Friday 4 September 2015

Of Washes and Varnishes

 Over the last couple of years I have become a fan of using washes to pop the detail in figures and models, and make my efforts at painting just look better.

Washed and unwashed.
 My wash of choice has been the various recent iterations of GW brown wash. However, for projects that require lots of wash, this can be rather expensive.

After and before......

I had heard that using the Army Painter dip system could be cheaper - however it is rather thin on the ground in the wilds of my current locale. I had heard that a similar effect could be achieved by using a much cheaper product, but my research initially led only to products that weren't available in NZ.


Spot the difference. Models are all 1/72 Bravo Team M-3A2 Bradleys.
But a chance conversation with an Australian came up with the fact that some modelers over there were using a product available there in local hardware stores as a substitute for the Army Painter dip.

The answer - available for around NZ$20 at Mitre 10.
This refocused my efforts on rather than looking for a particular product, I should hunt for a type of product - a polyurethane stain and varnish - and experiment with that. The methodology was brutally simple paint it on straight out the can (Note: It is a little like molasses, so do a test vehicle first)

The results (so far) on around a dozen tanks, three dozen APCs, and about half a dozen buildings, have been positive. On figures - less so. But I have another experiment planned for that.....


8 comments:

  1. We use Minwax Polyshade Tutor Brown on figures here in the states. Straight out of the can. I think the Army Painter products are a similar formula.

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    1. Hi AJ,
      Hearing that gamers in the US and Australia were able to do that was what started me thinking if it was possible in NZ. The Polysade sounds as though it is less gluggy than the Colourwood stuff. I will continue to look for a better product:)

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  2. I've heard that many acrylic wood stains will work absolutely fine and are virtually the same formula as Army Painter etc. I usually use Vallejo ink though, mixed with Future floor polish (in its current incarnation as Pledge Multi-Surface Wax).

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    1. Hi Paul,
      I will have to try that. "cutting" does seem like another economical way of doing larger numbers of vehicles and equipment at once.

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  3. I use Tamya Color X-19 Smoke for the same effect, small jar though so rather pricey on allot of tanks....)

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    1. Hi Don, Yeah this experiment is being driven by me being cheap after burning through a number of the GW wash bottles!

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  4. Remember and seal the tin after use and then keep it upside down on a piece of newspaper.

    A skin will form on the surface and it will be avoided when you turn it right way round on second and subsequent uses.

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    1. Thanks Jim for the advice! - Such a great way of preventing the skin from being an issue!

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