I put my money where my mouth is

Posted on January 8, 2014 by grumpyoldtin

Paint samples

I went to Bauhaus and bought two sample pots of emulsion. The equivalent of 14 pots of GW paint for just over four Euro.

So far I’m happy with the result. Pictures to be posted when unit is completed.

Predictions for 2014

Posted on December 30, 2013 by grumpyoldtin

I’ll put my money where my mouth is and offer a glass of decent red wine if this doesn’t happen.

This is based on me taking a small interest in Military Modelling and observing how that particular branch of the hobby is advancing painting techniques.

GW will introduce two, at least, weathering products. One will be a spray of chipping medium, Hairspray to you and me. And the other will be a Dust Wash or a Mud in a jar.

Just my ten pence worth.

Be organised. Write it down!

Posted on December 7, 2013 by grumpyoldtin

Or how I learnt how to embrace my “Special”ness.

When I was younger I was much more arrogant and assumed I knew everything and could remember it all. Which was sort of true as I only had a few paints.

With age comes (lack of) wisdom. I now have a fair few pots of paint and a need for consistency. Did I use a Games workshop paint? Or a Vallejo or a Foundry?

My answer, notebooks. Six of them! Seven if you count my daily notebook which I use for everything.

The Show Book.

This was used for Salute and SELWG. I would get the list of traders from the show website and visit every traders website. If they were selling anything of interest I would note down the price, catalogue number and stall location. Once I had drawn up my shopping list I would print out a map of the show and highlight the traders I wished to visit. This was so useful, especially at Salute as it was so huge. Before this I would lose track of who was selling what and this book allowed me to keep a tight rein on my budget.

The Recipe Book.

This is the most useful of the lot and if you want to take any advice from me, take this! This is where I write down how I have painted a particular unit or achieved a certain effect. I suppose consistency isn’t so important for fantasy armies, but for historicals it’s vital.

The Ideas Book.

Where I record interesting articles on painting, ferinstance… gold or a nicely painted example of a figure I’ve got in the lead mountain. As I have a growing library of books and magazines I want to keep track of where everything is. So an article on painting gold, So I go to the “G” section in my Ideas Book write “G1” with a description and what book/magazine it in and page number. Then I stick a Post-it in the appropriate page of the book/magazine.

The Book of Everything.

In this book I write down all sorts of extra information. Server configuration for my website. File names of web pages and layout details. Suppliers addresses. How to set up my camera for photographing models. Information that doesn’t have a home anywhere else.

The next two books haven’t been started yet. I don’t have any clear idea of how big my lead mountain is. There are boxes all over the place. It would be a good idea, not only for insurance, but also to stop replicating any purchases.

The first of these two is The Painting List. Once I’ve got all my bit shipped over and got a permanent place to live my first job will be to unpack everything, itemise them and assign each unit a number.

As I finish painting a unit this information will be transferred to the second book, The Catalogue. Each figure will have a unique number and details of cost of figure, manufacturer, photo reference number and price.

This is where I am having some difficulty.

How much do you value your work at?

I’ve looked at professional painters websites and I reckon I’m around the ten pound mark per historical figure. The waters were tested on Fleabay where two figures were sold for around nine pounds each on auction.

Once you start doing the math my lead mountain starts getting scarily expensive. My Napoleonic army when finished starts hitting the two and a half thousand pound mark.

I’ve no idea on fantasy prices, so I am thinking of a base price of five pounds per figure. Again scary numbers, my Night Goblin Regiments alone would pull in eighteen hundred pounds.

Anyone got any thoughts on this?

I would appreciate feedback from someone who has insured their collection.

Hobby tips and tricks. Part two

Posted on November 28, 2013 by grumpyoldtin

Have you noticed that when you spray modelling foam with an aerosol it dissolves. You can use this to your advantage.

I’ll tell you how I used this technique to make scenery.

I cut some blocks of blue modelling foam into house shapes. The roofs were made either with cardboard “slate” or teddy bear fur for thatch. Then I stuck on some resin doors and windows from an inexpensive Fleabay seller, Foundations of War. The final part of construction was to paint on a timber frame pattern with PVA glue.

Let this dry overnight and then give the building a liberal spray of black undercoat.

Hey presto! Before your very eyes you see the timber frame standing proud of the walls which have been eaten away. Once dry all that remains is to lightly sand the walls to smooth them. Finish the roofs as you see fit.

With this technique you can make a whole village over a week without too much impact on painting time or your wallet..

This technique can be used to replicate stone, with a bit more time and patience.

