Tutorial - Using Silly Putty as a Masking Tool

When masking off oddly shaped objects masking tape can be a bit ungainly to manage.  And using masking tape to create smooth curves is nearly impossible. These are great opportunities to use Silly Putty. Not only will it allow you to easily mask of odd shapes and smooth curves, it doesn't leave any kind of sticky residue. I'm not sure if it is available across the pond but it is widely available in the states and is often no more than a dollar.

One of the best uses for Silly Putty is for making organic shapes for camouflage. 

Start by base coating your model in whatever color you want your camo patterns to be in.  Remember that when masking the base color will be covered up in any areas you do not mask off. This is opposite of what you would do if you were painting on the camo pattern. 

Once you have base coated your model apply the Silly Putty to the areas you want to remain the base color. Silly Putty is infinitely forgiving and can be applied, removed, and shaped as many times as you want. Once you have everything exactly where you want it, apply your paint. 

I prefer to remove the Silly Putty while the paint is still tacky. This helps to prevent any paint from peeling, but limits the risk of smearing the paint. When you remove the Silly Putty go ahead and mix it up really well and you can use it again, and again, and again, etc. Eventually, if your Silly Putty ever wears out just toss it in the trash and get some more.

After you've removed the putty you'll have a beautiful camo pattern!

Don't stop with camo patterns, you can use Silly Putty to mask of odd areas when painting, use it to temporarily tack bits in place, as a bouncy ball, to make copies of newspaper articles and then stretch them out in wacky ways. If you have any tips on other ways for modelers to put this great tool to use please leave a comment below.

Inquisitorial Chimera with Chapter House & Forge World

Back in February of this year I set about making a one of a kind Inquisitorial Chimera using the Chapter House Studios six wheel kit with iconography and a rear door from Forge World. At that time I completed a review of the Chapter House Studios kit so I won't go into great detail about it in this post but you can check that out by clicking here.

The Chapter House kit required some modifications to fit. I was very happy with the Forge World kit. It was very detailed and I knew it would add a load of detail to my Chimera. 

I was disappointed however (this was my first Chimera) that there were no interior details in the crew compartment. So I made some.

I created a rear entrance and command module for the interior using styrene, sprue, guitar wire and green stuff. I also created some details for the side walls but I didn't get any pictures of them before they were painted.

The hull of the Chimera had to be modified itself. I filled in the driver's hatch and gun ports with apoxie sculpt and sanded them all smooth. I think the gun ports on the sides of the Chimera look stupid with the lasgun array sticking out so I wanted to cover the ports.

Using hatch pieces from multiple kits as well as some styrene rod I created the above gun port covers. I think they look a lot better than the standard lasgun array.

Adding the Chapter House Kit to the Chimera hull was a giant pain in the ass and required a lot of apoxie sculpt, putty, and a razor saw.  I also had to replace all the rivets on the front and sides of the hull using a small diameter styrene rod, but in the end it was worth it. 

I wanted the Chimera to appear to have been requisitioned from an existing Imperial Army so I searched for some obscure Imperial regiments and settled on using the Jouran 29th and an urban camo scheme. You can also see below the magnet in the turret.  All turret mounted weapons are magnetized.

 Initial weathering was completed by sponging to create a chipping effect.

 Decals were added using Microset & Microsol to get a nice painted on look.

After setting, the decals were worn down using a tooth pick.

Additional weathering was created using an oil paint wash.

I also used Secret Weapon Miniatures weathering powders.

 Purity seals were added on various parts of the Chimera to give it an added Inquisitor feel.

 Some bed rolls and other packs were added to give a lived in feel.

The name Jouran and number 29 were added using rub on transfers. I like these because they can be worn down easily with a toothpick.

 And the finished product...

Tutorial - Lasgun Carbine with Folding Stock

I'm working on a Forge World Tauros Venator and doing quite a bit of subtle modification along the way. One thing I wanted to include was a lasgun for the driver in the cab. I test fit a standard lasgun into the cab and it was far to big to seem a natural fit. So I decided to create a lasgun carbine with a folding stock in the style of the M1 Carbine carried by paratroopers in WWII.

This was a simple conversion which requires only a couple of tools, a few materials, and very little time. The following is a guide to how I made my lasgun carbine.

Tools / Supplies

To complete this conversion you will need the following items:

• Imperial Guard lasgun
• Hobby knife
• Tweezers
• Wire clippers
• Glue
• Pin vise and small drill bits
• Small gauge wire (florists wire)
• 3/64" styrene rod

Conversion

The lasgun will need to be shortened. The stock must be removed and I also removed a small section of the middle. I was careful to pick a section which began and ended the same so that when I removed it the remaining pieces would still match up.

Before trimming

stock, action, middle, and barrel.

