The Graying of Canis Wolfborn - Continued from the Greening of Canis Wolfborn

As you can see, I'm all about snappy titles and endowed with great creativity! (kidding!)

Some time back I described cleaning and "greening" the Canis Wolfborn model here. I primed him before I finished writing my post about the greening, and then began to paint.

After months and months of painting a bit here and a bit there, I've finally decided to leave well enough alone, and have finished Canis Wolfborn.

I used the photos on GW's website and the box cover as a guide for colors and such. Where I deviated from the GW paint scheme is where I felt the artistic need to express my own unique flavor, in paint.

Enjoy the "wolfy" goodness!






















































I had a "model" to pose for me, so I could make the wolf more realistic - and personal: Izabelle, smile and take a bow sweet girl!



... and for my next trick, Thunderwolf cavalry, "hacked" from GW Space Wolves space marine models and Warmachine "Warbeasts".

The Greening of Canis Wolfborne

In an earlier post, I mentioned that I had happily acquired the new Games Workshop model, Canis Wolfborn for my Space Wolves Warhammer 40K army.

I was so excited by this acquisition that, although I was completely awash in pre-convention painting projects, I took time to clean the model and put him together.

I will reiterate that I have never seen such an imposing hunk of metal designed for the tabletop! Canis is a "mere" Space Marine, his size alone is inconsequential - unless compared to a "mere" mortal! However, his mount, the cybernetically enhanced Thunder Wolf, Fangir is another story altogether.

I have not done actual measurements so cannot provide an accurate size for the model; let's just say it's really big!

Unfortunately, when I built Canis and Fangir, I was out of "green stuff" modeling putty and could not fill the cracks left between larger bits.

I finally got some green stuff and went to work on Fangir - and here are a couple of photos showing the results.
















Fangir and his rider, from the front















Looking down at Fangirs' tail end



As I worked with the model, it became apparent that the spaces left between Canis' arms and his torso did not require putty. However, poor Fangir had a few spots that needed a bit of help.

I mushed up the yellow and blue parts of the green stuff, squished it around till it was nicely blended, then rolled it out in long strips that would nearly fit into the crevices. Using a dental pick, I pressed the green stuff into the cracks, and poked it into a similar appearance and texture as his fur.

I also learned a bit about photography while getting the shots for this posting; Note to budding miniatures photographers - when using the Super Macro setting on your camera, using a flash will leave a large black shadow in the shape of your lens! DOH!

I have begun the carbonite freezing process... umm.... I mean the priming process, and hope to begin painting Fangir and his pet space marine soon!

Alternative Paints for Larger Projects

There are two groups of friends that I game with; Bwana Bill, his son, Karl the MekMeister, and a few other friends, and Consul Scipio, his son, the Black Knight, and other assorted friends.

So far these two groups have been on relatively divergent paths gaming-wise. Lately, as I have mentioned, both groups are now focused on battles in World War II, in the North African desert.

As our little groups begin to blend interests, we are finding more and more common ground in the hobby.

We are pretty much involved in 15mm and in 25mm models and figures.

When painting smaller figures, many of us have found the Vallejo "Model Color" to be accurate, and quite sufficient of portion to do the job.

However, we are finding that using those little eye-dropper bottles can become quite expensive, when painting larger figures and models - especially armored vehicles!

As the ladies in our lives lead us about on shopping tours, we usually keep a weather eye out for anything that may be useful in wargaming. My wife loves to visit Michaels hobby stores, both for supplies for her own hobby interests, and to obtain supplies for school projects. I like Michaels too! Pssst! Wargamers secret: In the Seasonal Decorations section you can find trees that are extremely useful for 25mm gaming - and sometimes walls or entire houses!

In the paint section, I have discovered Apple Barrel, and in particular, one color that works very nicely for German WWII desert vehicles and equipment! The color is "Country Tan". I have used this color in the past for painting WWI Australian troops - and it works a charm!

Our own Bwana Bill has also discovered a color that can replace the more expensive, smaller bottles of acrylic paint: Americana "Desert Sand" - how appropriate!?

