From Scratch – Rebuilding the painting desk (We’re not in Kansas anymore) – a brief essay

When I made the decision back in 2007 to move to Australia, I was under no illusion that I’d have to start almost from scratch in terms of modelling supplies. By the time I made the move (May 2008) I’d winnowed my wargames armies, scales & periods to a core grouping: WW2 in 15mm, ACW in 15mm and 28mm & to finish off, a selection of European armies in 15mm from the period 1859 – 1870. Everything else was sold, given away or traded – including pretty much all my terrain and modelling gear

I’d made the decision to start afresh with terrain as I was also looking at a much increased income to afford the sort of terrain set up that suited my aesthetic ideals/preferences. This would include commercially available buildings like Crescent Root, Kerr & King, Hovels etc.

I arrived in Australia with the bare bones of a modelling toolkit: my selection of Vallejos, Citadel paints (most of which were OOP), a few X-acto handles, the few remaining decent paintbrushes, some needle files, a dodgy old pin-vise and a quality side-cutter/clipper. Nothing else crossed the ditch apart from  rules and reference books.

I ended up with a few weeks to find my way around the NSW gaming scene before I managed to find a decent job, so I used that time to scope out  where and what was available in the Gosford-Woy Woy region as well as in the immediate area of Sydney’s CBD where I would end up working. What I found was pretty good, locally a Bunnings, Spotlight and OfficeWorks all within comfortable walking distance of home, and in the CBD, Tin Soldier/Napoleon’s (Minis, Derivan, P3, Vallejo and Citadel paints), Eckersleys (art supplies), Dymocks (books and art supples), Hobbyco (modelling supplies) all were less than a 5 minute walk from work. It helped that about 4 months after I moved, Good Games Gosford opened and I started attending the Central Coast Corsairs on a regular basis. So I’m in a pretty good place supplies wise, once you add in the fairly decent array of Australian online suppliers.

Where I’m at now

I’ve spent the last few months obtaining the core building blocks that will; enable the creation and finishing of a wargames army from go to whoa, miniatures to terrain. There are still a few things I am yet to buy, but for the most part I’m set to get back into the creative aspects of wargaming rather than just the participatory side.

One of my first purchases has been a GW paint station. Sure I could have constructed a purpose designed and built portable painting desk myself, if I were to have had the tools necessary at hand, but for an outlay of AUD$50 or so, I ended up with something that fits on my desk in the study, didn’t involve sacrificing a new-born to buy a decent selection of home handyman tools and best of all I don’t have to figure out ways of lugging all that MDF home as well as dealing with the damn dust. There is a rhyme and reason in paying for convenience, particularly when assembly took all of 5 minutes. The paint station is a damn sight larger than I originally thought which helps with findingh room for the tools and supllies for each project, which leads me to my next  point.

Rather than attempt to do everything on  my to-do list all at the same time, in the same area and generally get nothing done, I’ve decided to challenge myself to work on one thing at a time. Inspiration came out of the Frugal Gaming meme that gained currency as the GFC developed, as I’ve always been known as a gadfly when it comes to getting stuff completed.

I also want to focus on improving my skillsets which are sadly atrophied and also challenge myself to learn new ones. To this end I’ve invested in a selection of epoxy putties and materials so I can put my hand to conversions, scratch-building and detailing, all areas I’ve left to others in the past. Given that all the projects I have in mind, planned and started involve aspects of all three areas, it seems an opportune time to start as I mean to go on.

I’m also seeking to avoid falling into the trap of quantity over quality in one particular area – paintbrushes. I’ve never been one to take good care of my brushes previously, nor have I bothered to invest the same sort of money in them as I do in miniatures or paints. Now however i’m looking to inculcate a regime of proper brush selection, maintenance and care. This has meant I’ve moved to purchasing decent quality brushes and the requisite care products to do them justice.

I admit to buying some taklon brushes from Spotlight, some of the Francheville 424 line are good value and suit those times when there’s no point in using a finest quality sable whn an acrylic will do the same job just as well. I have discovered the Roymac brand of brushes to be a good first step in moving beyond my inherent cheapness though – the Purity range of sables and the Revolution range of acrylics will do until I can afford and do proper justice to Winsor & Newton series 7s.

The Purity range has a distinctive classical inkpen handle that suits my particular handgrip style when painting and are pretty good value given their quality – thankfully between Eckersley’s and Dymocks I’ve been able to obtain a selection of sizes in excellent condition. The Revolution range may well be a triumph of marketing over technical reality but the theory behind the design of the faux sable acrylic bristles was intriguing to say the least. It helped that the price falls right in the mid-point between the Francheville 442 sables and the Purity brushes so a few extra brushes wouldn’t hurt.

