Come play with me

It's a little quieter here than I would like, but I have good reason. Last time it was Southpark's Stick of Truth, which I finished in a little over 15 hours.

This time, the reason for my absence is Diablo III's expansion "Reaper of souls". It will take more than 15 hours to finish this one, but I'll manage to sneak in some modelling time now and then.
If any of you guys is interested, my battletag is Kosstamodjan#2162.

Revell 1/72 Chinook - Unboxing

Every time I open the closet that holds my little stash, there's this little kit that whispers "Build me!" and today I caved in for Revell's 1/72 CH-47 D Chinook (kit number 04419).

It's one of the kits I bought in a second-hand lot of 11 kits, a compressor and my new Aztec airbrush.

Last time, when I started the Panzerjägerwagen, I skipped my usual first step of washing all the sprues in warm water with detergent to remove possible remains of oil or mould release agent. I don't remember why I skipped it, but I regretted it as soon as I started painting. Paint would pool up in bubbles and refuse to cover certain areas.

So, I went back to my normal routine, and gave the sprues a good soak. There's 3 grey sprues and 1 transparent holding the windows and cockpit. There's 132 parts in total.

The black-and-red decals look intimidating. While I'm sure they can be handled by a skilled person, I have had bad experiences with decals bigger than a few centimeter, especially if they need to conform to irregular shapes, so I have already decided in advance to not even try to get these big slabs in place and just paint the red and black area's.

It also helps to just paint them yourself, in case you need to touch up a few small areas that the decal doesn't cover. It's impossible to match the exact colour of the decal with paint.

M60 - Finished

Revell's 1/72 scale M60 with M9 bulldozer (kit 03175) was the first model I started in over 10 years, now at least a year and a half ago. I got sidetracked into other projects a dozen times already and it kept feeling incomplete until I finally finished it this week.

The barbed wire was placed on the base, I did some final dusting with pigments on the upper surfaces and a heavy application of MIG's pigment fixer on the layers of mud on the lower side. It is now close to how I imagined it and time to call this project finished.

Price : €6

Number of parts : 211

Time spent : 21.5 hours

Project completion time : 19 months (embarassingly long, I know)

Paint : (Vallejo)

• Black and grey primer
• Tank dark yellow (71.081) - Base colour
• Tank green (71.011) - Green camo
• Black - Camo
• White (71.001) - Camo
• Silver and red for head- and taillights

Other :

• Alclad II clear kote flat
• Hard plaster for the base (and mixed with pigments for the mud)
• Insect screen (mesh) for the barbed wire
• AK 023 - Dark mud (wash)
• AK 041 North Africa dust (pigment)
• AK 042 European earth (pigment)
• AK 081 Dark earth (pigment)
• Vallejo water effects for the puddles (just an experiment)

And more pictures :

DIY photo booth

Far from happy with my photography skills upp until now, I finally made some time to try and do better. I took a transparent IKEA storage box, placed in a big sheet of white paper and aimed some lamps at it.

My desk lamp is bright and white, but I want light to come from all directions. The little lamps on the sides are also IKEA (we have TONS of IKEA stuff at home). The lamps are supposed to be aimed at the sides of the box, so the light is filtered and diffuse, to avoid lens spots on the model. But their brightness is inadequate for this purpose. 

This setup yielded far better close-up pictures than ever before, so it's definitely a big step forward. I'll just need to invest in some brighter lamps.

It required some fiddling with my camera's settings and I have yet to find the perfect configuration, but I'm very happy with today's results.

DIY barbed wire

Last time I reported progress on the M60 (back in november), the little muddy base was nearing completion. I felt like it was missing something and I decided to try and add some barbed wire. There is some fine photo-etch razor wire to be bought, but if you've been following me for a while, you should know that I try to steer clear of after market addons.

I actually made this in november, assembled it in january and painted it in fabruary. It's one of those slow-progress-projects because I  just can't bring myself to really dive into it.