These paints, both the Plaid and Americana, usually cost between $1.00 and $2.00 U.S.

So as the economies of Nation's round the world continue to mimic the last movement of the SS Titanic, and our wargaming budgets dwindle, we encourage our loyal readers to examine less expensive alternatives for paints, flocking, scratch building materials, and perhaps even models! And do share what you find here, and we'll help you spread the word!

Love and Hate

Grab a wineglass and have a seat, we're about to have some whine!

I love my Battle Front Minis - they are usually very clean, well built, well considered models that go together without TOO much difficulty, and look really nice on the tabletop. The "Six-Pounder Portee" - a mid-war model of a British six pound anti-tank gun mounted on the back of a truck (Portee), is one that I have to say I'm a bit frustrated with.

Imagine the scene: less than a week till Fall In (the HMGS East convention in Gettysburg, PA), five different armies at two different scales scattered across the table in my chaoserrr war room, and I'm painting as fast as I possibly can.

I start the final coat, drybrushing and highlighting on my six pounder portees - and BAM! I drop one.

For starters, this model is a bit tricky to put together. Kudos to Battle Front for putting a "how to put it together" guide on their site for this model.

The problem lies with the ammunition rack on the back of the truck. There are four posts that this box is supposed to sit on, and it doesn't like going together. oh well! This is overcome with super glue and patience. Ta-da! A lovely model when complete.

Then the drop.

No, it can't drop on a nice fluffy figures case tray that is lying nearby. Neither does it fall to the slightly less fluffy stack of magazines on the other side. Noooooooo. It falls directly into the Dremel case on the floor, bashing itself to pieces on drill bits and sundry drill attachments and other cruft.

I wince in pain. Mostly cuz I think I broke my toe falling down the stairs, but also because I recall that this model is tricky to put back together. I resolutely begin picking up the pieces and reach for my super glue.

To add insult to injury, after I recover the bits and begin ever so patiently applying super glue to the little bits needed to put the pillars for the ammo box back into place - I drop the main bit. Off it goes into the black hole that is the floor of my dungeon, never to be seen again.

That's the "hate" part. I hate dropping models when they are nearly complete. Considering I slipped and fell down my stairs (caught myself, but hit a few!) this morning, I guess I should just have called it a day for anything requiring concentration.

The love part comes now, so sit back, relax and sip your whine! :-)

"Green Stuff" is your friend.

After searching for twenty minutes or longer, and basically cleaning the floor with my hands, I settled down to work with "Green Stuff", or two part modeling clay. It's also known as Kneadatite Epoxy Modeling Putty.

Take a bit of blue and a bit of the yellow portions and mash them together, like making a mud pie as a child. Keep water nearby and a sculpting tool of some sort. Although an X-Acto knife will work, there are hazards involved, especially if you're clumsy like me!

After mushing the yellow and blue bits together, as any child can tell you, you have green mush! The resultant mix is somewhat sticky - which allows you to stick it onto models where it is needed. However, that stickiness can also work against you. This is where the water comes in. Wet your fingers (the ones you are touching the green stuff with!) to keep it from sticking to them. Also, dip your sculpting tool in water to allow it to slide across the surface of the putty.

Apply the green stuff to the spot you need to fix, massage it gently with your fingers and sculpting tool. If you have a tricky thing (like the brace for an ammo box on a six pounder portee!), you may find that you need to form the green stuff as close as possible to the desired shape, and then come back later to trim off excess.

The image below was taken with my "Crackberry" phone, therefore the detail is not as clear as it should be; however, I hope you can see enough to get the point.



So remember folks, let's be careful out there!

Fall-In Preparations

In the dark shadows of the nether regions of the Castle Keith, I am laboring intently, deep in the dank dungeon that is my War Room.

I am currently working on some additional troops for my 28mm World War II (Disposable Heroes, a Coffin for Seven Brothers - DHC7B) German SS and American Paratroopers, because I intend on running a "pick up game" at Fall-In. The scenario is called "Blood in the Snow". It is a meeting engagement between elite forces at a remote farm manor house during the Bastogne encirclement.

