts" or words to that effect and swear they are not varnishing their figures ever again..

There are a couple of reasons why this happens.;
1). Read the instructions, I don't mean just look at them, I mean follow them. If it says shake the can for 2-3minutes. It means it. Get a watch, and time it. Shake like hell. Your arm and wrist will ache! If they don't you haven't shaken the can enough! The propellant chemicals and adhesives chemicals will not be fully mixed. That means you get cloudy looking finish.

2). Peas - No not the green things you eat. Nearly every good quality can of undercoat, varnish or lacquer has a metal "pea" in the bottom. If the can has stood in the same place un moved for a long time. This gets stuck on the bottom of the can. You need to bang it to free it. This can take a serious clout. Be careful, don't hit it on or with anything sharp or the obvious will happen. But if you don't hear and feel that pea, rattle, then you will never get a proper mix of propellant and varnish. See note 1).  It can take several bangs and some serious hard ones to get the pea loose.

3). Atmospherics. Yes, atmospherics. what??? I hear you scream.. two things.. humidity and dust! Varnishes, don't react well to humidity, spray one in a damp atmosphere, the water vapour in the air sticks too and is trapped in the varnish as it settles on the figures. This gives you a cloudy finish! It also effects the life of the varnish.
Like wise with dust. The fine spray of particulate varnish, is electro statically charged as it turns into an aerosol, as it leaves the can. That charge, makes it attract dust. So try and make sure you spray and leave you figures to dry in a dust free place.  (This is the one thing I struggle with, majorly, its frustrating, but my extrator helps, and with the fumes).

4). Coats, No not 1970s Afghans with furry collars.. ;) I am talking applications and layers. Apply your first coat. Apply it in short bursts, don't apply it too heavy. Work with smooth sweeping motions, don't hover over a single target or you will over dose it! If the coat/layer is too thick! It will go cloudy and look horrid. Better to under - coat it, and apply several thin layers. BUT, ensure its dry between applications. If you put another layer over a curing layer, the chemical reaction of the base layer will effect the second upper coat. The volatiles in the lower layer won't beable to escape, and will effect the second layer!
That leads to a white milky look or can lead to bubbling in the varnish.

5). Too much Matt - Yep, matt varnish, when over applied, goes satin and can even go glossy. It doesn't take a lot of Matt varnish to kill the shine. So make sure you go lightly.
Putting Matt varnish over a gloss when the gloss is not fully dry is another cause of milkyness.

6). Stick to same brand - I personally rate the HMG varnish sold by Figures in Comfort and some other retailers. I like it. It works. I use both the Matt and the Gloss. However if you are tempted to mix manufacturers, heed the following. Different makers, use different combinations and cocktails of chemicals and putting one over another may lead to a variety of issues. Firstly, none setting. Secondly milkyness. Thirdaly peeling in extreme cases. And some cheap chinese varnishes use some pretty horrendous banned chemicals that can react and catch fire, according to an artical in a train magazine, a friend of mine told me about.

So, you are now fully aware, well at least aware of some of the issues that I know of or have come across with varnishes!

Ok, in all scineretly I hope the above is handy and informative!  Despite all that above, it is very much worth varnishing your figures. They will last a lot longer. And there is nothing worse than half way through a game, reaching for a figure, only to notice a chip in your fabulous paint job, which just spoils the enjoyment of the game!

So, anyhow.. that 20 something zombie dogs and 15 human zombies done! (with exception of varnish). To save on varnish I will do them in batches and so these first sets of figures will get put aside and I have to wait for a dry none rainy (humidity) day.

So.. whats next.. I hear the my masses of followers ask in eagernes.. ?? errr. hmm well 15mm sci-fi.. 

Only kidding! My club mates are busily amassing some serious volume of 15mm scifi, from various sources and had a great looking game last week at the club. It looked really good. And yes I would be tempted if I hadn't already got a mass of stuff and my current projects on the go!

So, the next step is to de-mount the figures from the 6" nails they are on and look to getting the next lot mounted and undercoated.

I see VFM have a new set of additions out to their horde range! Going by a post on their blog too. And thus this week I will be following the mantra of " I must not buy more zombies, I must not buy more zombies..!"