I've found some DIY guides on 1/35 barbed wire, but in 1/72 scale the wire would have barbs of 0.2 mm long, placed every 2 mm. I didn't fancy actually making spikes in this scale, so I took a piece of insect screen (the thing you put in the window in summer to get fresh air in but keep annoying insects out) and tried several things. On my first attempt (the lower strand in the picture below) I cut the barbs long, and made them pointy, which was a lot of work and not entirely to my liking.

For the second strand, I just cut the spikes as short as possible, by running a hobby knife along the length of the wire.

Why is it curled up? Because I wanted to make a "concertina wire", which is just a big roll of barbed wire (with a diameter easily up to 1 meter), which can be very quickly deployed in the field.
To get it to look like this, I rolled it up tight around a paint brush and aimed a hairdryer at it. Results were mediocre, until I looked up the temperature of a hairdryer. It doesn't (and shouldn't) exceed 50 degrees (Celsius!) as an industry standard to avoid burning your skin.
Boiling water is almost double this temperature, so on my last go I just dipped the brush with the coiled wire in boiling water.

Next step : assembling the wire on some poles, which are just short pieces of iron wire. It didn't look convincing enough, so I added a second strand.

Still not 100% to my liking, as it's not as coiled as I would have liked, but good enough. I airbrushed it with black primer, than natural steel, then some reddish-brown to make it look rusted.

All is quiet

It'll be quiet for a short while longer, while I'm playing Southpark : The stick of Truth.

Panzerjäger - Major SNAFU

The idea was to paint the entire model in "German grey", then use the "hairspray technique" with AK's chipping fluid (as I did earlier with the M48's scissor bridge), go over with the sand-coloured base and green/brown camouflage, then start (gently) chipping away.

HOWEVER ....

1. The chipping fluid was spraying iffy today. It sprayed on very weird, widely known as "orange peel"-effect.
2. Free-hand airbrushing, even with the finest nozzle my Aztec has, still gives an insane amount of overspray.

Let's address this last one first. I used the paint unthinned and dialled the pressure to the absolute minimum of around 7-8 psi. With the finest nozzle, I brought the airbrush in really close (about 1-2 cm). I could draw a relatively fine line on a piece of paper, but on the actual model it was rather difficult to 1) keep the paint flowing and 2) draw a line or curve at the same time. 

On the model, there is overspray AND the paint tends to run away. I can only guess that on paper it's easier, because paper absorbs some of the moisture, whereas a hard surface will produce spatters (albeit very small ones). This close up, the pressure seems still too high, as the paint runs away in tiny little spiders, but I can't get it lower than this. The only thing to do is move the airbrush further away, but can you guess what that does for the overspray? Correct!

Anyway, below is the result of my first free-hand camouflage airbrushing session. I'm not sure which parameter to play with to make it better. The green is okay-ish, but the darker the colour, the more obvious the overspray becomes.

On to issue number two. Compared to last time, the chipping fluid wouldn't spray very well, resulting in it going on the model way too heavily. I used 4 different nozzles, but couldn't find an acceptable way of spraying it. I'm guessing I'll need to do something to the fluid itself, i.e. thinning it.
I only realized how heavy the "hairspray" layer was until I started chipping. As soon as the surface became too wet, the paint started to wrinkle. When poked with a brush, the entire layer of paint came off like a snake shedding it's skin.

That's not chipping, but STRIPPING!

On the basket, it's easy enough to remove all the paint and start over, but on the turret I did not fancy doing that, with all those tiny pieces attached. So, I bit the bullet and very carefully chipped away some of the paint. Less is more, when it comes to the amount of water you're using.

The result is .... meh, good if you want to show how this chipping stuff works, but also illustrates it's easy to go overboard with it. I don't want to redo the turret, so this is how it'll be.

I had already sprayed the entire kit with the chipping fluid, but only painted the turret and basket. Seeing the results, I think I'll just give the entire kit a nice bath to remove the chipping fluid and start over, but more carefully.