I'm also working on British WWII tanks (Honeys and Crusaders) and infantry for my 15mm Flames of War army. I'm applying paint to my Italian tanks, infantry, and artillery, trying to top off that army too!

Just to confuse matters, since I obviously don't have enough to paint, I'm working on my Late War Gross Deutschland Panzer Kompanie. Basically I'm herding cats, but thankfully the Pioneers are helping! ;-)

If that isn't enough, I'm also touching up various bits and bobs to sell at the Saturday morning Flea Market. I'll also be bringing, by special request, a small package of very special fleas! Can't get enough of those!

If any of our loyal readers are headed to Fall-In, look for us at a gaming table covered with snow, or sand, or grass, or...

Lovin Bad-ab

The title may sounds like a Country and Western song about love gone wrong. However, this post is about Games-Workshop's Badab Black wash.

I've used inking techniques over the years that come very close to the results achieved by those who utilize the "dip" technique. I paint my figures up all nice, then brush them all over with thinned down GW Brown Ink. I then highlight the figures back up a bit. This technique gives the figures a nice sense of depth and also satisfies my love for dirty miniatures. I then add mud as needed, and sometimes as not needed, to further enhance the grimy warrior effect.

Yesterday I acquired two new armies for WarMachine, by Privateer Press from two of friends. We accomplished some dark back alley trades, and (I hope!) everyone ended up happier for the deals!

In that trade I acquired an army of Cygnar and an army of Khador. Each of the armies were painted by friends with different painting styles and tastes for light and dark. Each army was at a different level of completion as well. The Cygnar Army was mostly ready for the tabletop, with only a handful of figures requiring paint. The Cygnar army is primed black. The Khador army was a work in progress, with basic colors on many of the figures, with some being completed. The Khador army is primed white.

My new Cygnar army is blue, and has been inked and highlighted, which clearly shows the great detail of these lovely figures. My new Khador army is painted with fairly bright colors, (tis a red army after all!) and to sort of put my personal stamp on the army, I determined that I would darken it up a bit.

I have used the Badab Black wash on smaller models that were painted with military colors, and it has worked very nicely. After all... non-fantasy warrior figures will, in my humble opinion, need to be darker, muddier, more weather worn.

The WarMachine figures are fantasy figures, so a lot of color is the norm rather than out of the ordinary.

I grabbed a couple of Warjacks, a Juggernaut and a Destroyer and began to apply the GW Badab Black Wash. I did not thin the wash at all, but rather used a LARGE brush and simply gave the figures a bath with the Badab Black wash!



Without Ink



With Ink and a few highlights

I must say that I'm quite pleased the the results. So much so that I am going to finish painting the rest of the army using the same style and techniques my friend used, and then bathe them all in Badab Black! The washing of the figures may be followed up with a bit of highlighting, just to bring out the detail of these lovely figures.

So, this is (in case the FCC is watching) a NON-PAID endorsement of a GW product; which, if you know me, I'm not too fond of GW and their business practices - but I do love these washes and highly recommend them.

Game on!

"Aussies at Bardia"

One of our latest projects is gearing up to run some scenarios from Mark Fastoso's new scenario book called "Aussies at Bardia." It covers the three days in January 1941 in which the the 6th Australian Division captured the fortified town of Bardia, Libya from its Italian defenders. As usual with these things it will take a while but we are making pretty good progress. Like almost everything elso we do, being huge gluttons for punishment, we will be doing this in glorious 28mm which of course always requires the expenditure of a significant amount of money for vehicles in the 1:48 to 1:56 scale range; and it can be very difficult to find them. Fortunately we have hit a recent bonanza in the form of a company called "Company B." They have been cranking out a large selection of Italian tanks, trucks, and armored cars that have hitherto been non-existent. I have been buying mine from Brigade Games at the HMGS East conventions in Pennsylvania. One nice thing about the Bardia book is it is mostly infantry on infantry so you do not need a huge amount of tanks. A couple of British Matilda IIs are indispensible to this book. "Army Group North" has some very nice Matildas in resin plastic. I got mine from Brigade games also. There is only one scenario where the Italians are counterattacking with seven M-13 tanks, uh, we are probably going to want to do that one in 15mm. I have acquired some very nice Italian Bersaglieri infantry figures from Askari Miniatures. We will be using these to represent the Italians troops even though none of the scenarios call for Bersaglieri. The Askari Bersaglieris were not really designed for WWII gaming, they are more appropriate for the 1925 to 1935 colonial campaigns in Africa, nevertheless, they will work just fine for WWII. The only concession I had to make was to acquire some Italian machine gunners from Artizan Miniatures to go with them. At this point my Italian infantry are almost ready to go. Speaking of Artizan, I got the British/Aussie infantry from them and they are painted and ready to go. So, with just a bit more work on the tanks, and then some anti-tank guns (not easy to find either), and then some scenery; it will all be ready to go!

