A little damage limitation - storage improvement

Having had to transport a large amount of the Sudan collection recently I found a bit of an issue with a spot of hard braking in the car, A number of bases shifted with some damage being caused - all now repaired. As I have decided this will be a real long term keeper project with yet more investment to come, it has made my mind up to move to some magentic basing to try and limit transport issues in the future.

I got in touch with the ever helpful Simon Miller for some top tips as he is always transporing is magnificent ancients collection. I have now sourced some self adhesive ferro sheet, and range of disc magnets.

Project Magnetise has now started. All new units will have them from intial build. I will be going back over the exisitng collection in a prioroty order , with most vulnerable units getting it doen first.

Here is the successful result of the application to the Naval Brigade last night

A little walk though in case you are interested:-

 

The disc magnets are 6mm diameter x 2mm depth 

I used a 6mm wood bit in the Dremel (other power tools are available)  flexible extension - just wear some eye protection and do it in a well ventilated space or wear face mask - MDF dust is not particularly nice.

My Dremel is hung from the wall , with the flexible extension down onto the work desk as it takes up less space. 

Two holes in small bases - 4 in larger/heavier

 

bit of thick superglue in the hole 

 add the disc magnet and let things dry.

The A4 self adhesive sheet added  to the box is pretty self explanatory , just make sure the box is clean before you stick it.

Sudan - Painting your horde

I have had a few people ask about how I painted my large number of Mahdist figures in a relatively short time. So here is a little walk through of how I did the 144 figures I did recently. I will say I am very accurate with a paint brush - I rarely ever need to "touch up" as I put it where its needed - just years of practice and good brushes

Rule number 1 - sort out your head - no seriously - you have to accept you are painting a host of figures and that painting each to the best standard you can  with multiple highlights washes etc is NOT going to achieve the objective - Quantity has a Quality all of its own.

Ok - now we have that bit done

Prepare you figures. In this case they are Perry plastics a mix of the early Beja and then some of the later Jibbah wearing troops which for this is I will call Ansar. As these figures are an irregular type troops i have based them up here after assembly , prior to any undercoat. There is a reasonable room between them - they are on a mix of 60x40 or 120 x 40 bases with differing numbers of figures on each. Mounted on Warbases 2mm MDF curved corner bases.

The first decision is to identify the predominate colour - for the Beja it is the dark skin tone, and for the Ansar it is the white of the Jibbah. This then decides the colours for the main undercoat - let this do a large amount of work for you.

In this case I used an enamel Humbrol 186 brown , and a matt white- both applied with the airbrush

  

All the acrylic paints used after this are thinned with Windsor and Newton acrylic flow enhancer - slows drying and allows them to spread and flow better from your brush. I use a plastic pipette to add it to the paint mix. It can also be used to wash figures as well

A walk through the Beja. - Working on all 62 together.

Undercoated

Add black to the hair and any metal areas of the weapons

  Wash the entire figue with a thin Vallejo Sepia wash - or thinned paint - any darker brown would do. Once dry give the "hair" a drybrush in mid brown colour to break up the all black.

Paint the "cloth" - this is done using 4 different colours from - Off White, Ivory, Iraqi sand, Desert sand etc -  pick a colour paint all the cloth on that figure with it. No two figures next to each other in the same colour if you can. Once dry do another thin wash of Sepia (you could also use Army Painter I guess here too.)

 Refer to rule 1.. no extra highlight

 Add some rock ot bases - paint spear shafts - a brown colour - scabbard - a leather colour. Rifles a suitable brown in this case a Vallejo Hull red

 Refer to rule 1.. no extra highlight

At this point I give everything a Matt Varnish spray - this helps to draw everything together and give you an idea what will require highlighting.  I added a highlight to the skin tone , muscle tops, noses, chins, cheeks , hands etc etc using Vallejo Flat Earth thinned to at least 50% with Windsor and Newton acrylic flow enhancer. Because its so thin it flows really well. Hit them with varnish again

 Add base texture , and paint the metallics - yes after varnish as it keeps them bright. add flags etc.In this case i used rough sand over PVA , once dry i gave it a drybrush in cream / offwhite colour and don't forget the base edges.  Add a few grass tufts.

DONE

At this point if you want to go back and highlight the top of the clothes etc you could do if you really want to , but refer to rule 1 first!

A walk through the Ansar - working on all 82 together

First step after the all white undercoat.  - add the skin tone  this is same enamel colour as the Beja a sort of dark terracotta - it can be mixed with a darker colour if it took your fancy - this is thinned and washed on

 all skin tone done

 Add the random patch designs to the Jibbah  - in Red, Blue, Yellow etc no two the same next to each other. Some Jibbahs have a dark edging pattern - do this in a dark blue or black - again to random number of figures

 Paint weapon metal black - and wooden parts of the weapons in browns

 Give everything a thin wash of Vallejo Sepia - or Raw umber - keep it thin though - better two coats than one thick one remove any pooling of the wash with a brush. Once dry hit them with Matt Varnish

Highlight skin tone with thinned Flat earth. Add base material - add flags - highlight bases material and re-varnish - add metallic colours and tufts

DONE

At this point if you want to go back and highlight the top of the clothes etc you could do if you really want to , but refer to rule 1 first! 

do the "what do they look like on the table from 6 feet away test" fix anything you are not happy with - funny you are unlikely to find anything..

