Painting Nosferatu: The New Spring Fashions Have Arrived

After some thought about what color to paint the figure's cloak, I decided to use Dark Cherry from Folk Art craft paints. You can see the preliminary results below. On the workbench, it looks creepy and just a bit different than the basic black all the other Nosferatu seem to be wearing this year. (Being a fashion designer for a hip and mod Nosferatu trend-setter is such demanding work!)

Plus, these progress photos better show some of the highlighting I did on his hands and fingers. Of course, I still need to paint his fingernails, along with lots of other work. But so far, so good. Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. I will use them on the other three Nosferatu I have to paint.

"Trust me. In this outfit, you will be the envy of all the other Nosferatu!"

"It's the holes that say, 'Look out, world, I'm just a bit dangerous and rebellious today!"

"No problem. We can let out the sleeves, giving you a skosh more room when reaching out to touch a friend."

Bumbling About While Basing My Rioting Victorians

Sorry for the long delay between posts. I've been taking a bit of a holiday lately, trying to spend more time doing family things while we still have time. This is the second part, so to speak, of how I do some of my basing. Basing these Victorians turned out to be quite frustrating, mostly because my brain was on a mental holiday in the Islands the entire time, leaving me to fumble about in the dark without a brain.

Of Mice And Men...
When thinking and posting about how I wanted to base my rioting London thugs and mob figures, I decided not to cover their bases in ballast and static grass as I have done on most of my other figures. I also didn't want to base them on sculpted cobblestone bases and such because I just don't have those talents right now. So I decided to go with a grey gravel base that looks like a street or gravel driveway. You can see some of my experiments in the photo below.

The figure in the middle was my first test. I figured that since I was going to paint the sand grey, I first would paint the putty grey because I feared that I would not be able to get my brush into some of the tight spaces where parts of the figures came very close to the height of the base. What was I thinking??? In order to paint the putty grey, I would still need to get in close to where I feared getting in close. Sigh. There went some wasted time!

India Ink? Hmmmm.....
So I decided to just begin with a layer of ordinary sand glued to the dried wood putty, as seen on the figure to the far right, and go from there. Then it dawned on me. Why not try a wash or inks? They could flow into those tight spots, then I could simply paint close to those areas but leave some ink as a border, kind of like how we paint figures. I figured I use black India ink for that base shadow color, then paint some shade of grey over it. That's what you see in the figure to the left. Again, it was a stupid idea that went nowhere, just causing me more work. But, the India ink did work well.

That is when I got my final idea. Why not simply buy some grey India ink and apply it right to the sand. Just one problem--no one in our area sold grey India ink. Plus, I really like using Bombay India inks from Dr. Ph. Martin. They make excellent inks, and retail for $4 a bottle. Plus, I get them at a 20% discount from the local art store, using my faculty discount. (I've included a little video I found showing why one person thinks the Martin inks are better than Liquitex inks.)

But Martin does not make grey ink. No problem. All I had to do was mix black ink with some white ink---voila! Grey ink! But this is me we're talking about. Well, I got out my little plastic mixing pallet, the one with the six little indentations to mix paint in. I splunged out a bunch of black India ink into one of the indentations.


No 50 Shades of Grey For Me!
Then I began droppering in some white India ink, mixing it about to form a grey. I droppered in more white. And more white. And more white. Funny how the black wasn't turning into as light a grey as I had thought it would no matter how much white I added.  Oh well. It looked pretty good regardless. So I began brushing it on some bases.

It worked great! The grey just flowed right into every nook and cranny, staining deep into the sand and dried putty. I even was able to "paint" the edges of the fender washers with it. Plus the ink sealed in the loose sand. This was fantastic.

Why Do I Only Think About Planning When I'm Halfway Done? Sigh.
Only then did I realize that I never thought about the ratio of black-to-white ink in that pallet. How was I going to recreate the same color when it began running out? Oh well. Mixing more by trial and error, which worked pretty good over all.

Then I let the figures dry. Ok, I became impatient and got out the hair dryer. Then I noticed that the ink dried darker than it looked when wet. Are you kidding me!?! Sure, it wasn't the light grey I had envisioned when wet, but I didn't think about a more charcoal look either.

