Let's talk about paint bottles

I was going through my paints yesterday evening(I have over 400+bottles of Vallejo,Foundry GW etc.) and confirmed my long standing suspicion of the quality of the GW bottles as progressively worse for the most part except their foundation paints. I must have threw away about 30 bottles of paint in which many were never used as they were all dried up! Needless to say I was less then pleased as I did pay for them at some point after all.
Nowadays, I use Vallejo more often as my paint of choice as well as Foundry, but I also do still use GW paints as well and this is why I'm doing a little rant on them. I know they often have complaints heaped on them, but they usually deserve it with their prices on their products and paint bottle quality.
This has prompted me to talk about the quality of the paint bottles I have and give an opinion on them.I'm not talking too much about the paints themselves, but will add some comments on it, however the focus will be the bottles. I as always welcome all other thoughts on this and will modify the post when things are brought up I didn't think of. :-)

The above first generation GW in the soft plastic bottles and lids. The pigment is a bit too thin and getting the tops off is a bit of a pain and not user friendly. Also, if you didn't watch out you could knock over the bottle and watch your paint run, but on the plus side the paint will last for years and years. Most of these bottles I've had since the early to mid 90's! Since I'll gladly give up user friendly for my paints not drying up these get a  thumbs up.

Second Generation GW paints in a slightly harder bottle and soft lid. Same analysis as the first generation and so a thumbs up overall.

Third Generation GW paints and probably the worst ever over all . Ok, here they did improve the pigmentation, but that's it folks. The top was a royal pain to open after excess paint would eventually dry it shut. The paint in the bottle dried up soon after opening and eventually would dry up even if you didn't open the bottle! Being messy and knocking them over also something to deal with. Frustration and loss of money on this.These type of bottles made you think GW bottled them in these just so you would have to continue buying more on a regular basis. Two very big thumbs down!

Forth Generation GW paints.Not much better then the third.Only better because the lid doesn't dry shut, but even that's not much better, because it drips down onto the lid when you open it ruining what little seal you do get from these bottles. So, almost a carbon copy of the 3rd generation giving it a two big thumbs down.

These GW Foundation bottles are a big improvement over the others with very nice pigmentation and user friendly. They went back to the soft bottle and lid which no doubt has prolonged the shelf life of these quite a bit, but for some reason still not as long as the original bottles, but diffidently a substantial improvement.. Why they don't put the standard colours into these bottles as well is anybody's guess.Still need to be careful not to knock them over. These do rate a nice thumbs up though.

 

These Armoury paints are nice with good pigmentation and quite a bit of paint for your money which is a real bonus. However, the bottle isn't very nice. The lid can be a real bastard to open when the paint dries around the rim and the glass bottle can give you an ugly accident if it breaks making you nervous when using and storing. Easy to knock over do to being too long and tall which is not good. Because of the bottle it gets a thumbs down. I haven't purchased paints from them in quite awhile and so they may have changed the bottles since then.

Ral Partha makes a very nice paint with good pigmentation, a healthy amount of paint for your money and the bottles are in a nice soft plastic. The problem is the lid in that when it dries these can be super hard to open and will give you a few choice words when trying to open it. Also, like many must be careful not to knock over. Still, overall a thumbs up.

Tamiya paints are a real pain in the behind and I wouldn't use them if for not the fact that they can give some really awesome results on some things. These paints really are for modellers and not wargamers as they are very unfriendly paints. Some of the positive in these paints is the excellent shelf life,plenty of paint for money and some super realistic results be can achieved with these, and is resistant to being knocked over due to a wide base. Now for the negative........they smell terrible, dry quickly out of the bottle and the lid can be a pain to open when paint dries on the seal , in addition the glass bottle can be nasty if it breaks. Also, your brushes must be thoroughly cleaned after using these paints or they will be destroyed.  Based on the bottle and the difficulty in using the paints  it  receives an over all thumbs down. Basically, I use these for very specific things and that's it.

