Bod Painting (My Way)

As with all things there´s more than one way to peel an orange and that´s goes for adding colours to Bods.

Over the years I´ve been asked "what paints, what brushes?" do I use,  or seeing Questions like "how does one stop the paint flaking?" so an attempt at answers below.

The painting method Shown below is a fast (ish) one to create numbers of finished bods to fill up a wargames base and stand the "it looks ok from three feet away" test.

Make of Colours used.
I don´t go for having loads of different shades in expensive Little 12ml pots that are specifically marketed at the Hobby.
First time I Held one in my Hand and smelt the Contents ..I said to myself.."aha!, Floor cleaner". I can´t remember the Name but it´s The type that gives the dry Floor a matt Shine.
I Did a test with the paints named below. Added a drop of Floor cleaner into the mix and guess what? The paint seemed to flow a wee bit better but the end result had a matt Shine. Also..the paint could, by Scratching with a finger nail, be peeled off. 

Acrylics naturally but the stuff from Hobby / Craft Shops, in my case Marabu, Kreul or Hobbyline. All give a matt finish unlike some paints I could Name which end up a bit shiny,  which, if a matt finish is wanted,  means paying out for overpriced, in some cases, Health and enviroment damaging, matting agents. IMHO, a waste of time and Money.
Big 50ml pots of the stuff for a couple of euros each. Black, White, Brown, Red, Yellow and Blue. 20ml pots of Gold and  Silver from Plaka or Rico..two more Hobby/Craft shop paint lines. They do have a wide range of Colours so an advantage  for those not familiar with a Colour Wheel or like having the Colour quick to Hand with no mixing. 

Also, ever considered who actually makes the tinsy winsy overpriced pots of paints? Does anyone really imagine they actually have a factory producing paints just for them?  Do some Research, you might be suprised. 

Ah, mixing. I use a pallette..an old CD or the like. Using the tip of the handle of the Paintbrush, I get a bit of paint out of the pot, wipe it on the CD, clean the handle and repeat the process with the next Colour. 

The mixing water..tap water with a drop of washing up liquid added. 

Brushes
Cheap n´cheerfull from Rico. None of this "ooh, I´ve got a Special non slip Turbo brush with LED´s,  some twonk firm Name on the side and instruction manuel in 16 languages" 
None of that helps if you´ve got no idea how to paint. Tinsy winsy brushes that are only visible with a Elektron micropscope   don´t help in getting a fine line. If the tips sharp and loaded with a decent measured amount of paint,  then, as the old saying goes, in this case, slightly turned on it´s head,   "size  doesn´t Count" .

Obviously, the same result won´t be achievable with a 3" wall paint brush but trying to reduce the size of the brush tip to microscopic Levels won´t make the tip any sharper. 

If one thinks it helps to have overpiced Colours and brushes, then fine but I don´t like the idea of feeding an Industry which, IMHO, by adding a brand Name to anything,  rips us off. The bods and vehicles cost enough as it is without chucking away more cash.

Do I wash the bods first? No. The base paint gets added and finish. Never had a Problem with flaking..and I´ve dropped enough to test wether the paint holds. Maybe there´s some sort of plastifier in the Hobby paints or "scrubbing" the paint on has some adhesive effect..TBH, I don´t know. 

OK...Paints and brushes covered. What Comes next is a Basic "how to" on painting. My technique is similar or the same as a lot of painters so basically, if you like the way you paint and the results, stop reading now. 

The Bod used is a Standard pose from the Airfix Waterloo British Infantry set. Cream softish plastic, bought ca. 1975. The head has been Twisted to the left to give a front facing "Ready" pose. 

First base paint. Black, Marabu/Kruel acrylic "scrubbed" on with an brush that was originally for fine painting, then lost it´s fine Point after being abused for dry brushing and ended up Looking a bit like a chimney sweeps brush.

Skin*
First I paint (using marbu acrylic Midbrown) the face and Hands. Arms and legs don´t really Need this stage but Hands and faces do. The midbrwon Acts as a Bridge between the black base and the final Colour.

