A Little Airbrushing Exercise

So last month I mentioned that I had started playing Flames of War. Well, I’ve been working hard on completing my 1750 US Tank Company but I took a break to help out a fellow modeler. One of the club members was having some trouble mastering his first airbrush. He invested in an Iwata airbrush but was having difficulties with thinning the paint properly and getting the brush to perform the way he wanted. He plays Germany and was trying to airbrush his models with the typical late-war ambush scheme. 

I spent some time one evening after gaming going over the basics and offering tips and recommendations for getting the mixture and blending correct. As an exercise, I began painting a FoW Panther G Tank model and this is a picture of the initial result. It was painted using Vallejo paints and Isopropyl Alcohol (91%) as the thinner. The results turned out really well because I normally only airbrush using Tamiya paints and Tamiya thinner. By using lower air pressure with the mixture, I was able to complete the ambush scheme without clogging or any overspray the usually plague an airbrush when painting something this small. 

This picture shows the model right after I completed airbrushing the initial scheme. I’ve since applied a coat of Future, applied the decals ad sealed them with another layer of Future. Once the future was dry, I applied a semi-gloss layer using a mixture of Tamiya Flat Base, Future and Tamiya thinner. It’s my opinion that this mixture allows me to work with the oil washes and filters a little better than if it were a completely flat or dull surface. 

I’ve started applying the washes, oil filters and dry brushing to the model and the scheme looks more uniform and blended together. I’ll take some pictures this weekend and post them up for a comparison.

Cheers…

A Long Overdue Update...

No, I’m not dead but I did just turn 40 yrs. old and busier that anyone ever ought to be. So it’s definitely been a while since I’ve last updated my blog but ‘real life’ took over and sadly my modeling and gaming have been moved to the back burner. However, while I am still insanely busy with work I have started playing Flames of War. 

If you haven’t played then I highly recommend that to at least try it out for one game. The rules are similar to 40k so transitioning for an experienced gamer should be fairly easy. It just takes a little adjustment of your mind set regarding a few things like terrain and the phases of the game. FoW uses a lot more terrain on the table than any other game that I’ve played and trust me it’s a good thing. They clearly define each form of terrain and the beneficial or negative impacts that they have. The assault phase is different in that you keep going until one side breaks or is wiped out. Players go back and forth with their attacks until either one outcome happens. There are other differences as well but for the most part the game flows very well and in some cases better than 40k. 

I’m also really impressed by the model range that Battlefront has put out. They have nearly every vehicle or unit that was part of WWII and they’ve broken them down into the eras. Early, Mid and Late War are the three sections of the game and the forces are very close to being historically accurate for the time periods. This method allows players to select the time period that they are interested in and then they can build an army for that era. In some cases by swapping out a couple of support units you can change a Mid War army into a Late War army. So it’s pretty flexible for most players to field both a MID or Late War army.

As for me, I’ve begun working in a Late War 1750pt. US Tank Company based on the 3^Rd Armored Division that landed in Normandy during Operation Cobra. I started with a tank platoon of five 75mm Sherman tanks and added two more Sherman tanks for my Company HQ. Then I added a tank platoon of five 76mm Sherman tanks and added the Warrior (see Special Characters) SSgt. Poole which has some added benefits to the unit he is attached too. 

Next, I added a Tank Destroyer platoon with two sections of M10 tank destroyers. This platoon features an HQ unit mounted in a Jeep and two M20 armored cars as support. These have an added benefit in that they can Ambush enemy units similar to a Lictor but the M10’s don’t have the best armor so they are a bit of a one trick pony. So far though, they have been very good in making their points back during my first five games. 

To finish out the list I added a light tank platoon of five M5A1 Stuarts and a Priority Air Strike of P-47 Thunderbolts. The air strikes have been very effective so far but I think that I’m going to have to add a unit of Artillery Support to keep units pinned down or smothered in smoke until my tanks get a little closer. The air strikes seem to have greater affect against tanks and dug in troops but it can be countered by Anti-Air weapons which can be mounted on anything from tanks to half-tracks to jeeps. 

One thing I liked about the Artillery Support units is that they can create a large smoke barrage that’ll prevent units from seeing through unless an opposing unit is within six inches of the smoked unit. However, they also have devastating barrages but from what I’ve experienced so far they have a problem with hitting some dug in and concealed troops. This is why I mainly used them for smoke so that I can get my tanks closer to where they can open up on the dug in troops.

Well that does it for me today but I’ll try to post a few pictures of the completed tanks and I’ll also publish my current list for everyone to review. 

Cheers…