First DAK

As Bwana Bill, Consul Scipio, KarlMek, BlackKnight, and I all prepare to head into the desert again in various scales, I was inspired to finish off a Deutsches Afrikakorps (DAK)Heavy Machine Gun and crew.

The figures are by Battle Honours - does anyone know if they are still in business? I see figures still for sale at www.oldglory15s.com, however, I can't seem to find a Battle Honours homepage.

Anyway, here are the first of my DAK: Enjoy!

Canis Wolfborn

After many years without a "real" codex, Space Wolves players are once again "official". The new codex is out and I got a copy very early on, having pre-ordered it at my local brick and mortar game shop! I'm still plowing through the book, though I do intend on providing our dear readers with a review of the document, this post is about a new character (of which there are several!) that I also purchased days after it's release.

Canis Wolfborn rides a mighty cybernetically enhanced Fenris wolf which is called a Thunderwolf. His name is Fangir.

Being a fan of wolves, I find the creature too massive for my personal tastes; however, it is supposed to represent an alien breed of wolves that are much larger and more fierce than their Terran cousins. Add some cybernetics to enhance his attacks, and the beast is nearly the equal of his space marine rider!

I've actually built the model already, though I have not yet primed it or begun to paint.

First impressions:

Like many large Games Workshop models, the bits don't all necessarily fit together smoothly. I managed to put the model together without pinning any parts; however, I will likely regret that move in the future. If you are building this beastie, be aware that pinning the arms on Canis will likely be a safe bet, and aid in keeping the arms in place later during transportation and gameplay!

Although I have applied my "pumice" to the base, along with a small stone from the garden, I cannot prime and thus begin to paint until I acquire some "green stuff". I'll be stopping off at my local game store today to pick up a pack. Without green stuff, there will be rather annoying gaps here and there at the joints on Fangir.

I plan on posting photos of my progress with this model, so please stay tuned!

28mm hard plastic Viking warriors under development

Here is the latest development rumor from the Wargames Factory. Their next product line will be 28mm Viking warrios in hard plastic. I also hear that ther new line of Numidians is out and they will be giving away free samples this weekend at Historicon.

Tools of the Trade – a Prelude to an Introduction to Painting

It was a very wise man who said, “Use the proper tool for the job.” Of course, he was most likely single and therefore able to buy those tools, without the oversight of CINCHouse (Commander in Chief House), which often results in conversations similar to the following:

Wargamer: “Oh!! I need this tool!!”

CINCHouse: “Why? You don’t use the tools you have.”

Wargamer: “I need this one for that special project!”

CINCHouse: “You haven’t finished the last (insert large number over 20 here) projects you’ve started. Finish those before you start a new one!”

Wargamer: ““But it’s on sale!”

CINCHouse: “And… this matters how? Buying another tool you’re not going to use, even if it’s on sale, is still a waste of money.”

And of course, in the end you don’t get the tool, try to make do with another tool you may have never used, and end up cutting off parts of the project, and perhaps your body, that you didn’t want to cut off.

In a perfect world, a guy could buy all the tools he needs to do the job right.

Since it’s far from a perfect world, we’ll make do with what we have, as best we can. However, there are some tools that, if you compromise quality, your project will suffer.

