Another USMC WWI Tuesday

After taking a break on Monday I hit the paint palette again. I finished painting 3rd platoon tonight, I was down to helmets, weapons and anything misc that I had missed previously. There are always something that I seem to miss. Once the basic mini was finished I went ahead and moved on to basing. Tonight I got the paint on the bases and applied the Woodland Scenics Instant Water. Once that was applied I set them aside to dry. The water takes about 24 hours although at high altitude it usually doesn't take that long. I'll touch up the bases tomorrow and apply some grass tufts and 3rd Platoon will be done. I spent a little time making sure that the bases for 4th platoon were clean, I found some flash around the edges so I figured it was a good time to take care of that.

So a few pictures from tonight's work:

All the paint work is complete on 3rd platoon.

A few close ups. I can see a couple of things I need to go back and fix.

The bases are painted and the instant water has been applied

Some more closeups. Its hard to see the water in the pictures though, but its on most of the bases.

A New Kolinsky In Town - Scharff 3000 Kolinsky Sable Brush

I ordered a Scharff 3000 Kolinsky Sable Brush from Secret Weapon Miniatures when I ordered more bases for my Marines. I have had it for almost a month and  I pulled it out for the first time last week. Its a nice brush, holds a very nice point, its a bit stiff with a nice spring to it. It looks a lot like a Raphael 8404. I would certainly recommend it as a replacement if you are still looking for a source for your favorite Kolinsky brush. The company is located in GA and the brushes were initially reported to be made in the US. I actually called them to verify this and that information is incorrect. These brushes are made in France (which you can clearly see stamped on the handle) and are being imported, which further invalidates claims that Kolinsky brushes are banned (of course if you have read some of the links I have posted in the past then you know this already). As long as a company fills out the paperwork that the Fish and Wildlife Department wants filled out then their brushes can be imported to the US.

These have a much thinner and lighter handle than either my Raphael or DaVinci brushes. The DaVinci is still my personal favorite and I may start looking for an overseas source on these. However, this one should be a good stand in till I can start replacing my DaVinci brushes.

The business end. On top is a Raphael 8404 #1, in the middle is the Sharff 3000 #1 and on the bottom is the DaVinci Maestro Series 34.

Here are the handles. The Scharff, is just your stand straight handle and a bit on the thin side. My preference is still the DaVinci handle with its triangle shape and its thicker than either of the other two. I find it much more comfortable to use.

USMC WWI Weekend Work

Painting started on Saturday at our regular CMPA painting workshop. We were meeting at Grey Matter Games, but the store is closing so we have to find a new home, again. We have a couple of possibilities but finding room on a Saturday is kind of tough.

During that session I managed to finish the shirts and made good progress on the belts. Belts are just tedious. Doug brought me a sheet of neutral gray paper so I'm trying that out to see if it helps improve my photographic efforts.

The shirts are a little rough, I think I'll go back in with a glaze and see if I can smooth them out

After some chores and a little football (YWoohoo! The Packers pulled out a win!) I went back down to the workroom to do some more work on 3rd Platoon.

They are getting down to the finish. I have hair, weapons and helmets to do then its on to basing.

USMC WWI Friday Work

The 3rd Platoon finally received some serious painting this evening. I re-worked the skin tone a bit and finished the pants. I also redid the water on 2nd Platoon's bases. Pretty good evening's work.

Vallejo US Field Drab with a brown wash

Glazed back my highlights a bit

Now everyone has finished pants

A little close-up

USMC WWI Wednesday Work

I did manage some progress tonight. Its amazing how long it seems to take to finish stuff sometimes but the 2nd Platoon is pretty much finished. I noticed a few touchups that need to be done and then I can seal them up and they are ready for the table.

I managed to get the first coat of flesh on 3rd platoon and I finished off their eyes and did that touch up. Tomorrow I'll be able to get in there and really work on the skin tones. Looking forward to that, I'm quite pleased with my current skin tone mix so I'll keep working with that.

Here are the shots from tonight.

2nd Platoon, Bases painted, water mix added.

2nd Platoon, tall grass added

2nd Platoon Group Shot

3rd Platoon, First Skin Tone on and eyes are finished (not that you can see them in the picture). I like to do eyes early so I can clean up the skin around them.