-A Painting Tutorial and Resource for A&A Global-

The first time I did this my dad came in (a Marine multiple tour infantry/door gunner Vietnam Vet) with a Dragon set of 4 US Marines from Vietnam and said, we’re going to build a diorama and submit it in a contest that was 2 weeks away. So I diligently started putting together and painting the Marine figures based off the colors that the box had set for their uniforms and equipment. After finishing a few he came in to inspect my work and flatly said “the uniforms are the wrong color”…I said that forest green was the color the box had on it. He mentioned “sure, maybe when they’re issued, but not after they’ve been exposed to sweat, dirt, and the sun for months on end. They should be a very light green to almost a white color because this portion of the battle takes place after the monsoon season and the sun will bleach those uniforms several shades lighter then when they were issued.” I was only about 12 at this time and didn’t really have any concept of what my dad did in Vietnam at that point…but it was at this point that I realized that 1. my dad really seemed to know what he was talking about…and I wondered why that was and 2. if he saw that, then the judges would certainly see that. The following week he dropped off a stack of books on the subject in my room and basically said; “If you want to make this right, you need to start reading.” And boy did I start reading lol. I ended up taking second in that contest but it lit a fire to really get into the nitty gritty of the research portion of not only the soldiers, their equipment, and their battles, but also on books that were published that concentrated on making your figures “come to life”. It took a lot of trial and error and I must say my neck, shoulders, and eyesight probably paid for it being hunched over for hours looking through a magnifying glass trying to get that oh so small piece of equipment just the right combo of OD green and weathered dirt color.

The close connection between modeling work and history is one of the reasons that it is so great. Your work becomes that much more personal and interesting when you have studied the history behind it and can make your pieces/dioramas/game boards have stories and authenticity.

I did a 1/35 scale one of a PBR river boat extraction of a SEAL team under fire in the Mekong Delta. That was a very difficult one to do trying to get the resin I used as water to look realistic with the motor wash of the boat, the splashes of the team scrambling in the shallow water to get to the boat, and the splashes to make it look like rifle and machine gun fire was landing in the water around them as they exfilled. I don’t know how many times I had to start over getting it just right…but once I did…it looked awesome.

Uff, that sounds terribly frustrating. You’re right though- I bet it looked really sweet! I’ve only ever seen dioramas with stagnant/flowing water, and those looked great, so I can imagine that the effects you could get with some hard work would be well worth it.

I have had some more free time lately, so I decided to whip out the paints again and paint the P-51 Mustangs that I got from HBG’s US Supplement Set. I only have 4, but that’s enough for the European theater. I went for four different schemes for variety and to add some life to the game, since each plane comes from a different fighter group. From top left, clockwise. “Beantown Banshee” with invasion stripes and the anti-glare panel. The second is “Snoot’s Sniper” from the 352nd FG. Then a plane roughly based off of a Mustang from the 55th FG. The last is from the 332nd African American “Tuskegee Airmen”, or “Red Tails” as they were affectionately known as.

The inspiration and research came from several different sources, which I will provide below to help my fellow customizers in their quest for their perfect set! I am also (re)painting my Russian air force (VVS), so some of these sources were found as I did the research for that.

For P-51 specific schemes I found an RC modeler’s site which had a lot of great examples.
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1112761

A resource for general air force painting information is this site by “Fritz the Fox”, with paint schemes and information on different planes and periods of the war.
http://www.fritzthefox.com/camo_guide.html

A Russian air force specific site is hobbyvista.com. Under the “Monthly” section, which I have linked, the author has done extensive research using WWII photographs to determine exact paint schemes and deployment of different fighter groups. If you look under “Links” there is also a plethora of other references that should meet all your Russian painting needs!
http://vvs.hobbyvista.com/Monthly/index.php

I will post more links if/when I find them. Feel free to share any useful sites or resources you have used, even if it doesn’t pertain to air forces.

Hey guys! I’m selling my fully painted 1942 set over on the Marketplace; in the process of preparing the set for sale, I took photos of all of the pieces. They are the pieces that I began painting as a beginner, so you can see the development of the quality over time. I thought you might like to see them for ideas, questions, laughs, etc. If for no other reason, A&A painters love photos!

