Beginner/American Civil War Diorama

Thanks for the advice, AJ.  Actually,  I believe I am going to take the advice of the owner of a local gaming shop here in KC who suggested I go with 15mm instead of 28mm.  He said that based on what I want to do, 15mm is better for several reasons (cost, size of the diorama I envision, and painting is easier to name a few).  I have been a military history buff since I was a kid.  While having read a ton about WWII, Vietnam, and all kinds of modern stuff, the ACW and the plains indian wars have been the most fascinating to me.  The two battles I would like to recreate are Gettysburg (Little Round Top) and Antietam (Dunker Church down the pike to the corn field).  I visited Antietam about three years ago, so I can envision it better than I can Gettysburg (I was 5 years old the only time I got to visit it).

I will certainly look into the paint and brushes you recommend.

-Jon

Rooster

I got a big batch of my minis ordered from Architects of War yesterday.  I purchased two Perry 28mm brigade packs and a 40-figure pack of Zouaves.  Holy cow these little dudes are pricy.  Each brigade pack contains 144 plastic infantry, three metal generals, and one metal gun with crew. So, I have a lot of painting to do and that won't include all of the metal minis I will get in the future to add to both armies.  I have some painting questions.  I figure my dad will have a lot of paint/brushes, but in case he doesn't have some things I will need, I will look for them at Hobby Lobby.

The Perry brand of figures are reputed to be about the best small scale plastic (read: economical) figures out there. 

[quote]1.  What is a good, economical spray primer that will go a long way (gray)?  [/quoyte]

Boyd probably jit that one right.

2. What is the best type/brand HL offers, yet affordable and will go a long way?  Also, will it dilute well?  Enamel or water-based?

Can't help with HL, none around here, but IMHO, the best paint for figures are Vallejo Acrylics. They thin with distilled water (a dollar a gallon at the pharmacy), last forever in the bottle and are designed for brush painting. Check out Colorado Miniatures for a full listing.

3. What are good brushes and what sizes will I need?

Don't listen to my friend Boyd here. If you're going to be serious about painting figues, get Kolinsky Sable brushes. *** Blick (on line and in brick & mortar locations) sells several brands, including house brands, at reasonable, but not cheap, prices. Think of them as the speakers on your sound system. Yeah, you can pay a couple bucks for a cheap speaker and it will sound like a cheap speaker. You can get cheap tires for you car and they'll old the road just fine in a straight line, just don't try to maneuver on them. A good Kolinsky brush will last for years, holds a point, and transfers a good amount of paint to the surface. 

4.  Quickshade - This stuff looks awesome (and I hope will go a long way based on it's price).  It almost appears to make up for imperfect painting.  I am thinking Strong Tone.  Is this only available online or at places like Hobby Haven?

Sounds like a can of plaid paint to me. There are no shortcuts to quality work.  

5. Any advice on painting mass quantity of minis? 

I'd advise against mass quantities of figures/minis until you get a good feel for  painting individual figures.  In fact, I'd also recommend a small scene before a major battle.

Someone mentioned references earlier on. I'd recommend first Don Troiani's Civil War art book. It's now in paperback. Also art by Mort Kunsler (yes, the guy mentinoed in a recent FSM in regard to Aurora are of yore) and also Keith Rocco.  Additoinally, the Osprey series of books on the ACW are excellent.

Remember, the North didn't just wear blue and the South didn't just wear gray.

I will post pics as I move along.  Here is a YT link to Army Painter's Quickshade product (splash technique):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYfhmfFgi9U

Good batch of stuff you purchased, Jon. Be sure to post a pic or two and share with the group when you get them.

I'll answer your questions to the best of my ability below (my answers will be bolded to stand out from your quote).

Rooster

1.  What is a good, economical spray primer that will go a long way (gray)? 

I buy Krylon or something similar at Home Depot or WalMart. The big can is around $4.00. By comparison, the last time I looked at Tamiya primer, the 'big' can (about half the size of the one I buy) was close to $10.