Now I paint the Areas using a 50/50 mix of the mid Brown and Game colour Pale flesh (yes, I do have one or two "specialist Hobby paints" * :) )

I try to not paint the Areas between the fingers..not always with success.

Now I dry brush the same mix as stage two but with a tiny bit more pale flesh added. The drybrush goes only onto the raised Areas, nose,  ears, chin, cheeks, backs of Hands, etc

How much more pale flesh is added  depends largely on how well the percentages of the  stage two 50/50 mix worked. 

The Bod has now had his sideburns replaced (painted back)and the Wood parts of the musket painted with a midbrown/mid red** and a tiny bit of black mix (all Marabu or hobbyline acrylics)

Next..Clothes etc.

I like to and try to paint from the "inside out", to dress the Bods as it were, so the jacket is next.

A mid red with a touch of mid Brown (a mix of roughly 80-20% )

I try as far as possible to stay inside the lines, ie; paint ony what will eventually stay red but as will be seen, it isn´t necessary and trying (particually at this scale) is a pain.

Next, just the mid red as a drybrush. This may look a bit dark in the pics as there´s no contrast of the White belts yet, but when they are added it can be better judged as to wether the red is "scarlet" enough or another lighter drybrush Highlight is needed

Adding the "White bits"

Bit more difficult, especially the very thin lines like the ones around the cuffs, collar,  waistband and the hat.

TBH, you don´t Need a tiny brush to paint things like straps etc..a smallish one will do as it´s the tip of the brush that adds the paint, a sharp Point Counts, not the total size of the brush added to which a trick can be used to thin down the lines.

In the top pic the lines around the cuff, waistband, collar and hat are bigger than wanted so:

..in the bottom pic they have been "backpainted" with black as it´s easier to paint up to a line than paint the line.

Also, the Addition of the White has made the red visually brighter so it was, in this case, worth waiting to see if another Highlight was necessary.

I still might still add a Highlight but I´ll wait until I´ve added more Detail and painted a couple more (I usually paint 4 or 5 at a time) so I can see what a group  looks like. 

Cuffs etc added and Barrel/bayonet painted (silver with a bit of black added)

Now the trousers. (Note, Barrel and bayonet got a metal highlight) 
First a mid Grey  over the black base..then..

...a drybrush Highlight with  light Grey.

More or less finished. Buckle and Badge added

I mix all my own colour shades..basically all I Need is the Primary Colours added to  black and White and silver and Gold..although in reality I have a few more colours than that, one being a "european flesh" colour.

All that´s needed, a pallette ( I use old icecream or margarine tub lids - waste not, want not) and a cup of  mixing water with added flow enhancer (a drop or two of Window or floorcleaner)

The black/White mix is an example of how I mixed for the trousers,  the Brown/"flesh" mix for the faces..1 being (roughly) the shade of the second coat over the black base  and 2 the final (roughly) covering by drybrush.
**At this stage I usually "cheat" and add a bit of black to the Brown and paint Things like rifle stocks, spears, shoes and the like. Then add a bit of White and dry brush. Saves time and paint. 

Yellow..The Hobby shop yellows tend to be a bit..?.Meh! So a trick. I start with a mix of 50% mid Brown to 50% yellow and then highlight with 70% yellow to 30% Mid brown, final drybrush with yellow.....or add a bit of white to the last 70/30% mix.
Cold White, start with light Grey and highlight with White.
Warm White, White with a bit of mid Brown added, then a highlight with a lot less Brown and drybrush with White.
Blue? Depends on end effect wanted. Either start with a bit of black added to the blue or a bit of Brown. Either add White to the first mix to highlight, or more blue to the second mix.

Ok, the above aint going to win any prizes and I don´t always follow the above Methods depending on wether I´m painting an individual or the usual Batch of 4-5 at one sitting but it´s quick and for me, with practice, easy and, En masse, they look. IMHO,  ok

* Since creating this post I´ve started experimenting with using a mix of Brown/Yellow/White to create european Skin. Works fine and once you´ve got the hang of it, as quick as using and save having to buy an extra, a pot of "skin colour".