Panzerjäger - WIP

Some more progress on the Panzerjäger's turret, which is just a regular Panzer IV turret. The interior colour is a yellowy-creamy colour. Since I try to stick to Vallejo Model Air, I just had to guess what would be appropriate from the online colour chart, which is not really the best way to go about this. I had to choose between Yellow Lazure ("ivory") and broken-white, and went for the first option.
It arrived a few days ago, so off to the workbench we go.

Straight out of the bottle, it's a bit too yellow, so after half the parts were done I added an equal amount of white to tone it down. I ended up going over it again with a misted layer of white. The result is good enough.

The track piece is almost done. Weathering went on a bit too heavy, but a layer of varnish will dull it down a little. Time to assemble the whole piece. The crossbeam part (wood) fits underneath the trackbed (rock) and the rails slide into the metal thingies on every wooden beam. The fit is really tight, especialy with multiple layers of paint, so I wasn't surprised to be scraping off a lot of the metal paint off the rail again.

Once all the rails were in place, a few more pieces (to keep the rails together) are needed. Out come the trusty clamps.

Now all the turret pieces are painted, and slightly weathered by dry-brushing with "German grey", I can continue it's assembly. I seem to have forgotten to paint and place part B56, so it'll take a day longer to close it all up.

If you want to gun to move up and down, it's best to NOT place part B40. On the REAL tank, skipping this piece will result in the gun not elevating, but in the scale model this small gear provides enough friction to hinder fluent movement of the gun.

The rail is completely done, the scratched off paint is touched up, so at least this piece is finished. While writing this post, I notice I forgot to touch up the outside border, but that'll be a quick fix.

Next step : closing the turret, masking off the interior and 3 layers of AK "Worn effects". After that I can start the sand-yellow base coat and green/brown camouflage. I'll be attempting to airbrush this camo free-hand. Wish me luck!

A diversion into D&D

It has been mentioned on this blog before, that my other hobby is D&D (Dungeons & Dragons).
As I have only 20 followers (yet!), I always make it a point to check out my new followers and their interests. My latest minion, uh sorry, loyal follower, "The lord of Excess" (Hi, and welcome!) led me to discover the "D&D 40th anniversary Blog Hop Challenge".

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of our beloved game, an initiative has risen - much like our very own Sprue Cutters Union - to have all interested blogs participate in a daily blog carnival, posting about various aspects of another shared interest.
As the initiative started on february 1st, I'm much too late to join the (now closed) list of participants, but this cannot prevent me from writing about another passion of mine. Who knows, some of you may also share this hobby with me and we find something more to talk about. As for myself, this one single link has allowed me to encounter a TON of D&D-related blogs in only a few minutes, so I have my work cut out getting to know all of them.

As I'm 3 weeks late, I'll not be doing this on a daily basis, I'll just cover all questions in one go, skipping the ones that are not relevant to my case.

If you like the subject, give a shout or comment below.

#1 : First person who introduced you to D&D? Which edition? Your first character?

Back in the day (almost 10 years ago), I was part of a LOTR-fanclub, heavily into swordfight-reenactment. I'm not talking LARP-style foam weapons (no offense), but actual steel weapons used in "stage" combat, meaning the moves where choreographed, but a layman's eye would never have seen that. Some blood was involved once in a while, but that just added to the show. Nobody ever lost an eye, although sometimes it was only by a few millimeters.

This was the club where I met my girlfriend and a lot of friends I still know today. One of them was a longtime D&D player, looking to start a new group (2nd edition, not that I knew what was what then). I was most drawn to play the "rogue". It's now 9 year later and we still play about once a month for a 6-7 hour session. My rogue is now a level 6 shadowdancer (level 18 total), leader of his own guild and it's safe to say I've grown attached to the little guy.

#2 : First person YOU introduced to D&D? Which edition? THEIR first character?

