Yesterday saw me actually spend the better part of an hour playing with paints. I gave the Lord a vote of thanks afterwards, for it's rare for me to actually sit and enjoy painting. But yesterday, I had a fun and felt accomplished afterwards.
Total output:
1) One building now has a brown thatch roof. I may change the color later. Perhaps try some of the sage green paint.
2) The Furst has added to his purple coat with a blue waistcoat and blue lapels. Next session, however, I shall keep the blue waistcoat but turn his lapels and cuffs red.
2) The Furstin now has a blue dress.
3) The black-primed and white-primed Minden Miniatures musketeers now both have blue coat and trousers.
4) One WW2 British officer now has brown helmet and uniform.
5) The other seven Mindens, including the officer and NCO, are now black-primed and ready.
6) I have painted skin on the other 8 RSM95 figures for my first company.
If by some miracle I manage to conduct sufficient painting sessions to finish what I've started, I'd have a royal couple, two companies of infantry, and a company of pioneers.
Showing posts with label Gesso. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gesso. Show all posts
Monday, June 1, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Sunday's Painting and Cavenderian Ambassador
As promised, we have a series of photos from Sunday's output, as well as pictures of the Blue Moon civilians and the Ambassador figure sent to represent Cavenderia. Captions and photos below, and click on the pictures for a closer view. All paints are acrylics.
First up, we have the six-figure pioneer unit in its present state.The details, such as cross-belts and facings, are yet to be done, but I'm pleased with how they've turned out so far. Colors used are Liquitex Black Colored Gesso for the basecoat, Vallejo Model Color 70815 Basic Skintone for the face and hands, Delta Ceramcoat 02054 Golden Brown for the pants and axe handles, Vallejo Model Color 70960 Violet for the coat, and folkArt 420 Linen for the apron.
Next up, notice the beautifully painted Cavenderian ambassador to the right of the photo. This is a gorgeous figure, and finally pushed me over the edge to hunt down some civilians of my own. To the left (from the viewer's perspective) is my chosen figure for Furst Guntram Blauerwolf, wearing the same basecoat, Violet, and Linen (on pants and neck ruffle) as the figures above. I know it's bad form to not paint the skin first, but I needed to see how the colors looked on him. I still can't decide what color to paint his cuffs and the feathers on his hat. Continuing to the left is my chosen figure for the Furstin. Furst and Furstin and the unpainted civilians on the back row are all Blue Moon castings from the Duel box set. Continuing to the left again, we see an RSM95 Prussian Musketeer testing out the black basecoat with the Violet coat. I used, I think, Delta Ceramcoat 02126 Medium Flesh on him. Not necessarily fond of the medium shade. I may have to paint over it with a lighter one. I love the violet though.
And lastly, you can see a series of basecoated figures, from left to right... a night watchman from the Blue Moon set, a Revell 1/72 WW2 British Infantry officer, a Minden Miniatures SYW Prussian musketeer, an RSM95 SYW Prussian Grenadier, a Spencer Smith metal SYW officer, a Spencer Smith metal SYW grenadier, and a vintage Spencer Smith plastic SYW grenadier (the latter with linen pants painted experimentally). Oh, and on the far left, one of the old white gesso RSMs with a little excess purple painted onto one sleeve to test how it colors over white. I'm strongly considering stripping all my old white gesso-coated RSMs and redoing them in the black, not so much for coloration as because I made the white gesso too gloopy and covered detail on several.
First up, we have the six-figure pioneer unit in its present state.The details, such as cross-belts and facings, are yet to be done, but I'm pleased with how they've turned out so far. Colors used are Liquitex Black Colored Gesso for the basecoat, Vallejo Model Color 70815 Basic Skintone for the face and hands, Delta Ceramcoat 02054 Golden Brown for the pants and axe handles, Vallejo Model Color 70960 Violet for the coat, and folkArt 420 Linen for the apron.
