28mm Windmills from Grand Manner

Another post showing some of the 28mm models I have produced for Grand Manner in this particular case the three variation of Post Windmills that were sculpted/modelled by me.

From left to right they are the Thatched Windmill, The Flemish Post Windmill and The European Windmill. Each are based on contemporary illustrations and offer the 28mm modeller/gamer a wide variety of different theatres and time scales to choose from as the basic design of the traditional Post Windmill has changed little over hundreds of years.

This illustration has been copied from the re-vamped Grand Manner web site and were painted by Kate and Dave, The photo being taken by Dave Bodley at the Grand Manner offices in Bromsgrove. For more information check out this link

It is also worth checking out some of the painted German European Buildings, which are also based on actual buildings and illustrations and appear on the New and on the Workbench section. see this link

Finally, Grand Manner have produced issue two of their News Letter which gives details of the Christmas ordering timetable. Well done Chris.

Tony

IPMS Scale ModelWorld 2010 part four

Yet another post showing some of the photos I took at the IPMS Scale Model World show, Telford. This time Post WW2 and Modern Jets (with a few 'what-if's' thrown in for good measure). Sit back and enjoy.

Tony

Portuguese Cazadores - part six

Regular readers will know of the headaches I have experienced with this particular miniature, a simple re-paint of a Del Prado toy soldier turned into a total disaster (see earlier posts). Over the weekend and yesterday morning I have first cleaned the figure under warm running water and used an old toothbrush to remove most of the Tamiya Flat Base X-21. Once I was happy with the result I over-painted the miniature with a variety of acrylic paints and 'washed' the main areas with Games Workshop/Citadel Washes.

I am attempt to 'save' the model, I have not been as careful with my painting or brush strokes and followed the colour scheme shown on pages 72 - 75 of Wargames Illustrated, Issue 277 - November 2010.

Photo One - Shows the finished and based Cazadore. The painting is more Kevin Dallimore with exaggerated highlights rather than the more subtle effect I was attempting with the original scheme.

Photo Two - I have shown for comparison, the original and unmodified Del Prado Cazadore miniature.

Photo Three - The finished model from a different angle.

And finally - a close up, which still shows areas of cloudy matte varnish.

In conclusion, I am not sure I enjoyed this project, the initial converting and base painting moved along very quickly, while the detail painting was a bit of a bore. The mishap with the Tamiya Flat Base X-21 was a real low point and in all honestly if it wasn't that I had planned for this figure to be a prize in a charity auction I think I would have 'binned it'.

For anyone interested, I have not varnished the figure, leaving the finish as plain paint and GW washes.

Detailing the figure painting in an On-Line build and the many comments I have received has given me the confidence to show mistakes as well as triumphs. Thanks to all for the comments and messages of support. I hope that you have enjoyed the posts (in a sort of masochistic way).

Tony

IPMS Scale ModelWorld 2010 part three

Last week I attended the IPMS Scale Model World Show at Telford. I took loads of photos (nearly 200) and in an attempt to add some order to my posts, this entry includes most, if not all of the Armour Images. I hope that you like them.

Tony

Portuguese Cazadores - a total dissaster

I am almost in tears - that or wanting to punch someone! In an attempt to matte down the finish on my Portuguese Cazadore, I thought I would brush paint the miniature with Tamiya Colour Flat Base X-21. What could possibly go wrong?

Well this is the result, I mixed it up well, brush painted it on and then looked on in horror as the miniature clouded over, a sort of Milky White film that dried to a perfectly good matte finish but ruined my painted miniature!

In an attempt to remove it and reading the label - water soluble, I rinsed the whole miniature under the tap, but even with some mild detergent (washing up liquid) and a soft brush. This is the result!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For anyone reading this - DO NOT USE TAMIYA FLAT BASE X-21 AS A MATTE VARNISH!

I am at this moment so despondent that I am not sure I have the will to strip the model and re-paint it, I certainly don't have the time.

Tony

PS.

I have written and re-written this post a number of times, taking out all the expletives. I actually feel physically sick. "Thank you Tamiya for making it so clear, for example - DO NOT APPLY WITH A BRUSH. After all why would anyone think that it is acceptable to sell a acrylic paint (Flat Base) and in a paint pot, that turns painted models white?"