I threw the stock and middle portions in my scrap box.

A small section of 3/64" styrene rod was cut to the height of the action and attached to the rear where the stock had been removed.  Two small holes, the same diameter as the florists wire, were drilled into the rod perpendicular to the action.

The barrel of the rifle was glued back into place using plastic weld.

I cut a length of florists wire approximately 1" in length and, using my tweezers, bent the wire to shape, bent the ends at a right angle, and cut the ends flush.  I used photos of paratrooper M1 carbines as a reference.

Once it was shaped the way I liked it I dry fitted it into the styrene rod and super glued it into place.

Here is the unpainted finished product showing the different materials I used. These will look great in the cab of my Venator or even better on a veteran squad with a Valkyrie. 

Space Wolves Rhinos

Battle damaged decals adorn the front of one rhino

An ornate wolf mural is stenciled on the top hatch which shows heavy wear

Hand holds were added using florist's wire

Footholds show heavy wear

Battle damage punctuates the side of the rhino

The thing about bidding on ebay is that you never know with any certainty that you will win an auction. After losing several auctions you might get the temptation to start throwing bids at everything in hopes that one might stick. The problem with that is, sometimes you win everything you bid on. A while back I wanted to pick up two Space Marine Rhinos so I bidded on four, thinking I might get one or two out of the bunch. Guess what? I was the happy winner of not one, not two, but all four rhinos. I couldn't complain too much as I only paid an average of $15 each and all four were new in the box.

After receiving them they were added to the pile of models to complete, someday. I always like to add some additional details to my models so I ordered the Space Wolves Iconography set from Forge World and picked up a bunch of Space Wolves decal sheets from ebay. Someday finally came and I started work on all four.

#1 Basic Coloring

I used The Army Painter brand base and primer spray paint to base coat the rhinos in Wolf Grey.  I used the Army Painter Daemonic Yellow for some portions of two of the rhinos as well. I made stencils for all of the larger Space Wolf iconography I wanted to put on the models. I painted all of the details and used florists wire to create antena for the rear of the rhinos.

#2 Decals

Once all of the colors were painted I added various decals and tried to maintain a consistent theme. Prior to laying down the decals make sure to coat the model in a gloss finish, decals adhere better to a gloss surface.

The bottom three have their primary colors painted and are pre-weathering.

#3 Chipping

Through normal use the paint on vehicles will experience wear and tear including chipping.  There are many techniques out there to achieve this look and I've tried a few.  Currently my prefered method is the sponge technique.  This utilizes small pieces of sponge and contrasting colors of paint to achieve a worn effect. 

The foam that comes in miniature blister packs works great for this

Using small torn pieces of sponge and a pair of tweezers I lightly dab the sponge in paint, blot it on a piece of paper and then apply the foam gently to the edges and other areas of constant wear. I start with the base color of the model and go over any decals or other graphics which appear above the base color. Afterwards I go over the points of the model which would receive the most wear with a metallic color to show where the paint has been worn down to the metal.

In the above photo chipping has been added using the sponge technique.

#4 Oil Wash

The next step in the weathering process was oil wash.  Begin by spraying your models with a coat of clear gloss or semi-gloss varnish. I mixed brown, burnt umber, and black oil paints with mineral spirits (white spirits). This wash can be loaded onto your paint brush and when touched to details will wick into the creases and around details.  The exact ratio takes some trial and error but don't worry, if you over do it you can always wipe it off with a clean cotton swab.

The above rhino has received a treatment of oil washes.

For an added effect these can be added in layers and, after drying a little, can be dragged down with a dry brush to achieve a more natural weathering appearance.  After this was finished and allowed to dry a coat of matte varnish was applied to the models.

#5 Weathering Powders

Now weathering powders were applied.  I used crushed artists charcoal to create the soot effects around the exhausts and applied them with a large round brush.

Secret Weapon Miniatures weathering powders were used to apply dirt on the tank treads and around the lower edges of the rhinos. The powders were added both by dry brush and by blowing them on.  The brush gives you more control, but blowing them on gives you a more realistic look.  The powders were set with mineral spirits blown through an airbrush, and sealed with a coat of matte varnish.  DO NOT ATTEMPT TO RUN WEATHERING POWDERS THROUGH YOUR AIRBRUSH! Unless you want to clog it with mud.

A mixture of the above three powders helps to create a more natural look.

This rhino has received a coat of Secret Weapon Miniature Weathering Powders. 

Once I'm satisfied with everything I finish it off with a coat of matte varnish to seal it all in.

Finished

I used the above mentioned techniques on all four rhinos.  Doing them all together made for light work.  If you're working on one it really isn't all that much more work to do four at the same time and doing so will make it easy to maintain consistency.