Next up, notice the beautifully painted Cavenderian ambassador to the right of the photo. This is a gorgeous figure, and finally pushed me over the edge to hunt down some civilians of my own. To the left (from the viewer's perspective) is my chosen figure for Furst Guntram Blauerwolf, wearing the same basecoat, Violet, and Linen (on pants and neck ruffle) as the figures above. I know it's bad form to not paint the skin first, but I needed to see how the colors looked on him. I still can't decide what color to paint his cuffs and the feathers on his hat. Continuing to the left is my chosen figure for the Furstin. Furst and Furstin and the unpainted civilians on the back row are all Blue Moon castings from the Duel box set. Continuing to the left again, we see an RSM95 Prussian Musketeer testing out the black basecoat with the Violet coat. I used, I think, Delta Ceramcoat 02126 Medium Flesh on him. Not necessarily fond of the medium shade. I may have to paint over it with a lighter one. I love the violet though.
And lastly, you can see a series of basecoated figures, from left to right... a night watchman from the Blue Moon set, a Revell 1/72 WW2 British Infantry officer, a Minden Miniatures SYW Prussian musketeer, an RSM95 SYW Prussian Grenadier, a Spencer Smith metal SYW officer, a Spencer Smith metal SYW grenadier, and a vintage Spencer Smith plastic SYW grenadier (the latter with linen pants painted experimentally). Oh, and on the far left, one of the old white gesso RSMs with a little excess purple painted onto one sleeve to test how it colors over white. I'm strongly considering stripping all my old white gesso-coated RSMs and redoing them in the black, not so much for coloration as because I made the white gesso too gloopy and covered detail on several.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Photos coming...
I've had a sudden burst of painting and basecoating today. No photos yet, as I may get more done before the day is out. But photos are planned.
At present, among other things, my 6-man pioneer company has acquired leather breaches and purple coat. A sample RSM95 Prussian Musketeer has been given a purple coat to test its appearance, as well, for my idea of going with purple coats instead of gray. I wiped a little excess purple on one of the older white basecoated RSM95s as well, just on a sleeve to see what I thought of it. I'm seriously considering stripping the white-coated ones and redoing the basecoat in black. This is partly because I made the white too thick, and it obscures lines on some of the RSM95s in unpleasant ways for finding what to paint which color.
Also acquiring a purple coat is my Blue Moon figure that I've chosen to represent Furst Gunter Blauerwolf. And I also intend to include a picture of the Cavenderian diplomat whose arrival I mentioned earlier.
At present, among other things, my 6-man pioneer company has acquired leather breaches and purple coat. A sample RSM95 Prussian Musketeer has been given a purple coat to test its appearance, as well, for my idea of going with purple coats instead of gray. I wiped a little excess purple on one of the older white basecoated RSM95s as well, just on a sleeve to see what I thought of it. I'm seriously considering stripping the white-coated ones and redoing the basecoat in black. This is partly because I made the white too thick, and it obscures lines on some of the RSM95s in unpleasant ways for finding what to paint which color.
Also acquiring a purple coat is my Blue Moon figure that I've chosen to represent Furst Gunter Blauerwolf. And I also intend to include a picture of the Cavenderian diplomat whose arrival I mentioned earlier.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
A January Start
The game with Stokes is on hold till the middle of next week while he and the Grand Duchess enjoy some skiing. So expect more on the Stollen blog the latter part of next week regarding the game.
Yesterday's mail brought me the ordered black gesso, and today I opened the bottle and gave it its first run. I've coated a company of 9 RSM Prussians and a pioneer company of 6 Revell Austrian figures with it this afternoon, and am waiting for them to dry. I've also glued the rest of the company of Minden figures on their bases, with an eye to possibly doing a bit of painting on them as well.
I'm torn, where the Mindens are concerned. On the one hand, they offer the chance of completing something small as I only have 9 of the figures. On the other, their detail is intimidating as one feels the need to do the beautiful figures justice. I suspect that I am going to end up aiming to do the Pioneers fairly early on, and see how things go from there.
