Friday 10 February 2012

WW2 US PARA's

In my last post I mentioned I would submit other periods occasionally to give a bit of variety from my Zulu posts.
These figures are mostly Artizan with a few Warlord figures in amongst them. I painted these a while ago using the Army Painter method, which is a quick way to get figures on the table with a basic paint job.









I found with 'Army Painter' that after a while the liquid in the tin went hard and became unusable. This happened even though I only opened the lid on rare occasions when I had a big batch of figures to do and made sure the lid was resealed nice and tight afterwards. I don't know how much it costs now, but at the time it was £18 a tin which works out quite expensive when you are throwing two thirds of the tin away. It would sell better I think if they sold AP in smaller tins at a reduced price.

Anyway, I am a slow painter with the black undercoat and three layer method and I liked the idea of painting figures quickly using the AP method, so I now use a white undercoat and one layer followed by washes and a highlight on the flesh and some colours like British Scarlet. (I have painted my Zulu War British using this method.)

I find this method nearly as quick as using AP but I have more control with my painting and prefer the finished result, plus it works out a lot cheaper. Having said that, it is all about personal taste and if you can aford it, AP gets reasonably painted figures on the table very quickly.

I have just finished painting Empress Miniatures mounted and dismounted Natal Mounted Police along with their horse holders. I will post these in a future blog, plus I will post some WW2 German Infantry at a later date.

I have been unable to varnish the rest of my Zulu War British yet due to the freezing conditions we are experiencing in the UK (and in my garage) but if it warms up a bit I will get this and their basing finished ready for next weeks blog.       
     
    

21 comments:

  1. Fantastic looking figures, I love the first pic, a close up of the troops in column on the bridge, and your right, it is bloody freezing at the moment!!!

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  2. Airborne is made for army painter and I used it on mine as well. Fantastic results you achieved btw!

    Christopher

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  3. Awesome photos!!! Fantastic looking figures, great basing and terrain. I will swap you our 10,000+ earthquakes, that we have experienced in the last 12 months, for your freezing weather?

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  4. Once again very nice! I tried some Romans using the AP method, but I didn't like how they turned out. It works much better for certain periods/uniforms and not so well for others! Looking forward to the German troops! Take care!

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  5. Outstanding! Love the subtle variations in colour that you've achieved, especially given the predominate base colour. As for the terrain; wow! More, we want more!

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  6. Very nice work on these. Are you no longer using washes on the Uniforms? Ive never liked the white undercoat but you have got great results here. Im going out to buy some Ronseal today which i have seen on 40k forums has been used the same as Army Painter and worked out better sometimes.

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  7. Great painting, terrain and photos! I use AP and have had at least two tins harden but the newer version of it seems to last longer.

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  8. Thanks very much Gents.

    Roger, fair point with those earthquakes v our cold weather.

    Flags of War, If you are using washes or AP then you really need a white undercoat. I now use 'Winsor & Newton' artists acrylic Raw Umber mixed with 'Winsor & Newton acrylic flow improver. This is not going to be as smelly as using Ronseal, kinder on your brushes and one tube of this will last for years. I will do a future blog entry on how I paint my figures.

    Thanks once again everyone for your kind words and feedback.

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  9. These look really fantastic, Silver. They look just about perfect, and I really like the ruined/ damaged house and bridge. I agree with what you say about using AP - it's very fast for getting figures onto the table, but it's not as subtle as using pigmented inks. Swings and roundabouts, I guess. Looking forward to the Germans arriving!

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  10. Look great mate! Fantastic photos, makes me wanna watch band of brothers again

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  11. Thanks Gents.
    Sidney, the ruined/damaged red brick house is a laser cut kit from Warbases.co.uk tarted up a little and excellent value at around £5 or £6 as far as I can remember.

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  12. Looking good. White undercoat so unfashionable , but hell it works if you do the right things with it, top work

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  13. Thanks Chaps.
    Dave, I know what you mean but I have never been one for fashion. I used the black undercoat for years but I am really enjoying the white undercoat at the moment, you just get so much more painted in the time that you have.

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  14. Great looking figures and terrain. Where did you souce the bridge? I've been looking for one like that.

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    1. Hi Whisperin, the bridge was a couple of plastic girder sections from an old railway set I believe. Andy at 'Last Valley' knocked this up for me on one of his river sections a few years ago. I then did a slight modification and re paint.

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  15. The figures and terrain look incredible and up to your usual high standards!

    Do you have a rules set in mind for the WW2 figures?

    Happy Gaming,

    Allan

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    1. Thanks A&C, I haven't got round to actually gaming with these yet, I seem to be a 99% painter and 1% gamer with this hobby. To be honest I don't actually have a rule set in mind other than it will have to be for small skirmish type games.

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  16. Very atmospheric pics, great fig and terrain. lol about the 99% painter and 1% gamer bit, my brother and I have slowly arrived at the same conclusion about our hobby ....

    Brent

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    1. Hi Brent,
      I have been checking out the superb work you have done on your blog, the quality of your painted vehicles and without an airbrush, fantastic.
      Cheers,
      Pat.

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