Will McCammon's Minis (Formerly: My wallet hates me, but...)

Starfury · Post by **Starfury** » Wed Aug 20, 2008 3:28 pm

Scoutdad wrote:
Starfury wrote:I was at a local thrift and got them to let me in the back. I found a bunch of Warhammer Fantasy Orc/Goblin sets cheap; close to $300 retail for under $10. I'll probably never paint them (Do FedCom/40k/Battletech) I'm debating if I want to eBay them or give CL a try to sell them off..so I can buy some more FedCom mini's.
Names... we need the name of the local thift so we can try to same thing in our areas...

Here's a site that you can use to look up your local shops:

http://thethriftshopper.com/

I've been going to thrifts for years looking for Gems. I've found Conquest of the Empire sets, Avalon hill games (Acquire w/ wood bits, Titan) Talisman, miniatures, Legos and all sorts of goodies. I have noticed lately that the game selection has gone down; the stores are focusing more on clothing or people are just using eBay to get rid of stuff.

djdood · Post by **djdood** » Sun Jan 11, 2009 2:58 am

Rather than start a new thread, I'm just resurrecting my old one.

On the other board, Garth G asked for a pic that showed the bottom of the Federation NCA mini. I figured I'd post it here too:

count_zero99uk · Post by **count_zero99uk** » Sun Jan 11, 2009 10:27 am

Wish mine looked like that,

.

Do you airbrush the basecoat? If not what technique do you use please.

djdood · Post by **djdood** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 12:07 am

That one (and all of mine until recently) were done with rattle-can Tamiya fine-white primer and then airbrushed Testors Model Master enamel (with an el cheapo Testors plastic airbrush and canned air).

count_zero99uk · Post by **count_zero99uk** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 1:15 pm

I use Humbrol light grey primer, then am doing the basecoat with a brush using Vallejo WhiteGrey.

Looks ok for my first modles, i think i need to thin it down some more though.

wedge_hammersteel · Post by **wedge_hammersteel** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 4:59 pm

I can use a brush for any color other than white. My white never comes out good unless I spray or airbrush.

Rick Smith · Post by **Rick Smith** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 8:36 pm

I would guess that most modelers have problems with brushing on white. Yellows and whites have notoriously thin pigment and poor covering power. And when painted on heavily to try to cover a surface, they end up looking thick and chalky. Airbrushes or spray paints are usually a safe bet.

Rick Smith · Post by **Rick Smith** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 8:43 pm

djdood wrote:That one (and all of mine until recently) were done with rattle-can Tamiya fine-white primer and then airbrushed Testors Model Master enamel (with an el cheapo Testors plastic airbrush and canned air).

I'm curious DJ...how do you paint your UFP ships now? You said "until recently." I do a spray primer of Tamiya fine grey, followed by the Tamiya flat white. I discovered that the grey gives the white coat a richer "steel" white. I used to just use GW white primer, but I have given up on that entirely for the quality that Tamiya offers. Besides, the GW white primer had a warmer tint to it which didn't please me - almost a "yellow-white", especially when priming the zocchi plastic kits which I have come to adore for their crisp detailing. The Tamiya was "cooler" in tone and had a much more fine surface texture.

Rick

djdood · Post by **djdood** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 9:46 pm

I could have written that more clearly.

Everything about my process is the same nowadays, I just have much better tools. I also completed base-coating all my Feds nearly a year ago and haven't base-coated very many minis since (and the Kzintis I did base-coat in the interim were a failed attempt at using a "stock" rattle-can paint). At this point, I probably have around 150 SFU and D&D minis, all at various stages of preparation. I have a grand total of 4 completed minis (and 6 I have done for clients).

Like I wrote, I used to use a Testors (repackaged Aztec) plastic airbrush and canned-air. Late last summer, I invested in a nice Badger dual-action airbrush and mini-compressor. I found a great deal and couldn't resist.

The old $20 plastic airbrush was more than fine for doing base-coats. The new "pro" airbrush may end up being a little bit better (less overspray, etc.), but mainly I wanted it so I could start exploring more detailed spray-painting (blends, camo-patterns, "pelt" patterns for Lyrans, etc.). It will take me some experimenting to get the hang of it, since I haven't used a proper dual-action airbrush in over 20 years.

Scoutdad · Post by **Scoutdad** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 9:53 pm

Will:
Lyran pelts... Bah! I've got a Badger 150 XL, dual-action airbrush that I love... but I can't make good pelts with it.

