Washes and Dip comparisons

2009-06-10T20:35:00.000-07:00

I recently put together a little comparison of various washes and the Minwax Tudor "Dip"for one of my friends. Thought I might as well post it here too:

In response to the comment on TMP that "The test doesn't keep the colors constant, making it harder to judge" I would like to point out that all the figures were primed at the same time with the same can of white spray primer and photographed one at a time in a single session without moving the camera or changing the lighting. They are as consistent as I could make them without going to any extreme effort.

And here is a quick comparison of the Future based "Magic Wash" and the Minwax Tudor Dip using two simple block painted figures.

Simple block painted figure

and the Magic Wash- I used straight Future and some black ink in this case. About 10 parts Future to one part ink.

and finally the Minwax Dip method.

I actually "dip" the figs right into the can, and then shake em a couple times and swab up any excess with a paper towel. Some folks prefer to brush the stuff on...

Not the way to your first Golden Demon, but it puts a lot of figures on the table quickly and they don't look bad.

Here are some Warmachine figs done with the Dip, These were done using simple block painting and then actually dipping the figs in the can of Minwax:

Birnam Wood...or travelling trees.

2009-06-10T19:50:00.000-07:00

Since most of my gaming takes place some 40 miles from home, I needed some trees that could stand up to the wear and tear of weekly travel.

I tried model railroad trees, and made some trees using Woodland Scenics "clump foliage" but neither proved up to the task. I vaguely remembered seeing an article on pom-pom trees, but couldn't find any suitable pom-poms at the various craft shops. So I set out to make my own.

Materials needed:

Yarn, in a suitable shade of green. And plenty of it.

Nails, in various sizes. 1 per tree.

Fender washers. I use 1 1/4" washers after trying 1" washers and finding them too unstable.

White glue.

Spray primer, gray.

Ground flock, I use a mix of Woodland Scenics ground foams.

Tan acrylic paint

Epoxy or superglue. I have had good results from JB Weld.

Small piece of scrap wood.

I made a jig using two nails and a small piece of scrap wood. Drive the nails through perhaps 2-3" apart.

Take the yarn and wrap it around the nails. I usually do 40-60 wraps depending on the desired size of the pom-pom.

Next, take a loop of yarn 6-8 inches long and tie it around the middle

I tie it off on the other side using a simple square knot. Pull it as tight as you can while tying off. The tighter the knot the sturdier your tree.

I then use scissors and cut through the loops on both ends

Trim the loose ends and shape the pom-pom

Now you are ready to glue the pom-pom to the base. I use various sizes of nails, epoxied to the washers and sprayed with gray primer. Bigger trees get two or three pom-poms.

I then paint the base with tan acrylic paint mixed with a little white glue and water, then dip it in my ground cover flocking.

You could at this point either dry brush the trees with a different shade of green paint, or spray the tree with adhesive and roll it in foliage from Noch or Woodland Scenics.

And there you have it. They look pretty good en masse, and they are cheap enough to make you can have LOTS of them. They've held up remarkably well so far, one or two have had to be glued back together but that is easy enough.

Trees in use:

Bard's Page

Washes and Dip comparisons

Birnam Wood...or travelling trees.