Paint brushes: This is the most important tool a wargamer will purchase. Skimping here WILL adversely affect the outcome of your figures.
Imagine having to pick hairs out of your paintjob as you go. This costs you in time taken to remedy a problem that could have been avoided, and costs you in a reduction in quality. Bad brushes make for bad paintjobs.

Be picky about your brushes. ‘Nuff said.

I use Reaper Brushes, almost exclusively. No, this is not an advertisement for Reaper – I just happen to like the brushes! They are good quality and are reasonably priced.

The average wargamer will need a broad range of sizes and shapes of brushes. For figures, you will need a very tiny brush to use for painting details, a medium brush for applying paint to small and medium areas, a larger brush for overall coverage of medium and large areas, and several sizes of stiff brushes for use in dry brushing.

For vehicles, I recommend the “Tank Brush” by Citadel. If you properly thin your paint, you can use the Tank Brush to paint a vehicle, without leaving brush marks, thus negating the need for expensive air brushes. (Not a knock against airbrushes!)

Soap, Water, and Paper Towels: No, I’m not going to tell you to wash behind your ears. Soap, water, and paper towels are essential items used to properly care for your brushes!

A bar of soap, such as Ivory or some other plain, square block of soap will work nicely. Any old dish will work to hold the water – just make sure it’s cleaned after each session, if possible – or soon thereafter!

The way this works is, you dip the brush in water and swish it around, then wipe it off on a paper towel. Then, after wetting the brush again, place it on the bar of soap and draw it towards you, rotating or spinning it slightly as you go. Then swish it around in the water and repeat until clean, periodically using paper towels to dry the brush off and remove excess paint-filled water.

Another technique, though perhaps not as economical, is to use surgical prep pads; cotton pads soaked with rubbing alcohol. These pads can be used in place of the soap to remove paint from a brush, or so I’ve been told!

It is critical to care for your brushes properly. Brushes will last longer, and be usable at a moment’s notice, if they are cleaned and stored carefully.

NEVER leave your brushes in the water dish for extended periods of time. Doing so will result in the paint being more difficult to remove, and the brush attaining a new, and likely undesirable, shape.

Artiste Palette: No, I’m not going all “artsy-fartsy” on you. A palette provides you with a place to thin or mix your paint, where it will not dry as fast or be absorbed. I use a glossy (that’s important!) square tile, such as is used for tiling floors or walls in bathrooms or kitchens. The glossy surface allows the paint to be mixed prior to use, and it cleans up easily. I use a putty knife and hot water to clean my palette when needed. There are other resources that can be used as a palette, such as a Styrofoam picnic plate – which, instead of cleaning, you simply throw it away.

Another, more environmentally friendly, item that works nicely is a Teflon painting mat. The one that I use, in addition to my "old style" ceramic tile, is called Slip Grip Mats. These mats are easily scraped clean after a painting session, and remain ready to use for some time to come! Bwana Bill bought some at a recent convention, and thinking of his old friend, decided to gift me one! I love it, and more importantly, my wife loves it too! That's especially important!

Water bowl: Folks, a word of warning here. Don’t use your nice china as a water dish for cleaning your brushes!! There are specially designed plastic dishes on the market that have a separator and places for brush storage. An inexpensive alternative is a “Cool Whip” bowl. I don’t recommend explaining to CINCHouse that you simply had to use the entire bowl of “Cool Whip” ‘cuz you needed the dish for your hobby. I can attest to the likelihood of this excuse resulting in a rough night in the doghouse.

Cleaning up: It is important to clean the water dish and palette regularly to avoid cross-color contamination and the introduction of dried paint chunks into your current project.

Clothes: If you own clothes that you would like to be able to wear in public, don’t wear them when painting. This does not mean that you should paint in the nude, but rather that you paint while wearing “scruffy” clothes, such as sweat pants and an older t-shirt. Even though many of the paints used today in the wargaming hobby are water soluble, they are readily absorbed by cloth, and are not easily removed.

In the Beginning…. Part V

5. Priming: One of the most critical issues of our time in the wargaming community, an issue that is hotly debated in numerous venues, and has yet to be decided one way or the other, is whether to use black or white primer.

