Work and Toy Soldiers

 I've been at my current company for 8 years I work on a system management team I also provide training for our online applications to internal staff and external insurance brokers. We're also called on upon to provide SME support on systems, projects, upgrades shit like that. I'm also well versed in Office buzzwords, have a Linkedin profile and can converse in internal acronyms.

Why am I telling you this boring stuff? Well I took a week off after the completion of some god awful project got released/fucked up and arrived back to find myself enrolled in a 5 day course, 5 whole days! Now I do systems training I usually sit at the back of the room and drive a projector people follow along ask questions and we're done in an hour. This training course was next level it taught us session plans, how to get peoples buy in, it was really good!

You're still reading I hope (this is a toy soldier blog after all)

So after the 4 days of being taught we were to re-convene back and give a half hour presentation on our chosen training topic. Naturally all the learning and development people went off and did things about learning, someone did something on changing the flag. I was going to force my audience to a half hour version of my knowledge hour but they're not the right crowd so what did I choose? 

HOW TO INK WASH A MINIATURE

Yeeeeaaa but is that really going to work?

I prepped 10 Mantic Zombies and got all the other attendees to write their favorite colours down so I could personalize the pants/rags(?) of the zombies and proceeded to record an entire how to video I also uploaded it to YouTube for safe keeping. The people doing the Inkwashing said they found it relaxing and the instructions we're fun and easy to follow. Although I do own about 3 of every Secret Weapon Ink wash now. Anyways without further ado the video.

I know it's basic but I got to paint toys at work and got paid to do it and am now a lot wiser when it comes to training. Thanks for reading and watching!

Read More

Stripping!

Get you mind out of the gutter we're not talking about shaking our asses for dollars oh no, no, no. This is much simpler article about getting paint off your mini's

No Stripper poles here (or in Iceland apparently)

Anyways moving on, you've probably got a pile of minis that maybe you painted ages ago and are just not happy with your skill at the time or maybe you scored a bargain on those monstrously painted space marines from Ebay. 

What ever it is that you've got you want it back to bare metal/resin and of course undamaged. So you're going to need some easy to acquire tools....

1: Simple Green Concentrate: It's the big Green bottle sometimes it comes attached with a smaller spray bottle (Keep that under the sink for cleaning purposes) it looks like this....

This stuff is great it's non-toxic (they had a little disclaimer on their website that said *This formula is orally non-toxic per The Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals and readily biodegradable per OECD 301D. ) don't drink it though. Never dilute this and never throw it away.

2: Brass wire brush: Similar too a tooth brush but with metal bristles I've used this on both metal and resin mini's it strips paint just fine and does no damage.

3: A suitable equivalent of a Simple Green Rancor pit preferably one with a sealed lit you don't need that pine fresh smell all the time save that assault on the senses until cleaning day.

4: A bucket, some hot water mixed with detergent/dish soap: This is where we are going to clean the abominable paintjobs away. Pro-tip - now you might also want to wear those yellow gloves people use when doing the dishes because that brush pierces skin so easily and that Simple Green stings like a mother f*cker.

WARNING: Next part involves manual labour/going outdoors

Leave your mini's in the Simple Green Concentrate for about a week, although my Flames of War stuff only took 15 mins before the paint was slewing off, pile your stuff in as much as possible and let the goo work it's magic.

The final step use your wire brush to whisk away those bad paintjobs take back your wishes, shine on you crazy diamond.......ahem while you're doing this be sure to dunk your mini's in the hot water/soap mix constantly brushing until there's no paint. I some places you'll need a scalpel blade to remove paint in the those hard to reach gun barrels. Once you're satisfied put your mini's aside to dry.

Now I can airbrush these Grants and give them the attention to detail they deserve and remember what Bob Ross said we don't make mistakes we have happy little accidents fortunately this is 2015 and we have Simple Green :P

For any Painting Commissions or queries please email me kingdan82@gmail.com  

Read More

DIY With Dan : Explosions!

