With that out of the way I received a nice box of stuff from the Postie yesterday to add to the recent order from Warlord of the Volkssturm and Soviet Engineers, this parcel contained three vignettes of German and Soviet officers to make into Jump Off Points along with two T34's, one with the 76mm gun and the other with the 85mm. I now have a nice little pile to take me through November, I have primed the Volkssturm and will start on them tomorrow night, I am at the club tonight. I shall be taking part in a game of Warlord's new Black Sails.
With some 56 years in the hobby I have still to settle down with a varnish I like, at first of course I never even thought of varnishing my troops etc. Once I had become a proper wargamer for decades I used Winsor and Newton matt acrylic varnish, this dulled down the then enamel paints but there was a satin sheen to the figures, not really noticeable at wargaming length but there nevertheless. I then went for Army Painter Anti-shine, never had a problem but changed to AP brush on varnish, as I now also played quite a few skirmish games and the troops were handled more often I used one coat of gloss, then two of matt, these were still satin, so I sprayed with Tamiya matt varnish, again no problem. I then bought some Testor's, the ultimate matt so they say, yes at times it was real matt but at others it was......satin. now the strange thing is with Testor's and the brush on is the palette or the spray tray all turned out absolutely matt, but the figures still satin, why? So what now, well I will still put on one coat of gloss and one of matt brush on but finish off with Army Painter spray, not because I have a problem with Tamiya but merely on price and volume.
I bought a dice tray recently, might have gone overboard on the size but you need lots of dice for War and Conquest, Stewart was going to get one but hasn't so far, he moaned a bit on Saturday so I called on my DIY skills and produced this little beaut with some cardboard and sellotape, job done. I have a sneaking suspicion this helped his die rolling.
It is a lovely day, I have just completed two map projects and as it is nearly lunchtime I am downing tools until this afternoon, I am exhausted having served at least three people so far.
This snippet really should be kept for a future View but I can't contain myself I have to share. The New Zealand Navy:
All Navy personnel are permitted to wear discreet make-up, clear or pale nail varnish when in uniform, “trimmed, neat and natural” false eyelashes, one pair of “natural coloured” stud or sleeper earrings and perfume or cologne in moderation. Rings may be worn on a maximum of two fingers.
Navy personnel are also allowed to use natural-coloured hair dye or have their hair “lightly tipped”, as long as it’s clean and neatly groomed. Long hair is also permitted in a bun or single plait to ensure safety and tidiness.
In my day if you used anything other than Old Spice you were suspect.
Matte Varnish: I have tried many, many matte varnish sprays over my long hobby time and have settled in on W&N Professional Matte Varnish. Dead flat EVERY TIME. I had long been an advocate for Testor's Dullcote but years ago, I think the formulation changed. Some cans would be flat others would leave a satin sheen as you mentioned. Very annoying. Now, W&N all the way for me.
ReplyDeleteI was told that the W&N spray is also good.
DeleteThe best! And, it is less expensive than an equivalent quantity of Dullcote.
DeleteI too was perplexed. I used to find some colours would have a satin finish after varnishing and others, on the same model, would be dead flat. I eventually found out why: it's to do with the final paint layer.
ReplyDeleteIf the final layer is porous (microscopically speaking) then the varnish will penetrate the paint and not remain at the surface and do it's job. Depending on the layer's porosity this can occur on further coats of varnish.
Once I learnt this I stopped relying on any varnish to completely flatten a satin or gloss paint layer.
The solution is remarkably simple: add talc. The talc platelets flatten & line up as the paint dries creating a barrier within the paint layer. They also break up the surface layer producing a matt finish before varnishing.
For more on the technique read this blog post and the linked posts therein.
Hope this helps?
Thanks for that, I had an idea it was something to do with the paint, but no idea what. I will check out the blog.
DeleteI learn something new, every day.
DeleteI read your article on varnish Martin, very good and busted a few myths, I shall now have to buy some talc as no one here seems to use it.
DeleteUnperfumed talc is not that common and do make sure you buy talc not the corn starch based substitute. The good news you will only have to buy one lot: the amounts required are tiny.
DeleteI use Humbrol spray, gloss then Matt, either in full sun at less than 50% humidity or in the warm air stream from a fan heater. Works for me and is always flat Matt.
ReplyDeleteI can see how that would work re above, but I also gloss my figures first, onwards and upwards.
DeleteDon't gloss mine, two to three coats of Daler Rownley Soluable Matt does it for me, it does go shiny but that is down to greasy fingers over time :~)
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your latest game in box adventure.
I remember when people recommend yacht varnish to toughen figures and although my stuff gets three coats I still see the odd glint of metal when putting the troops out, which of course I fix right away or it eats away at me. Black Sails was OK.
DeleteThree things:
Delete[1] Yacht varnish will yellow over time. It is inevitable due to the nature of the formulation.
[2] Chipping to bare metal is most likely caused by a weak bond between the metal/plastic and the primer.
[3] An undercoat is not the same as a primer and lead needs special primers due to its unique surface properties.
Never did use yacht varnish, back then I think it was to toughen the old soft plastic figures. If I ever let on I knew the difference between a primer and undercoat the missus would find jobs for me. Ta.
DeleteI use Windsor and Newton Galleria matt varnish.It always drys matt and it doesn't matter if you plaster it all over the figures.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.cowlingandwilcox.com/mediums-varnishes/154-winsor-newton-galeria-medium-matt-varnish-250ml?utm_campaign=google_shopping_cw&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&gclid=CjwKCAjwxt_tBRAXEiwAENY8hSIJpukvaVdEU9J9clM7zRHr96Mn9PRoFtwrA9GycpptnMDcjBD6nBoCkx4QAvD_BwE
Thanks Ray, another vote for W&N.
Delete