The last couple weeks have been extremely busy at work so my postings have not kept up with the painting table. I will hopefully catch up soon.
Basing Prep and Flock
Following up on my making of the bases for JR3 in a former entry, I thought it prudent to explain how I finish the basing.
- Tacky Glue
- Toothpicks
- Black Medium Ballast (Woodland Scenics B83)
- Blended Turf (Woodland Scenics T49)
- 1 Bag Dark Green Static Grass
- 1 Bag Light Green Static Grass
I begin by using "Tacky Glue" that dries clear (a bottle is shown in one of the photos) which is available at wal-mart for a couple bucks at most. I use toothpicks to spread out the glue to minimize the chance of glue getting on the figures. The Tacky Glue bottle is fitted with a nice long nosed applicator so the work needed is minimal. The next step is to dip the base in a container of the black ballast; lightly shaking or blowing off the excess. This is then allowed to dry completely. The need for this step is found in the need to even off the level of the ground. Depending on manufacture the figures could have a considerable chunk of base and simply adding flock will give the look of each man on his own little mountain.After the glue is dry I take a toothpick and lightly rub it over the ballast to reveal any loose material and remove those. This accomplished, the bases and material are given a coat of catachan green from GW. A number of colors could be used here to give the ballast different appearances such as rocks that appear among the grass to be added etc. The paint is then allowed to dry fully.
After the paint dries I issue a coat of tacky glue again and dip in the Blended Turf. As this dries you'll see some material absorbed fully, when I observe this I will give a second dip. This avoids an "in glass" look for your flocking. Once this dries I add random spots of glue. I mix the dark and light static grass as the dark is generally too dark and the light is way too light. I take pinches of this mixture and apply it to the spots of glue, blowing off any excess. The blowing will also get some of the static to fan and stand upright.
That's it, there are many ways to do it, I have in the past mixed sandbox sand with the blended turf for a different look. For other periods I will attempt other techniques and endeavor to post them here. Good luck and I hope some of you find this useful.
Dip Failure
While continuing to paint the rest of the Iron Brigade I decided to dabble a bit in this so called "magic dip" stuff. The victims were to be the 84th New York; part of the next brigade I plan to paint. I purchase the proper stain, prime white and use all light colors. The end result was a major disappointment. Not only did I have to spend more time painting then my usual method, as I had to go over and over again with highlighting paint creating detail where the poly removed it, but I also ended up with a look that seemed to cheapen the paint job. Completely unsatisfied, these minis have been stripped clean and primed again for their second go at the painting table, which should directly follow my completion of the Iron Brigade. I'm running low on spray black primer, I prefer Armory or Citadel, but since domestic law states they must be shipped ground only I'm looking for a place close by from which to order.
24th Michigan
These figures represent my first paint job of union troops since I started gaming again. They are also from the lot purchased from Mark aka Extra Crispy at Scale Creep with state colors being carried by an AB figure. I have no reservations about recommending these miniatures to anybody. They prime and paint clean with room to play as far as how much detail you want to abstract (a common practice for me in 15mm). These particular figs were primed black and painted with craft, vallejo paints, and GW paint. This unit allowed me to find my stride as far as Union colors go. I've always been put off by most of my attempts to paint Union troops; the coats are never dark enough and the pants are always too light and blue. With these I'm very happy, the legs are a basecoat of Folk Art's Sterling Blue with a wash of Wrought Iron (has a greenish hue when thinned). I then highlighted by mixing the Sterling Blue and Vallejo's Light Sea Grey. The coats are based in Folk Art's Midnight Blue with a black wash then highlighted again with shades of the base coat.
I made the fence from square toothpicks with the ends cut off after which they were dipped in a random wood stain I found in the house.
Rather pleased with the effect produced by the cannonball hole in the US Flag.
The Postman Rang Twice...
Well not actually, but figuratively. Not only did the samples I requested from RSM show up in today's post, but also part of my first order of Perry's. This is the first time I can recall seeing RSM minis and I find them more than adequate. It's not fair to compare them to Perry's for detail and quality as few can be, but I believe I'll be able to work a few units of these minis in somewhere. I decided when I started to play the field of minis as wide as possible and although Perry and Foundry will make up 90% of my armies, I will make room for some of these. The Continentals can always use more variety and RSM's price can't be beat.
Using Perry as my measuring stick Its safe to say that RSM are a couple of mm shorter, but not much. They are a tad thinner, but this helps with the difference in height as this gives RSM a taller look proportionally. Below I've posted a few photos so you can all give them a look, I've not researched yet and no stock numbers were provided so showing my "greenness" in the period I concede I know not the exact troop classification for each model. The 4 Perry's in the group photo are 2 Hesse-Cassel Musketeers and 2 Hesse-Cassel Grenadiers.
Using Perry as my measuring stick Its safe to say that RSM are a couple of mm shorter, but not much. They are a tad thinner, but this helps with the difference in height as this gives RSM a taller look proportionally. Below I've posted a few photos so you can all give them a look, I've not researched yet and no stock numbers were provided so showing my "greenness" in the period I concede I know not the exact troop classification for each model. The 4 Perry's in the group photo are 2 Hesse-Cassel Musketeers and 2 Hesse-Cassel Grenadiers.
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First Reb Brigade
Well I burned some midnight oil and finished up my first reb brigade. These are meant to represent Law's Brigade in the Gettysburg ANV OOB. All figures are 15mm Old Glory and flags used are from warflag.com. Although I have not researched the flags in in detail, when and if I find better ones to use, then I will replace these, but generally I believe these will work fine.
I've decided to use a unit marker on the back of each command stand. This contains informaion like "I/1 4th Ala ER" Meaning First Corp, First Division, 4th Alabama Regiment, and game ranking, in this case "elite rifles". These are glued directly onto the base and are void of basing material. One photo is provided in which you can see these markers.
First Reb Regiment
Here is a look at the first reb regiment to make it back all the way from the stripping brew to the painting table and back on to my own homemade cut bases. These are painted using a black primer and an assortment of gray's, browns, and other hue's to get a good mixture but maintain some common colors, mostly in the lighter gray and prevalence of captured yankee pants. I will vary colors more from brigade to brigade, but within each brigade there will be a hint of cohesion, but not much more. For now, these pictures will give you all an idea of my state of painting, which I was myself anxious to see. Overall I'm okay with the job, but not really pleased. I have a long way to go to get to where I want to be (its been a long 10 years away), but hey, this is the first step. I had a little fun adding the blood stained head bandage and some flag dmg, both I will claim as tiny meaningless painting victories. The figures are all Old Glory 15mm and the original pre-work flags are from warflag.com.
After I finish the current brigade I will also look into some alternative painting techniques. I may try that "dip" method, although on face value I'm not expecting much. That's for the next brigade...maybe.
