About Me

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London, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
A mythical beast - a female wargamer! I got back into wargaming in the summer of 2011 after a very, very long break and haven't looked back since. I must admit that I seem to be more of a painter/collector than a gamer, but do hope to correct that at some point in the near future. My gaming interests span the ages, from the "Biblical" era all the way through to the far future. I enjoy games of all sizes, from a handful of figures up to major battles (see my megalomaniacally sized Choson Korean and Russian Seven Years War armies).

Wednesday 4 January 2012

hmmmm......washes staining gesso

Oh well, we live and learn. Looking at the Sarmatians I ink-washed yesterday, the wash seems to have stained the gesso primer rather than settling nicely into the recesses. I tried another wash-mix (higher matte medium percentage) and that went on like paint! I guess that gesso must have more "tooth" than the primers I've used before. The detail is pretty clear anyway, so the initial wash is probably unnecessary.

Note to self: skip the post-priming wash step!

And now for some pictorial silliness for you. Despite all the advances in military technology, theory and practice, it seems that some NCOs are still stuck in the 19th Century:

Figures are 25mm NSL from Ground Zero Games

7 comments:

  1. Cool figures! What wash are you using?

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  2. Back when I painted these I was using a wash made from cheapo Reeves black craft acrylic and water. The paints I was using were Revell Aqua Color, but I've switched to Vallejo now.

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  3. D'oh!! Just realised you were referring to the first part of my post. *engages brain*

    The initial wash I used over gesso was a home mix of 10% liquid matte medium, 1% Flow Aid, made up to volume with DI water, with 1 drop/ml of Quasar Black acrylic ink. The second wash mix I tried was 50% liquid matte medium, 5% flow aid, 2 drops/ml Quasar Black.

    I tested the stronger mix on a part-painted figure I had lying around and it worked as it was meant to, so I'm guessing that the gesso is binding the ink in the wash very strongly leading to overall staining rather than pooling in the recesses.

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  4. Hi Tamsin; Your NSL look good. And I really hope I'll see your Sarmatians too, though not on the table for the competition... My chinese wouldn't like them ;)

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  5. Aaaaarrrggghhhh!!!! I've been ambushed by someone from CLWC!! *lol*

    Hi Sebastien - I look forward to seeing your Chinese army in the competition (even if not on the same table). Will you be there on Monday? That will be my fist club night of 2012

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  6. Arh Arh..

    Sadly I don't think I'll be there. I'll be stuck at home with my daughter while my wife's still at work :(

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  7. I generally use Oil washes, it flows nicely, the down side is a long drying time, 2 days for a wash.

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