Howard Hues paints have nice pigmentation and have some great colours for the American Civil War period. Wide base gives resistance to being knocked over as well. The problem is the lid can be difficult to open when the paint dries on the rim. They also switched from glass to plastic which I like as it reduces breakage. These deserve a thumbs up.

These are some really super paints with outstanding shelf life and superb pigmentation(at least the older releases). One of the few times I don't mind paying a lot of money for the paint.One bottle will stretch a very long time making any investment well worth it.The lid can be a bit inconvenient,but only a very little and soft bottle and top is super convenient in terms of prolonging the paint,storage and virtually shatter proof.Do need to mind being knocked over though. I use this paint a great deal and is only rivalled by the next entry coming.Two very,very big thumbs up!

Vallejo paints are in my opinion the best on the market and the brand I use progressively more and more where I can see it may become my exclusive choice of paints.The pigmentation is nothing less then superb and gives an unrivalled tonal quality. The bottle comes in the best type which is a soft plastic making it almost accident proof and offers outstanding shelf life .Another fantastic feature of these paints is the nozzle on it which allows for controlled amount of paints used and best of all the paint in the bottle is exposed to very little air when the lid is off extending the paints life even longer. Also,another huge plus for these is knocking over these babies is no sweat as the paint stays in the bottle thanks to the nozzle. I prefer the nozzle, but Vallejo also made it so you can remove the nozzles if you so desire which is thinking of all painters taste. This makes the bottle the best on the market as well. If I had to say anything negative is that once the paint is out of the bottle it tends to dry quickly and so keeping the paints on semi damp surface is needed, but this is more then off set by all the positive factors.Two thumbs way up and I mean way up folks!

Mean Green Machine

I just finished painting up these Orcs for a friend of mine at the club for those curious to see what I've been up to. It's part of some of the miniatures I sold to him of my painted stuff and the rest is going on e-bay as I already have too many fantasy armies(6 still) and decided I wanted to reduce the armies to a more manageable amount and get a few coins for my hobby room renovation.
The first one is a Orc Warboss on the classic Wyvern which I think is much better model then the new one. The second one is a Orc Boar Boyz unit.Both were painted up to table top standards and my friend was happy with the result which is what counts.
A note on Fantasy battle 8th edition in that I think it's the best version since the 3rd edition.The 3rd edition was great because it was still geared primarily for adults with army composition needing to be built up requiring work on the part of the player, but allowed lots of flexibility.Any ways, back to the 8th edition. After the 7th edition I was fed up and ready to throw in the towel as I was weary of the character,magic and skirmish dominated tactics.The 8th edition now places the emphasis on units and blocks of troops with magic still being deadly,but manageable and even allows players a decent chance to win with no mages which was very unlikely in the old system unless you were Dwarf player which is self explanatory.Close combat also is much more fun with both players now getting a chance to get their punches in with a real feel for massed combat( I like to roll dice which helps too! ). But, the true strength of the 8th edition is game flow with just runs very smooth.It has it's broken parts still of course namely war machines being too strong and terrain being over simplified, but the positive IMHO out weighs the negative.
Now they just need to update the army books to work within the new system as some armies are very powerful and others hurting. Hopefully,they support this version with proper army books and not screw them up.Also, wasn't smart of GW  in letting Rick go, but now he's free for historical games which is even better! While I do like the new 8th edition WHFB, I still prefer historical wargaming if given a choice. 
Ohh, another thing in that I'm happy I already own the armies I need and so won't have to worry about buying anything from GW( shudders at the price which is still ludicrously high ) and since I don't play tournaments if I do want model or two I'll buy something similar from another company.
Ahh, now I can get back to painting my planned projects, but I might do some of my personal fantasy stuff if the mood takes me here and there.
Impetus fantasy also looks interesting, but that's only food for thought with no plans yet for it, but.....one never knows. :-)
Miniature Company- Games Workshop

Researching and updated blog with some new gadgets

Hi everyone, just letting you know the reason for a pause in regular posting (excuse list that is).Currently I'm doing some research for a painting project where I'm trying to work out the best colour options and method of application(zombie flesh and blood) . Also,I will try an alternative painting technique on just a few miniatures to see how it goes (full painting with no black lining). Surprisingly,the research consumed more time then I thought.In addition,I've been painting up a few miniatures for a friend.
Soon, regular posting will resume with some AWI, Chaos in Cairo and Zombie material followed by more El Cid.

