They are classic 1/72 scale.
That is really impressive! Very nice
The long road of painting the units - Updated 1/16 Vid added
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Thanks Bravehart! Ive seen his vids, man that guy has a collection!
Its week 2 and America is done, I did more this time, so now I need to update some of the Japanese stuff, like add the side decals on the planes, add ship numbers, etc. Some of this decal work took longer then the painting, especially on the planes, planes are fairly easy/fast to paint.
I have a few changes in the US forces, first of all I swapped out the mechanized halftracks for the trucks, and for the tanks, added more variants. The Stuarts have so much detail, I love them! I also added a couple Hellcats and greyhounds. I also added fighter variants.
For next week, im taking it easy and will be doing France, they don’t have so many pieces, this U.S. collection is 194 pieces.
Thanks again for looking and the comments!
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Sired, hats off to you, for a job, well done. That is lot of painting you’ve done. I understand about the decals. It is sometimes tedious and frustrating, but you did a great job on this set. :-)
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Thanks John! The main issue I had with the decals were the numbers, the decal sheet I got from HBG, each number had to be cut out as the film is a solid run. I also had trouble mixing the blue for the planes, don’t know what happened, took me 3 batches… My girlfriend really saw the nerd in me that evening :) .
I agree, the decal pain is worth it, I plan to use lots more… Also another part I do, is after the decals dry, I matt clear over them with a brush, not only takes away the shine, but seems to really lock them on… I had a few fall off on my first Japan ones.
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Thanks John! The main issue I had with the decals were the numbers, the decal sheet I got from HBG, each number had to be cut out as the film is a solid run. I also had trouble mixing the blue for the planes, don’t know what happened, took me 3 batches… My girlfriend really saw the nerd in me that evening :) .
I agree, the decal pain is worth it, I plan to use lots more… Also another part I do, is after the decals dry, I matt clear over them with a brush, not only takes away the shine, but seems to really lock them on… I had a few fall off on my first Japan ones.
What paints do you use?
What color blue is that?
Just curious, because I like it. :-D
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My initial test was with testors paints, it didn’t take long to realize, those were not for me. I’ve found I really like acrylic water based. Easy mixing, easy cleanup, odorless.
As for the blue, ya that’s the one took me 3 tries ( washing out the failed attempts). I mix all my colors, so I can’t say what it is. I work off images I find, I sit in front if the screen and mix till it looks right lol.
I also started doing a little airbrushing to add dirt, my girlfriend asked me, “you bought that just to add dust?” …… “Yes” haha!
I do use 2 oil paints ( so far) the yellow and red, seems to pop better then the water based.
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My initial test was with testors paints, it didn’t take long to realize, those were not for me. I’ve found I really like acrylic water based. Easy mixing, easy cleanup, odorless.
As for the blue, ya that’s the one took me 3 tries ( washing out the failed attempts). I mix all my colors, so I can’t say what it is. I work off images I find, I sit in front if the screen and mix till it looks right lol.
I also started doing a little airbrushing to add dirt, my girlfriend asked me, “you bought that just to add dust?” …… “Yes” haha!
I do use 2 oil paints ( so far) the yellow and red, seems to pop better then the water based.
Lol, I see, well it is cool looking, regardless.
How long does oil paints take to dry, and what do you use to clean your hands, if you get the paint on you?
I’ve never used oil before, but I might try it.
I’m assuming you use a oil based primer, is this correct, and how does it take to dry?
Sorry for questios, just trying to learn new methods. :-D
Thanks!
John
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I just use dark gray primer from Home Depot (which is really close to panzer gray), says “for plastic” on the can :P (which dries pretty fast… less then 10 min). Honestly, the reds/yellows ive used, not sure the dry time, those are the last stages of the piece, then im usually off to bed lol… and thinner is what cleans it, which is why I didn’t like them, stinky :-(
I did just get some new stains I want to try out, going to test out on the Brits.
I had a lot of changes to the French army, its not stock, cant wait to get these done!
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I just use dark gray primer from Home Depot (which is really close to panzer gray), says “for plastic” on the can :P (which dries pretty fast… less then 10 min). Honestly, the reds/yellows ive used, not sure the dry time, those are the last stages of the piece, then im usually off to bed lol… and thinner is what cleans it, which is why I didn’t like them, stinky :-(
I did just get some new stains I want to try out, going to test out on the Brits.
I had a lot of changes to the French army, its not stock, cant wait to get these done!
Appreciate the info. Can’t wait to see your British and French pieces.
Cheers! :-)
John
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Im back, and a day early :) .
There are many changes in the French pieces here, first of all, I try to be historically accurate in my painting, while trying to make them easily distinguishable… they all cant be green haha.
Me personally, im not a fan of camo, but from what I could find, these were one the common schemes.
