On the Painting Table

While I have entirely missed my deadline in May (and feel horrible about it) I have been somewhat busy the last month. I did some experiments on different ways of painting figures and tried to reduce the number of colours I use. One of the things I tired was gluing the figures in place before I painted them. Here the Airlanding Mortar platoon is based and glued down (not the mortars though).

This did help organize the horde of figures I have to paint but did make it more difficult to paint all around each figure (since other figures on the base got in the way). I also forgot to score the bases (as evidenced in the following Airlanding platoon), but I think I can do the scoring afterwards, just before I base the figures.

I also painted the Airlanding Anti-Tank platoon. It is small, a pair of 6 pounders and the attached jeeps. I also used one of the small bases for a sniper team and some extra figures to make a command team.

As with the artillery battery the guns will go on last.

Also on the painting table is my HQ and two PIAT teams which will be attached as needed (likely to the Royal Engineers).

Finally, I procured two old baking sheets to use as my carrying trays. Likely I will only need one since I don't have many units in this army. The original idea was to smear some glue on each sheet and sprinkle sand and rocks as terrain. I would then spray paint the whole sheet to lock the grime and sand down. This did not work well as the crazy glue required to stick the stuff to metal does not spread as well as white glue (which would peel off). I'll make another attempt with some spray glue.

Not Dead Yet

I'm not.

I have been painting other stuff. Mostly Warhammer Goblins and Warhammer 40K Tyranids. I also received a shipment of Orks (WAAAAAAGH!). The new figures are awesome.

In terms of Flames of War I am continuing on an infantry platoon and I purchased a small Airlanding Anti-Tank platoon, 2 guns. I also found some Vallejo paints and modeling tools for a buck each. Awesome.

I found that with painting I am either into it or totally out of it. It has been hard to motivate myself to paint this past month. No pictures or tips at the moment. But the figures come out pretty well when I go at them. Three small bases finished over the weekend. Lots still to do.

Recon Reports

I finished a small platoon called the Airlanding Recce Platoon. In game terms it helps mark targets for other units.. Though this platoon is considered to be too expensive to use in a game I enjoyed painting the vehicles and experimenting on the bases. I also painted the Staff Team for the M1A1 Airlanding Battery and I got a little creative with the basing. On to the pictures!



Painting the crew of a vehicle is just like painting regular figures. Except mounting the crew on cardboard bases does not work so well! Here I use my thriftiness to mount the figures. A few used finishing nails and a leftover piece of insulation foam and VOILA. It is now a cinch to paint the crew.

I have standardised the colours I use to paint each figure. The light brown basecoat is Vallejo Game Colour "English Uniform". The smock is painted first Citadel Foundation Colour "Tau Sept Ochre" followed by Citadel Paint Color "Scorched Brown" and Citadel Foundation Colour "Orkhide Flesh". Gear and Helmet are also painted "Orkhide Flesh" followed by a drybrush of Citadel Paint Color "Rotting Flesh". The berets are Citadel Paint Color "Red Gore" mixed with just a touch of purple or dark blue (doesn't matter too much) highlighted with Citadel Paint Color "Scab Red".

The dismounted crew of the Recon Patrol is painted and ready for basing. At the same time I finished up the Staff Team for the Airlanding Battery, Royal Artillery unit. I picked the figures for this team with the idea that they would be consulting and staring out into the distance.


I used a few layers of drybrushing to further accent the vehicles. The part that would be metal such as the twin machine gun on the jeep or the shovel on the back of the universal carrier were painted Citadel Paint Color "Chaos Black" and picked out with the metallic Citadel Paint Color "Bolt Gun Metal". The tracks were also painted in "Chaos Black" and a heavy drybrush of the metallic Citadel Paint Color "Tin Bitz" was used I later highlighted the tracks with "Bolt Gun metal". I used the same colour to represent wear on the front mud guards of the universal carrier, as if the carrier had been nosing through some tight spots. The completed crew figures were then broken off the finishing nails and glued into place.


I took a different track in basing these figures. Instead of applying the putty around figures glued to the bases, I applied the putty first and then glued the figures through the wet putty. I don't know how these figures will hold up to use on the table, but I found this method to be less messy. Note the piece of cardboard on the base of the Staff Team, it will be made into a stone wall.