My puzzle on the Pioneers is what to paint them as. I've been figuring on the Revells mostly forming units for Ober-Schweinsberg combatants, but I'm tempted to do a company of pioneers for Hesse-Engelburg, because they're such an interesting figure.
Yesterday's mail brought me the ordered black gesso, and today I opened the bottle and gave it its first run. I've coated a company of 9 RSM Prussians and a pioneer company of 6 Revell Austrian figures with it this afternoon, and am waiting for them to dry. I've also glued the rest of the company of Minden figures on their bases, with an eye to possibly doing a bit of painting on them as well.
I'm torn, where the Mindens are concerned. On the one hand, they offer the chance of completing something small as I only have 9 of the figures. On the other, their detail is intimidating as one feels the need to do the beautiful figures justice. I suspect that I am going to end up aiming to do the Pioneers fairly early on, and see how things go from there.
My puzzle on the Pioneers is what to paint them as. I've been figuring on the Revells mostly forming units for Ober-Schweinsberg combatants, but I'm tempted to do a company of pioneers for Hesse-Engelburg, because they're such an interesting figure.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Holiday Wargaming Updates
Those of you watching the Grand Duchy of Stollen blog will see that we're finally getting underway again on finishing move 8. If all goes well, we should be through with move 8 tonight, and starting move 9 perhaps tomorrow.
My birthday brought me a couple of items of wargaming significance, namely a styrofoam cutting tool and a batch of styrofoam to cut with it in order to form some hills for my gaming. If I get good with the tool, attempts at bunkers or other shapes may be forthcoming, we shall see.
Having waited till after Christmas to be sure it was not purchased off my wish list, I have also now ordered a bottle of Liquitex black acrylic gesso. The white has worked well for me so far, in terms of the gesso's properties, but having watched Stokes' work I've decided to try the black shade to see if that makes a difference in my painting. My hope is that it will alleviate some of the need to attempt to hunt down tiny specks of white that manage to evade paint by leaving tiny specks of black instead, which are hopefully less glaring a mistake.
I also took the opportunity to acquire a bit of extra paint on my last trip to Wal-Mart. I've added Apple Barrel 20526 Country Grey, and three colors from Folk Art: 425 Medium Gray, 419 Teddy Bear Tan, and 420 Linen. I actually have my ACW and WW2 figures more in mind with these colors, though they may find some use with the ImagiNations as well. I am particularly interested to see how the Linen color turns out.
I also received an Amazon gift certificate for my birthday, as well as winning a smaller one in a prize drawing, so I've spent the past few days pondering different Amazon order possibilities. Today I finally committed to a final list and submitted. Of wargaming interest on the list are "Wargames Tactics" by Charles Grant and "German Generals Speak" by B.H. Liddell Hart, the latter being postwar interviews with WW2 German Generals which I hope will be very interesting. One item that will probably not have wargaming implications.....but could....is a fiction novel. "Uncle Target" by Gavin Lyall. I'm looking forward to seeing what it's like, as I've not read any of his fiction before. Hopefully it's as well written as his wargaming book.
My birthday also brought me the computer game Medal of Honor: Airborne. So far, I botched all three training landings, died landing on my first combat jump, face-planted into a firefight but didn't die on my second, and actually managed to land on a roof within a few yards of my landing zone on the third. It's a race whether I figure out how to jump before I finish the game.
My birthday brought me a couple of items of wargaming significance, namely a styrofoam cutting tool and a batch of styrofoam to cut with it in order to form some hills for my gaming. If I get good with the tool, attempts at bunkers or other shapes may be forthcoming, we shall see.
