Flames of War in Japan

[fox_in_japan]

Hi there Fox,

Welcome aboard. I've been meaning to get in touch with you as Primarch told me you might be interested in WW2 gaming.

Anyways, I'm glad to see that there is another player who is interested in FOW joining our little group. If you wanna pop along to Joshin on the 27th a company of Grenadiers will be doing their best to hold off a horde of Soviets.

I will also try to run a starter event sometime soon too. Would you be interestd in joining in?
Cheers
Mike

Hi Mike,

Thanks for the info on the minis. I will be sure to look into that. Especially w/ intn'l shipping being free. As for the 27th, I think I'll take up your offer. I can scare up two platoons to help the Fatherland turn back the Stalinist hordes!

BTW, do you have any suggestions for paint? I've got a few pots Tamiya stuff, but it's way to glossy. Am I wrong in assuming GW paints are suitable? A friend of mi told me about a new GW paint line that make for easy base painting and washing, but I can't remember what it's called.

[The Other Dave]

BTW, do you have any suggestions for paint? I've got a few pots Tamiya stuff, but it's way to glossy. Am I wrong in assuming GW paints are suitable? A friend of mi told me about a new GW paint line that make for easy base painting and washing, but I can't remember what it's called.

GW has a "Foundation" range for bases, and, well, a "Wash" range for washes. Both are excellent, by all accounts. It's apparently possible (and there's a thread by Primarch rattling around here showing his test with the method) to get great results with just the washes over an undercoat.

Lots of historical mini-painting people seem to swear by Vallejo Model Color, since a lot of their range was produced with historicals in mind, and are "historically accurate" with no mixing necessary - they have a color called "Feldgrau," just to give an example. A lot of the guides I've seen tell you the VMC numbers they used too, so reproduction of stuff you like is pretty easy. Plus they come in dropper bottles, which are the bomb.

[fox_in_japan]

GW has a "Foundation" range for bases, and, well, a "Wash" range for washes. Both are excellent, by all accounts. It's apparently possible (and there's a thread by Primarch rattling around here showing his test with the method) to get great results with just the washes over an undercoat.

Lots of historical mini-painting people seem to swear by Vallejo Model Color, since a lot of their range was produced with historicals in mind, and are "historically accurate" with no mixing necessary - they have a color called "Feldgrau," just to give an example. A lot of the guides I've seen tell you the VMC numbers they used too, so reproduction of stuff you like is pretty easy. Plus they come in dropper bottles, which are the bomb.

Thanks, Dave. GW, Foundations and Washes that it! Does Yellow Submarine still carry GW paints?

[Primarch]

Thanks, Dave. GW, Foundations and Washes that it! Does Yellow Submarine still carry GW paints?

Yes they do,

[me_in_japan]

Never feel tied to one company's paints. If you like GW washes, then get em. If you then take a fancy to P3 Menoth Base, then grab some of that too. All water based acrylics are inter-mixable, so feel free to do so in your collection as well as on your palette. Also dont be afraid to use spray paint for base coating (or an airbrush if you think the investment is worthwhile). I think that an airbrush might work quite well on all the tanks in FoW.

As a further aside, for tanks, a light wash of oil paint (burnt umber) would look v nice on a brown or grey or greenish tank. Bear in mind that oils are NOT compatible with acrylics so make sure that one is dry before you apply the other over the top. You also need turpentine to thin your oils, as well as for washing up afterwards.

to paraphrase a far better painter than me

- regards - happy painting - M.I.J.

[fox_in_japan]

Never feel tied to one company's paints. If you like GW washes, then get em. If you then take a fancy to P3 Menoth Base, then grab some of that too. All water based acrylics are inter-mixable, so feel free to do so in your collection as well as on your palette. Also dont be afraid to use spray paint for base coating (or an airbrush if you think the investment is worthwhile). I think that an airbrush might work quite well on all the tanks in FoW.

As a further aside, for tanks, a light wash of oil paint (burnt umber) would look v nice on a brown or grey or greenish tank. Bear in mind that oils are NOT compatible with acrylics so make sure that one is dry before you apply the other over the top. You also need turpentine to thin your oils, as well as for washing up afterwards.

to paraphrase a far better painter than me

- regards - happy painting - M.I.J.

Thanks for the advice. The first thing I need to do is rebuild my paint collection. What I've got now is nearly dried up and really old.