Here is the link to my Flickr page, where you can see them all. http://goo.gl/SbKgLZ

Happy Wednesday!

@Redleg13A:

@Spitfire38:

Hey guys! I’m selling my fully painted 1942 set over on the Marketplace; in the process of preparing the set for sale, I took photos of all of the pieces. They are the pieces that I began painting as a beginner, so you can see the development of the quality over time. I thought you might like to see them for ideas, questions, laughs, etc. If for no other reason, A&A painters love photos!

Here is the link to my Flickr page, where you can see them all. http://goo.gl/SbKgLZ

Happy Wednesday!

Looks awesome! Um…how much for the whole set!

Hey Redleg, I sent you a PM. If anyone else is interested, you can look in the Marketplace subforum for the information.

@Redleg13A:

Are we doing the deal? I’ve sent 3 PMs with no response. All I need is your pay pal stuff and I can pay in full. Awaiting a yes or no so we can either move forward or I can move onto something else…

Sorry for the lack of response - I have been busy the last day or two. Thanks for your patience - I just got back to you.

@Redleg13A:

I just went through this whole thread again and on top of being inspired by the pieces I bought from you to get back into painting…I can see that I may have lost a step or two in the last 15 years lol…The pieces you’ve demonstrated on this thread are just amazing and I’m hoping that I can get to that level eventually. As you can see from the thread I started, I am painting again…but I sure have a long way to go before I get to your quality of work. Well done and just know that you’re quality of work is now on my front sight post!

Thanks RedLeg! Practice is certainly the best way to improve - you’ll find that you learn from experience; you’ll become familiar with your paint’s viscosity and characteristics, you’ll get a better eye for detail, and you’ll develop your own style. If you want to save your Global pieces until you get to a level you’re happy with, you could get some of HBG’s cheap factory decline pieces for practice.

If you ever have any questions, let me know!

The ships of the Kriegsmarine have finished their time in the drydocks and are ready to cruise the Atlantic!

Battleships

Aircraft Carriers - front are HBG Light Carriers, rear are OOB.

Cruisers - my personal favorites.

Destroyers

Transports

I thought I would take a before and and after shot of the navy to show you what a difference an inkwash will make. While these are not my best work, I think they still serve the purpose!

The shot below is the ships before an inkwash. At this point they just have a coat of primer, one or two base coats for the deck, hull, and superstructure. Notice how flat the piece looks; it looks fine, but it’s not what it could be.

This next shot is after an inkwash. It makes the crevices pop, and you get a much more three dimensional piece, especially from a few feet away on the gaming table. I recommend that you also give it a good drybrushing to make it look even better. Of course, some of it is subjective; you might prefer it to be more of a flat, fresh paint look rather than a battle-worn look.

For those of you interested in my storage solution for my pieces, wait no longer. Below is a picture of my custom build storage box.

This is only one of three that I was planning on building. Each box would hold one nation on each side; this one was originally constructed for the Germans and the Japanese, which is why I used the black and read felt. The Axis Powers!

I only ever got around to building one, but I will need to build two more pretty soon, as this one is too full at the moment.

The materials I used:

• Plastic container with snap on lid (Target)

• Long strips of balsa wood (Michaels)

• Sheets of felt, cut to size (Hobby Lobby)

• Hot glue

• Exacto knife

The rest is pretty self explanatory. You just measure how big you want the individual sections to be, cut the balsa wood to size, glue the felt down, glue the balsa wood down, and you’re done.

I’ve found that it works pretty well for my storage needs, because it keeps the pieces secure and non-scratched because of the felt. My original idea was to see if I could fit in a second level, like a removable tray, but I scratched that idea. I also wanted to spray paint the boxes black and then paint or put a sticker of the national insignia on the box to make it look really professional. You can take the idea and run with it - you guys are creative.

Post your storage solutions here, or let us know how you keep your pieces safe and sound!

@John:

What are you painting next? :-D

Your Japanese military. I don’t have time to do anymore painting before I move, so the paints are all away for a few months.