Having waited till after Christmas to be sure it was not purchased off my wish list, I have also now ordered a bottle of Liquitex black acrylic gesso. The white has worked well for me so far, in terms of the gesso's properties, but having watched Stokes' work I've decided to try the black shade to see if that makes a difference in my painting. My hope is that it will alleviate some of the need to attempt to hunt down tiny specks of white that manage to evade paint by leaving tiny specks of black instead, which are hopefully less glaring a mistake.
I also took the opportunity to acquire a bit of extra paint on my last trip to Wal-Mart. I've added Apple Barrel 20526 Country Grey, and three colors from Folk Art: 425 Medium Gray, 419 Teddy Bear Tan, and 420 Linen. I actually have my ACW and WW2 figures more in mind with these colors, though they may find some use with the ImagiNations as well. I am particularly interested to see how the Linen color turns out.
I also received an Amazon gift certificate for my birthday, as well as winning a smaller one in a prize drawing, so I've spent the past few days pondering different Amazon order possibilities. Today I finally committed to a final list and submitted. Of wargaming interest on the list are "Wargames Tactics" by Charles Grant and "German Generals Speak" by B.H. Liddell Hart, the latter being postwar interviews with WW2 German Generals which I hope will be very interesting. One item that will probably not have wargaming implications.....but could....is a fiction novel. "Uncle Target" by Gavin Lyall. I'm looking forward to seeing what it's like, as I've not read any of his fiction before. Hopefully it's as well written as his wargaming book.
My birthday also brought me the computer game Medal of Honor: Airborne. So far, I botched all three training landings, died landing on my first combat jump, face-planted into a firefight but didn't die on my second, and actually managed to land on a roof within a few yards of my landing zone on the third. It's a race whether I figure out how to jump before I finish the game.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Actual Painting!
Amazingly enough, I actually did a minor bit of painting this weekend, and the universe failed to explode.
Saturday, I spent a few minutes priming one of the two buildings of the JR Miniatures 15mm #1663 Worker's Quarters set, one of Frank's Minden Miniatures Prussians (directly behind the painted building), and one Revell WW2 British Infantry all with white artist's gesso (front right).
The first RSM95s I primed, which you can see in the background, I slapped this on a bit too thick on some, making them more blobbish. So I went a little thinner on it this time, and used the brush to keep excess from pooling.
Sunday, I put a first coat of paint on the Revell figure and did a trial of a pink coat on one of the old RSMs (slightly left of center). But the main focus was painting the building, which you can see in the middle of the photo, next to the unprimed second building from the same set. I still need to do a little more on it, but I was surprised at how well it came out with simply an undercoat and three colors of paint. I need to touch up a few spots of missing paint and add a few more details, but it's quite usable even in this state, which amazed me.
(click for larger photo)
All of them were primed with Liquitex white acrylic gesso. The pink uniform is Delta Ceramcoat Painted Desert. The WW2 Tommy is wearing Delta Ceramcoat Autumn Brown. Paints used on the building were Vallejo Basalt Gray for the walls, Delta Ceramcoat Autumn Brown for the door, and Delta Ceramcoat Golden Brown for the thatched roof.
The box in which they rest was originally put together for my trials of the Plasti-Dip spray rubber as a primer. I've abandoned the Plasti-Dip for the gesso, but the box serves as a very nice portable paint booth, as it were, since I have no permanent space for them right now. It's hoped that as we finish re-arranging the basement, there will be an available work surface as well as an available gaming surface.
Saturday, I spent a few minutes priming one of the two buildings of the JR Miniatures 15mm #1663 Worker's Quarters set, one of Frank's Minden Miniatures Prussians (directly behind the painted building), and one Revell WW2 British Infantry all with white artist's gesso (front right).
The first RSM95s I primed, which you can see in the background, I slapped this on a bit too thick on some, making them more blobbish. So I went a little thinner on it this time, and used the brush to keep excess from pooling.