[Mike the Pike]

My 2 cents on Paints for FOW:
What you will need in regards to paints greatly depends on how much detail you want to get into on your models. I generally aim for a good table top quality. At 15mm any more detail is lost.
I usually do a whole platoon at a time, which sounds like a lot but at this scale it isn't too much of a challenge.

Undercoats: Tamiya Matt Black or Light Grey surface primer.

German Infantry: Vallejo Feldgrau is your friend. It's available here in Japan from various online stores. Otherwaise I use Citadel colours for webbing and Flesh tones. I especially reccomend GW's Devlan mud wash for their uniforms and Ogryn flesh for their skin.

German Tanks: IF I am doing a squadron of tanks I use Tamiya's Dark Yellow (Dunkegelb) spray paint. It's just the right colour for German vehichles from 1943 onwards and it's soooooo easy. For a couple of Kubelwagens or the like, I use GW's desert yellow or Tausept ochre. I then wash them with GW's Gryphonne Sepia. For comouflage patterns, I use GW catachan green and brown. I use Gun metal on the tracks with GW's Badab Black wash.

Russian Infantry: Gw all the way. Graveyard Earth for their uniforms and Catachan Green for their helmets. Guns and faces the same as Germans. Webbing etc, I paint in a variety of GW browns. I then wash the whole uniform with GW Gryphonne Sepia.

Russian Tanks: I hit them the appropriate Tamiya spray and then just dry brush them with GW Catachan green. Tracks as the Germans et voila. Easy as pie. You can easily do a 10 Tank company in a weekend.

I haven't painted any Americans yet, but there again I would undercoat and basecoat tanks with Tamiya sprays and finish them off with GW paints and washes. As for uniforms, you might want to invest in Battlefront minis' American box set (actually just a collection of appropraite Vallejo paints).

If you are coming along on the 27th you can see for yourself the results and ask any questions.
I hope that helps.
Cheers
Mike

[Admiral-Badruck]

I thought FOW would be pre painted..can you get them Prepainted?

[Primarch]

I thought FOW would be pre painted..can you get them Prepainted?

I think I saw them on an online store....www.ebay.com

[fox_in_japan]

My 2 cents on Paints for FOW:
What you will need in regards to paints greatly depends on how much detail you want to get into on your models. I generally aim for a good table top quality. At 15mm any more detail is lost.
I usually do a whole platoon at a time, which sounds like a lot but at this scale it isn't too much of a challenge.

Undercoats: Tamiya Matt Black or Light Grey surface primer.

German Infantry: Vallejo Feldgrau is your friend. It's available here in Japan from various online stores. Otherwaise I use Citadel colours for webbing and Flesh tones. I especially reccomend GW's Devlan mud wash for their uniforms and Ogryn flesh for their skin.

German Tanks: IF I am doing a squadron of tanks I use Tamiya's Dark Yellow (Dunkegelb) spray paint. It's just the right colour for German vehichles from 1943 onwards and it's soooooo easy. For a couple of Kubelwagens or the like, I use GW's desert yellow or Tausept ochre. I then wash them with GW's Gryphonne Sepia. For comouflage patterns, I use GW catachan green and brown. I use Gun metal on the tracks with GW's Badab Black wash.

Russian Infantry: Gw all the way. Graveyard Earth for their uniforms and Catachan Green for their helmets. Guns and faces the same as Germans. Webbing etc, I paint in a variety of GW browns. I then wash the whole uniform with GW Gryphonne Sepia.

Russian Tanks: I hit them the appropriate Tamiya spray and then just dry brush them with GW Catachan green. Tracks as the Germans et voila. Easy as pie. You can easily do a 10 Tank company in a weekend.

I haven't painted any Americans yet, but there again I would undercoat and basecoat tanks with Tamiya sprays and finish them off with GW paints and washes. As for uniforms, you might want to invest in Battlefront minis' American box set (actually just a collection of appropraite Vallejo paints).

If you are coming along on the 27th you can see for yourself the results and ask any questions.
I hope that helps.
Cheers
Mike

Thanks a ton, Mike! This is really helpful. I went with Tamiya for my first platoon, as that is what I had handy. Once decide on an army, then I'll invest in the appropriate paints.

In any case, I'll see you tomorrow and have a chat. BTW, I'll be bringing Tide of Iron w/ me if you still want to check it out.