20mm Modern project. Updated 16 Nov.

[Rick F]

Well, you won't be stuck for realistic basing material. It's everywhere! All my modern British bases have a sprinkling of fine dust from Helmand.

[racm32]

Well, you won't be stuck for realistic basing material. It's everywhere! All my modern British bases have a sprinkling of fine dust from Helmand.

I'd love to see a photo. I have only tried basing with natural dirt/sand (that I didn't paint over) once and had mixed results.

[Rick F]

I'd love to see a photo. I have only tried basing with natural dirt/sand (that I didn't paint over) once and had mixed results.

You've seen them before mate, the JTACs have it on the base, the blokes in the cornfield just have AK Dried Ground before I put some Afghan dust on. http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=127183.0

[racm32]

looks pretty good

[Rick F]

Cheers mate, there's no real need to put it on, the AK Dried Ground is really good on its own. I just like the fact it's dirt I scraped up outside my tent in FOB Price, I'm desperately waiting for that day when someone tells me it's the wrong colour for Helmand 

[racm32]

Its a great connection to you past and the history of those minis. I like the idea of it.

[racm32]

So I decided to try the local basing material and I love how it looks. My problem is how best to seal it. I'm thinking of just gently brushing on watered down PVA glue. If there is a better solution then please share.

[Ultravanillasmurf]

One of the traditional model railway solutions is watered down PVA glue in an eye dropper..

An alternative is to mix the basing material with powdered wood glue and use a mister (is that which mists). That probably takes practice, but allows you to dry sculpt the material.

[armchairgeneral]

Sorry to hear about the theft  Really nice figures 

I have some WW2 Fallschirmjagers camo smocks to paint on 28mm figures so read this topic with interest as I am not a great painter.

I have been advised to use the lightest colour of the camo pattern as the base (so maybe the beige in this case) and then apply the other colours quite thinly?

Also from the photographs, I am not sure how well the final brown wash works? It seems to reduce the effects of earlier stages which looked great. Maybe it could be applied more thinly or use a different shade?

Like I said, I am no great painter so not really qualified to give advice. I have always been put off moderns due to the challenging camo patterns. That’s on 28mm as well and you are painting 20mms!

[racm32]

So here is my first test to seal the base using hairspray. It did a very good job sealing it but as you can see did darken the soil a bit. Photos where taken about 14 hours after application so I don't think it will lighten up an more then that. It sill has a good natural earth look but not quite the arid earth I want. Not sure if I like it. Could always give it a light drybrush.

[Pattus Magnus]

It’s the perfect color now for damp arid ground...

A dry brush will help get it back toward looking arid, but probably not quite to how the unsprayed base looks. (Just an aside, you can also use a light dry brush on the uniform of very pale buff or sand that has a yellow tint to help it look ‘dry’ after using the wash for the shadows. Washes sometimes make figs look ‘damp’. Basically, the dry brush brings up the edges and folds like it is getting hit with sunlight. I use that technique on 6mm vehicles and it helps them ‘pop’ visually, especially ones with complex camo patterns like WW2 German tanks.)

It’s a challenge getting natural dirt to look dry after it has been sealed - I can’t think of any sealant that won’t darkened the base. My wife thinks I’m crazy going through the steps I do to make actual dirt look “right” on the bases.

Is the grit on the unsealed base glued down hard enough that you could get away without sealing the bases? They’ll shed dust a bit, but might hold up well enough. Some of my collection doesn’t have sealant on the bases and they’ve done alright.

Alternatively, and this might be a long shot, sprinkling a bit of fresh dirt on top of the base immediately after the sealant goes on may bring back the dry effect. My guess is that the material is darker after sealing because the clear varnish soaks through from the top and when it dries interacts with light similarly to a layer of water. By adding dust on top, hopefully the new layer will stick to the varnish, but won’t be soaked through, so it will keep the right reflectiveness. If you try that, you’ll have to be really careful not to get dust on the figure! On the other hand, maybe a bit of dust part way up the boots and pant legs would look authentic...

[racm32]

It seems like the larger grain bits stay in pretty well but the finer grain in between didn't reach the glue below.

[bluewillow]

Looking great though !

Great job on the camp too

Cheers
Matt

[racm32]

Well I'm calling the first 17 done. That gives me a full squad of 3 five man fireteams plus a platoon commander/leader and a radio operator/JTAC. I'll be consolidating all the posts down into a single painting tutorial on my blog. I'll post a link when done.









I'm really happy with how the camo pattern turned out,

[Pattus Magnus]

Those look excellent- had to remind myself they’re 20mm and not 28s. The camo definitely captures the feel of the actual kit you posted earlier. I like the way the weapons and other gear turned out, too.

I’m looking forward to seeing how the rest of your collection turns out!