GHQ Models Forums

Hi all! I'll make this short if possible. Im an experienced modeler who hasn't touched styrene or smelled cement in many years but recently decided to take it up again. In searching the web I began to become interested in the smaller scales I was seeing and ended up at this site. To say the least I was impressed by the detailed thjat was packed into such tiny vehicles. Of course I also discovered wargaming. Growing up playing D&D, I had heard of military wargaming but had no idea it had gotten so big. I remember as a teen, myself and some D&D pals once bought 3 full risk games and spent a whole summer devising a rule set for our own "nepolianic" wargame using the plastic peices included with the game.(anyone who has played risk can envision the epic campaigns we played out with all those peices) We never really hashed out all the rules or perfected our system, but I remember how much fun we had with it. Now with the internet at my disposal I can see that there were others out there with a craving for the sandtables in thier hearts. My order is going in imediately but I require some education. This is not styrene or 1/32 and it has been years as I said since I modeled. Can someone run me down the basics... tools, paints, CA cement?, workspace? Im anxious to start.

sdkfzfanatic wrote:My order is going in imediately but I require some education. This is not styrene or 1/32 and it has been years as I said since I modeled. Can someone run me down the basics... tools, paints, CA cement?, workspace? Im anxious to start.

Hi SD! Welcome to theworld of VERY SMALL addiction. Turn over your wallet and your free time as you enter the forum, please.

Can you give us more on what you are ordering? Napoleonics? Ships? Aircraft?
Tanks? German half-tracks?

Our gracious hosts GHQ offer tutorials, which will give you starting points on many of your questions. Check 'em out.

And if you check out the "Show Us Yer Stuff" thread, you will find many, many excellent examples not only of what can be done, but how people do it.

Here are my observations and advice for the noobs among us:

Glue: CA glue seems to work very well (cyanocrylates ... ie: superglue). Good for permanently combining the pewter parts. I suggest gel formulations. They don't run, they fill in gaps, and they dry a little slower, which gives you a better opportunity to position the pieces just right.

Paints: Two schools -- enamels or acrylics. I use some of both, but mostly acrylics. Many different brands with a lot of personal preferences vs. local availability involved. I use Testor's Model Master enamel spray paints (in a can) for most of my base-coating. I use Polly-Scale ("Polly-S") model acrylics for my detailing (and base-painting when done with a brush). Many folks use air-brushes. I don't.

Primer: Several schools of thought. Some don't prime, or use normal paints as an undercoat. Most seem to use primers. Some prime dark (generally black), some prime light (generally white), and some prime neutral (generally gray). I prime with white. I like the way it lightens up the models at this scale. Some folks actually mix some white into their base-coat paints to get a little lightening. This is done to counter what is termed the "scale effect", an optical phenominon that makes smaller objects appear darker. But I find that by priming with white I not only lighten the overall model a bit, but also provide just a bit of highlighting to the edges and raised features, enhancing the visibility of the details. There are several brands of hobby primer available. I just buy spray cans of Krylon brand white primer at my local hardware store. Costs about 1/4 as much as hobby primers, and works very well for my needs.

Weathering: Most folks use a combination of dark washes and light dry-brushing. The basic approach is well described in the tutorials. Several variations are described in the "Show Us Yer Stuff" thread.

Detailing: Lots of ideas in the thread. A good magnifying glass on a stand with an articulated arm is a great boon to both your enjoyment and your results. Also a selection of brushes, including some with VERY fine tips.

But remember the following. And this is manditory. If you ever want to be a good modeller at this scale, you MUST follow this advice to "get it right" ...

And that is ... there is no such thing as "getting it right", or "wrong" for that matter. There are no "manditory" techniques. Give something a try, and see if you like the results.

Post a few pics, and you'll get lots of advice on what seems to look good, as well as suggestions on what might be done differently. It's a pretty friendly crowd 'round here, and everyone likes to jabber about micro-scale modelling. So give us something to talk about, and sit back and read the results!