Medieval Battering Ram - Scratchbuilt

As with the Catapult, Do I need another battering ram? No,  but as with the Catapult, this is for the same  upcoming Project,  so ..yes, I do need another one :-)
Stuff used. 
Wheels from the chariots in the Airfix Ancient Britons set,  coffee stirrers, toothpicks, and copperwire.
Crew -  Airfix Robin Hood .

Basing on a piece of an old CD case which had one Surface roughed up with sandpaper and scoring with a sharp blade. Base material,  sand mixed with PVA.

Make a Frame,  drill holes for the axles. The Frame alone could be laid on a flat Surface to check wether it´s Level but the holes for the axles could be slightly out of line so the axles are glued in place, the wheels added and then it´s placed on a flat Surface.  If the Frame isn´t sitting flat it can still be twisted gently to level it out.

Roof spars added. This is a bit of a balancing act but second glue (I used Pattex gel) helps. The upright spars get added first, the supporting beam after they are fixed in place. It´s a bit longer on one end (the back) so any troops waiting for the break through or have aided in pushing the ram into place have some cover.

Paint. Add the ram using copperwire as Suspension ropes.
The ram was made by slicing up a bit of vegbox Wood.

Removable roofing  also made with coffee stirrers.
Like the Catapult, It´s a Rough and Ready looking device but I reckon, unless the army using it had a decent road and Transport System, they would  make one more or less as needed. I mean, how complicated would it be to source the timbers needed? Kick some poor serf out of his house and requisition the roofing timbers.

Medieval Catapult - Scratchbuilt

Do I need another Catapult? No I don´t  but this is for an upcoming Project so ..yes, I do need another one :-)

Build
Stuff used. Coffee stirrers, Copper wire, Cotton thread and florist wire.

Side Frame. Coffee stirrers cut to length etc. The main support and the uprights are made by laminating 3 coffee stirrers on top of each other, the angle supports with two layers. It means a bit of lining up to create Mirror Image frames, getting the uprights in the same place and at a Right angle but by starting with a "T" ,  one upright glued to a main support, then laminating other lengths of coffee stirrers on top it goes easy enough. 

The connecting beams added.
Buffer for the throwing arm made from tissue paper rolled up and painted. Rolling gear added. The round pole was a Kebab stick with 4 holes drilled in it to take the winding Levers.

"Rope" added. 

I came up on a Problem. It seems most catapults had a cogwheel added to one side of the rolling bar which had a drop latch, which as the Tension built up,   stopped any  loss of tension but I hadn´t any small enough cogwheels to create one so an alternative locking method had to be developed.

Basically, the winding gear  would be wound far enough that the two holes on the bar would be in line with the two hoops and then a pair of Levers would be pushed in to lock it. Seems reasonable if not a bit unlikely. 

The two rings (sorry pic is a bit blurry) between the top hoops are for the trigger release. 

Throwing arm.
Carved and filed form a piece of Wood from an old fruit box  

Throwing arm added.
Tension ropes made using copperwire. The top ring on the arm would, when the arm is pulled right back, locate between the two rings on the frame. A pin (with an eye on one end) would then be located along all three eyes to lock the arm allowing the hook, which is attached to the winding gear rope and the second ring on the throwing arm,  to be released. Pulling the pin out releases the arm.
I´ve also moved the two rings on the rear of the Frame as they didn´t line up with the ring on the arm.

At this point I realised...the "clever" solution to a lack of cogwheels to lock the rolling bar was a bit unecessary. Why? As there are 4 holes in the rolling bar it would mean two men could pull their Levers to the fullest extent, hold and then two more could add thier poles and take up the Tension allowing the first two to remove them and so on. When the locking pin was engaged the arm would stay in Position with or without a cogwheel.
Anyway, on the advice of the H&S officer, the "clever" locking idea was left as it was.

The Crew.