I've added a few more gadgets to my blog.

Blog list-For some reason of an mental brain drop I failed to add a list of the blogs I follow and this has now been corrected. I went with 10 showing to keep it user friendly,but you can just hit list all button to see all of them. The listing shown will always be by the latest updates.When viewing the complete blog list you can see it's quite a hefty amount,but I really do enjoy reading and viewing what other's are doing. :-)

Top 10 member-I thought this would be a nice way of me giving recognition to readers who currently read my blog the most. Please don't worry  if your not in there as I won't feel slighted in the least as it's just a fun gadget for interest and not to be taken overly serious. Gadjets are fun after all! :-)  Also, you have to sign in to get on the listing and this allows for persons still wanting to view my blog anonymously or unrecorded to continue to do so.When signing in just use the normal account you use for the blogging and you won't double follow,but even if you do it's not important, but just passing on the tip.

Popular Posts- Thought I'd throw that in there for those curious to see what folks are viewing the most on my blog.

Thanks for reading!

Jimmy "High Flying" Jameson(Chaos in Cairo Character)

Jimmy "High Flying" Jameson
Status-Party Sponsor
Date of Birth-1904
Current Date-1926

Jimmy is the son of George Jameson a very wealthy business man from an old aristocratic southern family from the state of South Carolina. Jimmy was expected to follow in the family business of running a very large peach plantation ,but of course Jimmy had other ideas.

Jimmy's passion in life has always been aviation since he was a kid right on up through his adolescent years and young adulthood. He hungrily devoured stories of the Wright Brothers ,WWI aces Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen(Red Baron) , William "Billy" Avery Bishop, and Edward "Eddie" Vernon Rickenbacker while all the while dreaming of one day flying himself.

Through his fathers pressure Jimmy headed of to Yale University at the age of 18 to receive his education. While there Jimmy tried to give it a proper go and even joined the men's rowing team where he excelled and to his surprise also discovered he liked to write a bit. He started writing short stories(about flying of course) and keeping a journal. He tried to pay attention to his studies, but he just couldn't stop thinking about flying and so left Yale at 20 to seek a flying school of some sort and began his dream of being an aviation pilot like his heroes of the air.
In no time he found a local "Barn storming" group (stunt pilots) where he proved to be an amazingly apt pupil and learned how fly in very short order. In fact he was so talented his teacher was heard to remark "I wish we had him in the war as life would have been a heck of a lot easier in our troop". Soon, Jimmy was an active member travelling with the group and putting on stunt shows, selling air plane rides and even doing some crop dusting to help out local farmers. Life was grand ...... until his father showed up and forced him to quit by insisting he return to Yale and finish his studies.

Jimmy returned to Yale feeling depressed ,but not seeing much choice. When he was 21 this all changed one Friday when reading a National Geographic in the Library on Egypt and it's new postal service. It seems they had an air postal service running and were looking for qualified flyers. This was just the break he needed!
Jimmy headed straight to the bank and withdrew a small fortune in savings that he was entitled too from birthright. This was all easily accomplished without problems due to him being of proper age .... ohh and a little thing about also having a note he forged of his fathers signature approving the withdrawal that is!

Jimmy was off to a life of adventure and Flying! He also read about tombs and artefacts being found and studied in Egypt which might prove interesting to do on his non flying days. Now aged 22 he promptly boarded the closest available liner and headed to Cairo.

Later, Jimmy did become a famous pilot, but that is another story, because for now his adventures in Egypt is our topic at hand.

A side note in that Jimmy will be the narrator in the adventures of the group when I begin them and will be done in Journal format from Jimmy's perspective as inspired by Jason on Geektactica.

