J’s Work mold painted and more Doom figures

Road, 

So this week I’ve done a quick test paint on one of the J’s Works molds, the “Cobblestone Pavement (large)”.  The piece had some air bubbles hence why some of the rocks have holes in them.  I started with some VAC dark ochre and then washed the entire piece with AP Dark Tone.  That was then dry brushed up with VGC Earth and Khaki with some off white added to the final coat.  Not happy with the result I decided to experiment with some oil paints for something new on terrain.

road

I tried an oil wash of Burnt Umber and some black in-between all the rocks.  Then I highlighted up the rocks with some burnt sienna and yellow ochre.  Unlike dry brushing instead I painted on the oil paint and then used a paper towel to dab off most of the paint.  This was repeated a number of times.  A few more washes and some grey dry brushing/dabbing and it was’t looking too bad.  For a diorama piece I would continue with some pigments.  For a playing piece this would be as far as I would go.  I’ll let the oil dry for a few days and see if there is any transfer as I’m afraid the oil paint won’t be safe around playing figures.

and more road

Continuing the Doom marathon I got the six Revenants done in the quickly bake method of washes and dry brushing.  The base coat was VMC Golden Brown, washed down with AP Soft tone followed by Strong Tone.  I dry brushed up with Golden Brown, Yellow and Off white.

Revenant

Also three of the Mancubus figures are done.  However the base coat of paint has gone on super smooth for some reason and no other paint seems to stick to it.  So the painting for these figures isn’t going well.  I’m pretty much putting on coat of paint on, watching it bead off and then trying again.

Mancubus

Finally I've put together the 54mm knight I purchased at Cancon.  He is very static in pose so I'm trying to find some 54mm bare heads to swap out the helmet for.  However the few places that have them all seem to be sold out.  So he might be waiting a bit more.

J’s Work molds and roads for Saga

For some time I’ve wanted to make some decent roads for Saga.  Actual cobblestone/paving/etc type roads rather than just ‘sand sprinkled onto mdf and painted brown roads’.  I’ve seen some nice resin road segments but the cost of them adds up quite quickly.  Also with my plan to redo my Saga terrain boards, from 12mdf flat pack boards to sculpted foam on 50mm boards, I wanted some decent road bling without having to glue in hundreds of small rocks (and watch them fall off over time).  I don’t want roads sitting on top of the board, I want roads sculpted into the terrain board.

Cobblestone Pavement (large) mold

Cruising the inter webs I came across some 1/35 scale silicone molds for dioramas.  They are made by “J’s work” (http://www.jsworkmodel.com).  I purchased mine from BNA model world (http://www.bnamodelworld.com).  Each mold is approx 8x12cm (postcard size) and made from very flexible silicon and cost $8.  The molds are designed to be used with plaster of paris.  I'm yet to test if they work well with resin.

Very bendy

The brick wall and pavement molds have interlaced ends so they can be joined together with the minimal amount of blank space and joined with a small amount of plaster.  So far I have purchased…(with a picture of the end result rather than the mold)

Brick Walls

PPA3017 1/35 Brick Wall - 2 sections of brick wall in the mold.  The bricks are quite thin so would even suit ancient Roman style villa walls.  Didn’t really need this one but couldn’t resist at $8.

Pavement I

PPA3018 1/35 Pavement 1 - Large rectangular pavement stones like you would see in European cites up to WW2.  Just crying out for a PAK36 and some panzer grey.  I got this for my new adventures in 1/35 modelling.

Cobblestone Pavement (large)

PPA3041 1/35 Cobblestone Pavement (large) - Large human foot size rounded stones.  Good for rough ancient roads.

Cobblestone Pavement (small)

PPA3042 1/35 Cobblestone Pavement (small) - Human hand size rounded stones.  Less bumpy ancient roads or roads in town.

Two cobblestone sections side by side

Both of the cobblestone pavement molds would make great Saga roads.  Given that plaster of paris costs next to nothing (5kg bag for under $5) you can make all the roads you like.  Curves will be more interesting.

On my first test runs there were a few air bubbles trapped.  This is because the silicone is far to bendy to pick up and bang to get out the air like you would do with stronger molds (like the Woodland Scenics rock molds I have).  To fix that I’ve cut out some small wooden boards which I will place the mold on and thus have something firm to tap on to get the air out.

Next week hopefully will have some painted examples to show.