 REPEAT!

These took just over a week to paint - with a few hours each day. They took almost as long to assesmble as they had to be cut of the sprue and assembled,

I have my final 120 of these to do later in the Spring..

Red Air Force - part 1

Well here is a little aircraft recognition test for you. This latest little project is for Gerry over at   The Situation Room . So can you tell your Yak9 from your Lagg3 , your Sturmovick from your PE2. Prize for anyone who can spot the all of the types. The models are by Command Decision Miniatures and all 1/144th scale.

Its been a while since the airbrush has had an outing, so I have made a start on the 25 aircraft with a main

undercoat of green

The airbrush I use is an IWATA Eclipse High Precision. Its a double action brush  which means you can control the airflow pressure and the width of the spray with the trigger. Not an easy skill at first , but once you get used to it easy enough. The paint cup is transferable side to side and I also have a range of large pots which I prepare with paint , thinners, cleaner etc  and then just swap over as required. 

 If you are starting out with an airbrush you can choose a single action which give you a fixed spray - something like a Badger 200 a good solid starter. In case you don't know the difference between a spraygun and an airbrush . A spraygun sprays air into which paint is drawn by the airflow externally from the spray nozzle. An Airbrush mixes air and paint within the body of the brush and sprays through the nozzle which means as you can control both paint flow and air pressure you can get a fine line of spray if you want.

Of course if you going in for any large scale work a compressor is essential - and this is mine - it will happily hammer away all afternoon - its fitted with pressure reduction valve as well which gives me extra control to reduce the air into the brush - useful for doing camo!!

Anyway off to mix more paint

Basic Soldering - adding bayonets

I have had a few people ask me to do a more detailed post on my conversion work and in particular soldering. If you are of a certain age and remember the wonderful covers of Miniature Wargames and Wargames Illustrated that where adorned with fantastic creations of Napoleonic units made by Doug Mason  (which he has been showcasing on his own blog recently) this is what first inspired me to attempt it. Also chatting over the years with Doug and getting a masterclass direct from him was great.I already knew how to solder from youthful days as an apprentice it just needed the application of some tools and techniques to make it more practical to convert those precious figures

.As I am working on Doug C's (you did not think i got his Sudan collection for free did ya?) Old School American War of Independance 71st Highlanders that need some of this doing I have taken the opportunity to photograph things along the way

I will do a series of hint's n tips for this. So what do you need to do for something simple like add some nice sharp non bendy pin bayonets to your lads?

Low Wattage Iron, ordinary "cored "solder, helping hands tool, needle files and liquid flux - Bakers No3 

  This is the key ingredient!

 

Soldering irons are rated by power , I use 3 different irons from 12watt , 25watt , and 100watt.

The higher the power the greater the heat effect – and ability to melt to toys!

However the principle you are after is to be able to apply contact from the iron for the absolutely shortest period possible , yet still have enough heat to melt the metal and form the solder join. 

So using too small an iron means you don't get enough heat to thoroughly melt all the area to join, and it will fail and break . Applying heat for too long because you are asking it to melt too large an area can cause detail to melt. Use the right tool for the right job.

For this job I will be using the small iron which is made by Antex ,  with a small “bit”

The other factor you need to cover is a little Health & Safety. and wear some wrap around eye shields as if you slip or burn yourself unexpectedly you may flick the iron and molten solder may fly off . I have not had a problem myself but it makes sense. Also always thoroughly wash your hands after handling solder and solder in a ventilated area.

So a before shot - you know the problem  - with those those wonky bendy bayonets

Well i am going to add a bayonet made from an ordinary household pin. The first thing to say is that they must be "mild steel". "Stainless steel" won't solder. How to tell the difference bend the pin with pliers to 90 degrees. Mild steel will bend, stainless steel will snap! (Top tip that from Gerry Elliott - ta)

 So first up - cut off the old bayonet but leave the little side attachment piece at the end of the musket. - Gulp - now you done it!

Cut a pin to the length you need and put a slight bend into the end you are going to solder onto the musket.

When soldering you must ensure that the areas you intend to join are clean and oxide free . So use a needle file to give the area a quick burnish to a shine and blow or brush off any filings.

 

Next I used the "helping hands" device to hold the pin and figure together. I do it myself now by just holding the pin in the crocodile clip and the figure in my hand , but using both clips on the "helping hands" is a good starter guide as it means you can just think about what you do with the iron. The slight bend on the end of the pin will allow it to melt into the musket end but still means the pin will form the bayonet slightly to the side - as it would be.

Brush (using an old brush) some liquid flux onto the tip of the iron - it will fizzle and coat the bit.

Brush on some soldering fluid flux to area to be joined.
 

 

Touch the bit of the iron onto the solder - the flux will help draw it and make it molten and liquid on the bit.

