Show us yer stuff!

[Vorster]

Good stuff. If you can use some of the hobby paints such as Humrol (if you can find some of the old stuff this new color system is horrible), Tamiya Acrylics, Modelmaster and so forth. The type of paint acrylic or enamel is up to you. The great thing is that they are mixed for scale color.

Great paints though.

[ac4400]

Great Terrain.
As to trees a trick I learnt from the "N" Gauge railways lads is to use Acrilic Sealant as Bark.
Put some into a pallet and mix with water to get a thick past, then paint this onto the wire former, add Woodland Scenic's foliage and trees to suit the mini's.

[HMSDiomede]

First time poster, long time lurker. I've painted minis before, but only 28mm Games Workshop stuff. Can anyone give suggestions? I use a mix of paints, mostly GW and cheap craft store stuff. I'm thinking of picking up a few GHQ colours next time I order anything.


Great stuff everyone!

Nice T-34's, Kurner. If only my first efforts looked that good! I used to use mostly Humbrol and Testor's Model Master, along with some Polly S. Now I use almost exclusively the "cheap craft store stuff". I have found that the craft paints actually work pretty well, once you get used to them. They also mix well and are very stable once mixed. This makes it easy to mix your own colors. The only paints I would NOT recommend for micro are the GW stuff, although I haven't tried GHQ paints yet.

Thanks JB and CAMA, I know my stuff isn't up to the same standard as a lot of what is posted here. Neither is my photography! The infantry are actually on 1/2" x 1/2" balsa bases. Yeah, I know it's not the most efficient way to go, but that's how I started doing it 20+ years ago. There is actually a 4th JSII platoon in the unit, but I had to crop it out to get the picture down to a workable size.

David

[tstockton]

As usual, so many concurrent threads running -- NOT a complaint, just a commentary!

I used to use mostly Humbrol

So did I, along with the "old" Testors -- the little "square" glass bottles you'd find at a drugstore or a grocery store; but my local hobby shop carried the "extended" line, with military colors! And does anyone else remember Pactra Paints? I liked them, too. But now -- I like the convenience of acrylics. No more paint thinner, just plain old water, to clean up brushes (and spills ). And no noticable odor, either -- although the old "nose test" was a good one to see if the paint had cured. ("If you can smell it, it isn't dry yet!")

And, yes, I liked the Humbrol paints as well. Somewhere around here, I probably still have an old box of them -- and knowing Humbrol, they're probably still good (if I re-sealed the lids properly)!

There is actually a 4th JSII platoon in the unit, but I had to crop it out to get the picture down to a workable size.

David -- don't know which "photo program" you're using -- I use Corel Photo-Paint. A feature it has is called "resample" -- it lets me change picture size and resolution as I see fit. I "crop" my pictures to the overall "format" I want (like 1200 x 900, or 1800 x 1350), then resample them to 600 x 450 pixels, at 72 dpi resolution; then as I save them, I "compress" them (setting = 40%), which usually drops the finished file size down to around 50 Kb to 60 Kb. This speeds up download time (yes, I still use a dial-up modem... sigh) -- not to mention how room each individual picture takes on my server! Anyway, you might check your "photo program" and see if it has the same, or similar, features -- that might be a solution!

Regards,
Tom

[HMSDiomede]

So did I, along with the "old" Testors -- the little "square" glass bottles you'd find at a drugstore or a grocery store; but my local hobby shop carried the "extended" line, with military colors! And does anyone else remember Pactra Paints?

Yup, they were never very common around here, though. I still have some of those old "square" bottles of Pactra's military colors. Also have some old Testor's "square" bottles with 19 cent prices marked on the caps. (Now THAT ought to make me feel old!)

And, yes, I liked the Humbrol paints as well. Somewhere around here, I probably still have an old box of them -- and knowing Humbrol, they're probably still good (if I re-sealed the lids properly)!

As I mentioned in an earlier thread, I have some tins of "old" Humbrol colors that are 25+ years old and still good.

David -- don't know which "photo program" you're using -- I use Corel Photo-Paint. A feature it has is called "resample" -- it lets me change picture size and resolution as I see fit. I "crop" my pictures to the overall "format" I want (like 1200 x 900, or 1800 x 1350), then resample them to 600 x 450 pixels, at 72 dpi resolution; then as I save them, I "compress" them (setting = 40%), which usually drops the finished file size down to around 50 Kb to 60 Kb. This speeds up download time (yes, I still use a dial-up modem... sigh) -- not to mention how room each individual picture takes on my server! Anyway, you might check your "photo program" and see if it has the same, or similar, features -- that might be a solution!

Regards,
Tom

Tom, not only am I still using dial-up (no cable TV, either), my "photo program" right now is a 10-year old piece of Windows 3.11 shareware called Vueprint. Sometimes you just have to make the best of what you have! It's primitive, but it works, sorta.

David

[Mk 1]

David:

Nice to see you posting pics finally! And nice pics, too!

I think your stuff is fully up-to-snuff with the rest of us. (If "I" am one of "us".) OK, Troy and JB will give any of us a pause to consider our painting talents, but hey that's half the fun of this forum, ain't it? It spurs us all on to do better, and to try some of the techniques we see here.

