Bolt Action - US Army Infantry

Since I have last posted, I finished my US Army infantry for Bolt Action, and I have made significant progress on the Germans. The leg infantry are Wargames Factory figures; the crew-served weapons are Warlord Games products.

Basing

For the crew-served weapons, I based the units on chipboard, using South Korean 100 Won coins for the figure bases.  I used wood filler for the terrain base.

Modifications

As noted previously, I built the Wargames Factory figures in my hotel on a busy trip, with no reference to the Army lists.  Having spent time developing several force options, I decided to modify several figures to create an Air Forward Observer unit.  The Americans receive two air strikes per game with this unit.  I carved up a backpack, included as stowage in the M4 Sherman kit, to create a radio base and handset.  I melted and stretched sprue for the radio cable and antenna. The radio isn't accurate enough to win a modeling competition, but it looks fine on the war-game table.

Finished Platoon

My Americans are ready for battle, but I eventually need to add an aircraft model. I used a mixture of Vallejo, Tamiya, and craft acrylics on the models.  I applied a base coat, used Citadel Earth shade wash for shading, and applied highlights. 

Once my German force is complete, I plan to add the aircraft, a scout vehicle, and possible some trucks to round out this Late War platoon.

M4 Sherman for Bolt Action

M4 Sherman (75mm gun)

Catching a sale on www.squadron.com, I picked up a 1/48 scale Hobby Boss M4 Sherman for Bolt Action. At $14.00, the cost was less than half the going rate for other manufacturers.

The Hobby Boss kit brought back memories of my scale modeling projects; however, I didn't feel obligated to worry too much about the smallest bits.  This tank will be handled on the gaming table.  I also worried much less about the painting results, but I am very pleased with the final result.

Warning - Instructions are Wanting

I have one major gripe about the Hobby Boss kit: the instructions.  I was merrily following them step-by-step, and I fortunately realized that the instructions directed construction of two options for the suspension bogles as sequential steps.  At several points, construction options are not explained well.  Web reviews mentioned that the angle on the front glacis is incorrect; I'm not too worried about this flaw in a wargaming model.

Breaking Out the Airbrush

I have the cheapest airbrush known to man - a Testors model purchased at the Post Exchange toy section.  It is a simple sprayer; anything resembling nozzle control isn't optional.  One of my phobias in scale modeling was ruining a model during the painting process.  Since the model will be used for gaming, I was liberated from worry.  I also sprayed with acrylic paints for the first time.  Given the winter temperatures here, I set up a spray booth of sorts using a plastic bin in the washroom: I never would have attempted this with toxic enamels.  

Using Vallejo Olive Drab, I sprayed thinned OD as an initial layer.  I screened off the bottom half of the tank with paper, and lightened the top half with a blend of olive drab and white.  I should have made it even lighter since the weathering washes made the model too dark.

Weathering and Lightening

While working on my Warmachines project, I ended up with left-over Armor wash and applied it liberally to the tank.  It didn't flow into the recesses too well, so the wash darkened the panels too much. Now I know why modelers paint a gloss coat before using washes.  I also used an ink wash, carefully applying it to the recessed areas.  I then lightened the panels up significantly with a wet brush of an Olive Drab and White mix.  The machine guns were painted black and dry-brushed with gun-metal.

For weathering, I used three different brown tones of craft paint, heavily thinned as a wash as well as applied with a dry brush.  I tried to mimic mud splashes along the sides and front of the vehicle.  To finish up, I added a small amount of white glue to the darkest brown, using it to fix small amounts of ground cover to the track areas and front.

The overall build time wasn't too bad, and I'm sure this M4 will see a lot of gaming action.  I won't worry too much if it gets dinged up given the price point.  Great local prices on Tamiya 1/48 scale models have shifted my initial Bolt Action plans from the Pacific to the Late War in Europe. I eventually will get back to the Pacific, but I want to try out this modeling scale and game at a lower cost given my limited budget and varied interest.  I bought several Warlord Games German units, the Germany Army supplement, and Wargames Factory Infantry after New Years. My US infantry is on the paint table.  Hopefully, I'll be playing 1000 point games by March!

Protectorate Army

Protectorate of Menoth

I finally finished the Protectorate of Menoth battle group from the Warmachines starter set.  The project took a long time - I hit burnout with painting at the midway point.  I did have the chance to try several new techniques.