It is hard to see in the picture below but I have scored the dried drywall compound with blunt knife to create a rough grid pattern. Be careful since the compound may flake. Use a dry brush to gently remove the grit that comes up. Also remember that the rows of consecutive bricks don't line up!

The bases for all of these miniatures was done by drybrushing consecutivly lighter colours. The dirt areas got different shades of brown almost up to a yellow and the stone/rubble started with a very dark grey almost black colour all the way up to white. The progression can be seen in the following pictures. Note that there were more than three layers of drybrushing done.

Here is the completed Airlanding Recon Platoon. The vehicle bases got the same treatment as the other units, I had to be careful not to get paint on the vehicle itself.

Below is the Airlanding Battery, Royal Artillery Staff Team fully painted. I added a little extra detail after the stone wall. I figured they have to be discussing something. The question is: Have they got the maps the right way around?

Motoring Along

Not too much to show this week. I received a new set of Games Workshop's foundation paints. Eager to try them out I fell upon the Airlanding Battery's staff team and the first of my few vehicles.
The four figures in the foreground are the staff team. The figures in the background are the Recon team along with their vehicles.

I tried out the different shades of green and brown that come in the new paint on these figures. I will do a side-by-side picture with some of the other finished miniatures when I am done. In the picture above you can definitely notice the different shade of brown on the pants.
A little while ago I bought the Vallejo paint "English Uniform". I think the colour works pretty well and I can see a good number of uses for this light brown colour. I cannot say I am thrilled with the paint, it has the same consistency as the Games Workshop paints, or the "dropper" style bottle. I suppose I'll need to work with it a bit more. I still have to base the staff team, so they are not quite done yet.
Painting a vehicle follows the same process as painting a human figure. At this scale it is fairly easy to paint either. In 25mm miniatures, the flat surfaces tend to show the brushstrokes a bit more. This universal carrier has had a liberal brushing of "Orkhide Green".

Just like the figures I dry brush a lighter colour over top, in this case its "Rotting Flesh" and use a wash of the ink, "Flesh Wash" to darken the crevices. I still have trouble with the ink, but I got some good tips from one of the Games Workshop staff. In order to avoid the pooling effect simply use another brush to absorb the paint. The other brush should be fairly dry so that the bristles can soak up the paint.

Move! Move! Move!

I decided to challenge another FOW player to a game with fully painted miniatures. We are both starting from scratch and have until the end of April to get everything painted. Unpainted units take major penalties if used aside from the ribbing and jibes we'll recieve from the veteran players. This challenge will be difficult considering how long it has taken me to paint the first platoon.

Having completed the camo patterns (on most of the minis anyway) I painted the webbing and pouches. This is fairly easy to do even though the minis have been glued to the bases. I used a mix of "Goblin Green", "Dark Angels Green" and "Scorched Brown" though I forget what ratio I used.
Next to be done is the flesh. A little care is needed to make sure the detail and shading is not obscured. I used a combination of dry-brushing and wet paint to get the desired effect. Note that you should use only bad brushes for the dry brushing and very fine tipped brushes for painting fingers and faces and so on.

I ink the skin. There are two ways to do this. First is to use a general watered down wash all over the skin and then touch up or high-light the raised portions. Second is to use a fine tip brush and apply the ink directly to the creases.

With the faces and skin completed it is time to finish the base. The bases provided are always flat. Some companies provide pretextured bases, but I prefer to save my money (for more minis) and do the texture myself. In this case I am using some left over drywall compound. I am not sure how durable it is on the gaming field, but "live and learn" eh? The commander and observation team is pictured below. I used a small flathead screwdriver to apply the compound to the base. I also added water to the compound to make it easier to apply. These two teams were spaced fairly far apart making it easier to apply the compound but I had to redo some of the gun teams after I brushed against some of the figures. As a side note; in Flames of War a group of figures on a single base is called a team, a group of teams is called a platoon.

The compound by itself did not look too inspiring. In fact, it was pretty bland. To spruce things up a bit I picked up some tree bark and very fine sand. The tree bark was broken into small pieces and set into the still wet comopund. Some drybrushing with black and two tones of grey ("Codex Grey" and "Shadow Grey") will make the bark look like a large rock in this scale. The sand was sprinkled lightly atop the compound to simulate larger rocks and broken ground. After the compound has dryed I painted it with "Scorched Brown". I then dry brushed layers "Terra Cotta", Vomit Brown" and a final brush of "Bleached Bone".