The November issue of White Dwarf

Posted on November 19, 2013 by grumpyoldtin

OK what happened to the Wood Elves? They were promised in the last issue and I was interested in seeing how they painted up the Wardancers. Maybe the December issue?

I would like to touch on the six new technical paints released. I’m making some assumptions as I can’t read German and there is no GW store nearby to actually see them for real. Please note I may be talking out of my bottom.

First up, Ryza Rust: does this have some texture or is it just orange paint? Do you want just one colour of rust? Back in the days of Rogue Trader (go and ask your Dad) WD suggested making textured paint by adding a little scouring powder. A more modern suggestion is from the vlog “Tabletop Minions”, use Liquid Greenstuff and carefully stipple some with an old brush where you want texture. Paint with your preferred rust colour.

Typhus Corrosion: is this just colour in a medium?

Blood for the Blood God: good old Tamiya Clear Red, what everyone has been using for years.

Nhilake Oxide: again, is this just a colour in a medium?

Nurgle’s Rot: this might call for some experimentation, but would ink/paint mixed with PVA do the trick? Or ink/paint mixed with a satin varnish?

The last product, Agrellan Earth, was the one I was most interested in. Again, why be restricted to one shade of cracked earth? With Vallejo’s Crackle Medium the world of colour is your crackled lobster.

Interesting products but with a restricted palate. So if you want your models to look like the product of your average teenage fanboy these are for you. But with a tiny bit of effort and probably less money you can have some more tailored effects on your models.

Hobby tips and tricks. Part one of a very irregular series

Posted on November 5, 2013 by grumpyoldtin

Meditation is good for you.

One of the key factors for being a good painter is a place for quiet contemplation. I have a small room set aside for this purpose. It is plain, warm, well lit and stocked with a few choice volumes for careful study. The only piece of furniture is a porcelain throne.

In an ideal world, with no stress and a good diet a twice daily visit would be beneficial.

May you achieve enlightenment.

Revell brushes

Posted on March 13, 2013 by grumpyoldtin

As you’ve been reading I’m moving to Austria and have spent the last month or so packing up the house. My Pro Arte brush finally gave up the ghost so I dove into my stash to get a new brush. I must explain here, because I’m moving into the middle of nowhere with no initial income I’m building a little stash of supplies to tide me over until better times.

The first brush I picked up was a Revell Painta Luxus. Bad mistake, this brush just does not hold a point. A touch of paint and I might as well be using a chimney sweep’s brush.

As I’d bought it some months ago from Modelzone there was no way I could return it. There was only one thing for it, contact Revell direct. I sent of an eMail to Revell.de expecting a polite rebuff. Within twenty four hours I’d received a reply from Annette in their German office who promised to send out a replacement.

Two days later the replacement arrived.

Do they have quality control? It was exactly the same.

Another eMail sent off to Annette. Another brush promised.

I had thought that Revell was a purveyor of quality products for the modeller. Let’s see.

Well I got a new parcel in the post today. Opened it up and there were four brushes inside. Three were useless and one might pass muster, just.

This is such a pity, Revell’s customer service has been exemplary, why can’t the product match?

Packing up

Posted on March 2, 2013 by grumpyoldtin

Getting ready for the big move to Austria and have just about packed everything away. It took two days to pack away my glass cabinet!

Thirty five days to go. I had planned to finish a unit of Warlord’s Roman Auxiliaries for my Field of Glory Imperial Roman Army but I can’ t justify the time. A bit of a pity because it was the last unit to be painted on my list.

All I can say is, “Holy Shit Batman!”

Posted on January 17, 2013 by grumpyoldtin

This is this guys full time job, but even so. The sheer quantity and quality of his work is astounding. All of this was produced in one year! I’d be happy to have enough for one photo.

Anyway enough waffle, feast your eyes.

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/499013.page

Here is his website, with a gallery of more goodness

http://www.gmmstudios.com

Puppets War Ork Warbus

Posted on January 10, 2013 by grumpyoldtin

Puppet’s War Orc Warbus 1

Puppet’s War Orc Warbus

Finally finished this. It has been sat on my desk for almost a year.

I stumbled across Puppets War over a year ago. They are based in Poland and they produce resin parts most definitely not for any 28mm figures produced by EE.

If you compare their prices against Forgeworld’s you’ll find them very reasonable along with ridiculously cheap postage and packing. Customer service is excellent, I found that my parcel was missing a couple of pieces, contacted them and received the replacement parts with a few extras as way of an apology.