High Exemplar Kreoss

Scale Change

This was my first project in a scale larger than 15mm.  These steam-powered warriors were huge.  It took a lot more time, and paint, to get this small group completed.  The miniature quality was top-notch, but I could improve my clean up skills on resin models.  The close-up shots reveal mold lines that I didn't noticed during clean-up.  I started painting 28mm WW II infantry figures last night, and they were small in comparison!

Crusader and Repenter 

Paint Change

I started modeling with Craft Paints from the local hobby store.  They work okay on 15mm figs in my opinion, but the paint quality tells.  Having purchased Tamiya acrylics for some of the metallic colors and Privateer Press paints for the maroon sections, I was impressed with the paint flow and quality.  I won't be tossing all of the craft paint out, but I'm switching to higher quality paints from here on.  Vallejo paints are similarly great to use.

Crusader Close Up

Techniques

I followed the three layer painting approach outlined in the Warmachines rulebook.  I'm not happy with the white areas, partially because of the paint quality.  The whites are Craft Paints, and they didn't layer as well.

Vanquisher

For shading, I used Privateer Press Armor wash for the steel areas.  I mixed Citadel Agrax Earth Shade with the Armor Wash for the gold sections.

Exemplar Cinerators Unit

As noted in my previous post (documenting a failure), I used Sculpey clay to make rocks for the bases.  I'm pleased with how the bases turned out.  I also tried Gale Force 9 for the ground cover for the first time.  Finally, I tried to fix the sand on the base, mixing white glue into the paint when coloring it.

Minor Mods

My desire for variety overcame trepidation about attempting figure conversions.  Carving up a few Wargames Factory figures turned out to be easy.  I kept it simple.

I would rather not have several "guy throwing grenade" figures, but I could not find another arm configuration that worked for this torso. To change up the pose slightly, I cut off the "finger pointing hand" on the straightest arm in the pack, replacing with a gripping hand. I used an M1 rifle with ammo pouches on the stock as the weapon. The pose looks a bit stiff, but I can live with it.

I also wanted to model a standing figure with the anti-tank grenade equipped rifle, but the arm angle would not work. Cutting off and repositioning the hand proved very easy.

Overall, I am happy with the results. I am looking forward to getting home next week with figures ready for painting. I ordered some Warlord Games units yesterday for my American force, so I should be playing pretty soon.

In closing, it has been a somber day here in Washington, DC, as I reflect on the losses on 9/11 and afterward.

Warmachine - Painting Convergence of Cyriss

We took the plunge into Warmachine, buying the introductory battle box to complement Ryan's Convergence of Cyriss battlegroup.  This will give us three factions for small scale battles.  The models are great in terms of quality and detail.  This project is a nice diversion from historicals.

Painting Convergence of Cyriss - Round 1

Using my available paints, which were selected for historicals, we worked up an initial, layer based paint job of two Conversion miniatures.  The Convergence of Cyriss is the newest faction in the Warmachine game.  We used gray primer and Folk Art brand craft paints, painting as a team.  Ryan's paint skills are improving.

Base color - (25/75) Gun Metal and Light Gray

Second Layer - (50/50) - Gun Metal and Light Gray

Gears - Gun Metal or Bronze

Light Shading - (50/50) - Silver and Light Gray

Inset areas - Gun Metal

Cortex and weapons highlights - Ultramarine Blue, Sky Blue, and White

While the Bots look okay, the models were much darker than the box illustrations and lacked a certain flash.  My paints work great for 15mm gun barrels and swords; Steampunk calls for a more metallic look.

Round 2 - Tamiya Paints

A trip to the I-Park mall's Tamiya Hobby store solved the problem.  I picked up three acrylic jars - flat aluminum, gold leaf, and chrome silver.  The gold and chrome will be used for the Khador and Protectorate of Menoth factions.   I hit key sections of the models with the aluminum, creating more contrast.  We are pretty pleased with the results.

This was my first time using Tamiya acrylics, which appear to be mixed for airbrush use.  The paint quality was excellent.  The paints dry quickly on the palette, but a brush full of water every so often worked fine. 

Ryan is making progress on his Khador models, and I'll be painting the Protectorate force. Unfortunately, one Khador Warjack arrived with two left legs, so we are awaiting a replacement part.

Persian Paint Test

Darius in the replica mosaic at Pompeii, Italy, March 2012

Inspired by our recent game day, I have decided to paint up a Late Persian army that has been in the queue.  I tried to delay the project until DBA 3.0 was published, but I have given up.  I'll base it for 2.2 which is what our group plays.  I have too many figures really, so I need to decide what figures I will actually use for this army.  I will eventually buy archers, so I can field the Early army, too.

