Fred's 2015 Painting Diary

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

People have suggested hair spray, and varnish will work..

IanS

[Hertsblue]

I've tried everything on my Woodland Scenics trees to keep the foliage in place - including UHU, PVA (thinned and full body), and low melt glue gun (needs care on plastic). I've sprayed them with hair lacquer and thinned down PVA - all to no avail. Admittedly, my trees get transported about a lot, but the rate of foliage shedding is frightening.

Best I've come across so far is Deluxe Materials' Scenic Spray Glue, made for model railway layouts. It's expensive but it comes in its own spray bottle.

https://www.deluxematerials.co.uk/en/scale-plastics/48-scenic-spray-5060243900326.html

One thing I would advise if you use it - cover the bases of your trees before spraying, otherwise you will find your bases firmly glued to the work-surface! I found this out from bitter experience. 

[fred.]

Thanks for all the suggestions chaps.

I went with the spray of diluted PVA - after investing in a spray bottle (79p from Home Bargains). I went about 70:30 water to PVA with a few drops of Future to break surface tension. I struggled to get a mist like spray of the mixture, but could get an OK jet. I gave the trees a good covering from above and the sides. Then later on, sprayed each one on the underside.

It has dried well - nice and matt, and seems to have harden up the foliage (which was glued on with UHU). I have also spread the trees out into a second tin - which should help with handling the trees when getting them out and putting them away. I suppose only time will tell how long these last for. I have a photo from Jan 2012 of the first time a lot of these trees were based up - but some may pre-date that. So they have survived 3 years of playing - probably twice a month on average.

Continuing the tree theme, I made up some spooky trees using some plain Woodlands scenics armatures. Sprayed these black with a light overspray of grey. I'm going to string some UHU between branches to look like webs or similar.

Also based up some Pendraken Palm trees and some of the green deciduous ones - hot glue works very well to attach these to coins, to give a bit of weight to the tree.

[fred.]

This weekend I have been building some of the new Perry 28mm WoTR Light Cav ( a friend picked me up a box at Salute)



They go together very nicely - I have made 5 mounted archers, and 5 mounted crossbows. Along with a couple of hobliars to go along with several I already have.

But I expect that another box to make more Hobliars is pretty likely.

I also finished off some MAA that I had started a couple of weeks ago - this is only about half a box of heavily armoured troops with two-handed can-openers

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Nice Fred.

[Techno]

Looking good.
Cheers - Phil

[fred.]

We played some WWII on Friday, for the first time in ages - we used BKCII and played a North Africa game, set in early 1941. With 3 of the players only having played the odd game before, and it being ages since I'd played. It took a while to get going, but we got in the swing of it fairly quickly.

The game was an Afrika Korps victory, their better tanks and better command told in the end. The main British formation, a mixed Jock column of Matildas, Lorried infantry, and on table 25pdrs struggled with command rolls all game - and although the Germans struggled to get their CO on the board for the first couple of turns (even with CV 10) this didn't end up hampering them too much.

In getting ready for this game, and showing some of my other WWII models to a mate, I realised how dis-organised my stuff was, so I have dragged most of the boxes and drawers out this weekend, and sorted most stuff out - and took the chance to take some photos.

First up, the North Africa Stuff

British Infantry


British Armour - both early and late


Afrika Korps


Most of these units are not quite finished - all are at least painted, but need some detailing, then a wash and dry brush, and finally some decals.

[fred.]

That bit was straight forward!!

Next up Early War - France 1940

French Forces



There are a few BEF units in this drawer too - this is a pretty small force, even if bulked out with infantry or soft-skins from the late war forces.

A decent sized force, with rather a lot of tanks, about half painted, all need decals - but I have some that I picked up from Leon the other year at Salute. Not much of the infantry is painted, but most of the artillery is.

German Blitzkrieg

A medium sized force, quite a few of the Panzers are fully painted and decalled - but the soft skins and the arty need some work. I don't have dedicated infantry for this force and will use my Late War ones.

The infantry in this drawer is based on small bases for use with Chain of Command (there is more infantry elsewhere.).

[fred.]

Now it starts to get a bit bonkers - the above are all about playable, a force that will fit on the table with a few alternatives.

Late War - Germans - not built around any particular historical formation, but broadly around the forces used in the Market Garden Campaign. So a wide mix to provide assorted Kampfegruppe as needed.


Infantry and Artillery (and a lot of the infantry has now been rebased to smaller bases for CoC)


Panzers and half-tracks


And some more - that need a bit of finishing off

[fred.]

Now the small restrained British for NW Europe - this lot is getting on for an Armoured Division at 1:platoon scale.


Infantry, with half-tracks for the Motor Battalion.


Infantry and Arty


Armoured Recce Regt and Sherman Regt



Another Armoured Regiment, and lots of soft-skins.


Self-propelled Arty and AT. 79th Armoured Div Funnies, and a few Churchills


Stuff!! Armoured Cars for Recce Regt, 17pdrs, heavy arty

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Wow! Great figures, what a lovely collection.

[Hertsblue]

Man after my own heart, Fred. Mob-handed or nothing! Keep it up. 

[Techno]

Stroll on ! 
Cheers - Phil

[fred.]

Thanks chaps

Now I just need to work out what else I need, and finish off the basing on lots of stuff. 

[kev1964]

What a great collection Fred, and beautifully painted.


kev

[Womble67]

hi Fred that's certainly an impressive collection you've got there.  Just one query though I assume that the German Sd.Kfz. 251's are Pendrakens. Where did you get the seated crew figures.

Take care

Andy

[Matt J]

Excellent stuff Fred!
(I think you may have a WW2 fixation  )

[fsn]

It's not a fixation, it's a calling! 

[fred.]

Andy - the 251s are from another manufacturer beginning with P - and the handy passenger strips come with their transports. I would think these would be quite an easy thing for Phil or one of the other sculptors to put together, especially as there are already seated figures.

I'm not sure it's just a WWII fixation it might be a 10mm one - I make it 14 'A4 layers'* of WII above, and there are 2 more of British Airborne that I forgot to photo. So 16 A4 layers of WWII.

From a very quick count up I think I have 15 A4 layers of Fantasy figures and I have lots of unpainted fantasy stuff as well, but have very little I painted WWII.

There is a bit of other historical stuff too perhaps 4 or 5 layers.

* A4 layers being my new preferred measure of painted figures - even if some of the layers are perhaps foolscap.

[Womble67]

Andy - the 251s are from another manufacturer beginning with P - and the handy passenger strips come with their transports. I would think these would be quite an easy thing for Phil or one of the other sculptors to put together, especially as there are already seated figures.

Thanks fred much appreciated

Take care

Andy