It's growing ....

[JR]

Dave, nice Russian armour and truck .
As to painting those figures I agree, I can't manage a lot of facial detail, but rely upon the wash Tim Marlow recommended. They give give the right amount of shadow for me.

 

[Mini Me]

Did someone mention Zulus? 570 still has nightmares about Zulus....Hundreds of them! So Dave, your not going to give us a close up view of your painted figures. Hmmm.

 

[Gern]

Did someone mention Zulus? 570 still has nightmares about Zulus....Hundreds of them! So Dave, your not going to give us a close up view of your painted figures. Hmmm.

They're only good at 2ft Rick! Any closer and you'll see just how shaky my hands are!

 

[spanner570]

Excellent collection, Dave.
At last, someone who really does appreciate what I went through with those 400 odd Zulu figures. I'm still getting then charging out of my wardrobe at some ungodly hour. And all I have for protection is a feather pillow!

Re. figure painting. I totally agree with you and John's comments about figure painting. I admire most work, but there are plenty that do look like clowns with huge creases on their faces. I just don't understand how folks think such gross looking chops look natural. But hey, its their model to do as they like and that's how it should be.

 

[scottie3158]

Dave,
Now your just showing off with the figures lol.

 

[Gern]

Dave,
Now your just showing off with the figures lol.

Who me?

 

[Tim Marlow]

In my opinion 15s are too small for anything more than block painting and colour washes. Gamers typically use several hundred at a time for an army, so doing anything more becomes a real chore....more than 15 minutes a figure being too long. On the other hand, 28mm are typically used for smaller armies and need a bit more work, block painting, highlighting, washing, and edge highlights are all needed to bring out the character of the sculpt. Anything less doesn’t really cut it for me at that scale.
Your 15s look good Dave, but I think a flesh wash would bring out the individual character a little more. Don’t use the “dip” method though, it kills the finish, just making them look muddy.....use Vallejo flesh wash, it’s just right to give instant shading, taking very little time to apply.
As to Zulus, I have an army of about 400 in 15mm, so know what you mean. They are a bit boring to paint, the only variation being the shields.....

 

[minitnkr]

Some great work. There are some great unit decals available for this scale. PaulE

 

[Gern]

In my opinion 15s are too small for anything more than block painting and colour washes. Gamers typically use several hundred at a time for an army, so doing anything more becomes a real chore....more than 15 minutes a figure being too long. On the other hand, 28mm are typically used for smaller armies and need a bit more work, block painting, highlighting, washing, and edge highlights are all needed to bring out the character of the sculpt. Anything less doesn’t really cut it for me at that scale.
Your 15s look good Dave, but I think a flesh wash would bring out the individual character a little more. Don’t use the “dip” method though, it kills the finish, just making them look muddy.....use Vallejo flesh wash, it’s just right to give instant shading, taking very little time to apply.
As to Zulus, I have an army of about 400 in 15mm, so know what you mean. They are a bit boring to paint, the only variation being the shields.....

Absolutely right Tim. I can't see the point of over-egging stuff in 15mm scale. 28mm does give painters a much better opportunity to show their skills, and the larger figures are more likely to be subject to greater scrutiny. Like I said, I've seen some really amazing fantasy figures in 28mm.

I don't have that flesh tone wash you recommend although I'm prepared to give a simple wash a try as it's not likely to add much time to my figure painting. Any suggestions how I could mix something suitable from my collection of acrylics?

 

[Tim Marlow]

Hi Dave
The colour you need as a base is a red brown. The problem is going to be getting the consistency right.....just using dilute paint won’t work. Properly made washes don't act like pin washes on armour, they shade the creases gradually. You can make washes using Klear and paint, but it is very hit and miss, I think it is honestly easier to buy some Vallejo game colour 73204 Flesh wash. Think of it as the secret ingredient in the secret ingredient sauce that is figure painting in the small scales.....

 

[Gern]

Some great work. There are some great unit decals available for this scale. PaulE

Thanks Paul. You're right and markings do add a lot to these simple kits. I have bought a couple of sets of basic decals and used a few on the kits I have completed.

However, I'm likely to only buy one of each type of vehicle available (unless there are noticeable differences such as between the T34/76 and T34/85 or a Blitz and Maultier) so having a set of specific numbers for a squadron or division would be of no great use. If I can find room for a national marking, vehicle number or some sort of division ID I'll put them on a vehicle, but ANY sort of suitable marking will do for me. The research needed to provide accurate markings for kits holds no interest for me. As long as I get German markings on German tanks, and Russian on Russian etc I'm happy.

Yeah! I know! Total b****y amateur with no appreciation of history! Afraid I'm just lazy that way.