Since this blog is about wargaming topics and is written for wargamers, I will attempt to remain neutral. To choose sides in “The Great Black V.S. White Primer Debate™” would be irresponsible, and would likely alienate half of my intended audience


My view in “The Great Black V.S. White Primer Debate™” is that one should use whatever performs best for the type of model/figure one is working on!

However, the reality is that I find it easier to use black spray primer on all the figures/models I work on, and then use a brush-on white primer for areas that require significantly brighter or lighter color paint.

I have used white primer in the past, but don’t like the overall effect. My metal colors do not come through as nicely as they do against a black primer. Additionally, when the end model or figure I’m painting will be using darker colors or modern military drabs, the white primer lightens up the model too much for my taste.


The operative statement here is: Use whatever works best for your style of painting!


My style of painting relies on a lot of shading and shadow, and I find it easier to highlight up rather than darken down. Thus I choose to use black primer the majority of the time.


I realize that some individuals will accuse me of not being a “real wargamer” because I choose to use black primer. I must state for the record that there are plenty of folks in the “black primer” camp who make the same statement about those who use white primer, although I would not be one of those people! I would never make such a sophomoric and judgmental statement!

So, let’s not discuss the barbarians flinging fire at the gates of the civilized wargaming world, who suggest alternative primer colors such as gray or rust brown! I cannot, in good conscience, recommend the use of gray or rust brown primers, unless you are intent on the destruction of civilization as we know it! We won’t discuss it here, because this blog is for wargamers, and those who suggest using gray or rust brown primer simply aren’t real wargamers!


But seriously folks:


I used to use GW (Citadel) black primer for most applications; however, that is now impossible, since GW no longer makes black primer. They claim that their “Chaos Black” spray paint also works as a primer; however, it dries glossy, and does not work as I believe a primer should work, that is, covering the figure and providing paint with a surface on which to stick.


I now use Rustoleum black primer, although I have used rust, gray, and white primers too. Rustoleum has the advantages of actually being a primer, is produced by a large company and is less prone to “bad cans of paint”, and it’s pretty inexpensive.

In the Beginning…. Part III

3. The Base – for my 15mm figures I use the standard bases provided by the “Flames of War” gang, while I use whatever is available for my 25mm figures. I have used Games Workshop bases of all shapes and sizes, as well as bases manufactured by other companies. As long at the mold is clean, base selection should only be restricted by the rules you intend to play. The selection of inexpensive alternative bases will not affect the final appearance of your figures.

Although I did not mention metal bases, many historical gamers do make good use of inexpensive metal bases, which you can most likely find at your local game supply store!

Metal bases are very thin metal squares or rectangles of various sizes. The advantages to using these are that they are less expensive and sold in packs containing quite a few bases, and if you choose to use a magnetic figure carrying case, your figures can travel standing up, ready for battle!

In the Beginning…. Part II

2. Cleaning – Some folks do a poor job at this critical stage, or skip it entirely. This results in a rough-looking figure that is not as appealing to the eye. Regardless of the level of painting skill you have, an improperly cleaned figure will result in a poorer quality paint job.

Most manufacturers recommend washing figures in warm, soapy water, to remove the “mold release” chemical from the figures. I always forget this stage – I wonder if any of our loyal readers can supply info as to why this step is or isn’t important! I have always felt that the scraping with an X-Acto™ knife or the filing with jewelers’ files would clean most of the “mold release” material off the figures.

As I stated above, I don’t wash my figures prior to cleaning or priming. Considering past experience, and reflecting on the number of times I’ve had to touch up figures or models that have scratched or chipped, it is entirely possible that my failure to wash the figures has contributed to a lowered resistance to scratching/chipping.

It is essential to remove as much flash as possible. This may require a combination of tools. I always have a set of jewelers’ files and an X-Acto™ knife on hand. The X-Acto™ knife allows me to scrape away larger elements of flash from figures, and to get into areas I may not be able to reach with the jewelers’ files. Always use care when working with these tools, as they are necessarily sharp and can inflict bodily harm to yourself or others nearby!