Back to start! This time, I began with white and added slowly added black until I got a nice light neutral grey I had envisioned. This is the way you make grey ink! You need very little black to the white to make any shade of grey.

I Definitely am Not an Art Major!
I then grabbed one Victorians and brushed the light grey on the base. Of course, it didn't flow as well over the dried ink as it did the raw sand. I dried the base with the hair dryer and looked at the figure. It actually looked worse with the light grey base! My son thought the same thing. Weird! So back to the charcoal grey look. This time I mixed a paint jar of the grey ink so I could use it on future figures.

Done and Done!
So there you have it. My bumbling adventure painting/inking the bases on these Victorian figures. I'm glad it's over and am happy with the results. They look pretty good on the table under the lights in my room. (The photos of them are below.) Afterward, I went onto finishing the bases on my Splintered Light figures. But that is a post for another day.

Take care!

How I Base My Figures

I hadn't intended to write a "how I base my figures" post today, but this post just morphed into that. So why not go with it? After all, when it comes to writing a modeling and miniature painting blog, showing people how we do what we do is a large part of the fun of what we blogger do! I know I've learned a lot of new ideas and technique from fellow bloggers out there.

Call me crazy, but I have a strong dislike for slotta-bases and all the other newfangled bases meant more for displaying miniatures than for gaming. I like my figures to hug closer to the game table, where the base blends in more. Plus, I like to use storage boxes lined with sheet magnets, which like metal bases more than plastic.

To accomplish this goal with 28mm figures, I use stainless steel fender washers. All my fender washers come from Fastening Specialists Inc, a local distributor for all one's fastening needs. I pick up at the Ace Hardware store on Orange Ave in South Orlando, down by the hospitals. This is the only store in town where I can buy 100-count boxes of the fenders in many sizes and thicknesses. You can also buy fenders online from places like Zoro Tools, which other gamers have used.

For 28mm figures, I use fenders having a 3/16" inner-diameter and a 1" outer diameter. Larger 28mm figures, like the Victorian who is leaning forward, get a larger fender. Honestly, the inner diameter doesn't matter--just get the inner diameter as small as possible while keeping the price for the fender as cheap as possible.

Basic Prep Work - Saves Time Later
The top of the fender is smooth and slightly rounded along the outer rim. However, the underside and underneath of the outer rim and inner hole can be a bit rough. To solve that, I simply swipe the bottom of each fender across one of my large files a few times, taking care of any burs that might scuff or pull on something.

Next, I wash the fenders in some warm soapy water to get off all the grease and grime. After their quick bath and blow dry, I cover fender's inner opening with a small piece of clear scotch tape. With my Xacto, I cut off any excess tape around the hole. Why tape the hole? This helps prevent a mess in the next step!

Gluing the Figure to the Base
Using some gap-filling super glue, I glue the figure onto the fender washer. Because I taped over the whole, I don't have to worry about glue dripping out of it! I let the whole assembly dry before moving on. I should mention that before I base my figures, I varnish them with Testor's Dullcote.

Priming the Base
Because I intend to paint the metal on the bases, I give the entire base a coating of black gesso just as a safety precaution, which has helped me especially with the Victorians.

Apply the Goop!
A day or so after the gesso has dried (ok, for me some times it's been more like three years after the gesso has dried!) , I apply a nice coating of Elmer's Wood Filler that you can find anywhere. It's cheap and works fine for me. I run it up to the edge of the figure's integral base. You can see this step in many of my figures. You don't have to be too retentive here. Your mistakes make for nice undulations in the ground!


Paint the Base Before Ballasting?
Normally, I use real rock products on my bases--usually model railroad ballast. When I do this, I always paint at least the outer rim of the wood-filler-covered base and the metal part of the fender because once the ballast goes on the base, I am done. If I'm using sand that I will paint over later, then I skip painting the base ahead of time. For my Western figures, I paint the entire base first because the rock material might show through to the base. So this step all depends on what I'm doing.