 

[Gern]

Hi Dave
The colour you need as a base is a red brown. The problem is going to be getting the consistency right.....just using dilute paint won’t work. Properly made washes don't act like pin washes on armour, they shade the creases gradually. You can make washes using Klear and paint, but it is very hit and miss, I think it is honestly easier to buy some Vallejo game colour 73204 Flesh wash. Think of it as the secret ingredient in the secret ingredient sauce that is figure painting in the small scales.....

Lord only knows where it came from 'cos I don't remember ordering it but I found some! What do I do with it? Just splash it on all over 'enry style or do I need to do anything else to my figures first? They have been painted with acrylics and I've added a matt acrylic varnish on top.

 

[Tim Marlow]

Hi Dave
The modelling gods have smiled on you today......
No further prep needed.
Experiment on a few figures first. Mix the wash thoroughly. Put a couple of drops on a pallet and simply paint it all over the flesh coloured areas on the figures....I use a number 0 brush for 15mm.....and let it dry. It may look horrible at first, but wait for it to dry first....
If the effect is not pronounced enough, use another coat of wash. If it is too pronounced, (unlikely with flesh wash) dilute the wash slightly.... Don’t dilute it with water though......if you need to dilute it, I find it best to use Matt medium....

 

[yak face]

Looks like you need some ant powder dave , your bench seems to be infested !

 

[Jim R]

Hi Dave
Like Tony I was reminded of ants
Seeing the vehicle on the paint pot really brings home just how small these are.
All credit to you.
Jim

 

[adt70hk]

Dave

Looking very good indeed and a great idea for a 'mini' dio. I'm a big fan of PSC too and have quite a few of their 1/72 kits - if you check out some of my recent posts you'll see what I mean!

Keep up the good work.

All the best.

Andrew

 

[Gern]

Hi Dave
The modelling gods have smiled on you today......
No further prep needed.
Experiment on a few figures first. Mix the wash thoroughly. Put a couple of drops on a pallet and simply paint it all over the flesh coloured areas on the figures....I use a number 0 brush for 15mm.....and let it dry. It may look horrible at first, but wait for it to dry first....
If the effect is not pronounced enough, use another coat of wash. If it is too pronounced, (unlikely with flesh wash) dilute the wash slightly.... Don’t dilute it with water though......if you need to dilute it, I find it best to use Matt medium....

Thanks Tim. I'll have a go at a couple of figures later tonight.

 

[Gern]

Dave

Looking very good indeed and a great idea for a 'mini' dio. I'm a big fan of PSC too and have quite a few of their 1/72 kits - if you check out some of my recent posts you'll see what I mean!

Keep up the good work.

All the best.

Andrew

Thanks Andy. I've seen some of your work - maybe one day I'll get that good but don't hold your breath!

I agree. The PSC stuff is very good quality and excellent value for money. I'm trying to find some 15mm Flames of War stuff as that looks to be about the same. Unfortunately, I've not found anyone who sells individual kits - only the box sets which are not good value for me as I only want single items.

 

[Gern]

Lots of pictures!

I've already said I'm planning some sort of dio for these teeny kits. With that in mind, I've got hold of some buildings.

There are loads of resin cast buildings out there - many of which I consider to be extremely poorly made. I know wargamers don't necessarily need or want perfection in their scenery and I can understand that totally. However, I don't want to build a set of scenery for a wargame, I want something at least as accurate as the kits I want to put on there. I found two companies which make the kind of thing I'm looking for - I'm certain there are others - although there are some niggles with both

These are part of a set of Russian buildings from a company called Timecast.



Nicely done with just a smattering of bubbles here and there. Unfortunately the church building arrived broken (Not the company's fault. My package had one corner bent in so I assume it was dropped somewhere in transit) and the joint between the roof and dome will need some filling/sanding.




Here's my minor problem. The figure is one of Plastic Soldier Company's 15mm range. He stands exactly 17mm tall without the base. The door he's standing in front of is also exactly 17mm tall. At 1/100 scale it should be just under 20mm. I can live with that difference - I just need to leave a bit of a gap between the figure and the building - only the pickiest of observers will notice





Here's a section of wall from the same company. Again, nicely moulded with minimal bubbles. No problems here as such a wall can be any height.



The second lot of buildings come from a company called Tiger Terrain.



Again, these are beautifully moulded with even fewer bubbles.



These doors are only 16mm high, so again they're too small, but I can still use them as long as I leave a gap.

I could use both sets of buildings at each end of a dio but they don't look quite right next to each other.



Speaking of looking right when next to each other, the buildings from Tiger Terrain actually fit around a courtyard supplied with them. No prizes, but what do they represent?

 

[papa 695]

Just caught up Dave, some very nice work so far. At first I thought you were planning on doing a diorama of the battle of Kursk with all the vehicles, but not sure now.