Pre-washing

I primed this figures white.  I like how the white undercoat works for bright colors, but there are always little crevices that remain tough to hit.  With a black undercoat, the spots look naturally like shading, but  white stands out.

Persian Javelinmen

With a black undercoat, I drybrush white to help see the details.  I decided to try the opposite on these figures.  Using a Citadel Paints Wash (Agrax Earthshade), I liberally splashed the wash onto the figures, ensuring I covered areas that will be shaded later.  I'm not sure if this will help or not, but the painting step went very quick.

Persian General figures in front of the Army

Now I need to research the clothing colors and shields for this force.

Chosun Dynasty Army Logistics

Standard of Yi Dynasty

The Korean newspaper Donga Ilbo ran an interesting article on the history of the Chosun (Yi) Dynasty's emergency rations on 8 March 2013 (pg. C5). The description and images from a famous set of eight images that cover the military history from the Koryo dynasty to the early Chosun period. The images should be inspirational for any DBA painters working on List IV/78, Yi Dynasty, which is the other name used for the Chosun kingdom.



The main image from the article depicts Chosun government forces fighting a rebel army.  The clothing colors, banners, and weaponry should serve as a useful guide for painting.

The article explained why the soldiers' uniforms bulge around the stomach.


Soldiers wrapped a food bag carrying emergency rations around their torsos.  The Chosun army was quite organized in terms of support.  Soldiers known literally as "Fire Soldiers" served as the logisticians responsible for foodstuffs.  The term is often mistranslated as a type of shooting unit, but the term refers to the fires used for cooking.  In addition to preparing food when the army was not in an emergency situation, the cooks made rice cakes from a mix of boiled rice and wheat flour for each foot soldier to carry.

The article went on to explain that soldiers were punished severly for eating the emergency rations without orders: the punishment was the same as losing a weapon.

I hope that my meager translation effort and sharing of these images prove useful to wargamers interested in Korean armies.


The images from the 북관유적도첩(北關遺蹟圖帖)-출기파적도(出奇破賊圖) were provided for the news article by the Koryo University Museum. The Korean National Museum's website also offers more information at the link http://www.emuseum.go.kr/index.do.  I couldn't find the same information in English, but clicking on the English tab at the top of the webpage will provide you with access to other information on Korean history.

Big Brush Theory

 Having I been using brushes that are too small?

Today I did a significant amount of painting, very quickly, with a #2 flat, the brush I use to thin my acrylics.  Now I'm wondering if I've been using tiny brushes needlessly.

My son Ryan made progress on his Thessalian DBA figures today, hitting the shields.  When showing him how to thin the paint, I decided to run the loaded mixing brush across one shield face.  It left a smooth, practically completed shield in one stroke.  Ryan used the brush to quickly complete the others.

Grenzer Progress

I used the same #2 Flat brush tonight on the pants and shakos for 15mm Austrian Grenzers.  Since the figures are very similar, I was able to use a steady brush stroke across the pants legs.  I finished all the pants on thirty-two figures in twenty minutes or less.  The shakos went quickly, too.  I used a #1 round for the boots and bayonet sheaths.  

Theses figures won't win any awards, but I found the large brush actually helped me avoid painting all of the way to the edge of the pants, so I have black outlines along the tunic bottom.  I also didn't bother touching up every nook and cranny, providing shading.  I generally tend to over-paint, so the fast technique worked to my favor.

I tried the same approach on the tunics, switching to brown of course for these 1808 era soldiers.  I almost had a disaster because the paint was too thin, and the #2 flat was just too unwieldy.  Unlike the pants, I risked marring the face and rifles, which I had painted before.  I switched to a #3 round, another larger than usual brush for me, and the tunic painting went quickly.

All told, I finished a good portion of this unit in an hour.  I'll use the same approach tomorrow for the backpack and bedroll.  This fast progress might dissuade me from buying those 28mm figures for Bolt Action just a bit longer.

Morph Gallery I

I have taken some photos of the Macedonian/Successor Morph collection, particularly the newly painted elements. I posted pics of the initial element set back in the summer.   Let's start with a shot of the entire collection.

Macedonian/Successor Morph Army

For the Psiloi, I used Greek and Scythian Slingers.  In hindsight, I wished I had mixed in some javelin and archers, but this troop of 12 Psiloi will serve my needs for several armies.

I experimented with different washes on the Psiloi, as explained in an earlier post.

