Badder Posted October 10, 2016 Author Share Posted October 10, 2016 5 hours ago, giemme said: Yes, what you need is some figure painting, to chill out a bit. Ciao haha... yeah maybe figure painting ISN'T the ideal way to chill out! Bader 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 It is amazing how scenes develop as we work on them - hope the figure painting has gone well! Kind regards, Stix 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badder Posted October 12, 2016 Author Share Posted October 12, 2016 1 hour ago, PlaStix said: It is amazing how scenes develop as we work on them - hope the figure painting has gone well! Kind regards, Stix Hi Stix, work on figures was temporarily suspended due to abscess in jaw.... extreme pain and swelling. I look like a mutant hamster but I'm on antibiotics now so feeling a bit better and base coats being applied to figures and equipment.. Rearguards, Badder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badder Posted October 13, 2016 Author Share Posted October 13, 2016 Work is continuing on the 'tarpaulin bearers and casualty' and their equipment, a job which would be made much easier if MasterBox bothered to number their parts on the sprue and where they go, AND if they designated paint colours to each part rather than just supply a list of colours and leave you to guess. I'm having to compromise with the BMW rider and passenger as, having been replaced by Bicycle Riders, their uniforms don't quite match No photos just yet as pics of base-coated water bottles/canteens/entrenching tools etc are a bit boring. TFL Badder 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badder Posted October 15, 2016 Author Share Posted October 15, 2016 (edited) Hates painting figures. So why did I choose to include 7 or 8 of them in my vignette? Because practice and perseverance make perfect. Unfortunately I haven't had enough of the practice and perseverance yet! How some people can paint all those belts, buckles and insignia is beyond me. I've got most of the equipment added to the figures, and everything that's been attached has had their base coats applied, some prior to fixing, some after. A couple of bits and pieces will be fixed later, after other details have been painted. Rifles will obviously have straps, and will hang over shoulders rather than be fixed, so that makes painting easier. At the moment I'm waiting for coats of acrylic gloss varnish to dry, then I'll start working on highlights and lowlights of the uniforms and equipment, and of course tidying up the straps. TFL Badder Edited October 15, 2016 by Badder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badder Posted October 15, 2016 Author Share Posted October 15, 2016 (edited) As MasterBox don't bother to number their parts on the actual sprue, one has to consult the rear of the box where there is a photograph of the sprue with superimposed part numbers. This makes construction very awkward. There are no actual assembly instructions either, just a couple of photos of the completed 'scene' with numbered arrows pointing to the relevant parts. This makes things even more awkward. If one wishes to paint all the parts 'off the sprue' one must refer to the photos and keep all the parts for each figure separate as some are 'tailor fitted'. TFL Badder Edited October 15, 2016 by Badder 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giemme Posted October 15, 2016 Share Posted October 15, 2016 Badder, I agree with you about the lack of part numbering on MasterBox kits; it's a bit of a pitfall actually, 'cause you also risk to miss something that in the photos doesn't show up that well. The end result, nonetheless, is great for the value. And for one who hates painting figures, I think you're doing a darn good job! Ciao 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badder Posted October 15, 2016 Author Share Posted October 15, 2016 1 hour ago, giemme said: Badder, I agree with you about the lack of part numbering on MasterBox kits; it's a bit of a pitfall actually, 'cause you also risk to miss something that in the photos doesn't show up that well. The end result, nonetheless, is great for the value. And for one who hates painting figures, I think you're doing a darn good job! Ciao Thanks Giemme, But they look a lot better in the photos being slightly out of focus and darkish! Badder 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badder Posted October 17, 2016 Author Share Posted October 17, 2016 (edited) As is customary for me, I've messed up the painting of the figures. After applying washes I felt they were way too dark, and trying to clean them back to their previous state I accidentally removed the varnish and bared the plastic beneath. With one figure 'ruined' I decided to strip all of the figures back. Now they are all relatively clean again and I will be using a lighter base coat this time, but I now have to paint the figures whole, with their equipment fixed in place. ho hum. Fingers crossed things go okay, otherwise