Gluing the Ballast
I like using Woodland Scenics brown ballast for the 'dirt' on my bases. The ballast comes in fine, medium, and coarse sizes. (The photo to the upper-right is 'medium' texture enlarged.) I use mostly fine but mix in some medium ballast for a rougher texture, depending on what I want to represent. I keep this mix in a small container. I use their 'talus' products for rocks, though you could find small rocks and bits in your yard I'm sure. (Here in Florida, all we have is a sandy loam for soil--not many rocks and bits, I'm afraid.) They also make different colors of ballast, like a light buff color. Check the model railroad shop--they have many colors and sizes of ballast to use.

To glue the ballast to the base, I dilute 1 part white glue to less than 1 part water, just enough to make the glue thin enough. I then paint (aka glop) the glue over the base, wiping any excess off the base edges. (I want to add that in the future I might try adding some slo-dry to the mix to prevent the glue from drying too quickly before the next step.) When the base is covered in glue, I dip the entire base down into the container of ballast, making sure ahead of time to shake up the ballast so all the fine grit doesn't settle to the bottom of the container leaving nothing but large rocks on your base!.

Using a stiff junk brush, I then press the ballast down into the glue while the base is still submerged. This little trick makes sure the grit gets into all the spaces and fixes into the glue pretty well.

Pull the base out of the ballast, knock off any loose rocks back into the container, and set aside to dry.

Move onto the next figure, keeping the assembly line moving. When done with the last figure, set them all aside until the glue has dried 100%, usually this is a few days the way I work. (Do not use a blow dryer to speed the process at this stage, or you will have rocks and grit blowing all over the place. Don't ask me how I know this!)

Next time, I'll finish up this article and show you how I tried a rather novel, unusual approach to painting the bases on the rioting Victorians. Well, I didn't exactly "paint" the bases, instead I.... Hold on, more on that next time! Now I just need to write it....

Painting Nosferatus--Flesh Color Suggestions Needed

I recently began working on West Wind's pack GH-47 Nosferatu 2. Below are some progress shots of my first attempt. To be honest, I am really stumped what color I should paint the flesh. Until now, I've always used the P3 Paint flesh colors, like Kardic Flesh and Midlund Flesh up to the, lightest Ryn Flesh.

Anyone out there with suggestions on what colors to use for painting the flesh on these classic vampires? I have many others to paint. It doesn't seem like Reaper makes any "vampire triads," which seems odd considering how many horror minis they make. Also, I'd appreciate suggestions about what colors to paint the coat and cyberpunk collar. Once I began drybrushing the white, I realized this fellow had more going on with him than I thought when it was bare metal.

1) I drybrushed the flesh white to make it easier to apply the light flesh colors over the black primer.

2. A sloppy shot of the mini somewhere in the process of painting from shadow to highlights. Yeah, I paint flesh sloppy. ;-)

3. The colors I wound up using for the Nosferatu's pallor. The Khaki gives it a bit off an odd tint that doesn't show as well in the photos. I'd rather not do this again, though!

4. I always clean up my messes. :-) The dude has a beard! I didn't realize that when it was bare metal. I fear I might have made the lower lip a bit too red that it's too noticeable?

5. I've applied the top Morrow White highlights to the ear tips, knuckles, ect. Still, lots more work to be done on the hands. I like how it's turning out.

6. Prior to painting the flesh, I never noticed "cyberpunk" look of this fellow, especially the collar. I figured I'd paint the coat a light black but I'm a bit puzzled about the collar. What color should I paint the collar and the coat? Black? Or maybe something else for contrast? Ideas?

7. Gotta love the rotten look of the coat. Well, that's it for now. Suggestions always appreciated.

Improving My Scouring Pad 15mm Hedges

Four years ago, I posted an article Making 15mm Hedges, where I explained how I made hedges using strips of green-painted scouring pads. The hedges were functional but always a bit lacking, looking like cut up scouring pads painted green.
 

To the left is a photo from that article showing the hedges with one of my Peter Pig figures. (By the way, I've also touched up these figures, improving the shading and highlighting and other details I missed years ago.)  I used them for a few 15mm games, but they really have sat in a drawer with the rest of my 15mm, unloved. Well, with my new commitment to 15mm gaming, a couple weeks ago I decided that enough was enough. I needed to do something about the scrawny scouring pad hedges. The "improvements" I made took only a couple hours spread over a couple afternoon, and most of that time was spent pondering more than doing. So here are the improved hedges.