I am particularly excited to see someone else who shuns decals on his micros. I like the unit numbers on the JS2s! And yes, they sure are nice, aren't they? But ... they are so much better than the older GHQ JS models that I'm afraid I'm gonna have to dump my older JSs. They just don't stand up well enough side-by-side in a mixed formation. (The gun barrels on the old ones were thin and spindly. The new ones just scream "BIG BAD BOOMER!" ). Oh, and the St. Michel's Cross on that sad excuse for an R-1 makes the model! Nice.

Oh yes, and I too have one tin of 25+ year old Humbrol in my box. But I haven't opened it since about 1990 so I don't know if it's still good...


Kurner:

One more welcome for the chorus.

That snow terrain is wonderful. Looks like shaving foam or whipped cream! I particularly like the mud tones where the tanks have stirred it up.

Nice overall effect on the T-34s. I'm guessing that painted them white as a base, and then washed them with mud tone, and then washed and dry-brushed with white again? Did I get it wrong? Care to share more details on your technique?

I particularly like the detail that the mud wash brought out on the roadwheels. You can really see the variety of wheels in the new GHQ castings (this from a guy who has about 5 different castings of T-34 m1943s in his collection). You might try dry-brushing with a dark gray or grimy black, or again with the mud, to take a little of the white off of the rims. Or you might dismiss me as a loon, as you've already done a great job -- better than any of MY T-34s to be sure.

But my best suggestion is -- post some more pics! Ooh, I need more, more, more. My need for a pics fix grows with each new poster!

[HMSDiomede]

David:

Nice to see you posting pics finally! And nice pics, too!

I think your stuff is fully up-to-snuff with the rest of us. (If "I" am one of "us".) OK, Troy and JB will give any of us a pause to consider our painting talents, but hey that's half the fun of this forum, ain't it? It spurs us all on to do better, and to try some of the techniques we see here.

I am particularly excited to see someone else who shuns decals on his micros. I like the unit numbers on the JS2s! And yes, they sure are nice, aren't they? But ... they are so much better than the older GHQ JS models that I'm afraid I'm gonna have to dump my older JSs. They just don't stand up well enough side-by-side in a mixed formation. (The gun barrels on the old ones were thin and spindly. The new ones just scream "BIG BAD BOOMER!" ). Oh, and the St. Michel's Cross on that sad excuse for an R-1 makes the model! Nice.

Thanks a lot, Mk.1! With such compliments from you and JB, I think I can die a happy man now! Kind of surprised you could make out the cross on the R-1. It didn't come out too clearly in the pic.

David

[jb]

Kurner, very nice, I can see my breath and I can even hear the engines and smell the deisel fumes.. JOLLY GOOD SHOW ! SA !

[Kurner]

Thanks for the feedback everyone, I'll try to get some more pics up soon

The snow is a mix of approx 6 parts baking soda, 1 part water and 1 part white glue. I don't exactly do precise measurements, and just mix until it looks right. The more water you add, the more it smooths itself out while drying.

Mk1: You just about nailed it there. Painted a very light grey, then washed with a brown (GW's Graveyard Earth). Road wheels are washed with a more reddish brown, and then everything's given a drybrush of white. Tracks are painted a tin/rust colour, then drybrushed silver before getting another drybrush of dirt (and in this case, some white for snow as well). I'll try out your suggestions on my next attempt

Tom: Thanks for the suggestions on the trees, I'll have to try that out. I know I've got some Sculpey sitting around

[Mage Knight Kevin]

Guys,

I took some infantry shots to post over at the Combat:WWII forum and thought I should post them here as well.

This first one is a Ram with a British infantry squad.


This one is an MG42 crew.


Here is a close up of a German squad.


Finally, a 25 Pdr battery. I mount models for off-map batteries together.


Enjoy,
Kevin.

[Mage Knight Kevin]

Grant,

I remember seeing your Ram when I was doing research about micro armor players in and around Edmonton, before I moved here. Histroically accurate, or not (my Normandy Cromwells are painted '43 earth brown!), I like your Ram, and it also doesn't have the starboard side casting flaw along the lower hull that mine has!

This weekend I'm working on basing some more T34s, and I have a platoons of Pumas, halftracks and PzIVs to decal and finish...don't think I'll get them all done.

If you come to Edmonton for a game night this Fall, let me know beforehand.

Best,
Kevin.

[tstockton]

Dang, you guys are GOOD!!

And cama -- historically accurate or not, that is one FINE paint job!!!

Keep those pics coming -- while I can't speak for everybody else, they certainly are an inspiration to me to better my modeling efforts!

Regards,
Tom Stockton

[jb]

Guys,

I took some infantry shots to post over at the Combat:WWII forum and thought I should post them here as well.

This first one is a Ram with a British infantry squad.


This one is an MG42 crew.


Here is a close up of a German squad.


Finally, a 25 Pdr battery. I mount models for off-map batteries together.


Enjoy,
Kevin.

That is a fantastic job on those infantry! Wonderful!

[jb]

Very nice ,Cama JOLLY GOOD SHOW ! SA !