Hope you like the look of the ones above. And I will keep you update with the progress of the next lot. I need to get a few more "ordinary, colours". My paint collections are pretty military in nature and I need a few more shades of colours and ideas, before I wind up with too much of one colour in the horde.

Not I have the gore and bases colours sorted out, I hope I can crack on with them.

Please stay tuned for the next update.

A quick update..

Hi Folks, Apologies for the lack of updates recently. Life has hit the hetic button once again.
I have however been able to get some painting done on the zombies, batch 1. And they are looking quite good, if I do say so my self. I will try and get some photos up and a full update shortly.

I have also been looking into more storage options for figures. The perenial problem of an expanding lead mountain.. where to put it all!

As an aside and remember I said I wasn't starting any more projects.. well.. err.. it kind of got started last year mind. But I am looking at a fantasy skirmish campaign to run at the club.

I think I have narrowed my idea down to Middle Earth, the 4th age. 500years after the end of the war of the ring or so.. may be a bit longer. Why? Well it means I can write some new stuff, inspired by my MERP info and yet still keep the players familiar with much of the general geography and peoples, without too much change.

Oh and I have been playing with gore! Its actually harder than I thought to make a zombie look good. Seriously.. the drawn, gaunt, mindless expression, are great. But simple paint jobs, lead to simple looks. So to give my victims, sorry zombies some, impact, I experimented with gore.. three tone red combination has kind of worked well. The end result is ok. I would like to say it is awsome, but I just don't know.. I will leave that to you guys to decide once the photos are up.

Anyhow, thats it for now. Just a quick update. More to following shortly.

Let the Zombie Horde Begin - Part 3a Painting begins.

I thought I would post a quick update on the horde. I managed a little painting over the holidays. Not quite as much as I had hoped, but that always seems to be the way with painting miniatures. You never quite seem to get as many done or quite as far with a figure as you would like in the given time.

Anyhow, here are the latest shots. All of the first two sets of zombie dogs are now painted (excluding bases). I have also started on my first batch of the VFM zombie figures. The first 15 are coming along nicely as I hope you can see.

The first 15 zombies progressing along nicely.

The first 15, still some work to go. But taking shape.

The second set of zombie dogs, the pink ones from Part3, now done.

The other side, I really like the way these came out. Still have the bases to go.

So as you can see they are progressing. The second batch of dogs from Part 3 (the pink ones) are now all looking rather gruesome! The quick dark grey dry brush, with a pick out of the bones has given them a kind of almost burnt / charred flesh look.. grizzly!

Once the first set of 15 zombies are done, I will move onto the basing. The skin tone is looking good on the zombies. I went with stone grey. It is an almost greenish grey without being too green. I aim to give each figure a wash of newton&winsor nut brown ink, before the are done. This will change the tones a little.

I still have the "gore" to do and wounds on on the zombies. Its easy to splash on red paint, but often it looks a little too bright for my taste.. So some experimenting here shall be needed. But so far, so good. Am pleased. I just wish I could get more done faster..lol.

These will definitely not be my finest work. Simple because having so many do to, and they are a "mass" collection, there is no need. I suspect the survivors shall be hosing them down in their hundreds so to speak. But I still want them to look good. I just won't be putting them in the display cabinet.

Right, back to painting I think!

Let the Zombie Horde Begin - Part 3 Painting begins.

So having based all (or so I thought, see previous post) of my zombies, I went ahead and undercoated a the first batch. I have taken, since doing some Empress moderns, to mounting my figures on 6" nails. I found it easier to hold the model and more comfortable. And more stable as it gives the model more weight. I use hot glue, but have found this can sometimes need re-doing. With these zombies, I have experimented and tabbed a couple down with some white scenery glue. I am hoping the bond, won't be too strong to pop off. And a quick clean up with a razor blade should remove any glue from the nail head and the coin base.

Here are the first set of zombies. I have gone with a white undercoat for now, as I want to try and keep them bright and colourful, or as much as I can. I find black can darken things a little too much. Also the VFM figures don't have vast amounts of deep detailing where leaving black in the recesses can give nice shadows. I am going to be experimenting with skin tones and colours for a bit I suspect. So I decided to get a bit of progress on the zombie dogs.

First batch of zombies to be undercoated.