WWII micro armor for starts... should have been specific,sorry.
That was a great help tho, thank you.
I have read up some on painting micros and looked at the tutorials. Im also familiar with color at scale as you mentioned. (small things look dark, objects far away are lighter etc.) but this obviously becomes more important at this scale.
No mention of files? sanding sheets? Do the products come on sprues?
Pewter is a fairly foriegn medium to me.
now back to my shopping cart.

Most armor comes pre-removed from sprues, and have been cleaned up a bit. Minimal flash and mold lines. small parts such as mounted MGs are usually still on sprues.

Infantry are almost always on sprues still. They'll require some clipping.

As far as pewter as a medium, its fairly heavy and durable when thick enough (vehicle hulls) but thin pewter is very malleable and tank barrels are subject to bending while in transit.

sdkfzfanatic wrote:WWII micro armor for starts...

Oh good. That makes it easier, as more of the materials (and members) around here focus on micro armor.

No mention of files? sanding sheets? Do the products come on sprues?
Pewter is a fairly foriegn medium to me.

No need for files. Except on your computer, to store up all the pics you're taking to post on our forums! Nor sanding sheets. Except maybe when you start doing some scratch-building. But not to start.

A good set of clippers might be nice. Yes, the parts come on sprues. But this is soft metal. Files tend to leave scratch marks on the soft metal.

Nail or cuticle clippers, bought at your local drugstore counter will do just fine (or pilfered from your wife's manicure set if you have more courage than brains).

If you have no clippers, a razor blade or hobby knife will do as well. Useful to have around anyways. If you wind up with any flash on your models (happens reasonably often), the best way to remove it is not by filing/sanding, but by carefully scraping/shaving.

A good set of flat-headed tweazers are also helpful, both for handling the smallest pieces and for straightening any that get bent.

Gluing models to nail-heads, and sticking the nails into a wood or styrofoam block is a very helpful technique to avoid getting paint all over your fingers.

Much of this is well illustrated in the tutorials and the thread.


Here's a pic of my typical workspace set-up. Note the magnifier (I have since gotten a larger one), the nails-in-styro to hold the models, the variety of brushes, and the white priming.


Here are those same SPA-35 trucks after the painting was completed.


Here's one of the M13/40 tanks that were in the background waiting to go up next.


Here is a good look at my flat-headed tweazers, about to go to work straightening a bent barrel during a refurbishment project on some old 1970s GHQ castings.


Here are the JS-2s after a full refurb.

Hope that helps.

Thanks everyone. Any help or hints is appreciated and whats been offered so far has helped a ton. I just cant wait to get started.

Just ordered tonight:

Panzergrenadier Company combat command (my user name says it all!)
Panzer IV (H)'s
Panzer IV (F)'s
Tiger I (late)'s
STuG III (G)'s
Marder III 38(t)M's
Pak 43's (gotta love the 88's)
150mm Howitzers
105mm Howitzers
20mm quadAA towed
sdkfz 233 & 263's
sdkfz 221's
sdkfz 250/1 & 10's
sdkfz 7- 8tn movers
3tn Opel Blitz's
german command pack
Ind. Infantry #2
heavy weapons
panzergrens in-vehicle
artillery crewmen

have a list twice as long as this already for next order... hahaha, this should get me started.

oh yeah...... what about stands? Anybody have a preference?

sdkfzfanatic,

I can only give moderate advice as to the late war German kit you purchased (I am limited to early war Russian-German engagements until Job prospects improve!) but to basing here goes:

You will find two schools of thought along these lines.

1. Tanks and Infantry need bases of "insert rules used" specifications (ie. 1"x1" etc)

2. No bases, I personally like the no vehicle bases myself and tend to play 1:1 ratio, but infantry I base 4-5 to a stand on a penny or some such to represent a squad (3 squads min for a platoon) just because they more than likely will get lost in the scenery and not utilized. Note: I have seen pics of peeps using individual GHQ inf but the logistics of that game might be tremendous!

In reality you need to determine the flavor of game you want (or the most popular for your area to get good use) and the basing will be determined by the rules you use. I'm using Panzer War which is VERY detailed but what I enjoy (not to mention totally free for download) and no bases are required. The other one I like to use is Schwere Kompanie by Ritter Krieg for when i introduce people to WW2 Micro. Do a simple internet search for either will bring them up.