Badger Renegade Krome airbrush review

Badger Renegade Krome with quick connector and spare needle

Once I had decided to purchase a decent airbrush I wanted to buy something from a local physical store in case there were any issues.  Also I was finding that there wasn’t too much price difference between online and physical stores once postage was added in for quality airbrushes.

The short list was down to a Badger Renegade Krome (maybe a Patriot) or a Paasche Talon.  Both had the features I was after and were in the $150-200 price range.  I went for the Renegade Krome as the paint cup on the Talon looked a bit big.  I knew I would only be using a small amount of paint so a large cup wasn’t needed.  If the Paasche VJR had been available I probably would have gone with it due to my past experiences with the Paasche model H.

My LGS The Combat Company sells Badger airbrushes (Krome/Patriot/Sotar) and accessories.  I also purchased some Badger airbrush oil as once you are paying $150+ for an airbrush $5 for some oil is a pretty obvious purchase.

The Krome comes in a nice padded box (dense foam on the bottom, soft foam on the top) with a clasp to keep everything safe.  In the box it came with a M5 to 1/8 inch adapter which was good.  By default the 0.2mm needle/nozzle was installed and there was a 0.3mm needle/nozzle included.  A slight confusion was that the 0.2mm needle needs to be used with the end cap with horns.  However the 0.3mm needle needs to be used with the end cap without horns.  This isn’t really made clear in the instructions.  Note that you can buy a 0.3mm needle adapter kit that come with an end cap with horns.

Firstly I striped down the Krome and oiled it.  The small bottle of oil is going to last a lifetime as you only use a drop or two.  The feel of the Krome is great.  A nicely balanced weight and the pull back action is very smooth.  The paint cup is rounded at the bottom of the cup so you don’t get any paint stuck in a corner (unlike my cheap airbrush) and thus cleaning is much easier.  The nozzle isn’t screwed in, it just sits in via friction so be careful during strip down as the nozzle is really easy to lose and is the size of a grain of rice.

I used the 0.2mm needle for awhile which was fine.  I swapped over to the 0.3mm needle as that worked better when priming figures and doing varnish sprays.  For the most part I run with the 0.3mm needle and find that it works great for general coverage work.

So would I recommend the Renegade Krome to others?  Absolutely.  It works well, comes with two needle sizes and in use really feels good.  I’ve run it at from 15-40 PSI and have had no issues.   The strip down is easy but you need to be careful with the tiny nozzle.  Always do your strip down over a catchment container.

Dynamic Power dual action airbrush review

After my success with my Paasche model H air brush I started to investigate the various types of airbrushes a lot more.  The Paasche model H was definitely an old school brush.  All the cool kids were using dual action gravity feed models now.  Given the limited availability of locally purchasing an airbrush at the time I was down to a short list of a few Passche or Badger models and various generic brands.  The generic brands were cheaper but still in the $30-50 range.  However in the back of my mind was the FUD that a new dual action airbrush wouldn't be much better than what I already had.  I would waste a fair chunk of change and be no better off.  I really wanted to "try before you buy" option.  That not being possible I looked at other options.

From the ebay store that I purchased by air compressor from they also sold dual action airbrushes ('Dynamic Power' brand) with a 0.2mm nozzle via auction starting at $0.01.  Three days later I purchased one for $2.30 plus $9 postage.  So what is a $11.30 airbrush like?

Firstly it works quite well.  It came in a plastic case with hard foam for the airbrush to sit in.  There is a small wrench to remove the nozzle which is screwed in.  Also there is a 1/8 inch to push on hose adapter and a small plastic pipette included.

The pull back action is a bit rough and the rear housing is plastic.  After the first use the nozzle got jammed up with some gunk which I suspect was there from when it was put together at the factory.  I should have cleaned it first but in my defence didn't know better.  After oiling the pull back got a bit smoother which made use a lot easier.

Using the airbrush I immediately noticed the difference from the single action Paasche model.  There was much more control on the spray.  The gravity feed was more forgiving on the paint mix and being able to easily open up the nozzle of thicker paint meant less dumping out of paint and re-thinning.  Also the top cup was easier to clean than the side siphon cup of the Passche.  Pretty much all the points that other comparisons between single action and dual action air brushes had said.

So after my $11.30 experiment I was sold on dual action airbrushes.  Now to get a decent one that would last.