I may just have to replace the figures with some others and once again 'change the theme of the vignette!' TFL Badder Edited October 17, 2016 by Badder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badder Posted October 18, 2016 Author Share Posted October 18, 2016 Tarpaulin bearers base coated again, this time in a lighter shade of field grey and sans equipment. Because their equipment is fixed in place I'm opting to complete them with an airbrush and careful masking, using maskol, plasticine and blu-tac where appropriate. With my nerve-damaged fingers it would be too difficult to get a paintbrush into all those nooks and crannies and retain tidiness. TFL Badder 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badder Posted October 20, 2016 Author Share Posted October 20, 2016 Low dry-stone wall mostly constructed. I bent a piece of thin plasticard around the polyfilla curve and glued plasticard 'stones' in place with liquid poly; which allowed time to play around with their positioning. The remaining top course of stones will be more dilapidated, with grass and weeds overhanging. Moss will cover a lot of the wall. TFL Badder. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badder Posted October 21, 2016 Author Share Posted October 21, 2016 The wall has been finished to the correct height along its entire length. I then coated it with thin CA and sprinkled powders over it before spraying the wall with a light sand coloThe powders gave the 'stones' a rougher texture. I could have used my Japanese 'Grit Paints' to achieve the same effect, but decided to save it for larger expanses of wall. Next, I sprayed the wall with Winsor and Newton's acrylic gloss varnish and once dried applied washes of dark brown and pin washes of near black. Today I will be applying my green Japanese Grit Paints to the stonework to simulate moss/lichen. Then it will be a case of adding more veg to the wall in the form of grasses and tree roots etc. Pics later. TFL Badder 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giemme Posted October 21, 2016 Share Posted October 21, 2016 Very curious to see that, Badder. What kind of powders have you been using? Ciao 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badder Posted October 22, 2016 Author Share Posted October 22, 2016 (edited) Hi Giemme, for the powders I crushed up some polyfilla that had set in the bowl. I added some silver birch 'seed dividiers' to an area of the wall and chervil to others. Sorry pic a bit blurred but camera was focussing on the foreground. Silly me. Static grass added to the raised area and to front right of the vignette. More chervil sprinkled over while PVA was still wet. Plenty more work to do.... TFL Badder Edited October 22, 2016 by Badder 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badder Posted October 22, 2016 Author Share Posted October 22, 2016 With just 8 days to go before this GB closes, I've gone down with a cold and I'm feeling rough.... and I'm starting to wonder if I can get everything finished in time. With that in mind, I am having to think of the 'minimum option', just in case. I will still try to get the 'for you the war is over' theme done, but if I can't manage all those figures, I will have to think of an alternative. It's my fault for not starting this GB so late in the day. Oh well. TFL Badder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badder Posted October 22, 2016 Author Share Posted October 22, 2016 With just 8 days to go before this GB closes, I've gone down with a cold and I'm feeling rough.... and I'm starting to wonder if I can get everything finished in time. With that in mind, I am having to think of the 'minimum option', just in case. I will still try to get the 'for you the war is over' theme done, but if I can't manage all those figures, I will have to think of an alternative. It's my fault for not starting this GB so late in the day. Oh well. TFL Badder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 Hi Badder. I'm really sorry to hear you are unwell and that the figure painting hasn't gone as you had hoped. The stonewall and ground works, however, are looking amazing! I really hope you feel well enough to get some work done on this wonderful project. It would be great to see it in the gallery. Kind regards, Stix 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badder Posted October 26, 2016 Author Share Posted October 26, 2016 On 24/10/2016 at 6:48 PM, PlaStix said: Hi Badder. I'm really sorry to hear you are unwell and that the figure painting hasn't gone as you had hoped. The stonewall and ground works, however, are looking amazing! I really hope you feel well enough to get some work done on this wonderful project. It would be great to see it in the gallery. Kind regards, Stix Hi Stix. Feeling better now thanks. It was the first cold I've had in over 5 yrs, and the first I've had since being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, so it knocked me out for a couple of days. However, I'm now cracking on and trying to get this vignette done by the deadline. Like I said, I wish I'd started it earlier! Rearguards, Badder. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badder Posted October 26, 2016 Author Share Posted October 26, 2016 After a brief hiatus, I am now cracking on with the vignette, concentrating on the groundwork, adding vegetation. I've employed my method of 'making realistic trees', to make bushes instead. I will post pics to show how it's done later tonight. Meanwhile Woodland Scenics 'underbrush' and Bart's Dil are being used to fill in gaps and add variety in colours and textures. TFL Badder 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badder Posted October 26, 2016 Author Share Posted October 26, 2016 (edited) I'm adding bushes to the raised ground. To the left of the photo below you'll see the materials I used. The garden twine is wire wrapped in a papery substance. With the wire core it holds in any position and with the paper coating it fixes well with CA. I have used it in the past to make tree branches, but here I am using it to make the 'trunks' of the bushes. You'll also see two sets of loops, which are made from 4lb breaking strain Maxima nylon monofilament fishing line. The method I used for making bushes is similar to that used for making trees, only much simpler. For a detailed 'how to' see here: Since making my Carry on Regardless dio, I realised that heating up the fishing line would cause it to crinkle and curl, making it look more natural... and so when making these bushes I used a cig lighter to lightly singe the branches/twigs prior to adding the foliage. The foliage in this case is tea leaves. I simply drag the fishing line 'twigs' through CA and then dip the whole lot into the tea leaves. I bound the sets of 'branches' together at the base using the twine. The bush has yet to be painted. A bit of Woodland Scenics 'underbrush' added to the base of the wall. TFL Badder Edited October 26, 2016 by Badder 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giemme Posted October 26, 2016 Share Posted October 26, 2016 Glad you have recovered, Badder You are doing a heck of a job on the base, it looks very realistic Ciao 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badder Posted October 26, 2016 Author Share Posted October 26, 2016 55 minutes ago, giemme said: Glad you have recovered, Badder You are doing a heck of a job on the base, it looks very realistic Ciao Thanks Giemme. I am really feeling the time pressure, but I don't want to rush things. Rearguards, Badder 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted October 27, 2016 Share Posted October 27, 2016 Hi Badder. Glad you are feeling a bit better and have got back to some modelling. As always I am so impressed with your ground and foliage works. Looking excellent! Kind regards, Stix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreadeddrew Posted October 27, 2016 Share Posted October 27, 2016 This is all looking great Badder,lots of useful tips too.......keep up the good work! Andrew 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badder Posted October 27, 2016 Author Share Posted October 27, 2016 (edited) 3 hours ago, dreadeddrew said: This is all looking great Badder,lots of useful tips too.......keep up the good work! Andrew Thanks Andrew. I've added some more bush work and have given them a spray of a dilute lime green... its subtle but helps to tone down the reddish brown of the fishing line and the tea leaves. More work to the wall area, again with various washes and highlights. I'm going to chuck a rusty fuel drum in the bushes, just to add some contrasting colour and I may throw some corrugated iron and bits of lumber in there too. As for the veg, I will be adding clumps of long grass along the bottom of the wall and towards the back of the raised area. Incidentally, whilst browsing the web and looking at laser-cut paper foliage, I had the idea of maybe purchasing some kind of punch that might cut out leaf-like bits of paper. And on my next visit to Hobbycraft, I came across a paper punch that cuts out snowflake shapes. I realised that the 'arms' of the snowflakes do look like leaves and could be cut up and folded to produce leaves and plants, so expect to see some nice bright green leafy veg dotted about here and there. The ornamental gates won't be appearing now, as I realised that they would look a bit incongruous beside the raggedy dry-stone wall. Had I planned ahead from the start, I'd have made the wall from nice neat bricks and built the gate posts in. Still, I DO need a gate for the BMW rider to open, so I'll have to knock up a wooden 5-bar gate. I'm hoping to have all the groundwork and details finished by Friday evening, giving me at least a small chance of finishing the figures and the vignette by Sunday midnight. Anyhoooooooooo here's some pics. TFL Rearguards, Badder Edited October 27, 2016 by Badder 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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