Miniature Company-Coppelstone Castings

Caballeros Hidalgos(Spanish Noble Knights)

As I mentioned earlier I would be starting a Christian mercenary army for the El Cid/Reconquista period for WAB.See my notes under El Cid labels for more information on this army.This is my first unit of Caballeros Hidalgos(Noble Knights) who were the cream of the Christian armies consisting primarily,but not exclusively of the wealthy noble born.
Like I mentioned they have a very Moorish flair to them to represent their cultural make up and their various employers they fought for both Christian and Moors.
The General is naturally the grizzled veteran on the white charger.I decided to grey his hair and even add some white to represent the hardship of years of hard campaigning.The army standard is carrying the large Lion banner which represents the commanders personal heraldry.The other knights are his personal bodyguards and most loyal supporters.
The army is done using army painter,but with added highlights which costs significant  painting time,but is still faster then black lining and doing the eyes.However,I will add that the white charger,white bits on the horses,shields and banners were all painted normally.All shields and banners are hand painted and painted in a uniformed colour scheme as I wanted the army to look as if they are all part of the same force,but varied the designs to still retain their individuality.With the bases,shields and banners in uniformed colour I was able to paint the clothes in different colours without losing an army identity and still stay somewhat within period background.
I did some minor conversion work in helmet adjustments and adding more length to their garments to try and give more of Spanish knight feel to them.
Another choice common to Spanish for this period is a heavy red and yellow,but I preferred to go with a deep red and off white as I like the more mellow tone as I hope some of you do as well.
Also,I mixed up several companies for this army as I wanted the variety for this one.
Thank you for reading and viewing. :-)
Miniature Company-Artizan Designs,Perry Miniatures,Conquest Games

 

Miss Kitty Zombie Survivor

 As I mentioned at the club we have caught the zombie fever and are itching to sink our teeth(pun intended) into the genre.A combination of films,games and Hasselfree miniatures hooked me.Everyone in the group will collect a few survivors and some zombies to start.After we have a few painted up we will move on to doing terrain.We will start off with some free rules and maybe pick up some commercial ones.
This is the first of my Zombie Survivors Miss Kitty who looks pretty harmless....that is except for the twin  9mm's in each hand!My impression of Hasselfree miniatures up close is.........fantastic!!!!They are true 25mm and therefore on the small side.When holding them one sees they are very finely sculpted and delicate miniatures with superb detail and very clean.
I'm not that experienced in painting female figures as I'm a newcomer to pulp/horror genre with most of my experience in historical or warrior/monster fantasy, and so I really hope I did this figure some justice.I really enjoyed painting her and will do some more females in the future for sure hopefully improving as I go along as I really need more practice.By this I mean painting male skin and female skin is very different as the transition in tones on females needs to be more smooth or she will look too harsh and buffed out which wasn't what I wanted for her and probably most other female miniatures.
More post apocalyptic zombie stuff to follow  along with some soon to see El Cid,AWI and Chaos in Cairo.
Miniature Company-Hasselfree Miniatures

Happy New year! and my 2011 Projects list

First off I'd like to say a pre-emptive  Happy New Year!I hope 2011 is a great year for everyone and my best wishes to all.
The weather we are experiencing really does make one sympathetic for the troops that fought at Valley Forge!
The year 2010 was a decent year in project painting,but not stellar.I'm hoping for a more productive year in 2011.My overall goal like most wargaming painters is to complete more and buy less which is always difficult,but I hope to do better then usual this time.This is primarily for two reasons with the first being to reduce the lead pile of course,but more importantly I want to save a few coins to renovate my hobby room from what is now more a less a storage room with a table and cheap metal shelves to a first rate gaming room.This will be quite expensive and so I'll need to put in some overtime at work and cut back some on expenditures.I'm hoping to start the renovation in September/October 2011 and I'm very excited to see how my dreams will turn out.

