Blog design fiddles

Well, progress has been extremely slow, turns out a full time job a, wife and a 14 month old daughter doesn't leave much free time :) Nevertheless, progress has occured:

1. Finalised 1000pt army list
2. Added progress bar to Blog showing the different units I'v egot on the go (50% = fully assembled and undercoated)
3. Fiddled with Baneblade but it's been put to one side in the interests of getting an actual army ready instead. I've also decided to go with the original tracks, the 1/35 Tiger tracks I put on just look too flimsy...
4. Airbrush practice has begun - I crunched some old stuff on ebay and bought an Iwata HP-C with the proceeds.

Plan at the moment is to assemble and undercoat the heavy support section first so that's a Medusa, Manticore and vanilla Russ. Russ is done as far as undercoat, Medusa and Manticore are in final assembly before super detailing and undercoating.

Troops and HQ next.

Watch this space :)

Resin and metal surface prep

I've been stripping a couple of old metal 2nd edition Ogryns for my Traitor Guard army and have found a nice product for finishing off the stripping process before the primer coat. I initially use nitromors or acetone for removing the paint, then rinse with cold water.

The secret ingredient for the final stage is Cif kitchen cleaning liquid and a toothbrush. (Originally called Jif in this part of the world, I think it's one reason why the pronunciation of the word "gif" didn't go the way the inventor of the file intended...).

Cif is brilliant for this job when used undiluted. It's got very strong detergents to remove any oils or paint stripper still present and it also contains micro-granules. These are perfect for surface prep on metal and resin models and act as a coarse grade sandpaper, removing gunk and leaving a slightly rough key for paint to adhere to, making for a more hardwearing paintjob. And your models smell lemony fresh afterwards as well!