further notes on will power: painting Minden Miniatures

I still don't have any!

Investigating a direction or style for these little gems I asked for some guidance through a yahoo group "old  school wargaming". I'm pleased to report a couple of amiable chaps have pointed me in the right direction, one must be more than amiable as he declares a liking for Irish Whiskey (who we all know invented the stuff) in his profile, and I must confess a drop of Bushmills finest has been known to pass my lips on special occasions (eg getting up off the lounge, washing the dishes, getting the dishes dirty etc. etc.).

however rewind to earlier a few days back.............

Taking Deans advice from the 'plastic legionary post' the other day I toddled of down to the local auto pimp'n shop and bought a can of grey primer and black primer to spray my undercoats. So when the bug bit and I could not resist holding off on one of those Minden figures any longer I thought I would give the spray primer undercoat a run.

fast forward to today............

I left the spray cans in the sun for a couple of minutes to warm (winter in the Antipodes) and thin the paint then test sprayed a couple of passes on the compost bin (it'll be fine as long as she who must be restrained doesn't notice), the paint was spraying perfectly, very fine finish. I then sprayed the miniature with multiple quick passes from above below and side-on and I have to say it looked very good, none of the detail was lost, the finish was smooth and the car primer seems very effective. I had left the figure outside for a while to harden the paint (primers are quite soft even when they look hard, designed to be rubbed back) and then I bought it inside I gave it a wash of 'pains'  ;-) grey (using artist acrylic).

She who must be restrained and a Jordanian Bedouin officer, they look like two snakes eyeing off a fat pigeon (or a handsome piggy) and neither is going to back down! 

Just for interest in case I was getting to "boaring" ...oink

Now the thing to note here, and basically the guts of the tale, is that if the grey of the car primer had been lighter (white-grey) the little chaps coat, breaches and stockings were done, finished. It really did look that good. I'm off to see if they make a white primer and pick up a can of white touch up paint (but that will be glossy?) and give this another run.............. see no will power, ............will those AB's ever get finished?

I remember my old mate Mal Wright in Adelaide sometimes painted his Austrian -was, syw & naps with white spray paint, a dab of facing colour, some flesh on the face and black for the hat.... Mal didn't muck around when re-enforcements were needed fast!

This is what he was guarding, the tomb known as the Treasury at Petra.