So,my project plans for 2011 are(crossed fingers):

Will do for sure due to club commitments or personal:

-BG AWI-Due to the fact I've met another gamer interested in this period I now have additional motivation to paint this period as I'll actually get to game it!I don't expect to get a great amount completed as this period is difficult to paint and so progress will be slow,but there will be progress nonetheless and even some gaming. :-)

-DH Fallschirmjäger(28mm)-Fortunately this project does not require a lot of miniatures which is a blessing due to the difficulty in painting these troop types and since I already have a decent start I have high hopes to finish enough to at least start to game with them.

-FOW Fallschirmjäger(15mm)-Half the project is already completed and so I stand a reasonably decent chance to finish this one.

-Chaos in Cairo-This project stands an excellent chance of seeing completion as the miniature count is very low and the terrain not to difficult to either build or obtain.

-WAB El Cid Christian Army-Since I plan on cutting corners with a this army and the fact that it's all mounted resulting in a lower miniature count should see this one completed.

-The Dead Walk-Yes,we have been bitten by the Zombie bug at our club and will be gaming this next year.Films,TV series and Hasselfree miniatures tipped me over the edge.Again,miniature count isn't that high with each member painting a few Survivors and a handful of Zombies plus card terrain gives this project a very high probability to see it completed.We have decided to try some free rules first and then perhaps some others as well.I have to say this project is easy to generate interest across the board at the club probably due to the fact that killing zombies is very appealing to everyone!!(LoL!)

-Hobby Room- As stated,the most important project in 2011 and I just really hope things come together to see it happen!

-Read More books-Not really a miniature project,but something I've wanted to get back on track again.

Other projects on the lead pile that may get started:

-TVG F&IW Indians-I wasn't sure if this would go in the planned or not as I would really like to do it,but decided the others are more important.

-DH Finns-Really like the mini's,but need a Russian opponent.

-SCW-Love these Empress mini's,but again no opponent so staying in the lead box for the moment.

-WAB ECW-A huge collection,but again no interest at the club and so staying on the back burner.

-WAB Ancient Germans-One of my friends is collecting Romans and so depending on his progress could see this moved into the planned projects.Fantastic Foundry sculpts btw.

-WAB Praetorian Romans- This army is actually painted,but really needs an overhaul and so again largely depends on my friends progress to see if I move it up.

-WAB Assyrians-Lovely Foundry sculpts and very nice colours makes this army very attractive to start........and my Trojans need somebody to fight!

-Impetus Aztecs-This is largely a painters project where the fantastic basing system of this system has inspired me to build a very colourful Aztec army using the outstanding Foundry Aztec range(their best range IMHO).However,since this is a personal project I couldn't place it in the planned as I feel I should do commitments first,but you never know.........

-Impetus Samurai(both 28mm & 15mm)-This is both a personal project and vaguely planned one with a friend.The reason it's not in the planned is what the reason always is.......procrastination.I'm not sure what type of Samurai I want to do with a pleasing uniformed look or a more historical approach of wildly contrasting colours and mons etc..also,I'm not sure if I want to start on Samurai or Sohai Warrior Monks first as I'll being doing both.Also,the high level of difficulty in painting this has me concerned as well.

Not yet on the lead pile,but thinking of.

WAB WOTR-A friend is collecting this period and I'm interested in doing an army with Warwick the King maker,but again project overloads and attempting to save money has me waiting.

WAB Swiss/Landsknechtes-Italian Wars and the colourful period is very attractive,but is a serious commitment in terms of painting requirements in both amount and difficulty which keeps this on the thinking about list for now.

Zulu/Boar Wars-Empress sculpts keep me thinking!

Japanese WWII -Fun to paint,but no club interest in terms of gaming has me holding off on this for now.

WAB Romano British-Would really like an army for this,but waiting to see if Bill at Musketeer does any as he said he will.If Bill makes this line then this will be a buying exception and will move to planned projects.

As you can see I'm a really bouncer in terms of interest and have my greedy fingers in plenty of pots and so there is no end to my to do list.

Very Best Wishes,

Christopher