Having mounted and undercoated what I thought to be all the zombie dogs. I wanted to get a bloody/resident evil type feel to them. So I began with a white undercoat and a simple watery red paint wash. Put on quite heavy. Above and below show how effective the simple one colour scheme can be.

The effect with only a single red paint wash over the undercoat.

Having been quite pleased with that, I decided to give a few a simple brown leather, dry brush, or actually more of a wet brush really. I tend used a done white to pick out a few of the obvious bones, like the shoulder blades, the ribs and leg bones, oh and the eyes. (All vallejo game colours or model colour paints).



I think these are great figures for the price..

Sorry this is a bit dark but you can see the simple effect. I think they look pretty good. I have done 15 in this leather brown/tan type finish. And think I will do some more in a dark grey nearly black and maybe some lighter tan. The three colour schemes should hopefully break up the monotony of the single pose.

White undercoat, red wash, leather brown dry brush, and done white pick out of bones! Simple really!

The zombie bogs.. missing about 13 that managed to some how escape and not get based yet.. grrr!

So there they are,, what do you think?

Let the Zombie Horde Begin - Part 2b Basing begins.

Wow.. two updates in one night.. well the first batch of zeds now have textured bases, and are now drying out. So I thought I would show you a couple of shots of their progress.

Zombie dogs with wet basetex paint and fine model railway ballast sprinkled on.

The first batch of Zombies. Done as above.

The first batch in its glory as it sits and dries.

500ml pot of basetex. Prefered as the smaller bottle dry out too quickly.

I simply spatula on the basetex paint using a stiff bristle brush. The lip of the coin bases helps retain the paint, though you do get the odd bit that dribbles over the edge. Load the base up fully. Don't worry as it looses volume as it settles. I use brown alot. Colour wise I have white, brown and dried earth, but I will be painting over the top, so colour makes little difference here to me.

But if you put it on after, well you have a range to pick from. Once the base is loaded up, I sprinkle on some model railways gravel, to give rougher patches and break up the uniformity. As the basetex dries it will seal in most of the gravel. I will rub my thumb over the bases before painting to remove and loose gravel.

A tip. If you decide to try basetex, buy a small bottle, they are acouple of pounds. Give it a whirl. But be prepared for it to dry up. Every small bottle I have had, has dried up within 6 months or so. Even storing them upside down. The reason is, no matter how good you are and tidy, you get paint caught in the lip and threads of the bottles and so it won't seal when closed down.

I thus, buy the 500ml tubs in preference. They last for years. In fact I had one tub for 3 years, before I finished it. And yes it did not dry out. The tubs are made of plastic which the basetex does not properly stick too. You can thus clean up the edge and lid periodically if needed.

Now the consistency of basetex can vary,, some pots come watery and some don't, more like a paste. It is not colour dependant either. I like just thickened enough to flow but not run like water. So if I get pot that's too runny, I leave the lid off for a short period and let it evaporate some of the liquid, or I have also added sand to the brown, to bulk it up. Just ordinary builders sharp sand.

Colour party, make out the particles in the paint that give it, its rough texture are the same colour as the paint. So if it chips you won't see a colour difference if you leave it as its raw colour. The brown certainly if applied in a reasonable layer gives a good "just dried" mud look.

Anyhow.. that's the first batch done! Now only about a hundred more to go!

Gifted Painters - The boundary between gaming and modelling

If you have never come across this gentleman's work before, and you are a particularly a fan of WW2 period. Then do take a moment to have flick through his blog and pictures.

Using a lot of static modelling techniques, he is able to get some outstanding finishes on what are pretty ordinary wargames models. Also he does a fair bit of alterations, such as extra stowage etc.

Now I my own painting, has improved over the years. My first ever miniatures were some dark angel beaky marines from the original platoon box set of plastics around 1990's or there abouts. They are over done, not undercoated and my brush control was dire.

Over the years, despite the periods away from the hobby, I have managed to learn a few things here and there and have even taken on the dreaded airbrush. A handy tool for bigger projects but one I am still mastering for the smaller individual pieces.

But I know, that though my painting is OK, to "table standard" as I like to refer to it. And a few people have said its better. The compliments I accept kindly. I know there are some who, through hard work and talent, do get results that are just stunning.

