Cold Steel

This was one of the earlier "oil then acrylic" pieces that I made a while back.  Since this set of figures, I have done more and more of the figure with oils.

While it depends on every figure (and what kind of deadlines are in effect), I do enjoy working entirely with oils on figures.  They don't have to be completely finished before the paint dries... which can be a few hours or days depending on how thin the paint was.

I discovered that once oil paint dries, it is quite handy to apply new layers of paint and feather them out, almost like applying weathering powders.  Since the layers underneath are dry, you won't effect them directly.

This is something that I am doing more and more, which was an unexpected surprise.  Now I plan for this process, which makes it possible to work on even more figures at once.  Previously, I thought that I should gather up as many figures as possible to take advantage of the ability to wet blend for many hours.

Now that I am planning for the paint to dry, but continue to work on the figure, it opens up many more possibilities.

I am sure this process will continue to change rapidly as I discover something new every time I work with the oils!

Stay tuned, as always!

Field Requisition

This Soviet WW2 character figure from Black Tree Designs makes a very nice addition to my Winter Russians.  He's out grabbing a bite, so to speak, grabbing a chicken from some nearby village.

One has to keep up one's strength in the winter! :-)

I've done a number of articles on the urban winter basing, using the Sculpey and other materials.  Here's a previous post:

http://wappellious.blogspot.com/2017/02/urban-warfare.html

This was painted in regular acrylics as opposed to oils like the rest of the army, since that is what I had on hand at the time.  I will be painting many more of the Black Tree Designs figures, which will let me do some Facebook live, Twitch and other video sessions.

I have more Russian figures coming, adding to the early war period.  This includes Naval Brigades for Sevastopol and NKVD.  There are also some new releases in the mix, with a few HMG and AA batteries and crews.

I am especially looking forward to working on the casualty figures, which should add a tremendous effect on the battle reports.  These will be more than just terrain, they should also provide an interesting post game analysis as I can see where the most bloodshed occurred over the course of the game!

As far as I know, only Black Tree Designs makes that type of figure.

This blog post goes into more detail about the Soviet bases.  I am hoping to do a live session or a YouTube tutorial as I finish off the rest of the army!

http://wappellious.blogspot.com/2017/12/urban-combat.html

Pretty in Pink

We near the end of the Clan Escher Necromunda gang, and one more hairdo!

She was part of the squad which was painted with oils, as featured in this Facebook Live session:

https://www.facebook.com/james.wappel/videos/vb.1056181987/10211936982874044/?type=2&video_source=user_video_tab

I have been gathering up entire squads of figures, from fantasy, sci-fi and other genres.  These will be a big part of the upcoming painting tutorial videos that I am creating right now.  

New pledge levels have been added to the Patreon Page to reflect this, especially in the "army painting" category.  The idea is to record a multi part video series which demonstrates in detail the process of painting and basing a squad or unit of figures.

While there are a lot of videos out there showing how to paint one piece of a figure, or one in isolation, there is not a lot of content out there which covers painting multiple figures, especially to the highest levels.

These will be done in both oils and acrylics, showing how a variety of materials can be used.  That should give you many more options in your own approach.  I want to include the basing in order to show the best way to create playable bases for your figures that still look like tiny dioramas.

At the lower pledge levels, you will get links to the videos as usual on YouTube.  Higher levels include "hard copy" versions on USB drives, and even the miniatures themselves.

I will be introducing this more thoroughly in a separate post next week!

Here's a link to the page:

www.patreon.com/JamesWappel

What Lurks Under the Sea

This is certainly one of the more unusual beasties that I have painted in the last 17 years!  It is one of several creatures that were part of a kickstarter a while back.  Here's a link to the campaign:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/238292504/spawn-of-sharktipede

Once I received the new Mig Ammo OilBrushers, I had to test them out right away!  This seemed to be an interesting test subject, among other things.

I had been saving this figure and a few others for the arrival of the new OilBrushers, and there are 21 new colors, most of them more intense and saturated.  The first set of 21 was more in tune for weathering and working in earth tones, greens, and so on.

I wanted to show some of the main reasons that I like to use oil paints... chief among these is the extended drying time.  Through several hours of painting, I was able to blend areas to very smooth finishes very easily.

This was possible even long after the initial layers had been painted.  I also demonstrated how much less paint application is required when you work with oils.

