PolishGI’s Working Thread (WWII & Vietnam)

[pmskaar]

Excellent looking stuff there, Jeff! You are definitely keeping busy. Keep up the great work!

[PolishGI]

Great eye candy Polish! A lot of good stuff going on there. You can tell a master painter by the cables and shovel handles he paints haha!

I will watch your Africa terrain with great interest - I have Kai Ted a bunch of Africa troops (uk, germ, Italy) but haven’t bothered with terrain yet...

Good to see your work once more!

Thank you BurtWolf! I think I have found my way with the terrain. I like how it is sitting but the unfortunate part is that it gets a bit pricey. The material works and comes in pretty light in color. So I have to tint that down to add a brown hue to it. And that covers the vehicle bases and such to blend better. Theory anyway. Once the wadis are built, associated crossings… then I can start to look to building villages/towns. Should be fun. I have all the North African infantry I think I will need. And virtually no interest in starting to build/paint them. Lol argh… 5-6-700 infantry and still cavalry to do for the Germans. Fun.

Thank you! Getting killed on the work front (year end) and on the personal side with the kids volleyball and their travels. Trying to move forward. Lol

OK wait....so now it looks like you're scaling your grass - bigger grass for bases with larger vehicles. It's not enough you put the individual blades of grass down, but now you're scaling them to go with different vehicles??? Mind blown!

It's been too long since you've posted pics of your magnificent work Polish! That is true craftsmanship!

Uh oh. Yes redleg! Trying. I have a few shades of green grass along with yellow grass. And within each color silo, they range from 2mm to 4mm to 7mm. I may even actually have a 12mm grass. But that is used sparingly for building up elephant grass in SE Asia. It’s the classic process of starting with 2mm grass on top of the dirt. And then you add 4mm sporadically. And then 7 or 12… Idea is that you start off short and build up. With each layer being in place to support the taller pieces of grass in the subsequent layer. Otherwise, dropping 12mm grass on dirt will likely fall down to the ground and give the trampled vibe.

Thank you for noticing!

Apologies. I’ve been getting beat up lately during this time of year. I will try to make a better effort to rejoin the community. Its always fun catching up and seeing what everyone’s up to with their projects. Very inspiring and keeps me going for sure.

Excellent looking stuff there, Jeff! You are definitely keeping busy. Keep up the great work!

Thank you Pete! Im trying. Not nearly as much as I would like… But it’s a marathon, not a sprint, right? lol

[pmskaar]

Hi Polish GI! Yes it is definitely a Marathon for me as well. I have been painting this stuff for 30 years but there is still much to do.

Pete

[panzergator]

I just ran through this whole thread. It'clear there is a lot if money, time, and talent invested in your collection and it deserves a broader exposure than this poor forum. It makes a great memorial to those who served in Vietnam. Perhaps something to cinsider when you can no longer use it.

[PolishGI]

Hi Polish GI! Yes it is definitely a Marathon for me as well. I have been painting this stuff for 30 years but there is still much to do.

Pete

What else can one do for a hobby where you work at something for 30 years and still have much to do? Lol Micro Armor!

I just ran through this whole thread. It'clear there is a lot if money, time, and talent invested in your collection and it deserves a broader exposure than this poor forum. It makes a great memorial to those who served in Vietnam. Perhaps something to cinsider when you can no longer use it.

Thank you panzergator for the kind words!

I may have to find a solution for the end… I spoke with my kids for when I “move on” and they said they plan on torching everything. lol

[BurtWolf]

I imagine tinting will play a large role in this sort of terrain, giving it necessary variation and shading. Using PVA or what is your adhesive for your sand/rocks??

[PolishGI]

I imagine tinting will play a large role in this sort of terrain, giving it necessary variation and shading. Using PVA or what is your adhesive for your sand/rocks??

Hi BW, I utilize sand for the terrain. Which is the pricey part… you don’t get a lot per bag but I find it is an easier pill to swallow with buying 9-12 bags at a time. (what am I doing? Haha) The last time, the store worker looked at me and all I could say was, “Don’t ask…” (grabs my bag and leaves the store) lol

I use elmers glue initially on top of the hex and drop a layer of sand on it. Knocking off the excess. Then I come back and utilize a watered/elmers blend (same solution I have for dirt and static grass) on top of the first layer of sand. And then apply another layer of sand. The water mixture allows for the glue to help lock down what is already on the hex and help attach the next layer on top. This allows you to make (height) variations in the sand.

Once happy with your set up, then I use a brown (Vallejo) wash and put a few (x6-7) drops into a small tray (use the GHQ vehicle pack trays/bubbles) of water. Mix it up and then brush the water/wash solution onto the sand and tint it. Let it dry and see if it meets your needs. If not, add another layer of water/wash to tint further. And here as well, you can add variations of the tinting solution to change things up.

[PolishGI]

So I have been toying around with the printer and have been able to consistently print an oversized smoke grenade. Measurements are around 3.8mm by 1.6mm.

The only downside is that when you get down to this small size, I am not able to print a perfect cylinder for the grenade. It is a tad inconsistent.

But with that said, I am playing around with these prototypes to see how they look.

The idea is to take a penny, add terrain and then glue these smoke grenades onto the terrain’d penny on their side. From there, create a smoke pattern with cotton and fix the cotton so it does not move. Once firm, then airbrush the cotton with the appropriate color. (e.g. red, yellow, green or purple) Then secure the smoke pattern onto the penny.

Might be a neat idea to simulate a smoke grenade being thrown out for when a Huey lands to pickup or drop off, a medevac or to mark the area where the fast movers need to hit.

Again, just WIP pics. They are oversized just like my landmines or claymores previously pictured here so you can see them on the board. I need to clean/tidy them up a little. I cant think of any way to get the lettering onto the body of the grenade at this scale. (4 colors x 2 grenades = 8 pennies)

[panzergator]

Ok, Polish, let's step away from the printer here. Go over and have a seat in the easy chair. Partake of the three fingers of Bourbon in a short glass on the table right beside you. Recline the chair and put your feet up. Just relax, you squinty-eyed, numb-fingered, OCD-ridden old soldier. The doctor will be here shortly.

[PolishGI]

Ok, Polish, let's step away from the printer here. Go over and have a seat in the easy chair. Partake of the three fingers of Bourbon in a short glass on the table right beside you. Recline the chair and put your feet up. Just relax, you squinty-eyed, numb-fingered, OCD-ridden old soldier. The doctor will be here shortly.

HAHA I sent some pics to my brother (into modeling as well) and he said the hospital called, they want me back. lol

[redleg]

Seriously??? Smoke grenades??? Yeah I'm with PG and your brother - it's time to start on the 1/285 scale straight jacket!

That's pretty amazing!

[panzergator]

Besides, ya can't throw a 55-gallon smoke grenade...

[pmskaar]

Those are some really tiny little items for 1/285th scale, Polish GI! I remember playing with training Claymore Mines in ROTC.

Pete

[Beagle]

They look like they could be a perfect size to be bombs for a Skyraider?

[PolishGI]

Seriously??? Smoke grenades??? Yeah I'm with PG and your brother - it's time to start on the 1/285 scale straight jacket!

That's pretty amazing!

Thank you sir!

Besides, ya can't throw a 55-gallon smoke grenade...

World’s Strongest Man Contest? Hehe

Those are some really tiny little items for 1/285th scale, Polish GI! I remember playing with training Claymore Mines in ROTC.

Pete

Thank you Pete.

They look like they could be a perfect size to be bombs for a Skyraider?

Hey, we could make that happen! I was thinking of a set of napalm cannisters to boot!

At this size, I would try drawing anything and attempt to print it!