Showing posts with label Modelling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Modelling. Show all posts

Monday, August 28, 2023

Casualty Markers for Napoleon's Battles and further varnish observations

I started with the Napoleon's Battles rules around the same time as Fire and Fury.  What I liked about the latter was the use of figures rather than chits to denote unit status etc. I have been striving ever since to bring the same level of visual appeal to Napoleon's Battles.  

There are plenty of lovely figures to use and these ones from AB are delightful, if a little sad.  My only challenge is that I am not convinced I have yet devised the best way to incorporate markers into units.  What I have are designed to replace a base once a casualty has occurred.  My new thinking is that it would be best if the base was a permanent feature of the unit, incorporating the "command" element as well - which for Napoleon's Battles means the base that has the tag that provides unit information.







This chap had a brief spray of varnish and I am glad that was all it had 
as you can see how it started to mottle on the horse's rump.

This figure had been done some time ago and was varnished back then without trouble.

 On the subject of varnish, this was my test to see if it was the paints I use that was causing the reaction.

From left to right: Jo Sonja, Vallejo, Jo Sonja with a Games Workshop wash and Tamiya.
The problem shows up more on the darker colours in this image.
The clean squares on the bottom colour intersections are from where I applied a top coat of wash.
This seems to readily fix the problem.

The limbers which were badly affected by the varnish have now largely been repaired by painting on varnish (as suggested by Carlo and that partially reduced the problem) and finally by applying a wash.

Needless to say I am no longer using a varnish on my figures (although as per the previous post, I did varnish the Dragon's Teeth without apparent problem - which was at exactly the same time I sprayed the test strip shown above). It remains a mystery.


Friday, August 25, 2023

The refusing to vanish varnish

First up thanks to all those who commented on my More Varnish Woes post.  These four limbers were affected to varying degrees.  Overpainting with a varnish lessened some of the damage, but the white mottling seems to be persistent.  The damage looks worse in these images, but they will still be serviceable on the table top.

While I am still continuing to investigate cause, I haven't reached a resolution.

Problems might be due to being too heavy handed when spraying, reaction with previous varnish and possibly even reacting with the paint I have been using (a mix of Vallejo and Jo Sonja).  I will be doing some more tests to cover this latter possible issue.

Overpainting with varnish certainly helps reduce the problem and for that I am grateful.

Some of these figures had been previously varnished, but not all of them.


These had certainly not been previously varnished.


 

Saturday, August 19, 2023

More varnish woes

My attempts to apply matt varnish are turning into a nightmare.  I have posted on the outcomes to recent WW2 models which thankfully varnish looked like elaborate weathering effects.  

https://onesidedminiaturewargamingdiscourse.blogspot.com/2023/06/more-varnish-woes.html

https://onesidedminiaturewargamingdiscourse.blogspot.com/2023/05/sd-kfz-2509-2cm.html

https://onesidedminiaturewargamingdiscourse.blogspot.com/2023/05/109-grams-of-soviet-artillery.html

Subsequently I did a test or two and decided that it was the varnish I was using that must be faulty in some way.  

Today I bought a new can.  I gave it a good shake for well over five minutes.  Spraying conditions were prefect, no wind, dry and about 20 degrees centigrade.  I decided to do a little test first.  It seemed fine so in high hopes I proceeded to do a back log of Napoleonic limbers.

Arghhh!!!

Luckily the result became quickly obvious.  A close look at the test I had done also showed some mottling when I looked closely.

Hopes dashed.  To make things worse the Matildas went on to lose 2:0 to Sweden.