You can see the stages involved in basing from left to right in the picture above. The far left is the first coat of "Scorched Brown" and the three teams to the far right are complete.

I thought the ground effects turned out pretty well, though I may add some grass to the gun teams. I am still working out how to apply the grass correctly. When I have that down I'll post how.

Buoyed by the completion of my first platoon (and also because I spilled some brown paint), I have started one of the Airlanding Platoons. You can also notice a barely started team in some of the pictures above. That is the Staff team of the Airlanding Battery. These fellows are in charge of calculating ranges and elevations to the target. It is them I will blame when my dice go against my during artillery fire.

Slogging Through It.

Phew! What a week (or two). Busy at work and never at home. I still found some time to paint up a bit more of my first platoon; the "Airlanding Battery, Royal Artillery".

I had finished painting the smocks on all the minis so I moved onto the camoflauge stripes. I did the minis in batches. First I mixed up some brown paint which was mostly "Scorched Brown" and a little "Elf Flesh" to lighten the colour. Using my thinest brush (I am in need of new ones with better tips!) I painted wiggly lines all over the smocks.

I painted more lines with a mix of 3:2:1 "Goblin Green", "Dark Angels Green" and "Scorched Brown". This gave me a more military green which blended in nicely.

With most of the painting out of the way I started to work on the plastic bases. In order to get a natural look to the bases (which are flat and untextured) plaster and "static grass" will be applied. I'll detail this process in a future article. For now I will need to prepare the bases so that the glue and plaster will have something to adhere to. To this end I have taken a blade and scored the tops of the bases.
The miniatures are then glued to the bases. Here is the command team for the platoon. The officer is directing two of his guardsmen. The arrangement on the miniatures is quite plain, but I plan to be a bit more creative with future bases. For now I am content with just getting the platoon finished.
Below is a picture of a pair of gun teams ready for basing. The howitzers are not yet glued on. If I did glue the guns in place the wheels would appear to be below ground (note the extra height provided by the miniatures base). I'll glue the guns on later as the plaster is drying.
A tutorial for basing Flames of War figures can be found at: http://www.flamesofwar.com/Default.aspx?tabid=110&kb_cat_id=29

Trial and Error

I had some time over the week to paint up a few more minis. I don't have the recommended colours from the "D minus 1" book I was using as a reference so I'll have to mix the colours myself. First a picture of the full platoon before painting.


I have used the trio of figures at the furthest guns as experiments for mixing colours and camouflage. They came out a bit bright. Although those figures are far ahead of the others in the painting process I used the same steps I described below.

To get a good base for the crew's uniform I painted a darker brown. In the Vallejo paint range the colour is "English Uniform". Since I only have Citadel paints I found a mix of "Scorched Brown" and "Elf Flesh" in a 2:1 ratio worked. For the Dennison Smocks (basically the jacket) I originlly used Citadel paint's "Bubonic Brown", but that came out too bright. Again mix of "Vomit Brown" and "Dark Angels Green" gave me the colour I wanted. The ration is 4:1 or more. Always remeber to add the darker colour to the lighter (the Green to the Brown in this case) as it takes less of the darker colour to change the lighter than vice versa.

In the picture above some of the darker brown is showing through. This is ok for the recessed areas. Another thin layer of paint will make the yellow colour solid. Try not to go into all the crevices and avoid thick layers at all costs. The dark brown colour is supposed to show through in the recesses giving the impression of depth. This is a case of "Do as I say not as I do" as I have obviously failed to take my own advice. To try and correct the problem I have used a wash on the figure to the extreme left. It's a bit shiny. I am hoping the camoflauge layers will help tone it down.

The same yellow mix colour used on the smock can be used on half the strips of the helmet. The other half being painted "Scorched Brown" or the brown mix used on the pants. You may find it easier to paint all the strips brown first so that the yellow colour has a good base (yellow tends to look green on a black basecoat I don't know why.

Here are some of the experimentation figures from the big picture. They are a bit bright for my liking which is why I went with a darker yellow.