So have a look through the blog here. http://troopofshewe.blogspot.com/
And see what you think.

Getting side tracked. The perils of gaming.

So its Sunday night and I am looking back at what I have achieved this week. Or that should really be, what I haven't achieved this week.

Alas, the usual story struck, where I meant to do a few certain things. Not much I was thinking, but they would help keep progression with regards to my Vietnam and Starship Troopers projects. But nope. A complete fail.

Oh I can blame it on many things, and some of them are even quite legitimate excuses. But they won't change a thing. So this week I am going to try a big harder.

But I have a club gaming weekend at the end of it, and I have some figures I need to get assembled and base coated for it. I won't have time to get them completely painted, but as its a giant game of space hulk I am planning, its not a worry.

It is more board game than wargames, but as we have all weekend to play it. It should be quite fun. Will be using my home brew skirmish rule set, which contains a few RPG type elements.

Will hopefully get a few photos and get them posted up.

However, this lack of progress did get my thinking. Which is dangerous some would say.
Firstly, I am not sure if I am alone, but going by a few friends, I am not; In being unable to get regular progress made on projects. I definitely fall into the "sporadic" category.

So anyhow, before I bore you to death. Keep and eye out this week for a few posts as I try and get things rolling once more.

Enjoy!

28mm Vietnam Project - Part 5 - Basing Texture

Well, I managed to find an hour to apply some basing texture.
Having mounted the figures onto 2pence pieces like so;

FoA Vietnam Figures Mounted on 2pence pieces before texture

Now this is where personal preference tends to come in. I know many painters who do their basing texture last. However I choose to apply it now and then undercoat the figures with black or white spray depending.

For these Force of Arms Vietnam 28mm figures I am sticking to my usual texturing medium, of Basetex paint. Its a paint with grit in it basically. Now it comes in varying size pots, from 200ml size, upto 0.5ltr size. I buy the big pots for a simple reason. They have better lids and they don't dry out. Also its handy stuff and lasts a long time if sealed.
But the smaller pots I found to be a false economy if you like it. So by all means grab a small pot to try, but if you like it, make sure you use that small pot up quick. Basetex paint is made by Colourparty, here in the UK.

Now the one thing you have to note, with basetex. The consistency does not always come out the same. I mean, i have bought two pots of brown. One has come out quite viscous and easily spatulared on. And a second pot from the same batch has come out, very runny.
Now this really isn't a problem, either leave the lid off the runny stuff for a few mins and watch the liquid evaporate, or do as i have done to sometimes extend a pots life, by adding some sand. Now in the brown, you will not notice it. The brown will take extra sand, and gravel and not discolour. Lighter colours of course, may tint slightly in shade.

Now, I like it quite thick, as I use a stiff long bristle cheap nylon brush to apply it. Working the brush like a spatula. Applying the first off around the feet/centre of the model and working outwards. The liquids surface tension is pretty good, but it will settle out, and so if you have a raised area, like the base of a figure, then you need to add a little more here, to compensate.

Once I have applied enough basetex and covered the base, you could leave it like that and let is set/dry. If you do, you get a nice caked mud type finish, with drying type cracks in the odd places. Don't worry the basetex, sets like concrete!  So it really is tough stuff.

Now my preference, is to add a pinch of model railway ballast or sand/fine grit mix, here and there to break up the texture and ensure i have some areas when i come to dry brush the model bas, will pick up paint and leave a nice effect.

By sprinkling the gravel onto the wet basetext paint the majority of the gravel will sink in a little and remain well glued down. I do however, rub each figure base with my thumb, to remove and weakly bonded gravel prior to base coating, to avoid you getting "bright spots" when some comes away after base coating, as Murphy's law states it will do in the most obvious place..

So here is what they look like once textured;

Basetex Paint by colour party as base texture medium

As you can see, there are some gravel pieces near the edges and these i tend to ping out, to ensure there are non over hanging. But even as yet unpainted, the bases look pretty reasonable.
So the next step with these will be give them each a rub over, and remove the loosely bonded bits. And glue on a single M79 weapon, that comes as a separate item on one of the figures. Oh and then try and sort the lost gun barrels on a couple. Now I probably should have fixed those earlier, before mounting, but my brain was saying.. " you will have more to hold onto after basing".. time will soon tell whether my brain was right or not.