The kit is in several pieces and have a couple of different options. You can choose to have caterpillar tracks instead of wheels at the rear. Or it can be built with an open back instead of the enclosed “bus” body. There are enough grills to cover the windows or enough guns to have one at each window if you desire. The model was well cast, with one exception, and there were no air bubbles. FW/EE please take note.

This more of a display piece rather than a gaming piece as some bits, like the wing mirrors or guns are a bit flimsy.

I am very pleased with the model and on the strength of that I’ve ordered several more models.

http://www.puppetswar.com

Products of 2012

Posted on January 9, 2013 by grumpyoldtin

There have been three products that have stood out for me in the last twelve months.

The first was, The Army Painter, Quickshade Ink, Strong Tone. It has been invaluable in basing, base colour, Quickshade and then highlight. Useful for leather, flesh and metals.

The second was Games Workshop’s (yes I’m praising the EE) Lahmian Medium. Part of the Technical range from their new paint range. I first saw Phil Stutcinskas use this last summer when he gave a demonstration of weathering. You can use this to make glazes and washes and it doesn’t leave tidelines unlike watered down paints.

The third was Foundry paints. I tried a palate and was very impressed. So impresses that I went and got almost the entire range. The coverage was great, supposedly due to pigment levels and the three colour system works really well. My portrait is painted with Foundry paints. The customer service from Foundry is second to none.

My desk

Posted on December 3, 2012 by grumpyoldtin

My desk My old painting table

This was my old set up back in London and I am planning to have a similar set up in Austria.

What you can’t see are boxes, filing cabinets, printer and light table all stuffed underneath. I don’t plan to do that again. It meant that my chair could only be in one position.

Starting from the left is my chest of drawers filled with Foundry paints and some GW paints. Above, just out of shot, are some smaller drawers with inks, washes, milliput/greenstuff, scalpel blades and tweezers.

Along the top of the picture you can see my two lights which have been fitted with daylight bulbs. Also just out of shot is a big magnifying lens with daylight bulb. I haven’t really got on with it, maybe one day I will.

At the back on the left you can see a small stained glass panel of an Ork’s head. This is a test piece for a larger 50cm by 50cm panel which needs leading up.

Once I have my permanent painting table established I want to display my large leaded panel of the Emperor from the 40K universe. It just happens to be exactly the size of the windows at GW’s Warhammer World. Long story.

Further along is my brush rack. Next to this are some plastic drawers with my Vallejo paints, spare brushes and some fine brass wire for pinning. Above this you can see my brush soap and between the two dragon heads are three of my notebooks; The Show Book, The Recipe Book and The Book of Everything.

There are three more things to note on the tabletop.

Teacup, no explanation needed.

A sheet of plywood for cutting, drilling and gluing on.

And a ceramic “Gentlemans Relish” bowl. The bottom half I use for water and the top half (hiding behind large black undercoated squiggoth) as a palate. I plan to experiment with a wet palate when I get set up. See “Tabletop Minions” vlog for a sensible explaination.

What else?

The chair. As you are going to be sitting in it for a long time get the best you can afford. Your back will thank you. I went for the classic Herman Miller “Aeron”. No regrets with that decision.

Cat. Sheds hairs and wants attention at the most inappropriate times, and yet so relaxing to have a purring friend on your lap.

The Weathering Magazine

Posted on November 16, 2012 by grumpyoldtin

I’ve just got issue 2 of The Weathering Magazine from AK Interactive.

This issue is all about Dust.

I’ll post more when I’ve had a peek.

OK impressions.

It feels good, there is a nice glossy cover and the paper is fairly good quality, for almost a tenner it should. I’m not sure including the glamour photographs of Akatsiya are doing the hobby any favours though. Easy on the eye though.

The photographs on the whole are clear and relevant to the text description. Although one section, the figure painting in the centrefold, I couldn’t distinguish between photos 9,10 and 11.

I like the fact that they are not afraid to demonstrate other companies products unlike GW who operate in a bubble.

Nice couple of how to s on diorama bases, always a good thing.

The right amount of advertising, I’ve already bookmarked a couple of companies for future reference.

The next issue is paint chipping and the issue after that is mud. Where do they go after that?

Would I recommend this mag? Yes! It is a bit pricey, the subscription deal works out better value than getting individual issues from a third party vendor. I have the two Forgeworld Masterclass volumes and this compliments them well. If anybody knows of a single volume that has all these topics I would like to know. Also if anyone has seen AK Interactive’s FAQs book I would be interested in hearing their views. At the moment fifty quid is a bit rich as I am unemployed at the moment.