For plastic figures, I almost exclusively use the X-Acto™ knife, scraping carefully along the mold lines with the edge of the blade. For harder plastics, which several manufacturers are beginning to use, the use of jewelers’ files may be a viable option.

After removing the majority of the flash, tidy up with the jewelers’ files; you are attempting to remove any hint of flash or mold line. If you have a really bad gap or mold line on the figure (this is sometimes the case with larger models) use model putty or green stuff to level the seam.

Be careful not to remove too much detail! Over-filing can result in a loss of details – and if you are not familiar with the figures, you can sometimes mistake a key bit of detail for “flash” or a mold spot.

At times it may even become necessary to use a Dremel™ tool, or similar small, variable speed drill. From personal experience I can attest to the potential for damaging both the figures and the wielder when using these tools! Be careful!

One preparation that, in my humble opinion, enhances the final appearance of a figure requires the use of a Dremel™ tool or a small “pin vice” (a very small manual drill). I drill out the barrel of guns (particularly on Warhammer 40K figures!). I drill the barrel proper, and then the side-holes on the flash suppressors. When the figure is completed, the actual holes, rather than black paint lend an additional hint of realism!

Additionally, as a part of the cleaning process, I always keep a large flat file handy. This is the big, honking file that some folks use for auto repair or sharpening their battle-axes prior to a raid. I use the large file to clean the bottom of the bases on individual figures, and sometimes to thin the base down so that it doesn’t show so much under my “basing”.

I cannot emphasize how important it is to pay attention to detail at this stage, in order to have a nicer, more appealing figure when you pronounce the painting job to be "Finis!"

In the Beginning...

Before you base or prime your figures there are a few things to consider.

1. Figure selection – Cost most often drives my personal selection of figures, at least when building an ‘army’. If the figures are too expensive, I often have to go with a less expensive alternative. Unfortunately, the selection of less expensive figures often results in a lower quality figure on my table. This is a poor place to start; however, it’s all too often the reality in the Wargaming community.

Cheaper figures are often produced by companies that do not periodically clean or remake their molds, which results in more flash or more noticeable seams that require significant cleaning.

If possible, examine figures in a line you wish to purchase, in person. Holding the figures in your hands is the only way to truly judge the amount of cleaning that will be required.

A key point to remember here is that when a new figure line is first released, the molds are new and clean, thus it is best, if you can afford it, to purchase new figure lines when they are released. Unless Commander in Chief(ette) (CinC) House, or your budget says otherwise!

If you are able to begin the painting process by selecting higher quality figures, the amount of time spent cleaning may be reduced, providing additional time to spend actually painting the figures!

Space Wolves Vehicle Camouflage

I love camouflage!

I retired from the Army a while back, and I recall an Army that wore "green sateens", which were, arguably one of the ugliest uniforms ever!

Although the elite Space Marines of the 40th Millennium are supposedly too "l33t" to require or desire camouflage, the old soldier in me bristles at the thought of any equipment entering a combat zone in "parade gloss" paint schemes.

After a discussion with Bwana Bill and Orkmeister Karl, I came up with a camo scheme for my Space Wolves vehicles.

I tried to stay true to their wolf-gray, winter-world origins, and came up with the scheme pictured below.











What do you think? We love comments and suggestions from our loyal readers!!

Painting SS Pea-dot Camo in the Fall Color Scheme

I have been working on a 25mm SS Company for Disposable Heroes, and Coffin for Seven Brothers.

I chose an unusual camo scheme, simply to be different; and also because a field soldier knows, after a few days on an exercise or in combat, almost all you own turns brown with dirt!







The SS Pea-dot camo is, in my humble opinion, one of the better camo schemes to emerge from World War Two, from any country's military! It came as a bit of a surprise to me that there were variations to the Pea-dot camo scheme!

The normal scheme has a green background, some dark blotches (larger spots) and several shades of lighter green placed in small, random spots - the pea-dots!

The fall color scheme is all in browns/yellows.