So here is a close up for those who like detail..

Close up of the textured base.

So the next step, will be glue on the M79 and sort the snapped M16 barrels and then undercoat them. However these are not my only US figures by a long shot. See some of my earlier posts and I have realised some of those were not textured either. So it looks like I might be spending a further night or two prepping before I can get around to base coating.

But will keep you in touch with progress as it occurs.  So stay tuned for the next progress report..

28mm Vietnam Project - Part 4 - Basing Begins

Ok, so firstly apologies for the lack of any substantial progress of late. But life has conspired to keep my rather busy and away from the painting table. However in a sudden fit of energy last night. I dug out my pot of 2pence pieces and my batch of Force of Arms 28mm Vietnam figures and started on the basing.

The first step was, simply to go through cleaning up the figures, trimming off flash and vent tags from the moulding. There was not a great deal, mostly vent tags, which are easy to snip off, cut off or file off, depending on your chosen technique.

There were remarkably few bits of flash to deal with. That was the good news. The bad news, was. The FoA metal is not the most bendy. I found several figures with bent gun barrels and two or three snapped upon straightening. Now this is annoying. But I have had it with other makers.

From a recent comment by John Bruce (FoA) with regards to his latest ANZACS release on TMP, I noted he has now moved to a softer metal. So obviously I was not the only one notice how brittle it could be.

Anyhow, I will try and pin those, to give a gun barrel of sorts. And it probably won't be too obvious. As these are gaming and not display models, I am not too worried. It is just slightly frustrating.

So, first step was the clean them up.. now.. a quick note on tools. A while ago I bought a seam scraper from Micromark tools over in the USA. Its a triangular shaped cutter. Its have a double ended bit and can be extended and retracted as required. And its sharp!

It flies through flash at a rate of knots. The only issue is, they are not cheap to buy, having to order from across the pond.

The postage was pretty high and I managed to avoid the tax threshold just. So quite happy with it. I spotted the tool being demoed on YouTube;

This is not the one I original spotted but that has been removed. However this one shows the tool in use. The one thing I will issue a WARNING!! about is, the point is sharp. It is very, I stress very easy to slip and jab your self with this tool. Just like hobby knives. Best treated with respect or the blood will flow! The video also shows some other tools in use.

So.. once the figures were cleaned up, it was just a case of digging out the two part, 5-minute epoxy. I use Devcon, as its never let me down in the past.

Some care needs to be taken. The inbuilt figure bases/tags with some of John's miniatures are quite small and their poses make the figure top heavy. So you have to ensure you have a pretty flat working area, or you get them toppling, whilst the glue dries. This happened to one and I have to quickly remove the still curing semi rigid epoxy with a knife and re glue it. Nothing too serious.

I mix about two penny sized blobs of resin and harnder in each batch and use a cocktail stick to mix the two, thoroughly. You can tell when it is well mixed, as the liquid will take on a frosted haze, that will clear as it sets. This is usually enough to do about 6-9 figures, depending on base size. Its easy to try and do too many in one go. And before you know it, the epoxy will begin to setup/harden and you will have fine stringers of glue, everywhere and then wham! All of a sudden its hard,, and you find your cocktail stick is now, going to have to be come part of your base.

So, small batches. It also means if you get a figure suddenly fall off the desk, or get interrupted by the phone, the cat, the dog, family etc, and you have to leave it, you only loose a little. I mix the liquids on old business cards, as they are a good size and can be scrapped off, before the excess sets, to get more than one use out of them. Be careful mind with tossing setting epoxy about the place. Its exothermic, meaning it generates some heat depending on brands/chemicals, and so can cause melting/fires in large quantities. Also don't get it on your carpet!

Right, OK here they are.. the 34 odd or so.. stuck and firmly glued.. next step will be the texturing.. which I hope to get done this evening.

Force of Arms 28mm Vietnam based on 2pence pieces

If you look carefully you will see some US infantry, including some special forces and a few VC figures in the set. These figures are nicely styled, and have some real character to them. Each figure is an individual and I do think many gamers interested in 28mm Vietnam, over look John Bruces - Junction City Range.