This is my take on the classic flickering tea light and spray painted cotton balls explosion if you haven't seen this it's a cool little thing that enhances any knocked out vehicle or helps set the look for an artillery bombardment.

Step 1: Gather your tools

You will need A flickering tea light, Super glue, a hard metal tool, black spray paint and either a bag of pre-coloured firey coloured wool (I got mine from Battlefront a while back) or some cotton balls.

Step 2: Test your flickering tea light 

YAY IT WORKS!

Remember these are mass produced made in China dollar store things so quality is not high on the agenda so test it first because we're about to rip into this.

Step 3: Remove the outer casing

With your hard metal tool (lol) wedge it between the casing where they meet at the bottom and pry the internals away from the housing. What you should be left with is the LED and the other useful components remember to also test it again at this stage.

Step 4: Paint it black

Now I covered the LED in tape as well as some other components and also tested it. It's very important as you do not want the original white housing to show through. Now that it still works let's move on to the final step.

Step 5: Making the Explosion

Make a small nest shape with the flame colours this will give some indication and reason for the light source I've superglued this nest down but next time I might use PVA as superglue is very runny and my fingers kept sticking to strands of wool.  

On top of the nest add some grey/black to make it look like smoke etc. You might want to try and bind the fire with the smoke just try and thread it in there. Tease the wool and to make it look more explosive or just subtle as mine's for a knocked out tank.

Results

In conclusion it takes about 15 minutes to build one of these and requires very little skill or effort however the changes I will make to the next one will be to use PVA glue and to cover more of the tea lights base but other that I'm very happy with the result. Try it yourself and see how easy it is.

Thanks

-Daniel

Read More

Guest Blogger Nodnol : All your base are belong to us

Okay, so here's my first tutorial on how to do something.

I've had some SS minis around that needed painting and/or basing for a few years now, so I thought
it would be a good opportunity to complete them for my Estonian SS, and take some pics for a
tutorial along the way. I'm a firm believer of less basing to promote good figures on my basing, so
they tend to be plain and not cluttered in that respect.


I've just taken pics at the end of each step, hopefully my narrative gives a good idea of how I did
each step.
Supplies and Equipment:

Superglue  glue (I use Loctite 401 from Blackwoods NZ)

PVA/Wood glue

Basing Grit

Spackle/putty (I use Selly's Rapid Filler)

Earth shaded paints (I use Vallejo)

Static grass, flock and tufts as desired (I use GF9 and silfor)

Spatula, or popsicle (paddle pop, ice block etc) sticks

Brushes- 3/0 and 1, a big soft fluffy, or as desired

Patience

STEP 1: Fixing the minis to the bases.

I prefer to paint my minis before attaching them to the base. I will generally paint the mini base Flat
earth, German camo medium brown or similar brown so that if my base is crowded I won't have to
worry too much about access around the minis feet.

Score the base or sand it a bit to promote adhesion of the minis and basing materials. Use superglue
to attach them to the base as required. A dry run for positioning is a must, to make sure you're
happy with their positioning. Then glue on. If you are doing a large run of minis and won't get to
complete to the putty stage I recommend using a thinned down application of paint or PVA around
the bottom of base of the minis to prevent the superglue from "frosting" up the base and/or minis.
STEP 2: Grit

ALWAYS varnish prior to applying grit. This prevents basing materials etc getting permanently stuck
to your minis giving them a fuzzy look. And it will ruin any flock for the same reason.

I have used a number of different grits, it doesn't matter what size, the main point here is to provide
a surface for the basing putty to be applied over. Spread superglue over the base in sections with a
spatula, (or cut down popsicle sticks, matches or whatever) , avoiding glue getting on the upper
surface of the mini base. Then pour or add pinches of grit onto it until well covered. Blow off excess
when dry- which should be instantly. If you do too much area at once the glue will spread too far and
may spill onto the minis. And superglue gives off some nasty fumes- too much will sting your eyes.

