Sunday, October 5, 2014

Bolt Action British Sherman V WIP






Rather than paint up the missing bits to my BFS force, I decided to experiment with tamiya paint and a Bolt Action sherman tank. This is the first time I have really used Tamiya, as well as my first Bolt Action miniature.

So how was the paint? Good for airbrush, terrible for brush. As weird as that sounds, I could not get the paint to brush on easily, yet it was simultaneously the best air brush paint I have used. I only wish they had more colors.

How was the tank? Fun. It was a nice break from 40k. I am not a fan of the extremely soft white metal bits, but the casting is ok. A little misshapen, but it works pretty well. In terms of weathering,  I have yet to spatter mud all over the lower hull and tracks. Before I do that I want to base some troops so I can get an optimal color. The mud will be pigment mixed with sand and plaster, so I need to get it right.

Since I found out that some friends were getting interested in BA, I've been watching videos on how to play. So far, I really like the idea of random activation.  I can picture a squad advancing behind the sherman towards a fortified town. In game play terms that seems to work, so for once tanks are useful.

(sorry about the photos, my camera's battery died!)


10 comments:

  1. Wonderful work John. Are you applying the powders with a wash mix? Or by hand then fixing? As always, I'm a huge fan of your ability to create wear and weathering on the same scale as the model. It's quite a talent, and very inspirational.

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    1. The powders on the tracks were went on wet. The powder on top went on dry. The next set of powder will be wet, but mixed with plaster.

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    2. I'm glad you brought up weathering to scale. I've been trying to make that work from 15mm on up. It means some techniques end up not being usable at all scales. This is a 28mm model, but non heroic scale.

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    3. Is that more an artistic decision, (since the bottom is getting mud and would be more wet then the top), or more a painting decision? (easier to apply dry pigments on more flat surfaces vs complicated tracks).

      Thanks for the reply!

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    4. The dry pigments go on first because the mud would dry further up the side of the tank. I need some more dry pigment on the tracks before I add the mud though. I paused before the mud in order to paint up a few miniatures first. I want the basing on the minis to match the mud on the tank.

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  2. Nice work John! .. the subtle trace weathering on it look awesome. Looking forward to seeing how you handle the tracks and wheels..

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    1. Thanks Todd. I spent a couple of hours de-sprue-ing the infantry, only to discover they were heroic 28mm rather than normal 28 mm. Great sculpts, but they look like giants next to the vehicles!

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  3. Great work; looks really good.

    I think Warlord have released a plastic Sherman kit now which is apparently quite good.

    good luck with the infantry, I do not like the Warolord sculpts enough to get any myself - I think I would use Artizan if I were to do a WWII US army but I do prefer metal figures in general...

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  4. Great weathering. You always manage to get a little more ahead as I strive to catch up with my own painting journey.
    Congrats. It's always a pleasure to discover a new post.

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  5. Tag.

    I love your BA contempter dread.

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