Buildin' Bloggin' Part II: Cork Buildings and SMoGs

Hey All!

I finally got around to finishing up a bit of Stalingrad terrain to fight over - and this time it didn't end up in the garbage! I found a few pics on the net of terrain made from 1 x 1 foot cork tiles.  Looked great and seemed simple...a trip to the Dollar store secured 2 tiles for 2 bucks and a 2 days later, I had 3 buildings! They are light-weight and durable and can be built as large or small as you like.

Cutting with a drywall knife was easy and gluing with PVA produces a strong bond. I used pins to hold in place until dry. But the best thing about the cork (over anything else I have tried) is the beautiful crumbled concrete look that is produced by simply breaking off chunks! Also, bullet holes are a snap - just dig into the wall with the tip of a pin and pop out!

I added some cardboard trim from cereal boxes, some hand-painted slogans and a few propaganda posters to flesh these out. Once complete, I brushed on a coat of thinned PVA to strengthen.

Floors and walls were positioned with miniature placement as a determiner so some simplification was required.  Rubble was a mix of sand, kitty litter. I will probably put these buildings on a removable base so the bottom floor can be used with ease.  Still working on how to add brickwork to future creations...

  Above are my finished SMG squads (SMoGs as my buddy John calls them). I added various scratch-built items and rubble to give them a Stalingrad-era look.

Cheers!

Troy

Undercoating Minis: Black or White? PART III

Once You Go Black...

Hey All!

As a final installment to this primer/undercoat series, I can sum it all up to this, once you go black, its really hard to go back to a different color. The issues with grainy white showing through the paint layers just don't happen with black. As well, I find Vallejo colors just look truer over black especially the first coat.

Pictured above are two figures, left, black undercoated and right, white. I had to do three layers to get the base coat to cover the white completely, only two on the black. The use of black reduces my painting time and for someone who only paints a figure a day, this helps a lot! I have settled on:

Black Krylon Dual Superbond, using two coats with a couple hours between coats for a super-durable base-coat. At around 6 bucks a can, this will be my choice for all basecoating from now on.

These figures are for my Soviet Storm Squads to flesh out my Stalingrad forces. Great Battlefront figures although short and fat, they are similar to the BF Rifle-armed Infantry in stature and size. A few are too-short and have absolutely no neck. I added a new head to a few of these (above second from right) so they are usable. Also changed the Molotov-thrower to a grenade-thrower which was a simple change with an x-acto. I have again mixed in a few Greatcoated figures to add variation.

Many WWII painters have a certain color that eluded them despite their best efforts (Dunkelgelb anyone?).  Mine is the color of both the wrap and Shinel Greatcoat. Spent waaaay too much time staring at color swatches! I settled on the 'Brown variation' 50% Burnt Umber 941 + 50% USA Tan Earth 874 combo.

Other colors are as per my Recommended Colors link on the top-right of the blog with the pants mostly Khaki Grey and shirts, Middlestone. I painted in a few chinstraps on those figures that had issues with facial detail or looked too plain although they should probably all have them.

Cheers!

Troy

Undercoating Minis: Black or White? PART II

Hey All!

The figure on the left is undercoated white; the right one in black. I painted the two figures at the same time and here are my observations:

1. Black is easier to block-paint without trouble getting into all the nooks and crannies.
2. Finished look is about the same regardless of primer used although I did find I had extra work (extra layers) covering the white undercoat.
3. With my current choices, the white undercoat is stronger and has better bite to it. See below...

One thing about undercoating minis with lead content or softer metal is that the paint must have a good bite to it and be able to pass my 'scratch' test. This is simply to paint the mini in the undercoat and allow to dry overnight. Once dry, I lightly run my fingernail over the helmet three times. If the undercoat stays, its strong enough for wargaming. Sadly both the Armorcoat and Krylon did not pass muster. The Krylon was worst of all, coming off in big flakes. I am still looking for a stronger black paint and will try some of the automotive primers.

Pictured above is my old standby Flat White Tremclad and the test subject blacks.

Each test mini was given a single coat of well shaken paint and allowed to dry overnight. Each is rated from 1 to 4 with 1 best. Here are the results:

BRAND	NOZZLE	FINISH	ADHESION	COVERAGE
Tremclad Rust Paint Flat White	4. Very coarse	1. Dead Flat	1. Excellent	1. Single pass -too much paint
Armor Coat Enamel Flat Black	1. Ultra-fine	4. Satin	4. Poor	3. Three passes
Krylon Indoor/Outdoor Flat Black	2. Fine mist	4. Satin	4. Poor	2. A couple passes
Krylon Dual Paint and Primer Flat Black	2. Fine mist	2. Flat	2. Very Good	2. A couple passes
Dupli-color Sandable Primer Flat Black	2. Fine Mist	3. Slight sheen	3. Good	4. Multiple passes

Overall, I liked the Krylon Dual best. Its lower price and good adhesion make it  the clear winner. One thing that may make a difference is that each paint took different amounts of passes to get good coverage and this may mean that 2 coats may make the product work better than a single.

Cheers!

Troy

Undercoating Minis; Black or White, PART I

Hey All!

One thing about painting miniatures; you will not improve much if you are not willing to try out new techniques and with this in mind, I embark of a test of sorts.