Sunday, I put a first coat of paint on the Revell figure and did a trial of a pink coat on one of the old RSMs (slightly left of center). But the main focus was painting the building, which you can see in the middle of the photo, next to the unprimed second building from the same set. I still need to do a little more on it, but I was surprised at how well it came out with simply an undercoat and three colors of paint. I need to touch up a few spots of missing paint and add a few more details, but it's quite usable even in this state, which amazed me.
(click for larger photo)
All of them were primed with Liquitex white acrylic gesso. The pink uniform is Delta Ceramcoat Painted Desert. The WW2 Tommy is wearing Delta Ceramcoat Autumn Brown. Paints used on the building were Vallejo Basalt Gray for the walls, Delta Ceramcoat Autumn Brown for the door, and Delta Ceramcoat Golden Brown for the thatched roof.
The box in which they rest was originally put together for my trials of the Plasti-Dip spray rubber as a primer. I've abandoned the Plasti-Dip for the gesso, but the box serves as a very nice portable paint booth, as it were, since I have no permanent space for them right now. It's hoped that as we finish re-arranging the basement, there will be an available work surface as well as an available gaming surface.
Friday, April 27, 2007
Painting - Baby Steps
I admit, it doesn't feel like I'm getting very far with my first painting attempt. But I remind myself it's a learning endeavor. My workspace has been taken over at the moment by a family computer that died earlier this week, so that's been an inhibitor to further progress. But below you'll find pictures of the first company of the von Lintzer Musketeers (6 musketeers, 1 officer with spontoon) plus the 4 spare figures from the bag, all coated with gesso.
My first test figure now has some skin color, a sloppy coat of gray paint, and an attempt at getting the yellow applied. Unfortunately, the yellow seems to have separated too much to cover areas of gray, so I need to either get it to mix more thoroughly or switch colors. We'll see which. It's possible, given the time of late fall that the paint was delivered, that the paint could have frozen and separated somewhere along the way. I hope it's just settled and I need to shake it more.
Colors used:
I'm open to suggestions on better ways to handle that yellow. Worst case scenario, I may switch to violet facings perhaps.
And now the pictures:
My first test figure now has some skin color, a sloppy coat of gray paint, and an attempt at getting the yellow applied. Unfortunately, the yellow seems to have separated too much to cover areas of gray, so I need to either get it to mix more thoroughly or switch colors. We'll see which. It's possible, given the time of late fall that the paint was delivered, that the paint could have frozen and separated somewhere along the way. I hope it's just settled and I need to shake it more.
Colors used:
- Vallejo 70815 Basic Skintone - the lighter color which can be seen where the head and rifle meet. I wasn't satisfied with it, so I painted over it.
- Vallejo 70860 Medium Fleshtone - the current flesh color in use. I'm happier with it, though I may try to learn how to put a little highlight in with the former.
- Vallejo 70869 Basalt Grey - The basic color for coats and trousers of Hesse-Engelburg regulars. I expect to use a lot of it.
- Vallejo 70953 Flat Yellow - The yellow that didn't cover well the first attempt at all, being liquid thin in places. We'll try shaking it up more, and applying a second coat.
I'm open to suggestions on better ways to handle that yellow. Worst case scenario, I may switch to violet facings perhaps.
And now the pictures:
Monday, April 23, 2007
Getting Gesso out of clothing?
Stokes, have you had any experience with extracting gesso from clothing? I dropped a figure while coating them, which naturally landed on my best pair of pants. :P
Friday, April 20, 2007
Gesso: the first attempt
Well, yesterday around 6pm or so, I brushed gesso on my first test figure. So far, so good. I'm rather pleased with the result. I'm including two photos below. The first is of the solitary figure, with a good closeup if you click on it to bring up the original. The second shows the same figure, but also includes my two earlier attempts in the background. The white one on the right is sprayed with white Plasti-Dip. The black one in the background was layered with plain black acrylic paint, but from an old tube, which failed to properly mix with the water I tried to mix it with. Too thin in places, too thick in others, I think.