To paint this scheme I used the following Vallejo Paint colors from the "Model Colors" line:

Base coat: 70825 German Cam Pale Brown

Large splotches and some small dots: 70822 German Cam Black Brown

Small lighter colored dots: 70977 Desert Yellow

Start by cleaning the figures well and basing them. I base my WWII 25mm figures on 25mm round bases. I then glue fender washers onto the bottom of the 25mm round base. Fender washers have one side that is somewhat rounded, while the other side is fairly flat, with some sharper edges. I try to glue them on so that the rounded edge is away from the figure, and will be in contact with the gaming table.

I then use a pumice mix on the bases to create a 'dirt' consistency base which also serves to hide the figures base against the 25mm round base.

After the pumice has dried, I prime the figure in black.

On this batch of figures I painted the pants in Vallejo Feldgrau, and painted the base coat of German Camo Pale Brown on the smock.

After the initial coats dry, I use the German Camo Black Brown to paint round, oval, and semi-oval shaped blotches on the smock.

I also paint some tiny dots with the German Camo Black Brown, sort of trailing away from the larger blotches.

Once that layer is dry, I use Desert Yellow to paint blotches of color on top of the dark brown camo blotches. This is not meant to totally cover up the larger dark brown blotches, but rather to be place in the center of a larger darker spot of color!

I also paint some more tiny dots trailing away from the larger ones, using the Desert Yellow.






As you can see, this gives an usual pattern that breaks up the outline of the soldier, as a good camouflage scheme should do!

The figures in these photos are approximately 90% complete. I still have inking and highlighting to do, to put the final touches on them, and then my (in)famous muddying!

I'm going to continue working on these lads, and hopefully will post more photos as they near completion.

More photos of the real Stalingrad fountain.

One of the guys in our gaming group is a really good scratch builder. The other day we were talking about the Stalingrad fountain model that we covered back on December 20, 2008. He said that article got him interested in scratch building a 28mm version of the fountain some day. I think that is a really wonderful result which comes at a good time because I was beginning to wonder if this blog was a waste of my time! I of course told him it was a great idea, and it got me wondering if there might be any better photos of the thing out there. So I did a bit more searching on the net and came up with these. I think these could be very useful because they show the entire fountain in the frame.

It appears to me that the first photo was probably taken before the war and that the second photo is from sometime shortly after the Battle of Stalingrad. Notice all the artillery shells stacked around the fountain? Maybe the battle was still underway?

You know, the more I look at that these photos the more I begin to see how it could be crudely, or maybe even not so crudely, modeled using things from around the house. If you took a round serving dish with a big lip around the edge, and an empty cat food can turned upside down, and maybe some HO or G scale model children, you would already be halfway there! What do you think?

Update on the Development of the 28mm Late War German hard plastic sprues

Today we received an update from the Wargames Factory on the hard plastic 28mm Late War German sprues under development. The first photo below shows some additional details of the figures. Here is what they are saying about this sprue: "This is a 5-figure sprue with multi-part Germans in a variety of advancing/fighting poses - maybe one crouching? Ideally, the set has extra heads (bare and with helmets and 1-2 NCO), separate arms with some open hands to have separate weapon swaps. Separate packs. Grenade and sub-machine gun options."

And now they are saying there is going to be an MG-42 team to accompany the first sprue of infantrymen. Here is what they say about that: "This is a 5-figure sprue with multi-part Germans in a variety of advancing/fighting poses. Ideally, the set has extra heads (bare and with helmets and 1 NCO), separate arms with some open hands to have separate weapon swaps. Separate packs. Grenade and sub-machine gun options. 1 MG-42, ammo carriers, loader. Works with my other entry to make a full squad."

Both of these sprues are going to sell for $5.00 each. This seems like a pretty nice deal for anyone looking to get into gaming WWII, or just expanding their collection.
Unfortunately, I already have what I consider to be a complete collection of WWII "sausage eaters," otherwise I would definitely be buying some of these. Incidently, my WWII Germans are metals from Black Tree Design which are also very nice figures.

New 28mm Napoleonics figures

Here is something very interesting. Take a good look at these painted 28mm French Line infantry figures. Very nice, right? Would you believe that they are not metal, but hard plastic? Check them out at the Perry Brothers web site. You can even get movement stands for them, in hard plastic of course!