I have an el Cheapo (read as $12.99 on sale), single action external mix airbrush that I use for base coats. It works as well as the Badger for that, plus it's easier to clean.
I still use the Badger for larger models and automotive work...

Rick:
I used GWs white primer for a while, but changed about 5 years ago - for a multitude of reasons.
1) cost - I can get Wal-marts white primer for 0.88$ a can as opposed to GW's 10.99$.
2) coverage - the Walmart can goes much farther and covers as well as the GW.
3) Color - while the GW primer is white, I found that it was providing a slight "tint" to the base color that I didn't like.
Since I thin all of my paints prior to use nad then use multiple thin coats... the undercoat color has a large effect on the final color and the Walmart primer gives a better result - IMHO.

Rick Smith · Post by **Rick Smith** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 2:02 am

Will: I probably just read too fast or missunderstood. Heh.

I do all my painting with spraypaint. I have an airbrush, but I just find it easier to prime, basecoat, spray with a flat spray, paint on details, then seal again then go through the trouble of pulling out all the airbrush crap I have.

I actually have two Hydran ships that I've been working on in the manner I wrote above. I'll have to post them when I'm through. Even painted on battle damage...

Scoutdad: Can you believe that GW primer is actually $15 + tax now. I actually used to work at GW and I watched them (at least the US company) go through a multitude of suppliers for primer. Each had good and bad points. But the white primer has always been sub-par. It had a lot of trouble sticking to metal as well. Or â€œfuzzingâ€? on plasticsâ€¦even after washing them with soap and water.

I agree with the slight tint problem as well. I tend to just use the GW paints for details only these days. Some are still pretty good. And the new lines they released have good coverage. The inks are nice as well. However, I think they're best suited for figure painting.

R

djdood · Post by **djdood** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 3:53 am

I'd go with rattle-cans for base-coating if I could find colors that work for my taste (which is admittedly very picky). So far, all my Feds and Klingons have been airbrushed with custom-mixed Testors Model Master gloss enamels.

I was going to try and rattle-can my Kzintis and thought I had found a red dark enough to suit me (I wanted a nice dark brick red). I painted at the end of the day, when light was waning and didn't notice the problem until the next day - the paint I had chosen was aimed at model-car builders and had lots of mica flecks in it as "glitter"... Grrrr.... after some soul-searching, into the "dip" they went.

I ended up acquiring quite a few more Kzintis in an auction and several more in a trade (thanks Tony!!), so in the end it's for the best. I found a Humbrol-brand paint that is looking like a winner and I can do them all together as a batch (as I prefer to) once the weather breaks.

I made a bet to complete all my SFU minis by my birthday in mid-July (which I am already on-track to lose), but I'm looking forward to making some solid progress. Sadly, I get to do some rework to some minis due to damage while in storage (top engines on Dreadnoughts, etc.).

Scoutdad · Post by **Scoutdad** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 4:16 am

I used to base-coat with "rattle-cans", but now - I find that the airbrush does a better job. Even the same color from he same manufacturer doesn't look the same between "rattle-can" and paint pot, so touching up doesn't work.

Since I tend to thin all of my paints, even when using a pallette and brush to the same consistency... I can just as easily air brush he base ocat then use a fine brush to touch up errors.

Will: I think I'll make the same plan. I intend to have all of my SFB minis completed by my birthday - early May!
Whew, thank God that all of the SFB minis are finished, now all I have left are a couple hundred Fed Comm minis.

Glad to know the Kzinti's came in handy. I just acquired two additional Snipes and another ISC DN in trade.
That gives me a full, 27 Frigate squadron of Snipes and enough ISC DN for each fleet to have it's own!

djdood · Post by **djdood** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 5:05 am

I made that bet back in the halcyon days of July '08, before my recent family crisis and other things. I'm still going to try, but I won't have weather to paint in until May or possibly even June.

djdood · Post by **djdood** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 11:39 pm

Rather than start a new thread, I'm just going to resurrect the same old one I've been using for a long time now.

I found some older pictures I posted to the legacy bbs a long time ago, but apparently never posted on here.

This is my custom Federation Strike Cruiser mini, U.S.S. Prometheus (I have another just like her labeled as Daedalus) in-formation with my Fed Fast Destroyer U.S.S. Two Moons and the Armed Cutter U.S.S. Cedar Falls:

Another shot: AFT-VIEW

Here's some shots of just the CS alone:

More shots: FRONT VIEW, UNDERNEATH, HEADING AWAY