Why do I use superglue? One: PVA and the like doesn't stick well, and crumbles easy. Two: it dries
almost instantaneously, meaning I can carry on as soon as I want. If you get glue on your minis don't
wipe it off. Let it dry, you'll just ruin the paintwork if you try to wipe it off.

If you want to add signs, etc, then do that before adding the grit. When you add the grit it will
ensure a strong bond to the base, and prevent accidental damage when handling. Most protruding
things won't survive heavy handling if applied to the top of the putty. Add rocks (kitty litter) at this
stage too, so you can work around them later with putty. Again, this ensures a solid bonding to the
base.

I added some of my graves at this stage, though later I found I forgot some and added them with
superglue to the painted putty. This isn't ideal, and there's a good chance they'll get knocked off in
the future. Oh well.

When you are done, use a soft fluffy brush to remove the fine dust that would have accumulated on
your minis as you applied the grit. You may see a bit on my close up of the HMG team, and this is
why I prefer to varnish prior to basing, or after initial gluing to plastic base.
STEP 3: Putty.

You can do this with spatulas, or brush, or both. I prefer both. Old craft knives make great spatulas,
as they are flat and angled for hard to reach places. You need to force the putty onto the grit, the
rough surface will mean it will stick well- far better than using no grit at all. And it will dry quicker
too. When you have the exposed areas complete, you can use the spatula to tidy up, or a watered
down mix of putty. I applied the putty on my minis with old brushes using watered down putty.

There's no "right" ratio, just whatever works for the application and you can work it with the brush-
although if you use a bit too much water and are vigorous you'll put bubbles in it which look a bit
weird when dry. A common thing I'm seeing in many others work is obvious gaps between the mini
and the rest of the basing. Due to putty shrinkage, or inadequate filling the minis look like they are
stuck in a hole. Many obvious similar looking holes. They need to be blended in. So, go over the top
of the mini base irregularly with the putty to ensure the gap and profile is blended as best as
possible.
Use your brush to create textures as required.You can add some paint to the putty for the base colour instead of painting over it later. It will dry lighter than the original shade, but it is a good option.

When the base is dry review your work and clean up the areas around the mini bases, to ensure a
good profile. use more putty, or remove carefully with a knife as required.

STEP 4: Painting the bases.

You could add a thinned darker wash here to add some more shadows, which I chose not to do here.
It's more effective on rockier type terrain.

Get your favourite dry brushing brush and slowly add layers of lighter colours to create contrasting
effects and bring out the details. I started by adding a layer of US Tan earth over the top of my camo
medium brown base coat. You want to get most of the base covered here, as it will help with
subsequent layers. Too little coverage and you have less scope for, and weird contrast later.
After the USA tan Earth, I added Iraqi sand to the mix- about 50/50- and dry brushed this unevenly
around. If you leave areas around then you can create more varying highlights and colouring leading
to a more realistic look. add more Iraqi sand to the mix and add in layers reducing the amounts of
area you cover at each layer. Finally you can add some other lighter colours like buff, light sand,
stone grey for more contrast and variation.

At this stage I add any prone figures that do not have bases with a small amount of superglue.
It's also at this stage I add the identification band around the chamfered edge of the base. It's the
easiest way I've found to identify and differential platoons. Just don't use bright colours, and try to
keep to the same shades. Browns and greens work best. Bright colours like white, red or yellow can
be used for the CO, 2ic and warriors, but are too garish for whole units. In the past I have used
shades of green or grey for combat platoons, browns and earthy yellows for support platoons and
black for pioneers.
STEP 5: Flocking

I spent a bit of effort into the base colouring because I don't want an even coat of grass. I want to
see the earth in places where paths have been beaten, or gun crews have been working around for a
few hours. And at times grass can be naturally patchy anyway.

I make my own mixes from various other mixes. In this case I've made a mix using meadow blend
and spring undergrowth flock. to that mix I added dead/winter grass, green grass, and a touch of arid
grass. This means I have a pretty patchy looking mix, with variety to spice it up. The flocks have small red and orange bits to act as the odd flower, green bits to act as small weeds and what have you. the grass naturally sits on top, so it all should end up looking quite real. I *think* the tufts I used were summer and spring.  Put all the flocking stuff in a container, and apply to the bases so that excess goes back into the container for reuse.

