Somehow over the last few days the blog has ticked over to 200,000 views. Appropriately enough, this has been my best ever month for blog hits, down largely to a new but deeply committed spam bot fan base in Russia!
Anyway, all joking aside, thanks to those of you that do drop by to take a look here or leave the odd comment. It's much appreciated.
Right, back to the work table.
Paint and game on!
Cheers,
Aaron
I'm painting on the kitchen table but under the express requirement that I clear said table every night - so clutter is not allowed!
ReplyDeleteThat's tough Phil, but better than no painting at all I guess!
DeleteCongrats on the 200K! Spam bots and search engines keep us bloggers happy, don't they.
ReplyDeleteHear here, Phil. I've been painting on the kitchen table for years. I do get to leave my mess out though. I had to give up my "office" years ago when my second born was on his way.
I think my office will likely be requisitioned soon as well, so I'd best make the most of it while I have it!
DeleteWell done on reaching 200k!! That's almost clear compared to my messy table!!!
ReplyDeletePics or it's clean as a whistle, Ray!
DeleteMessy is just another word for productive! I've had lots of spambot activity too, but they need to lift their game to get me to 200k, well done :-)
ReplyDeleteThey've really come to the party, Paul! Not quite sure what got their attention, but they're certainly devoted now :D
DeleteWhite wine? Sheesh....
ReplyDeleteOn another note, what kind of paints do you use? Other than the Tamiya one I don't recognize any of the others.
lol, It was a hoity-toity kind of night, Kris! Regarding the paints, I use Tamiya, Gunze Sangyo (AKA Mr. Hobby) and some artist's acrylics called Acril Gouache which work really well in a wet palette. I just got some Liquitex the other day too. Mostly now I use the artist's acrylics and the Gunze metallics.
DeleteHmmm yes, I was going to ask about the paints too. Most references to gouache in the wargames/modelmaking blog-o-sphere have been negative, without really saying why. True gouache is a different chemistry to acrylic paint. Do you find it adheres ok to the fig? What do you use to thin it?
DeleteI recently bought some Tamiya paints to try. How do you find brushing them on? Can you give any tips?
DeleteHi Zardoz, I don't know about the chemistry side of it, but I just have a wet brush when I use the gouache and will maybe mix a drop of water in with it as well (usually on a wet palette). I find it adheres well to other paint (but not bare metal) and can go on a bit thick if you aren't careful. You may lose a bit of it when you put on your protective/staining Klear washes, so these days I give it a spray of varnish first to fix it. I really like them, mainly because they have a big range and are available here, they are better to use than Tamiya, and I can get my highlights straight out of the tube rather than having to mix them up.
DeleteKris, I'm not really a fan of Tamiya to be honest. I used it because I had to, but I struggle to get them to look good. I've heard a ball bearing in them will help with consistency (but haven't tried it myself) and apparently they are great for airbrushing, but I avoid them as much as possible these days. When I do use them I thin them with Tamiya thinner, retardent, or a spot of water, and sometimes all three at once. Their whites are awful, so don't even try them, but they do have good WWII colours, so I use them for my 6mm stuff as they give smoother coverage on smaller scales than the gouache.
DeleteOne more thing Kris, the main problem with Tamiya is that your mix dries so quickly in the summer heat over here, and that is a big problem when working with big batches like I usually do.
DeleteCongratulations on reaching 200K! i too have some Russian sites "looking" at my blog but they are not driving up the hit count too much - your blog must be much more attractive to Slavic web-bots :-)
ReplyDeleteI use Tamiya almost exclusively for ancients and WW2. I think it the first acrylics I started with after Humbrol and have not bothered to change. Some colours sometimes seem hard to use such as the red and yellow, but then I am an average painter and also don't paint much anymore either!
anyway, you are out of the doldrums, painting and at 200K! It is onwards and upwards from here.
Thanks Shaun! The humidity here in summer means that I do prefer the craft paints now, but you can certainly use the Tamiya :)
DeleteRegarding the bots, as soon as I mention them they stop sending traffic! Is it a first rule of Fight Club scenario...?
Thanks for the visit and yes, it's nice to come out of the doldrums at last :)
My painting table is crowded, but I wouldn't say it's happy! At the moment there are a pile of Russian GNW figures awaiting finishing. It's just getting the motivation to sit down, tidy the table up a bit, and get painting. Biggest problem is having to kneel to paint, which means shorter and less comfortable painting sessions.
ReplyDeleteOh no, the old kneeling trick! I had to do that for a while. Not the best for productivity! Good luck :)
DeleteYour table looks pretty organized to me. Is this a dedicated space or transient?
ReplyDeletePaint on!
Depends, Jonathan. If I want to play a game it's transient, and with our youngest getting older it might soon have to be a bedroom!
Delete