 

2. What is the best type/brand HL offers, yet affordable and will go a long way?  Also, will it dilute well?  Enamel or water-based?

Best type of what? Paint? Primer?

I'm going to leave this question for someone else since I don't have a Hobby Lobby near me.

 

3. What are good brushes and what sizes will I need?

How big are these figures? I find that for just about any project I'm good with a range of brushes from about a 2 down to a 000. As far as which brushes... well, that is tricky. I tend to buy cheaper brushes at the local craft store (Michael's, I think). Once they get a little ratty for regular painting, I demote them to drybrushing or some other more use.

That being said, I know some people who swear by higher end brushes.

 

4.  Quickshade - This stuff looks awesome (and I hope will go a long way based on it's price).  It almost appears to make up for imperfect painting.  I am thinking Strong Tone.  Is this only available online or at places like Hobby Haven?

To be honest, I've never heard of this stuff. Another question I'll leave for someone else.

 

5. Any advice on painting mass quantity of minis? 

I did a 1/72 scale Risk set years ago. Well, I started it at least.... What I did was to prime everyone, then I did them in batches. So, I'd pick 10 figures and I'd paint all of the items that were the same color (say, the uniform tunics).  Then I'd go back and do the trousers, then the boots, the rifles, etc etc. So, at the end of a good painting session, I'd be a long way to completing (or maybe I would have them done), a squad of soldiers - roughly.

(One note - I wasn't really going for great detail when I did that set, so I wasn't doing much in the way of shading or picking out many details).

 

Thanks, fellas!

 

Jon

I got a big batch of my minis ordered from Architects of War yesterday.  I purchased two Perry 28mm brigade packs and a 40-figure pack of Zouaves.  Holy cow these little dudes are pricy.  Each brigade pack contains 144 plastic infantry, three metal generals, and one metal gun with crew. So, I have a lot of painting to do and that won't include all of the metal minis I will get in the future to add to both armies.  I have some painting questions.  I figure my dad will have a lot of paint/brushes, but in case he doesn't have some things I will need, I will look for them at Hobby Lobby.

1.  What is a good, economical spray primer that will go a long way (gray)? 

2. What is the best type/brand HL offers, yet affordable and will go a long way?  Also, will it dilute well?  Enamel or water-based?

3. What are good brushes and what sizes will I need?

4.  Quickshade - This stuff looks awesome (and I hope will go a long way based on it's price).  It almost appears to make up for imperfect painting.  I am thinking Strong Tone.  Is this only available online or at places like Hobby Haven?

5. Any advice on painting mass quantity of minis? 

Thanks, fellas!

Jon

Thanks for all the advice, guy's I will check out both books.  Yeah, 1/32 is about twice as large as I want to go, but I do appreciate the suggestion on that site.  I see some good ideas there.

Rooster, this may be some help.  It's a link to a page in the Toy Soldiers of San Diego site.  They are a very good supplier to the toy soldier market.  As you'll see they also build some nice dioramas with some instruction.  This is 1/32 scale, maybe a little bigger than you want, but the ideas are good:

http://www.sdsoldiers.com/diorama.htm

There are tons of books on this subject. I recommend “The Illustrated Directory of Uniforms, Weapons and Equipment of the Civil War”, edited by David Miller. It's inexpensive and has a TON of color pictures of the actual items and equiptment used by both Confederate and Federal troops. You should be able to get a jump start from your Dad since being a RR guy, he can guide you thru most of the groundwork.

Ditto what Brownie said about Shep Paine's book.. It's the "Diorama Builder's Bible", IMNSHO...  It covers just about everything you'll ever need to know about getting started in diorama building..

Jon

Welcome to FSM.

If you are interested in building a diorama, the first step is to get ahold of a copy of Shep Paine's book, "How to Build Dioramas". It is currently in the second edition, but even if you get a copy of the first (it would be a little cheaper), you'll find it full of great tips and techniques.

I'm a big Civil War buff myself, so I'll be interested to see your progress.

I'll also try to post again to answer some of your more specific questions, but it is kind of late and I have to get some sleep.

Again, welcome!