The Boss has had a head swop using the Archer´s head from the Airfix Romans set, cheek guards and neck guard removed. Left arm removed, Sword removed and arm turned around and re-attached.
Standard bearer from the Airfix Ancient Britons set.  Head swop from one of Robin´s bods and he´s become a Lever Operator along with his mate next to him who got a head swop and his Sword replaced with a Lever.
Then a generic "crew member number 6" (see the film Galaxy Quest)
The one holding the brand was holding a staff across his waist but after removing it, repositioning his head and giving him an arm from an archer,  he´s looking where the Munition will fall.

I might add another holding a hammer to help with the release pin.

Pencil Palisades

Recently, in a effort to create a wooden Palisade fort and after a couple of ideas that didn´t really work, I came up with this method.
Simply cut old pencils to the desired length, re-model the Surface with a pair of pliers,  which works fine on all different types of pencils, round, 6 sided, even 3 sided and stick them together with PVA.

After one attempt with sticking them whilst layed on a flat Surface led to a slightly slanted result I came up with a holder...an old Cassette case.

The pliers have serrations which marks  the pencils Surface with a sort of bark type pattern simply by squeezing. Don´t squeeze too hard as some pencils are a bit brittle but don´t be too soft either.

2B or not 2B? That is the question.* No, they can all be used, HB, 2HB, 3B,,,all of em. 

Ok, I´m going to have to aquire a lot of old pencils to create what I have in mind but I discovered the lot above after a quick rummage through cupboards and drawers..
Also,  DIY Shops and a certain Furniture shop whose Name begins with I and ends with A give pencils away for free.
Ok..I´m not going to run off with the whole box on offer but one or two might end up as palisades after a visit. I mean, you put one in your pocket and then Forget which pocket so it´s easier just to take another and then Forget where that one went and so on...or?

*I know, Not that great a gag but it´s bloody hot here :-)

Just heard some very sad News. Leonardo Torricini   (Phersu miniatures) the creator of some exceptional bods and extras has passed away :-(

The "Silk Dress Balloon" Gazelle

Unlike the US, the Confederacy had no Access to a lot of White silk so used Coloured silk from a Dress maker supplier. Silk because it´s light and they then covered it with varnish to make it gas tight. 
History
Link to a pic of the fabric used to make the Gazelle. I went for a Overall colour as it´s a model, not an historical Repro.

How to
High density foam..the type used for cladding houses. Cut it into 2 blocks. Make sure the blocks are a lot bigger than the size of Balloon intended. Stick the 2 blocks together using toothpicks. 
The Basic shape is created with a sharp carpet knife. Basically hack away, removing Corners first until you´ve got the desired shape.
Always cut away from yourself as occasionally you´ll hit a toothpick which, with a bit of pressure, will cut through but  when it gives,  the blade slices through the foam behind it at Speed. Not good if any part of your anatomy is in Close proximity to the blade. 

Take both halves apart, remove the toothpicks  and hollow out the inside. This reduces the weight, not by much but better than leaving it solid. Leave about 1cm aorund the sides ..too thin and it makes it difficult to fit together
When that´s finished, glue with PVA. I used  toothpicks shoved into the sides to pin it tightly together Fill any holes with wall filler and when dry use sanddpaper to smooth any edges.

Jam something up the vent end as  holder for painting and later modelling stages. I used a thin rounded metal file..being a file it has a better grip on the styrofoam than say a pen or paintrush handle

Next bit, after the paint has dried..adding the ropes. Basically, I don´t try to  over think it. 4 Need to be roughly evenly spaced at 90° to each other for attaching to the basket  but the rest are basically added "more or less"
I´m sure that they could be added so they create an even finish but it´s for wargaming and not a Display Piece so the General effect is what´s wanted...well, at least in my case.
Looks horrible eh? The PVA dries clear and adds a bit of a "it´s been painted with varnish to make it gas tight" effect.

The basket.
How big? I´ve made mine so that it´s 1.5 cm´s high and each side is 2 cm´s across. It Looks comparitvely bigger than how the baskets look in the photos but I have to consider the bod´s base.
Basically thin Card marked out, folded and glued into shape. Acrylic paints for the design...which btw,  I´ve made up but kept it similar to the Union Version.
When painted flrist wire (0.8mm) can be added. Just lie the basket on it´s side, add two rods to the bottom two Corners using a thick sausage of PVA.
When totally dry, turn the other side face down and repeat. The two previous rods Need supporting but to do that, just push a Piece of blue foam that´s been cut to size under them.

