Santa's Workshop

Bits and Pieces

I thought for this installment I wouldn't do any projects, although I do have some dandy ones in mind. I thought I would write a short and simple column on a couple of items. I will review the two-part epoxy which I wrote about last column and tell you about a new painting method for shading and highlighting that I am playing around with, which I learned from the internet.

First of all, the two part Epoxy has some good points and bad points. I wrote several years ago about Milliput, which in the mid 90's was about $7.00 for a couple of ounces, I can only imagine what it is now. I did some searching for a suitable substitute, but found none. That was until a couple of months ago. I found a plumbers compound which will do the job reasonably and at a reasonable price. There are actually several different makers of the stuff, I know one is called Stop Leak. I bought mine at Carter Lumber for $5.00 for several ounces. Interestingly enough, the other day when I was looking at Games Workshop stuff, I saw they are producing a 2 part epoxy as well, which may be really good for modeling work, but I shudder to think of what it costs (and we all know Santa likes to do it on the cheap side, if he can).

Anyhoo, I have done a couple of items with this stuff and it really works. It is quite moldable, as I was making a complete saddle kit to mount an Essex Gendarme on the back of a Ral Partha Griffon. I was able to make the saddle cloths with this stuff and stick the figure down on it, and he will not come off from it, baring nuclear war or throwing it down the steps. Also if you have any trees that have no bases, well you can have them now, forever hold your peace.

So what's the down side? Well, there are a couple. First of all, this stuff really stinks, so use it in a well ventilated area, and wash your hands thoroughly afterwards (actually you won't have a choice, it cakes on your skin). Secondly, this stuff has a really short working time, 10-15 minutes, so don't tear off huge hunks (you have to take the two pieces and mix or knead them together for a minute, mix thoroughly), as you will have a hunk which will be totally unworkable. You will notice when your time is almost up as you work with it, it becomes stiff. If you do have a hunk left over, just ball it up as best you can, and use it as a boulder or something like that. This stuff is completely paintable. In my opinion, the usability and the price totally outweigh these bad points.

Ok, on to the new painting method. I tried this one as from a suggestion from the internet (Heloise has nothing on wargamers when it comes to giving hints about how to do stuff). To do an effective shade/highlight, and to do it quickly and accurately, try this method.

First you have your black base coat, which is standard. The next step is to drybrush the figure or area that you want to highlight. You can do the entire figure, the face only, whatever you desire. Then you wash the prospective areas in the correct base color. For instance, if you are doing a face,wash it with Citadel flesh wash. And I do mean the whole thing. The color will settle down in the recesses, and color the black to the appropriate dark shade, and it will stain the white a lighter shade of the same color. You then simply paint the highlighted area with the appropriate color. You must be carefull when washing, however, as it can bleed through to another area, and may show on the white. But you can take care of this with your drybrush.

Inks are really good for this method, and I highly advocate Citadel inks and washes for this method. The inks which you can buy from the craft store might be good for terrain, but they don't work as well for your figure. You can use a paint wash for this method, but its not as dramatic, so if you want a subdued look, that may be the more appropriate route. Well, that's enough blathering for this session, 'til next time!