Keep asking the community is extremely helpful and will get you what you need.

By the way Ritter if your out there where do you get those clear but colored chips shown in your Rules? I need/want them!

Gunbunny

Not Ritter here but I ordered mine from a place in Grand Rapids, MI just a few miles from me. If you need the info please let me know.
Joe

sdkfzfanatic wrote:.... what about stands? Anybody have a preference?

I'm with Gunbunny pretty much all the way.

I focus on 1-to-1 unit scales. If you are not familiar, many popular rule sets (including GHQ's own) are at a 1-to-several unit scale, where one model represents 3, or 5, or a platoon of whatever the model is.

I played Mobius' Panzer War rules for a few years. I liked them a lot. But they were just a bit too detailed for me. Still a very impressive set of rules, particularly as they are FREE! Gosh, what a nice guy!

I've bought and read, but not played, Ritter's Schwere Kompanie rules. At the time I considered them, the competition was Mein Panzer (MP) from Old Dominion Gameworks (ODGW), which I selected instead. Several other members of this forum also play these rules. They are 1-to-1, rather more abstracted on the vehicle stats vs. Panzer War, but with a very innovative activation-by-platoons turn sequence that I quite like.

The MP rules were initially written with 1-to-1 vehicles, and fire-team based infantry. The MP2 rules moved to squad-based infantry, which is very much my preference.

That's how I like to play -- a model tank representing a tank, and a stand of infantry representing a squad.

I don't use bases for my vehicles, unless they are multi-part (like trucks with trailors, horses with wagons, etc.). These days I base my infantry and crew-served weapons on pennies.


An example from a recent game -- Soviet infantry (on pennies) skirting behind a low ridge, where Italian artillery has already put paid to a Red Army armored car (with no base).

I too subscribe to 1:1 rules. In my case, I decided to make up my own rules, since I figured it would be the best way to ensure I was playing or hosting a game that I was satisfied with.

I also do my infantry basing fairly differently than others. Instead of pennies or plasticard, I use plain manila card stock.



I start by cutting a square of cardstock, then I decide where on the square I want to place my troops (each stand is a fireteam of 2-4 men). I mount them in place with a small dab of superglue, and let set. I then use a healthy coating of elmers glue to kind of "smooth the gap" between the individual stand molded with the troop and the squad stand. Then I paint on a base color (will have already been painted on the individual bases so I don't have to worry about painting over anyone's boots), then I add some turf to the base and an identifier to the underside. (lately I've added colored hash marks at the request of some of the local gamers.)

darn... just realized I ordered the heavy weapons not the "individual heavy weapons"
Im glad for the mortars and HMGs but what about LMGs? Can someone run me down whats in the "individual heavy" pack? Mortars? panzershrek?
I like the ideas... not sure on rules yet, NO ONE around here even knows what miniature wargaming is, although I think I seen some postings from Malden, Mass in here and Conn. I plan to build 2 forces and try to spread the virus to my friends. My regular RISK and Ax&AL people will be facinated!!
Im going to compose my force 1:1 but it can always be used 1:1 platoon or so on.
Anyone who see's some oddities in the list above understand, some things I just had to have others will make sense later. It is looking like a late war force but my intentions are to eventually produce a Panzergrenadier Regiment (eventually Division) that I can swap out equipment and such to compose Armoured, Motorized and standard versions in early, mid and mid-late war era. I know thats a big undertaking but Ive been doing my research. I should be able to achieve this without raping the historical accuracy too much. (by the way, anyone know a site as good as nazfiger that doesnt require as much symbol translation?)

sorry double post

sdkfzfanatic wrote:darn... just realized I ordered the heavy weapons not the "individual heavy weapons"
Im glad for the mortars and HMGs but what about LMGs? Can someone run me down whats in the "individual heavy" pack? Mortars? panzershrek?

If you want Panzerschrecks you need to order G511 Late war light anti-tank weapons. Check the catalog for a full description of contents. Ind Heavy Weapons G145 has both bipod (light) and tripod (heavy) MG 34, light mortars, flame throwers and spotters.

cabin4clw,

PM sent about the chips!

Gunbunny