Somewhere last year, I persuaded 2 of my colleagues at work to try their first D&D game. I was anxious AND scared to play the role of DM, but we're now 10 sessions later, another friend has joined and we're happily cruising along. Still 2nd edition, as that seems to be every long-term player's favourite. They play a dwarf warrior and an elven ranger.

#3 : First dungeon you explored as a PC or ran as a DM.

As a player : in our very first session we defeated a vampire in the caverns beneath Silverymoon. Not sure if it was an official campaign or something that sprung from the imagination of our DM. My girlfriend got charmed and had to fight her own friends and we tried our cooking skill on a defeated Umberhulk (turns out you can't eat Umberhulk?!)

As a DM : I started my first session with a fan-made 2 hour adventure that I found online (research into what happened after a local mage's tower exploded). It was meant as an introduction to the world of D&D. They loved it, and we continued with TSR 1073 "Dragon's Den adventure pack". I'm currently running TSR 9063 "Against the cult of the reptile god".

#4 : First dragon you slew (or some other powerful monster).

First slewn dragon was probably a bone dragon that I almost killed single-handedly. This was with another (short-run) character. Not sure if it was with my warrior or my paladin. Both characters were only played 4 times or so, as we decided to focus our time on the main group instead.

A green dragon followed, a red dragon (twice, through a loophole in time/space) and some monster, the name of which escapes me, all in "Red hand of doom". Our DM makes sure we get our share of interesting monsters.

#5 : First character to go from 1st level to 20th level

We started at lvl 6 (sorry if you think that's cheating :-)) and my rogue is now 18.

#7 : First D&D Product you ever bought. Do you still have it?

When we started playing, I bought a Player's Handbook and The complete Thief's book on Ebay. I think I also bought the Dungeon Master Screen as a gift for our DM's birthday.

When I started as a DM, I bought a whole range of books, most from a friend who quit playing long ago. (DM manual, Monster manual, Encyclopedia Magica, ...) I will never sell any of these!

#8 : First set of polyhedral dice you owned. Do you still use them?

Yup. Bought at the "Gamesworld" fair in Brussels. I don't think the fair still exists. I bought a second set a while later. It's all part of my more prized possessions.

#14 : Did you meet your significant other while playing D&D? Does he or she still play?

I didn't meet her at D&D, but we started playing in the same group when we were only a couple of weeks together. She quit playing after a few years, but her character lives on as a very occasional NPC, when needed to fill in a storyline that was created by our DM to span many years.

#22 : First D&D-based novel you ever read?

I've read just about anything from R.A. Salvatore about the adventures of Drizzt and his companions.

#23 : First song that comes to mind that you associate with D&D. Why?

"Requiem for a dream". It's one of the catchiest songs I know and our DM has used it in numerous combat sequences. (If you're into metal, try Eric Calderone's version.)

#25 : Longest running campaign/gaming group you've been in.
#26 : Do you still game with the people who introduced you to the hobby?

Already answered in #1, but yes, I still play with basically the same guys as 10 years ago. 3 players of the original 5 have left, 1 new has joined and stayed, 2 have come and gone again after one year.

#27 : If you had to do it all over again, would you do anything different when you first started gaming?

Nope.

#28 : What is the single most important lesson you've learned from playing Dungeons & Dragons?

Hardest question out of the bunch. I guess it's important to go outside the house and meet with friends IRL, even if it's to sit in THEIR house all day. There's a quality to it, you don't get from only playing online.

Panzerjäger - closing the hull

I have attached the wheel wells to the inside of the lower hull, but had to do it in 2 steps. I glued the left ones in place, clamped up and reinforced with tape. A day later I did the right side. Its not that the fit is bad per se, but the parts need some persuasion to keep in their proper place.

It gives the model a very sturdy structure, which translates again into issues when joining the lower and upper halves. I would have needed a bench vice to get the parts to sit flush, but had to make do with what I could find.

The result is as good as it's gonna get. Some obvious gaping seams were filled with putty and are now left to dry.