I brush on PVA with a brush- it can be watered down a little. I avoided some areas to create patchy
looks, and added heavier amounts of glue on places where I wanted the grass to be a bit more
dense.  Sprinkle over the mix as you see fit.  For the denser bits I take a pinch of the mix and press it
on with my fingers . After that is complete i add the tufts with more PVA to the top. Blow off any
excess back into your container. I've found that until the PVA sets you always seem to have more
grass on the base than you actually do.When dry, gently use a soft fluffy brush to remove excess grass form your minis, and you are done.

To make the grave flowers I used small grass tufts and glued on red and orange flock foam with PVA. Make sure you use small bits of foam, and add with tweezers. too big and they don't look real.

So that's it. If you are using the new Battlefront bases with pre-made mini holes, just go right ahead
to the putty part and fill in the gaps. Don't be afraid to make a test piece on scrap, and play around
with techniques to find what works. Hopefully I'll have a few more articles to add to Dans blog in the
future.

Happy basing,

Nodnol

Steve is an avid wargamer and father of 6. When he's not trolling forums and upsetting nerds he paints toy soldiers and occasionally wins awards some of his work can be found at www.flamesofwar.com . 

Read More

Brace yourselves, Winter is Coming

Winter worn tutorial time!

Here we go folks it may be summer where I am but it's winter somewhere and my Tiger needs to look the part....

Step One: Paint your tank as you normally maybe a quick in wash and do the details doesn't have to be fancy I just use 4 layers cos I'm crazy once done give it a coat of satin varnish.

Step Two: I use AK Interactive because it's trendy, new and smells slightly better than oils. Anyways coat your tank in the Worn Effects (this essentially replaces the the hairspray technique).

Step Three: A light coat of white just enough to cover the tank (remember we're going for a worn look) At this point it's worth noting that I forgot to decal the tank don't forget to do this. Leave this to dry and get a glass of warm water.

Step Four: Warm water and old brush attack the tank go for the parts that would get worn down the  quickest where crew would get in and out and where trees and bushes would scrape against the hull. Once done I gave it another round of Satin Varnish.

Step Five: Remember to take pictures if you're doing a tutorial!!!! What I did here was go around the tank with AK Interactive Rust and Winter Grime just blotting or putting little stripes on here and there but you can't see that due to the lack of pictures.

Step Six: Get out that thinner and start dragging it down if you've used too much of the wash just keep at it with the thinner drag it down, wipe it off. Don't go overboard on the thinner less is more you want the brush damp with thinner not soaking. 

Well that's it hope you enjoyed the tutorial lemme know what you think.

Read More

Hard Edge Camo

It's all about how you hold your tongue.

Flamescon is mere months away, well sorta 1 and a bit, and I want to run SS-Kampfgruppe Peiper. I also wanted to try my hand at something a little different namely Hard Edged Camo this differs from my usual way of airbrushing on camo lines this requires time, precision, a special way of holding your tongue and silly putty.

Step one Paint your tank a light grey (you can use white or black it's no biggie) I also don't have a picture of a panzer painted grey but here's the colour I used.

Step two choose your Dunkelgelb I was mucking around with the AK Modulation set but only managed 4 of 6 steps before I realised it didn't work out in 15mm.

Step three cover tank in silly putty (you can use blue tack but it might pull up the paint) and spray your first colour at this point it will look like shit and you'll want to cry* but trust me it doesn't.

*One other thing worth noting is that at this stage I should've left the silly putty on for more natural edges but like a kid on Christmas eve I just had to see what I got.

Step four now add your second colour

 Step 5, 6, 7 and 8 Are your standard paint the tracks, commander, machine gun and any other bits. Paint little dots all over the tanks. Give it a light ink wash and some weathering and then finally decals and boom done.



Read More