Do you think he'll notice ... ? X

SOAP!

Having ruined the painting of the copter for my diorama I've taken a break from that and I've been playing about with the soap effect I need to complete my Diorama of Doom entry. I've tried half a dozen different methods, some very unsuccessful. Photographs of the best two are below. Click on the pictures for a bigger image which better shows the detail.

These samples are VERY difficult to photograph well as the light bounces off both the white of the ink and the shiny bubbles as well as the glossy sheen of the PVA seal over the top leading to overexposure. I'll get better photographs on the finished diorama when I get diffused light through my light tent.


The right hand side of the sample shows a test 'pool' of soapy water, and the 'strokes' on the left show how this soap might be washed onto a surface.


I prefer the second as it has a murky quality with more depth than the first. The sample is not as bright white as it appears in the picture. Its a little cartoony, as the bubbles to scale would be up to 4" diameter, but I think it's clear what is being represented and its not grotesquely caricatured.

It's made by coating the area to be soapy with PVA glue, then strategically placing tiny glass micro beads (used like glitter in card making) one at a time with tweezers. The location of the beads is not something to do randomly - I start with the 2mm beads placing just a few in small groups, then build up round them with the 1mm beads and then finally a scattering of the 0.5mm beads leaving plenty of clear bubble-free space in the centre of the big pools of soapy water.

Then once dry I mix white Daler Rowney Ink with water in 10:1 ratio. I'm not sure what base the ink has, but it doesn't fully mix with the water leaving the slightly oily separation effect you see. This is then flooded on and allowed to settle around the beads. Once dry a final coat of PVA is applied to seal the whole thing.

I think this has worked pretty well, and am looking forwards to applying the effect... wish me luck!

Do you think he'll notice ... ? IX

DISASTER !!!

I got my airbrush running and undercoated and then painted the urban/snowy waste camouflage pattern that I've previously used on my vehicles, and I blocked in black the areas of the vehicle that needed to be painted differently.

All was going well, and then it came to washing the vehicle to highlight the panels and such like. Now i used to do this by thinning GW ink a lot and then running it through my airbrush and letting it dry.

SO I loaded up my airbrush with GW wash (Devlan Mud mixed with Badab Black) spray it and then the phone rings. When I get back I have this...





I think I forgot to thin the wash!!! And clearly the wash settles and dries very differently to the old inks. It has completely obliterated the camouflage pattern!

Doh!!

I don't want to try and strip this so i'm going to try and re-paint over it... wish me luck... and the clock is ticking!

On a better note, these arrived in the post today!


So I now have everything i need to complete this project (except the time and enthusiasm...sigh!)

Do you think he'll notice ... ? VIII

Meet the GAFFER... Grymn Pilot of the VTOL craft parked in front of Bob and Dave in my Diorama of Doom entry.

As can be seen from his helmet and shoulder stripes The GAFFER (Grymn Air Force FlyER) is a member of Red Squadron - and that colouring will be evident on the flyer itself. The flight suit webbing and life-vest are painted to match my other painted Grymn.

We see him here relaxing with a strong brew and watching something closely, somewhat distracted from the antics of Bob and Dave...


I'd drooled over this figure ever since Kev White of Hasslefree Miniatures had show it on his WIP web site over 6 months ago. He was kind enough to send me a master copy of the figure, and the detail on it is incredible. The front of the life vest (i assume thats what it is?) is amazingly detailed and a real challenge to paint accurately. The figure is just 23.5mm to the top of his helmet. I hope Kev thinks I have done this justice!

In addition I've also completed the base. Well, I say 'completed' what I mean is painted, there is still a lotto be done to this the figures need to be mounted and then I have a LOT of detailing to do...

There are 12 separate colours used on this base, not including any i mixed myself. Trying to get the stippled grey of the tarmac surface was a bit of trial and error, hope it works. Tarmac is not black!