When totally dry, I left them overnight,  bend the rods, at about 3 cm´s or so just above the basket slightly outwards. Then bend the top ends, again at about 3cm´s, at more or less a Right angle inwards. Stick the ends into the ballon at equal (or nearabouts) spacing between the hanging ropes,  into the balloon. They won´t need glueing unless they were bent too far outwards. 

Turn the balloon upside down and place it in the pot. Using florist wire, create a square and attach it where the wires bend slightly outwards (Just above the Basket)
Glue with cyonate and leave to dry before attaching the hanging ropes.

The stand. Mine is made using a cork Coaster. After creating the winding gear using a bit of sprue and some basic triangles cut from a CD case, add 3 lengths of florist wire at equal spaces...for those who want to be exact......….120° apart.
Bend 1cm  of the top of each wire  so they end up horizontal. On top of them glue a square of thin Card that´s the same size as the Bottom of the Basket.

Paint all the wires as rope.. A mix of mid Brown, black , White and yellow seems to come close to looking like rope. You Need to Experiment with the mix but who cares wether it´s too White or Brown or whatever? 

American Civil War Observation Balloon (pt2)

So, the Bamboo stick worked but wasn´t quite what I had in mind, it didn´t have that air of feasabilty so....

Using three Strands of  Florist wire.

The winch was made with bits of CD casing, a thick bit of sprue and Florist wire for the handles.

The strand of Florist wire going to the basket is attached to the winch with a hole in the sprue. 

The other two wires are attached directly to holes in the base  next to the Posts. The tied off rope created with bits of Florist wire. 

The balloon sits a bit lower than with the Bamboo stick but, even though it´s not accurate in the way the actual Balloons were let up and pulled down,  the end effect is slightly more believable. 

American Civil War Observation Balloon

Historical innacuracies aside..it turned out alright

Close ups of the balloon.
Nope, I didn´t paint the lettering etc..they are print outs.

 The Pilot

I tried using a Party balloon covered with paper mache =  Fail!
Then a lightbulb covered with paper mache = Fail!

Solution = hardfoam shaped with a stanley knife, rubbed down with sandpaper,  then cut in half, hollowed out to reduce weight, then glued back together. 

The weight still remains an issue. I tried a couple of things to "suspend" the balloon but the only thing that worked was a thinned down bamboo skewer. Still a bit thicker than I´d planned. 

"What, there was a plan ?? !" .....I hear myself say 

I´ll hunt about to find something ..or some other way* to suspend it but for now,  it´ll do. 

Thaddeus Lowes Hydrogen Generators ,
To give him his full Name, Thaddeus Sobieski Constantine Lowe. The above link leads to the page on his Generators but the whole site is dedicated to the man. Worth a read IMHO.
Made from a hardfoam core with Card planking, copper wire and the corresponding insulating plastic for the pipe work. Vents on the tops made with  screws, Wheels from the bits box.
The wagons etc are a bit chunkier and bigger than they would have been. I could have spent a bit more time measuring things up  but it was a quick "do this Project or Forget it" Job.
I´ve had it in mind to make an Observation ballon for a while now and any fiddling with exactness would have burst the bubble of enthusiasm.

Basic info on Ballooning during the ACW.

Civil War Ballooning During the Seven Days Campaign

*Even as I wrote the above I thought of a way to suspend the balloon with thinner and  closer to scale  material. :-)

Movement Trays

They aren´t  included in the old Airfix rules but moving 16 Regiments with 10 individual bases @ 2 bods a base per Regiment was time consuming so I had to have some movement trays.

Made using 2mm Wood sheet that came as part of the packaging for a ready built Sideboard. A pain to cut the Frame and glue it to the base so to save my nerves I made 2 a day.

All the Union and confederate Regiments happily based

Remember the new 1/72nd ACW range by

A choice of scales has now been added. The poses can be ordered in 6mm upwards for example HERE