Traditionally, I have used flat white spray paint as an undercoat for all my minis. I do not use 'Primer' as it will fill-in detail and in 15mm, this is a problem. I prefer to top-coat with a varnish to give the finished mini's paint job durability.

White undercoating, in theory, gives the mini a brighter overall finish but I wonder if the opposite is true. Will black absorb the dark from the paint and cause the color to appear brighter? One issue I am having with white undercoat is that you have to re-paint all the crevice's and deep shadow areas as any missed areas are glaringly obvious.

Another problem I am having is that the white primer shows through the top coat. While this can be desirable for some things, generally it forces me to do at least two coats of Vallejo to completely cover the undercoat.

I have decided to try two brands of flat black paint to undercoat three minis each and relate the experience. I grabbed six Pionere figures and two types of flat black spray paint.  The brands chosen: Krylon and Armorcoat. I found the Armorcoat to be cheaper in price but better misting than the Krylon but I suspect the Krylon will stand up better to the scratch test.

Once undercoated, I left the minis to dry overnight. Another observation, I was able to spot a fine casting line that I would have missed with white undercoating (center figure) - thats a bonus! Also the flat is more of a satin for both brands.

Stay tuned...

Der (Das?) Liebster Award

Hey All!

Though I detest chain-letters of any sort, a tool for self-promotion and exposure for a small wargaming blog is never a bad thing so it is with some reservations that I accept my nomination (a declination assures the world will end) of the Liebster Award. A thank-you goes out to my nominator for the Liebster Blog Award, 

dhcwargamesblog

Rules Of The Liebster Award 

(subject to change...)

If you have been nominated for The Liebster Award and accept, post an entry about the Liebster award in which you:

1. Thank the person who nominated you, and post a link to their blog on your blog.
2. Display the award on your blog.
3. Answer 11 questions about yourself, which will be provided to you by the person who nominated you.
4. Provide 11 random facts about yourself.
5. Nominate 11 blogs that you feel deserve the award, who have a less than 200 followers. 
6. Create a new list of questions for your nominees to answer.
7. List these rules in your post.
8. Inform the people/blogs that you nominated that they have been nominated for the Liebster award and provide a link for them to your post.

'Nuff of the rules - here goes...

Questions Provided by Nominator:

1. Why did you start blogging?

 A place to bitch and boast. Whats good, whats bad, and what have I been painting.

2. If you could change one thing about the wargaming hobby, what would it be?

Ban lead in miniatures.

3. What is best in life?
A rainy day off work, hands down. That way I don't feel guilty for spending the day painting.

4. Do you read Battle Reports and what makes them inviting to read?

Yes I do and humor is the key to a good one.

5. Fame or fortune?

Fame, it last longer than the money.

6. What miniatures are you most proud of having painted?

This...

It's of a 6mm (1/285th) scale GHQ mini that I painted about twenty (!) years ago. While it is a blurry and poor resolution picture, this was the first picture that I ever sent in to them for publication.

7. How do you deal with burnout?
Switching projects usually does the trick although this leads to the other dreaded painting ailment 'Tomaniprojektocious' which in turn can cause stage 2 burnout.

8. Is figure painting a chore or pleasure?
For others, work. For yourself, pure bliss!

9. Star Wars or Star Trek?
Star Wars - saw the first one in a movie theater in '77 where I also experienced my first smell of pot! I would have been about 10. Best movie ever...till Platoon.


10. If you could only buy from one miniature company from now on, which one would it be?
Still looking for a Company that details like GHQ, but in a larger scale, 15-20mm. Currently, my needs are been filled by Battlefront but my eyes are wandering...

11. Could you limit your gaming and collecting to one period and one size? If so, what?
Unlimited budget, WWII 20mm. The scale is just big enough to see details at arms length but you can still have a good game on a table.

Eleven Random Facts 'bout me:

I hate greed.  I love the smell of wood sawdust. I have a healthy respect for Bears.  I cannot start without coffee.  I love to listen to Trance while painting; um-tiss...um-tiss...um-tiss...I really enjoy others painted miniatures.  I am afraid of my eyesight failing before I have painted enough minis.  I think we are doomed as a civilization unless we stop burning fossil fuels. I wish I could be more organized.  I skip Youtube ads.
I suck at Basketball.

And here are my eleven nominees (in absolutely no particular order):

Scary Biscuits Studios
Mini Ordnance Review
Rust and the City
Breakthrough Assault
Sixtwentyeight
WWII Central
Crac des Chevaliers
Flames-of-war-army
Minutiae of War
Model Dads
Counting Rivets

Eleven Questions for Nominees (stolen and added to):

1. Who is your current hero?
2. If you could change one thing about the wargaming hobby, what would it be?
3. What is best in life?
4. Do you read Battle Reports and what makes them inviting to read?

5. FOW or Squad Leader?

6. What miniatures are you most proud of having painted?

7. How do you deal with burnout?

8. Whats better; Gaming at home or at Cons?
9. Which Front do you prefer to game; East or West?
10. If you could only buy from one miniature company from now on, which one would it be?
11. Could you limit your gaming and collecting to one period and one size? If so, what?

Back at Ya!

Troy