First, I mixed up some Scenic Express Matte Medium at a 4:1 ratio according to the instructions. I also added a touch of Dawn dish water detergent to help the matte medium flow better. I then began brushing this onto one of the hedges. The pad really spreads the matte medium. I found out the hard way that it's best to work on the hedges vertically, so the mixture flows down through the hedge instead running out the sides. You really want to keep the medium in the hedge and not the base's ground cover!

Once the hedge was coated in the medium, I liberally dumped Woodland Scenics Fine Green Grass Turf over the hedges. I did this over an old plastic dish to catch the excess. Using the end of an old brush, I then patted down the turf into the hedge. When done, I placed the hedge onto a paper plate and moved onto the next one.

Since I wanted to move the project faster, I got out the hair dryer to dry the glue.Who'd think that a hair dryer set to High could blow around little bits of scouring pad glued to little wooded sticks? Not me! I should have had a video of that! After cleaning up the counter and retrieving the wayward sticks of scenery, I decided to let nature dry the sticks overnight.

The next day the hedges were dry. I decided to use some of the Woodland Scenics Flowers in 4 Colors I bought years ago but never opened. You get a pack of mustard yellow, bright white, bright red, and burnt orange. First thing I did, though, was dump each little bag into a small plastic container, making storage and use so much easier. I picked up the plastic containers at the local craft store for a couple dollars. There are enough flowers in the pack to last a few lifetimes, so buy enough containers so you can give your buddies some flowers to brighten their day. (Wow, does that sound creepy out of context!)

I have two containers for each color. Wow. That's a lot of flower power!

I applied a dab of diluted Matte Medium where I wanted the flowers, grabbed a pinch with a tweezers, and dropped them in place. They look like wild flowers. A better method I tried was to take a little piece of foliage turf, the kind we use to make trees, glue that to the base. Then dab the top of that clump with the matte medium and drop a light sprinkle of flowers on top. This looks more like real flowers than sprinkling the flowers on the grass. I think you can see this in the photos? Oh yeah, the flower turf has a slight static charge so watch out when you grab a pinch with your tweezers!

When I "planted" all the flowers I wanted, I then went about sealing the fine turf I had sprinkled on the hedges the day before. If you don't seal it with matte medium, the turf will come off very easily. I diluted the medium a bit more, maybe about a 6:1 ratio. I then brushed the medium onto the hedges. Normally, I would have sprayed it on using a spritz bottle but I need a new spritzer. So brushing worked fine. Turf is ground sponge, so it soaks up the matte medium like a....well...sponge.

Brushing on the diluted matte medium.

The next day, I knocked off any excess turf from the hedges and was done. Voilla! No more scouring pad hedges. Next time, I'll paint the hedge to look more like branches and then apply the turf. That should make them look even better, especially near the bottom or places where the hedge got destroyed.

So there you go. Easy hedges! More 15mm goodness coming as I find the time this week.

If you look closely, you'll see I added more details and highlighting to my Germans.

Some flowers, a bit of turf equals better hedges.

Another West Wind Thug Joins the Gang

Another figure from West Wind's London Thugs pack I finished the other day. This is the seventh figure from the pack that I've finished, leaving just one more to go. I have five more from the London Mob pack to finish. These have been fun to paint. Now I just need to give them something to be rioting about! Maybe some werewolves or Nosferatu or Pumpkin Heads or Mad Bombers. Who knows what I'll pull out of my West Wind box next!

BTW next week I'll be picking up the rules In Her Majesty's Name and see how they look. Amazon says they will have them on May 21st for $13, my kind of price for wargames rules! Cool Stuff across the street should have them for $12. I'm sure well see a flood of posts all around the blogs and forums about the rules, and Victorian gaming. I'm not sure they'll be what I'm looking for, but at that price for a print book I don't mind. It's interesting how we're suddenly seeing an explosion in VSF in 15mm and 28mm. I'm also surprised to see renewed interest in Western rules, which seem to have been quite dead the past five or so years.