Nice, bright green bases! My favorite color for painting figure and movement bases remains Citadel 'War Boss' Green. I have used it for most of my figure bases since the Grand Duchy of Stollen project first came to life in 2006 although sometimes I have painted the Litko three-ply bases with a similar shade of 'latex' interior house paint by Olympic. I believe that latex paint is referred to as 'emulsion' paint in the U.K.
Plugging away, and there is still much to do. but the green bases are basically done. Like fleshtone, which I STILL must apply -- Usually one of the very first steps I tackle. . . I don't know what my problem is! -- taking care of the figure bases helps clean up any previous painting splotches and make the figures look a little less rough. This Saturday morning, I see that a few of the Litko ply bases that I like to use for my units require another coat, but basically this step is finished. I used #4 and #6 round brushes to apply the paint carefully around the painted horses. No sense in making any mistakes if I can possibly help it, right?
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And speaking of horses, the 14 equines were painted in what has been my usual way for ten years of more. Undercoats of yellow, tan, light brown, and a peachy orange. Acrylics in this instance. That step was followed by the application of oil colors over top, which were then carefully wiped away with kitchen paper towel. The oil colors used for this latter part of this two-step process were Grumbacher Light 'English' Red, Winsor & Newton Griffin Alkyd Burnt Sienna, Winsor & Newton Van Dyck Brown, and Rembrandt Sepia.
On reflection, I think that the wipe-off method works best when the undercoat is enamel rather than acrylic. Humbrol browns, yellows, reds, and oranges seem to work really well here, and a few previously painted regiments of cavalry over the years were painted using these delightfully smelly enamels as undercoats for the horses. Alas, my stock of remaining Humbrols has long since dried up, and I have never gotten around to replacing them. I don't seem to live near any model railway hobby shops here in Mid-Michigan that might stock them, and I have had little luck ordering paints via online hobby outlets, or retail giants like Amazon.
Quality control and packaging seem to be the issues there. What I have ordered in the past has either arrived dried out beyond all use on reaching my doorstep, or leaked and/or spilled all over the inside of the box in which the paints were shipped. Blast! Odd, when you consider that I brought a bunch of them home from Norway, purchased from a wonderful little stamp and hobby shop on a side street in Trondheim 20 years ago. Wonder if he is still there now? Anyway, my two dozen tins of Humbrol were carefully wrapped and bagged up in my luggage without any difficulty, and these served me well once back in the U.S. until 2014-2015 or thereabouts. So, for now I make do with acrylic undercoats for any and all horses.
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But back to the current bunch of Bosniak horses! Still some manes and tails to take care of on some of the lighter brown mounts, which almost always become 'Chestnut' horses, while the dark, chocolatey browns become 'Bays' with black manes, tails, and lower legs. The one exception this time will be the trumpeter's horse, which is slated for a piebald pattern of brown and white. Hopefully, I'll manage to exercise a bit more restraint than I did with a hussar trumpeter's horse, part of a two-figure command vignette some years back, which came out looking a bit mangy. That particular sad horse is there for all to see in the 'Vignette Challenge' section of the 2013, 2014, or possibly 2015 Wargamer's Annual. Perhaps more as a cautionary tale of what NOT to do when painting horses in miniature than an exemplary beacon of the modeller's art if we're honest with ourselves. Live and learn as the saying goes.
In any case, the step planned for today, if I get to nothing else at the painting table, is to paint the faces and hands of the riders comprising this squadron of Irwin-Amadeus' Bosniaks. And you know? It occurs to me that we haven't heard a peep from ol' Irwin-Amadeus II and his man Hives in well nigh 4.5 years or so. Since shortly before, or shortly after they returned from summering in Berlin. Hmmmmm. . . Must do something about that.
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In the meantime, The Grand Duchess, Young Master, and I are off to find our Christmas trees for 2019. We'll decorate these Sunday afternoon. The Grand Duchess and Young Master are also planning to bake and decorate a few batches of good old fashioned gingerbread men this afternoon, and the three of us will enjoy some other Christmas-related activities today and tomorrow. Monday afternoon, The Young Master and I have a date after school to see Santa Claus/Father Christmas.
The Young Master is now 10, so I suspect these annual visits will soon come to an end, but why not enjoy Paul's child-like wonder as long as we can? Children are forced to grow up too fast in so many ways now. Much more so than 40+ years ago when I was his age. But that is a topic of debate for another time and place. Tuesday afternoon, Paul and I have a second date following school to make a trip to our local glassblowers' studio where Young Paul plans to use his own money to purchase a Christmas gift for his mother. So, a busy time ahead for the next few days as Christmas itself edges ever closer.
-- Stokes
P.S.
Speaking of Litko three-ply wooden bases, in most instances for my units of infantry and cavalry, I use the dimensions laid out in Peter Gilder's venerable In the Grand Manner set of rules. To my mind, the troop density looks perfect, especially for 1/56th Minden and 1/60th RSM95 figures.
Comments
As for your issues, Im surprised because enamels are still freely available in the UK. Try E Bay they still pop up on there. Using a tip Peter Gilder used I opted for a deep enamel yellow or a deep enamel orange, both from the matt range oh and a piece of baby's blanket, ie winsiette cloth. The very soft texture was perfect for wiping the oils.