Painting Diary - Late war WW2 British and Germans

[nikharwood]

Very nice Timbo 

[Timbo1974]

Didn't get any more painting done this weekend    I did manage to stop procrastinating on the base sizes and start cutting up the plasticard.  I ended up going with an almost standard BKC base recommendation.  The only difference is that I decided to base my specialist weapon teams on individual 25x25 bases.  That way I can use two bases side by side for BKC and individually for other games such as IABSM.  If moving them about gets too fiddly then a bit of tape on the bottom should hold them together (I don't think it'll be a problem though).

I'm really happy with how the miniatures look on the bases, they present very well.  Cutting the plasticard was an interesting experience.  Following the instructions that came with it I made a cut by running my hobby knife along a straight edge 3-4 times, no need to press to heavily as a straight cut is more important than a deep cut.  Turn the plasticard over so the cut is face down and pull up on one edge of the card while placing pressure down behind the cut.  The first couple times I tried to bend it I couldn't get it to snap.  Applying just a bit more pressure and *SNAP* I had two pieces of plasticard with very straight edges.  The only issue I had was where I had a few pieces where I needed to trim off 2-3mm, I needed to use pliers to bend and snap the plastic and in every case it left a wavy edge.  Nothing to worry about but just looks untidy compared to the rest.

So then out came the super glue and I'm left with what you see below.  The 2mm thick bases just the right size for my fingers to pick up a stand by the base and not the miniature.  I need to order some more to finish off the rest.

   

[Timbo1974]

Not as big an update as I had hoped but I've made some progress none the less.  I hate looking at blank bases so I started dressing them up a little.  Started with the staple of PVA followed by a dip in some sand and once dried I coat it with a nice watery batch of Citadel Swamp Brown.  This brings all the colours together but still allows for the natural variations in the sand to tint the base/wash colour.  Once the minis are finished I'll flock, static grass and add other scenics to the bases.

     

Started picking out some of the details on the vehicles and dug out the 1/600 decals I've got for my Bag the Hun aircraft.  I'm really happy with the results so far.  I'll do some camo work on the Panzer IV's but I'll leave the III's as is for the most part.

   

Not very happy with the hand painted work on the British tanks, I really need to source some decals.   If anyone can recommend a good supplier of 10mm decals I'd very much appreciate it.

 

[Pruneau]

These are gonna look wonderful on the gaming table!  Are you gonna be using the army dip undiluted?

[Timbo1974]

These are gonna look wonderful on the gaming table!  Are you gonna be using the army dip undiluted?

Thanks 

Yeah I've found the dip works fine undiluted.  I'll use the soft tone on all the infantry and most of the German vehicles and guns, while for the British stuff I'll use the strong tone.  One important thing to note is that I brush the dip on.  This give you more control of how much goes where.  It allows you to get it right into the grilles, vents and other detail while keeping only a thin coat on the flat areas.  An ink wash would probably work/look better at this scale but I'm sold on the time saving you get by shading and varnishing all at once.

I've been meaning to do a few test stands so I'll try to get some pics up in the next day or so.

Timbo

[Timbo1974]

No really, finished stands.  I'm just as shocked as you are.  I'm a pretty slow painter and I get bored rather quickly so I tend to switch around between models to keep my interest going.  This tends to slow down the whole process and when the inevitable moments of procrastination kick in then everything grinds to a halt.

Well no more... I'm working on the premise that if it looks good on the table then it doesn't matter what it looks like when you pick it up.  This is made even harder with the camera picking up every brush fart and mould line.  The temptation to go back and fix these up is killing me but no I must keep moving forward.



Opel Blitz Truck
I have two more of these drying as I type this.  The flash line on the door is hardly noticeable on the table.  It's not shown in the photos but I've kept the canvas tilt loose so I can use them to show if the truck is loaded or not.
 

Jagdpanther
Such a great looking tank, the camouflage looks pretty flat in the photos but, almost monochromatic.
 

Panzer IV
IThe camouflage looks a lot more subdued in real life and I dare say that the camera makes it appear darker.  Three down and another five, sans skirts, to go.


Panthers
I've kept the camouflage pretty simple here, just a light wash to break up the areas of solid colour.  Can't put my finger on it but there's just something almost regal about these tanks.
 

Tigers
I just love these models, I'd buy more if I thought I could get them on the table without my opponent complaining.  I've gone over these guys with a light brush of dark yellow to subdue the pattern a little


Once these have dried I'll give them a spray of matt varnish to lock down the flock and seal in the inks.  When that dries I'll get out the army painter and give them a nice protective coat.

[Timbo1974]

Been a little while since my last update, lack of plasticard (and motivation) has slowed things down a little.  Albeit slowly things have been progressing along.  The much needed plasticard arrived this afternoon so tonight has been all about getting as much based as possible.  I managed to get all bar half a dozen squads based, including the HQ and CO stands which surprisingly took up most of the time.

Here's a shot of everything that I've started, worked on or finished since the last update.


The British HQ stand, it's amazing how much time I spent "laying out the scene" to end up with something that looks so plain.  Although this is by design as I wanted to leave as much space as I can for scenery.


For this CO stand I've put an officer standing up in the front seat, which doesn't look as good as I'd hoped it would but the radio operator in the back looks great.  It was so fiddly clipping away all the bits I didn't want from the model while keeping the bits I did.  Even more amazing is I didn't clip or cut myself while doing it.  It's not so apparent in the photo but the radio operator doesn't have a left leg.  He did, I spent an inordinate amount of time clipping and reposing that leg but after dropping it into the carpet for the third time I decided to leave it there and glue him in as he is.
 

I'm a lot happier with the layout of the German stands, particularly the last one where two German officers are "discussing" which way to go.  I'll base this one up as a crossroads where the direction sign has fallen down.
 

That's it for now, I'll get more photos up as I finish stuff over the next couple days (I hope).

[Leon]

Thanks for the update Timbo, they're coming along nicely!

[Leon]

Just thought I'd check to see how these were coming along Tim?

[Aart Brouwer]

Just thought I'd check to see how these were coming along Tim?

Seconded, particularly since I'm painting early WWII Germans and Russkis myself

[Pruneau]

Hey Timbo, how are these coming along?  I'm waiting for my bases to start painting my own, and I'm gonna be looking at these a lot while painting.