Monday 8 April 2013

Army Painter problems, plastic putty and games to be played

Hello again and welcome to the mad house.

I have been using Armypainters quickshade for several years now, I like the effect it gives and it has sped up my productivity.  I still paint highlights and details, but the quickshade gives instant shading and a nice gloss coat.  That is, if it hasn't turned into a jelly.  The last two tins I have had have both turned from a liquid into a gelatinous blob before the tin is even half empty.   I have tried thinning it with turpentine as they suggest on the tin and I clean the lid and tin to ensure a good contact and a decent seal, but still the problem persists.  I emailed the company yesterday and received a reply that said "we have never had this issue, all we can suggest is thinning it with turps."  So, no more Quickshade for me, I have purchased a tin of own brand woodstain to see if that does a similar job.

To counter the problems with one product, I present to you Vallejo Plastic Putty.  This stuff is brilliant, it fills gaps in models and smooths uneven lines with ease and I wish I had found it years ago.  Now those troublesome seams on models disappear in seconds.  Buy it, try it.  I did and I thoroughly recommend it to anybody who has fit issues with any models, such as Battlefront's plastic Shermans from their new Open Fire box. I have made up a squadron today and will be painting them this week hopefully, so pictures may appear soon.  One thing to consider is that it can take a while to dry fully, so I leave it for at least 24 hours before sanding/cleaning or painting over it.

Last Monday we started to fight the battle of El-Teb using Black Powder.  The game seems to be going ok, but the British are certainly favourites to win. My Sudanese horse have just been thrashed by British cavalry, but they have had to fall back.  I can't see us holding, but we will do our best tonight when we finish it off.

Online gaming has changed again.  Team Fortress 2 wasn't for us, too many stupid abilities and jumping jacks for us.  We are now trying Alliance of Valiant Arms on Steam, which is free and so far has been a hit.  We die a lot and blaze away like Bruce Willis in just about any film he has made.  Its pretty good though, I am needing a new gun soon as my M4 carbine is wearing out.

Anyway, off to finish off seven French mounted generals, then its time to prepare for the slaughter at El-Teb.  Catch you all later

2 comments:

  1. Do you have a rubber mallet? Its the only thing that lets me close those tins and not damage them. I put a piece of newspaper on the lid to keep any liquid from spraying, and just whack it down good. It completely seals it back up without denting the lid.

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  2. I didn't mallet it, so maybe that is an option. I did clean off the pot and lid every time so the lid always fitted snugly. I am trying a home made mix now, so hopefully that will work. Its a lot cheaper anyway. Thanks for the tip though.

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