There is a Facebook live session which shows the conclusion of the painting process... that link is here:

https://www.facebook.com/james.wappel/videos/vb.1056181987/10212917227339543/?type=2&video_source=user_video_tab

Before I went live on Facebook, I recorded the first few hours of the painting process, along with a discussion of the new Oilbrushers.  This recording has since been edited and processed, and is now a brand new Painting Pyramid tutorial video.

I recently posted the link to my Patreon page, which is available to my subscribers.  New pledge levels have also been added, and more are on the way!  Check that out here:

www.patreon.com/JamesWappel

Bark and Branch... Under the Sea

By now, most of you are familiar with the Bark and Branch method of basing, using things like Oxide Paste, wood glue and tree bark to create some very nice rocky/forest style bases.

I needed to put a twist on that type of basing technique in order to base some very unusual sea creatures.

These are fairly large, so I built these bases up from wooden plaques.  The first things you will probably notice are the sea shells (which I have used before on some smaller bases), but now I am trying out some dried moss to see how that will match up to coral at this scale!

This is an example of one of the creatures.  They are combinations of land and sea critters, and certainly have a certain look about them!

These also provided me with an excellent chance to try out the new lower pressures of the airbrush.  Masking off the shells took a little while, but certainly worth it.  I started out with a number of grays and greenish hues, using the Badger Stynlrez primers.

I used a number of the Ghost tints on these bases, especially on the moss/coral.

I went back and forth with more darks, blues, grays, and then back to lighter tones.  Since these were pretty large bases (and quite rough in texture) I wanted to get into as many tough areas as possible with the airbrush.

Those new pressure settings were definitely allowing me to work in a more trasnparent fashion than usual.  I think I had it set as low as 10 PSI, which is shocking for me!  The Ghost Tints are so thin, they can certainly get through the brush with no problem.

When mixed with the primers, you get an intense color which is also going to adhere well!

Plus, all these layers of primer and color would serve as a very nice sealer for all the wood and moss.

I removed the masking material from the sea shells, and it was quite a nice surprise!  As I completed each of the figures that are meant to stand on these bases, I did more finished work to tone down those shells.

Also, I added some more specific shading and highlights to the rocky sections.

Here's a link to the Facebook Live session where one of the figures was painted:

https://www.facebook.com/james.wappel/videos/vb.1056181987/10212917227339543/?type=2&video_source=user_video_tab

Now for a sneak peek at the completed BatShark!

If you wanted to see the rest of the video, I have another 2+ hours of painting video on this figure (done with oils) available to the Patreon Subscribers:

www.patreon.com/JamesWappel

Scouting Secrets: Secret Weapon Paints

I have only painted a few U.S. made vehicles so far, but this Lend/Lease White Scout car was the most fun by far!

I used Secret Weapon Miniatures weathering paints to do the shading after my usual "Primer Painting", including the actual weathering.  

Not only are the colors just what you want, they dry ultra matte, so it also matches the texture of rust and other oxidation effects.

The resident early war Soviet commander Royamanov took some of the left over Russian heads and put them on the passengers, along with one of the bottle arms :-)

I finished off the mud effects with the Mig Ammo mud products.  This was a very fun project... and there's much more Soviet stuff on the way!  Stay tuned...

Mob Violence

We return to the mean streets of Rome once more to show the last of the mobs, part of the new Gangs of Rome set by Warlord Games.

As I have mentioned in previous posts, the most interesting aspect of the game for me is the random ways in which the mobs will react to the fighting going on around them.

They might run away, they might assist their favorite gladiator... or they may just try to kill him!  One never quite knows how the crowd will react.

For those who did not see the step by step post on the mosaic tile bases, here is a link to that article:

http://wappellious.blogspot.com/2018/05/mosaic-tile-basing.html

As you can see, each mob has a very interesting characteristic.  They really did manage to capture all manner of citizens, slaves, and passers by.

Let's not forget the individual figures!  I think these guys aren't sure if they should drop what they are carrying and run away, or if they should bash someone on the head!

I do have another set of these, which I was thinking of using for a series of tutorial videos.  

These would go into much more depth, showing how I did the skin tones on the individual figures as well as the clothing.

There is already a Painting Pyramid Mosaic Tile basing video available for the Patrons who have pledged $5 to the Patreon Page:

www.patreon.com/JamesWappel