Painting rather than flocking

[Orcs]

Thanks Westie, I will give that a try.

Most of my Mijes models are based on card from beermats.  A few are on steel. so not sure what will happen thier. Hopfully they wil need a larger base and I can just put the whol thing on a larger mdf base.

When doing this you can if careful, split the MDF base to reduce its thickness. If really lucky you can use both halves.

[mmcv]

Yeah mine are MDF. I basically resorted to trying to dig the figures out of it using a knife and clippers to work away around the bases then try and pry the knife under to pop up figures. Some proved too difficult to do so without breaking though, but thankfully I salvaged enough for my needs. I've avoided rebasing others so far that were in milliput, though does mean the aesthetic doesn't match the rest. Thankfully it was only my really early figures I did in milliput, since then it's mostly just glue and flock. I would use modelling paste for some individual figures and 2mm stuff but don't need to worry about rebasing them the same way. Planning to take on a rebase of some stuck with glue and flock soon, hoping I can save the bases though as they'd work well for other armies, pre flocked and magnetised!

[Big Insect]

I think it is worth raising the point about the difference between 'flocking' and 'static grass' ... I know that sounds obvious but the idea that you wash your static grass in dilute PVA is (in my experience) not a great idea (understatement).
A dilute PVA wash works fine for flock, but I rarely use flock now - other than for running up walls, trees and buildings to represent climbers or ivy etc.

[KeithS]

Thanks to all who have replied, and by all means keep them coming.  It seems that almost everyone is flocking nowadays, although using almost as many different techniques as there are people.    Personally I'm not totally convinced to go down the route, but that might be because I have evolved a semi-abstract battlefield system (see attached picture) so realism is less of an issue for me.  Having said that, although my abstract battlefields work well (I think) for WW2, maybe in moving into Napoleonics I should think about a more realistic look so maybe I will give flocking a try.  Plus if I ever move away from solo play I wouldn't want my troops to be given the cold shoulder in relation to other peoples bases. 

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Answers are flocking in...

[jimduncanuk]

Maybe I missed something in this thread but I know of very few people who use flock as opposed to static grass. The vast majority of active wargamers that I come across use a combination of textured bases with patches of static grass and a few tufts. That's what I do. Although I am contemplating a 'retro' look for one of my collections and I might use some flock if I can find it.

[KeithS]

Maybe I missed something in this thread but I know of very few people who use flock as opposed to static grass. The vast majority of active wargamers that I come across use a combination of textured bases with patches of static grass and a few tufts. That's what I do.

Probably my fault, in my ignorance I thought that they were pretty much the same thing.  Obviously not.

[mmcv]

I like your "abstract" battlefield look, has a real military map feel to it.

I think the term flocking can be pretty loose. I tend to use it as a means that includes actual flock (i.e. bits of coloured sawdust), grit/sand, scatter/foliage (strands of plastic, lichen and sponge) and static grass in the sense of making a "decorated" base. A bigger mix gives a more "lush" and varied feel (which I like for more verdant regions), whereas keeping it simple with just texture, paint and static grass gives a cleaner look (which I like for drier regions).

[Big Insect]

Probably my fault, in my ignorance I thought that they were pretty much the same thing.  Obviously not.

Not at all - flock always seems to me to be flakey or almost granular - whilst static grass is thin & (well) grass like.
I have never tried to use flock with my static grass applicator - it might produce an interesting effect but I suspect you'd need a pretty strong magnetic currant to get flock to 'stand up'.

[mmcv]

Not at all - flock always seems to me to be flakey or almost granular - whilst static grass is thin & (well) grass like.
I have never tried to use flock with my static grass applicator - it might produce an interesting effect but I suspect you'd need a pretty strong magnetic currant to get flock to 'stand up'.

I'm not sure you'd want flock to stand up? Flock is more for a mixed texture look rather than stand up like static grass? Bit chunky, more for ground cover. That's how I see it anyway.

Sand and grass:



Vs flock and scatter:

[steve_holmes_11]

I like that table, there's something Wellsian (as in H.G.) about it.

Also some reassuring hints of Carcassonne.

[John Cook]

Flock is a kind of powder, used on some wallpapers and wargames terrain tiles for example.  The Kalistra hex terrain system is typical.  It is, as said, not the same as static grass.  I have only seen it used with bases comprising 6mm figures where even the shortest static grass might be a bit too tall.  The point of decorating bases is really to make them conform, as nearly as possible, to the wargames terrain.  The nature of your abstract terrain is such that I would have thought that decorated bases would be somewhat incongruous and your solution of simply painting the bases to conform to your terrain seems to be perfectly sensible.  I wouldn't worry what other people think.  

[Last Hussar]

I flock metal figure bases at the same time as basing. 

If MDF bases, paint green - the cheap stuff from the Works

Squeeze out the pva into a 'palette' (usually a jar lid)
Add a tiny bit of the green paint.
Cheap brush (Works again), get it wet, and paint the PVA onto base, makes it a bit thin.
Superglue on figure bottoms, and put into base.
Give a few seconds for superglue to work, put base in a small tray/box/etc that has flock in, push through the flock, flock onto base, so it covers feet.
Put base to one side for a day. This allows all the glues to soak in/dry etc.
Shake the excess off.
Leave a bit longer to make sure properly dry.
Varnish.

Superglue is set by water, which is why it glues fingers better than figures.

With the Little Wooden Men I'm going with painted bases only, as they are flat you cant disguise the nature, so making a feature of it, hence leaving the movement trays unpainted, but glued with the burn side up, as the colour looks like real wood.

[John Cook]

Maybe I missed something in this thread but I know of very few people who use flock as opposed to static grass. The vast majority of active wargamers that I come across use a combination of textured bases with patches of static grass and a few tufts. That's what I do. Although I am contemplating a 'retro' look for one of my collections and I might use some flock if I can find it.

Jim, you might try this.  http://totalsystemscenic.com/product-category/uncategorised/flock/

It is the stuff TSS use for their tile system and similar to that used by Kalistra for their hex tile system and Geo-Hex for their contoured tile system.  I use it for home made terrain pieces and to repair damaged tiles.  It comes as a coarse powder and once applied gives some texture, though not to the same degree as static grass.  I think it is what you are looking for.

[KeithS]

I like that table, there's something Wellsian (as in H.G.) about it.

Also some reassuring hints of Carcassonne.

Thanks I guess it is the grid look of the squares for the HG Wells thing, although it was intended for Sam Mustapha's Rommel rules, which are a bit more sophisticated than Little Wars.  I guess the Carcassonne thing comes from the twisty rivers, which was a bit inevitable due to having to match entry and exit points on successive small tiles.  There are a couple of other influences, the stepped contour hills remind me a bit of the Ancients section in Donald Featherstones's War Games book, but the biggest influence for the overall look was Table Top Teasers by CS Grant in Henry Hyde's Battlegames magazine, which I think in turn are similar to layouts used in his father's books.