New Ancient Greek Models from Grand Manner

Last night I saw these images on the Grand Manner FACEBOOK pages, they are so new that they have yet to appear on the official Grand Manner site! I am sure you will agree they are stunning.

The Amphitheatre, Raised Wooden Stage and New Temple were sculpted by me some time ago, the amphitheatre and raised stage already appear on the GM web pages, but the New Temple is brand new and a huge casting. It was a combined effort with Dave detailing the interior with typical Greek wall decoration, you can see more photos on the FACEBOOK site, just follow the links from the GM site.

The models have been expertly painted by Kate, Dave's daughter who is a very talented model painter. They really are fantastic.

As you can see by the 28mm Foundry figures who dress this set, this is an imposing model and one that deserves to be a great success. For anyone interested, the Greek models were all sculpted by me back in the early Summer, the Classical Temple (see link) and items of clutter were intended to link with the numerous new releases of plastic Hoplites and Spartans that were at the time still on the workbench but regularly discussed on Wargaming Forums.

My initial models and the releases from GM were (with the exception of The Classical Temple and the Argo) all smaller and ideal as battleground clutter. But I was not content and built a very large stone base for me to display my own 28mm Classical Temple, this is still to be cast and not yet available, but following on from this both Dave and I got 'carried away' and this larger New Temple was planned, drawn, sketched, discussed again and eventually modelled.

I commend Dave for having the 'guts' to produce such a 'feature' or 'signature' model it will make quite an imposing centre piece for any Greek/Roman game and I look forward to seeing other painted examples.

For more details go to the official Grand Manner site and check out the 28mm Classic Greek section on the revamped GM site. You may also want to browse the new FACEBOOK pages, just follow the links.

Congratulation to Dave, Chris and Kate for some stunning painted terrain and great photographs.

Tony

Portuguese Cazadores - part five

Even though I have loads of Blog updates still to be posted on the Telford Scale Model World Show from this weekend, I thought that I would take this opportunity to update you on the progress on the Cazadore miniature. Firstly, I can confirm that I have had some considerable difficulty photographing this model, I think it might be the fact that the model is painted in such dark colours and that the daylight at this time of year is either fierce (direct sunlight) or non-existent (heavy cloud).

The first three photos show the painting finished and the model mounted on to a 2inch oak cube, bought last year from Telford! The ground work is still to be painted and is built up with Milliput and some small stones from the garden. Further groundwork is either sieved sand or fine sand applied over uPVA glue and sealed with Superglue. I was trying for a crumbling dry stone wall and sandy base depicting Spain/Portugal.

This photo shows the groundwork painted, but still to be Matte Varnished. I have used some very fine pale dust (concrete dust from Spain) to blend the miniature into the base and tone down the boots and gaiters.

The final two photos show the Portuguese Cazadore painted, based and varnished. Both photos taken at the same time, one in shade and the final one in direct sunlight. The miniature has been spray varnished with Games Workshop Toughcoat (satin varnish) and then brush varnished with Galleria Matte Varnish although I am disappointed with the 'sheen' - a compromise between a good tough coat to stop damage and a true dull coat.

Final detailing was the addition of three small Silfur Grass Tufts, this time pale straw coloured which were further drybrushed with pale yellow and pure white as I wanted a 'bleached' effect.

I am pleased with the finished conversion and painting and would hope that I can a good auction price at the Port Wine Tasting and 'Guess the Vintage Port' event in early December, I'll add a note once the event has happened and update this post with the amount raised/donated to charity.

It's been quite a while since I have painted such a figure - preferring 40mm miniatures or non-historical miniatures, but this On-Line build has rekindled my interest in such miniature painting and I really enjoyed the conversion work and building the display base. My only disappointment is the 'satin' varnish, even though I have now brush painted the miniature four times with Galleria Matte Varnish - and still I cannot get rid of the 'sheen'!

I showed the model to my Wife and Daughter and both agree that it is just full of character - a very imposing stance and the sideburns and moustache add to the defiance. I would agree, a TOY Del Prado miniature soldier bought off the Internet and re-modelled into something unique. Without the deadline of the Port Wine Tasting and the chance of raising some money for charity, I am not sure that I would have attempted such a modelling project. I am glad I did.

Tony