For those who may be wondering, the gesso figure is stuck on a plastic piece which used to be one of a pair that enclosed HP printer cartridges in an earlier box design. I've got a dozen or more of them that I'd kept around with the eventual thought I'd use them for something. The figure is secured to the surface with a blob of Manco Adhesive Mounting Putty which we used to use to stick posters on the wall when I taught Sunday School several years ago. It's *supposed* to remain good pretty much forever, so we'll see how long I can keep using the same blob successfully.
Tomorrow evening, hopefully, I'll be able to try some paint on the first figure, and perhaps I'll figure out how to strip the other two so I can put gesso on them. Suggestions?
For those who may be wondering, the gesso figure is stuck on a plastic piece which used to be one of a pair that enclosed HP printer cartridges in an earlier box design. I've got a dozen or more of them that I'd kept around with the eventual thought I'd use them for something. The figure is secured to the surface with a blob of Manco Adhesive Mounting Putty which we used to use to stick posters on the wall when I taught Sunday School several years ago. It's *supposed* to remain good pretty much forever, so we'll see how long I can keep using the same blob successfully.
Tomorrow evening, hopefully, I'll be able to try some paint on the first figure, and perhaps I'll figure out how to strip the other two so I can put gesso on them. Suggestions?
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Update and Question
The gesso has arrived via FedEx today. We'll see how things go once I get a chance to try it. Results will likely be posted.
In the meantime, I'm wondering if any of you have favorite Windows-based software for doing maps of your various countries. I'm about to try out AutoRealms when I have the time.
In the meantime, I'm wondering if any of you have favorite Windows-based software for doing maps of your various countries. I'm about to try out AutoRealms when I have the time.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Book received, awaiting gesso
Today's mail brought "The Army of Frederick the Great" by Christopher Duffy, in which I have searched out the diagram of a Prussian battalion recommended by Alte Fritz of OSW.
Meanwhile, I'm hoping the mail will soon deliver to me an order of Liquitex White Gesso. Honestly, the Plasti-Dip remains very disappointing. While it actually makes quite a nice surface when sprayed, it's very difficult to get it into all the proper angles of a figure. It requires multiple sprays and figuring out how to mount the figure so you can reach the next spot. Far too slow for my liking. Therefore, I'm going with a recommendation from Stokes Schwartz of using the gesso. This will be painted on, hopefully allowing me to undercoat much more quickly.
I'm using the extra 4 musketeers as test figures, to get some idea of how to properly handle the painting before I start upon the actual battalion. I think I have finalized that the battalion will be the Musketeers von Lintzer, uniformed in gray coats and trousers with yellow facings.
Yesterday's mail brought the first five back-issues of Battlegames Magazine, which I highly recommend. I've already been flipping through Henry Hyde's articles on the Wars of the Faltenian Succession. I particularly like issue 6, as it coincided well with the stage I'm presently at.
Meanwhile, I'm hoping the mail will soon deliver to me an order of Liquitex White Gesso. Honestly, the Plasti-Dip remains very disappointing. While it actually makes quite a nice surface when sprayed, it's very difficult to get it into all the proper angles of a figure. It requires multiple sprays and figuring out how to mount the figure so you can reach the next spot. Far too slow for my liking. Therefore, I'm going with a recommendation from Stokes Schwartz of using the gesso. This will be painted on, hopefully allowing me to undercoat much more quickly.
I'm using the extra 4 musketeers as test figures, to get some idea of how to properly handle the painting before I start upon the actual battalion. I think I have finalized that the battalion will be the Musketeers von Lintzer, uniformed in gray coats and trousers with yellow facings.
Yesterday's mail brought the first five back-issues of Battlegames Magazine, which I highly recommend. I've already been flipping through Henry Hyde's articles on the Wars of the Faltenian Succession. I particularly like issue 6, as it coincided well with the stage I'm presently at.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
.png)
.jpg)