First off, I gave Russia back all its units, I just didn’t see France running around with T-34’s and the others. So France received a couple Stuart tanks “Viva la France” style, and the remaining tanks are French Renaults. The Mech and artillery were replaced with Polish (I think) units, they looked more French to me… heck, anything other then Russian stuff. The navy is from my 1999 game, with the exception of the cruisers, as the 1999 version did not have that unit.
The Air force also has a couple changes, I had to keep the Russian dive bombers, as that unit is also not in my 1999 version. However the fighters were replaced with British, and the strategic bombers were modded from German and British. I needed a duel engine bomber, which only Germany has, and I needed the duel rear tail, which only Britain had.
Lastly, the AA guns are from my 1999 game, and I felt these looked more French with the rounded base.
At 102 pieces, thanks for looking!
In addition to this, as I mentioned on a different thread, I plan to take it easy this next week to work on other game elements, such as my gameboard, game aids, custom table. So next week, ill just be doing China… just dudes, a few artillery and a single plane, shouldn’t take too long.
Thanks again everyone for looking and the comments!
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Nice - I like your color choices…
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Thanks DK, I appreciate the feedback!
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Awesome work on the French set. Hopefully, by next year, HBG will have the French pieces, available to paint. :-)
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Thanks! I was somewhat surprised as to the lack of effort that went into the French pieces. Ive began going through the remaining countries, was a little disappointed with British units, for one, they are wearing shorts lol. If this was Africa Edition, id get it…. sooo I ended up ordering new stuff, for one, infantry… ill still paint some of the infantry issued shorts. Orderd some tanks, I don’t like the quality of the mechanized, but I didn’t find anything I like better on HBG, so ill make due.
Russian mech/tanks were replaced with higher detailed ones from HBG
German mech/tanks were replaced with higher detailed ones from HBG
I know I just finished USA, but I ordered nice shermans, way better then stock… so, gotta do more US.
Have yet to inspect Anzac or Italy.
For some reason, im not picky about aircraft and naval ship detail, I guess the scale is so small, getting more detailed ones is border lined pointless… uness the ones from HBG are bigger… but then, don’t want bigger, sometimes a bomber and a dude is all you can fit on a space… but that is about to change for Europe, I finished my base map layer yesterday with the larger Europe/smaller Africa.
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Very nice work. I agree with DK, your color tones are spot on.
Nice touch in adding the medic symbol on some of the US infantry. Never seen that before.
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Very nice work. I agree with DK, your color tones are spot on.
Nice touch in adding the medic symbol on some of the US infantry. Never seen that before.
Thanks for the comment! On the back of the helmets of some of the US forces, I also added the rank bars haha.
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I’m just now getting to this thread, and wow, I’m loving it! I’ll jump on board and agree that your color tones are great. All of your pieces have a very muted feel to them, which I think lends itself to historical accuracy.
I feel your pain about the innumerable decals… they look great though, especially with that matte coat!
Thanks for the pics. If I get around to painting my own French pieces I’ll be referring back for your sculpt mods and paint schemes.
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Thanks Spitfire! Curious, how long did it take for you to paint those units on your thread? Ive been working around the clock to get these done, and man, im running out of steam :-o …. and im getting tired of all these pieces/paints all over my dining area lol. Im thinking I may have another month… if my hands hold out that is… I actually have a game scheduled on the 12th, which is what im hoping for, have all these done, but im thinking ill be down a county or 2 :(
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Thanks Spitfire! Curious, how long did it take for you to paint those units on your thread? Ive been working around the clock to get these done, and man, im running out of steam :-o …. and im getting tired of all these pieces/paints all over my dining area lol. Im thinking I may have another month… if my hands hold out that is… I actually have a game scheduled on the 12th, which is what im hoping for, have all these done, but im thinking ill be down a county or 2 :(
It takes me a very long time due to the volume of pieces, the detail, my own standards I’d like to meet, and the decals. My rough working estimate is that it takes me anywhere from 8-12 hours of painting and decaling to finish 40 pieces. It gets easier the more pieces you do in the same colors, because then you can really perfect assembly line painting.
I rarely do more than 3-4 hours of painting in one sitting, which is good because my schedule doesn’t allow for much more than that! John Brown’s project is more of a marathon project than a sprint.
Best of luck getting all of those pieces done! Enjoy the process as much as the product - I try to keep to that motto whenever possible. :-) Personally, it’s a very relaxing hobby, as I can listen to podcasts or music while I paint.
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China is up, replaced the P-38 with a fighter that looks more like the Flying Tigers, I used the Brit fighter. Gave them a few artillery, nothing special, a few extras I had laying around. I found a few color schemes for the troops, I chose the light blue-ish as tan and green are already spoken for in that region…. They kinda remind me of an old Bruce Lee movie :)
Next up, Great Britain!
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Great job on these. I can’t wait to see your Brits. :-)
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