I can already hear the mutterings from the Winsor & Newton series 7 aficionados as they shake their heads. No arguments from me, but series 7 are a sizable investment in both money and the time necessary to gain the degree of skill needed to use them properly – I don’t have those skills yet and I will probably end up saving the W&Ns for the 28mm stuff anyway – because frankly it’s overkill to use them on 15s.

I’ve broadened my paint palette to include Derivans and P3 paints – the Derivans are extremely good value for money and the P3s because of the various shades they offer that I really don’t want to try and mix. I also picked up some Lifecolor acrylics for a specific purpose – Caunter camouflage schemes – I was not looking forward to either mixing acrylics to match the Mike Starmer guide, or to spend all that time working through the various permutations of Vallejos to get approximate matches. I’m still pondering obtaining a couple of Foundry colour deals, notably the Horse, Flesh and Napoleonic sets but that’s perhaps another 6-12 months away when I’m fit to use them.

Even though I do find the majority of GW products over-priced for the quality and quantity on offer, lines such as the Foundation paints and the Inks/washes set were pretty much a given to purchase, especially with my move into 28mm (there’s a definite surprise in that particular decision as well for any one who’s known me for any length of time) in the not too distant future. I’ve not painted anything other than 15s for close to 25 years as it is, so relearning techniques such as spot washes, glazes, wet-blending and full detailing are all on the agenda (it’ll be a cold day in hell before I bother with the Dallimore butcher’s blocking school though) over the next few years.

With the climate on the Central Coast being what it is (notably warmer and more humid than the lower North Island as well as subject to a greater degree of temperature change in a 24 hour cycle) I’ve invested some thought and expense into maximising the lifespan of my paints. With that in mind, it was an easy decision to add a wet palette to the usual suspects of retarder, extender, blending and flow improving mediums. as part of my new regimen. Having experienced a summer here where 27° C was close to the minimum, and given my usual snail’s pace approach to painting, I really didn’t have much choice.

In addition to new paintbrushes, paints, techniques and prepwork, I’ve decided to take the momentous step of working with Gesso as my primer/undercoat of choice. This is because my days of working with Humbrol Matt 33 are gone for good except in very limited applications. The late and sadly lamented Wee Toy Soldier blog pointed me towards gesso as a solution particularly in regard to 28s.

Matt Varnish – where to start? Moana brand, the one spray varnish I’ve been 100% convinced about, is not available here in Aussie or if it is, I haven’t found a source (Any help gratefully received). Instead I’ve moved to Testor’s Dullcote via Hobbyco and Krylon matt clear from Spotlight as substitutes. Brush on varnish  is pretty much gonme now that Humbrol’s Mattcote is satinesque although I note Tin Soldier had a few bottle of brush on Dullcote stoll on the shelves. Maybe next pay.

Milliput standard (Hobbyco), Gale Force 9 green stuff and the newer grey stuff are pretty much where I’m at in terms of experimental materials. I’ve made do with Maxi-Fill all purpose filler in the place of a pot of Selley’s Permafill but I’m on the lookout for a decent source of tetrion powdered filler just for that particular look.

Cleaners and Strippers – no it’s not some Melbourne band, but exactly what it means. I’ve gone with two old faithfuls – Simple Green for paint stripping and the Master’s Brush cleaner, while adding Vallejo’s brush restorer for those forgetful moments which I’m sure to have. All solid products and all generally available and good value for money.

In terms of general tools, apart from a basic selection of X-acto #1 handles, the el cheapo needle files and the sidecutters, I’ve added two Stanley knives, a GF9 pin vise (to better suit my somewhat arthritic hands), a selection of GF9 sculting tools (the intro set and soon the deluxe wallet set), some tweezers and grips and a bunch of mini-clamps. I’ve still got an Iwata HP-BCS sitting around waiting for the right combination of enthusiasm and intestinal fortitude, but along the way I will be picking up a moderate priced no-name general purpose airbrush and a decent compressor from Runway 13 in Canberra  along with a Sparmax Spraybooth/cleaning stand from Hobbyco. At which point I may finally decide to tackle the late war panzers rather than leaving it up to others.

All told, I’ve worked out that it’s cost me less than AUD$500 to rebuild my toolkit to what it once was and even better (not counting the airbrush setup) although  I’m yet to find a mini-drill that suits me – perhaps a trip to DSE/Bunnings/supercheap will suffice. I’m now at the point where I can get back into things with the right frame of mind and technioal approach that suits a particular regime. I still need to get hold of general terrain and basing supplies but that’s for another tiome, what matters now is that I have no excuse for not painting anymore and even better I actually have some degree of enthusiasm for it all

Pete