I have two elephant types.  For the first type, one of the head armor was missing a piece, so I puttied in the gap.  I used "green stuff" and super glue to assemble the elements, along with some use of modeling putty to fill in small seams.  I used Seleucid shield designs on one and a classic Macedonian star on the other.

Here are the other two Elephants.  For all of the recently painted elements, I used a Games Workshop wash.  It worked out great on the Elephant skin.  I did notice that it softened my acrylic paints, which are not GW brand.  There might have been a chemical difference. I have read about similar problems with mixing brands in scale model magazines.  Any pressure on the paint would smear it off until it dried.

 For the first batch of elements, I used paint colors expected for the Alexandrian armies - lots of purples.  For this batch, I used a Seleucid theme, incorporating more yellows, reds, and beiges into the color scheme.  The historical reference material for these armies is rather scarce, which can be a bit of a challenge in some ways.  For the mounted troops, I used a mixture of figures for the command stand.  The Seleucids include my first camel element - a fun change of pace.

Four Pike elements, comprised of Essex miniatures, were painted with the Seleucid color scheme.  I used shield decals for the designs. The figures had a mix of shield types, and the convex shield without the rim was a challenge in terms of the decal.  I ended up cutting small lines around the decal to help them lay down.

I also learned that Micro-Sol, used to apply decals on plastic models, results in the paint softening too much. I ended up creating one rippled area in the shield paint when using my hobby knife to position the decal.

 Another fun set of elements - imitation legionnaires (Bd) for the Ptolemaic and Seleucid lists.  I used artistic license on the shield designs.

I will finish tonight's post with a shot of the Greek allies (Sp) with hand painted shield designs.  They need to move out of the way of the artillery....

10mm French Elite

I finished up the 10mm Old Glory French Elite Company figures, practicing my 10mm paint skills and evaluating the efficiency gained in painting larger batches.  For my time comparison test, I painted enough figures for a single double row-based bases for both 10mm and 15mm scales.  As expected, paint time was much faster per base when working on a larger batch.  There is probably a learning curve factor at work, too.

I painted three bases as French grenadiers and one base as voltigeurs.  I will use the grenadiers as elite infantry for DBN, and all five bases (counting the base from the original paint test) will also serve as companies in five Lasalle infantry units.  The figure strips were mounted on craft sticks, and I  generally repeated the same paint stroke on all figures on a stick at one time.

I modified my painting approach slightly for this batch, aiming to speed up the process without sacrificing the quality of the work too much.

Thinning the Paint


I primarily use FolkArt acrylic craft paint.  For my 15mm figure painting, I often use the paint directly from the containers without thinning.  I noticed that this was not working as well for 10mm.  I either ended up with too much paint on the brush or needed to reload constantly.  I thinned out the paints for the large areas, such as the coats, boots, and shakos.  It made a big difference in the ease of painting and time.  If you thin too much, though, you are in trouble.

Sloppy to Neat


On my first 10mm painting attempt, I was very careful to not stray out of an area with the paint.  This time, I didn't worry as much about  collateral damage with the initial colors, particularly the jacket and boots.  I painted fairly quickly, and I cleaned up a few mistakes later.

Highlights


I did take the time to shade and highlight the face, coat front, and pants more.  I'm not sure that it made a big difference in the end.  You certainly cannot notice from a distance of more than 12 inches!

Hat Trick


For my first painting attempt, the shako braiding and edging took a lot of time.  I tried a different approach, pulling out a Number 4 flat brush (That's right, a Number 4!).  For the shako top edge, I loaded up the brush and lightly pressed it to the top of the hat at a 45 degree angle.  Voila - instant edging!  This technique worked well except near the plume.  I also tried to use the Number 4 for the braiding and details on the front of the shako.  This didn't work as well.  Next time, I plan to try dry brushing the details.

Fast Results


I expected to paint faster when working a large number of figures, but I was surprised at the efficiency game.  The total paint time for 40 figures (eight strips of five) was 3 hours and 40 minutes, including the final wash.  I completed the work in five sessions.  The paint time for a single base is 55 minutes, compared to 93 minutes for my first test.

I also timed the basing time.  I kept the basing simple because I was working on a tight schedule due to our move, and I had already shipped much of my hobby supplies.  I used small grey model railroad ballast for the basing, covered in a Vallejo Earth paint wash.  I finished the bases with Woodland Scenics burnt grass sprinkled over Elmer's Glue.  Total basing time was 15 minutes in two sessions.

I'll work out the paint time for a couple of Lasalle armies, comparing to my original analysis in a future post.