Touch for a fraction of a second the bit onto the area to be joined the flux will help to draw the solder from the iron and form a joint. This is the bit you need to practice !! (the old lead pile does come in useful occassionally you know) I would describe it as painting with molten metal . As you get used to handling it you can be more creative.

Any excess metal can be removed or shaped with a needle file or a mini power tool with suitable grinder attachment.

and hey presto - it's done - now repeat another 36 times!!

To wet the appetite , I have converted these basic figures into a piper and drummer with a little application of the iron

More on these lads next time

Lt Melvill - Zulu Wars - Empress Miniatures

Well there has been a lot of French green here lately, so to finish of clearing the painting table I found this figure part done, as I had started the horse but was struggling to get on with the look of  it, so parked it unitl another time.

The horse was done with a Burnt Sienna oil rub over Humbrol 62 (leather) however i did not like the end look - not enough sculpting on horse to make it really work well I think. I then varnished it with matt enamel varnish (once it was dried!), and gave it a wash with Vallejo Sepia dipping formula. Highlights on mane and tail were then done with Vallejo biege brown, the socks and blaze were Vallejo Ivory and then an offwhite highlight!

I used the Andrea red cololr set for the tunic

A bit  more about Sepia Wash

it works like the unbiquitous GW Devlan Mud, excpet you get 16 times the amount  for about 2.5 times the price... do the maths - i am Scots/Yorkshire....
LINK - Via Antenocitis Workshop


I have had more goodies turn up to add the Gunfighters - with a host more of civilains and bad guys again from Black Scorpion. more soon.

cheers! TGIF!

New gadget- Paint Mixer

While browsing around the E-Models store I came across a new toy. An electric paint mixer (£12.50). Any of you users of enamel paints will know the problem of getting them to mix. This great device takes all the effort out of it and thoroughly mixes the paint and carrier medium in the small humbrol 14ml tins no problem. The mixer is just a little too big to fit in a Vallejo bottle,I may experiment and file about a millimetre off it , as i have a few of those that could do with refresh too. Given the price of paints anything that help to ensure they last will help. I found it particularly good for mixing Matt Varnish and results of using it after mixing resulted in a really Matt finish. Probably good for those frothy coffee's too.

Strike up the band & some new technology.

Well they say music stirs the soul. This week I have been working on the newly arrived French Guard Band set. It is not always about the fighting troops and these guys will add some colour and fun to proceedings and maybe improve the moral of the fighting troops. This is a "Bicorne" miniatures set of 22 figures. The castings were of excellent quality with little work required to clean them up. In terms of make up the figure mix does lack a few instruments having more trumpeters than required but no trombones and again more bassoons than required but no clarinets. There is a nice two piece casuality set with the pair singing along - these are labelled as flute in the catalogue , but are both actually carrying trumpets. They are all also sculpted in campaign dress. I have access to a lot of information on Napleonic uniforms , but there was not much in the collection on the various bands campaign dress. I did however find one decent reference for 1806-7 where the band wore striped trousers on campaign, so I went for that option.

Usual undercoats, Humbrol 67 (dark grey) for the dark areas and 64 (light grey)for the trousers. Blue is Vallejo Dark Prussian Blue highlighted with a mix of Flat blue. Of course the time consuming bit was the trousers. After uncoating they were done in Humbrol 33 white and allowed to dry. The stripes were done using Vallejo Flat blue thinned with 50/50 paint/water to form a thin ink consistency, Using a decent long sable watercolour brush with long bristles and small point it (it was a No1)  was just a case of loading the brush with  the paint.ink and completing a stripe or two and repeating around the trousers. Once this was done there was a little more shade and highlight added to the folds with a light grey /white vallejo mix. They were Matt varnished. And I refreshed the mettalics using a mix of Vallejo Brass with some added in Rich Gold powder (ROSE paints) to make the instruments shine more.

I enjoyed these as they were something different. I am still on the look out for some nice full dress bandsmen to do another time. I would also like to get hold of the Mounted Cuirassier band produced by Mirliton as well.(Mirliton - Cuirassier Band). Turns out these are available through Vexilla


TECHNO TIME
I have also been playing with technology this week and got hold of "blinky lights" from an internet light effects jewelry website. Product name Alectralights available in a host or colours - I went for Orange - so with a bit of basing and spraying some cotton wool a murky smoke colour I now have some burning firing etc markers

Not great video quality but you get the idea. The actual "blinky" is a two part cylinder about 10mm x 10mm has a battery life of about 10 hours - they can be changed as well - also came with spare batteries. They are also magnetic and come with a small magnet . You just screw the top down until it turns on , and unscrew to turn off or to change the battery. Cost £2 per "blinky" - but sure with a bulk order discounts can be found.

Just to give an idea of size - they are really small.

Available from Warlord games- with a small selection of colours.
Or if you want some more unusual colours  from Blinkylights

Back to more work on the castings for the Vistula Lancers - there is going to be a lot of conversion work here , this unit will be a real one off. I have a French light infantry ready for blocking and finishing as well this week. I am also eagerly awaiting the arrival of more lead from the "Colonial" period - Time to get back to true roots more later.