Painting Tips 3

Here is another installment of good tips from an average painter. This time I concentrate on Flames of War specific tips.

You can see my earlier painting tips posts by clicking on links below:

Painting Tips 1
Painting Tips 2

Here are the tips I have picked up that are most useful to assembling, modelling and painting Flames of War Models.

1. Temporarily attach tanks to a "hold". I use lids from soft drink bottles, others use old paint pots. What ever you use, blu tacing tanks and vehicles to a "hold" will allow you to pick it up, paint it without your hands actually touching the model. I apply these straight after clean up. I then leave them attached from undercoat to varnish.
2. Score bases before gluing figures. The Battlefront bases are distinctive and look good on the table. However they are relatively smooth. I use my scalpel to scratch lines in the surface of the base in a diagonal direction. This provides something for the glue to hold onto and helps the glue to adhere the figures to the bases better.
3. Paint your bases. Nothing looks worse on the table than a gray edge on the base that isn't painted. Whether you are using the old gray or the new brown bases, painting the edges will instantly improve the look of the base you spent so much time painting.
4. Read up on decals. I could and might write up a post on this. Don't just apply decals to tanks and then spray varnish the model. The decal will "silver" and look dreadful. Google applying decals. There are articles and you tube videos out there to help you make decals look awesome.
5. Try to create a vignette with every base. You want the figures to follow a theme. For example if you have an NCO gesturing and running, then try to place other figures on the move or a LMG providing covering fire. 
6. After gluing figures to a base, use a basing material to hide the figures bases. This is less of a problem with the new brown bases but was and is a big problem for gray bases. I use filler to build up the base to the level of the figures. Others use ballast or textured basing material. Either way, you can hide the bases with one of these options.
7. Magnets, magnets, magnets. These are not just for keeping turrets on. They can allow you to have a vehicle with different barrels or gun crews with different guns. This is only limited by your imagination and the size and variety of magnets you have.
8. To base before or after you paint. This is subject to differing opinions. I personally base before painting but this is a compromise. There are times when this means I cannot get to every detail. However it means I can finish figures quickly and have a natural "hold" - the base. Whether you base or not, stick the figures down to something to prevent the oils in your skin touching the figures.
9. Tanks Commanders - The best way to distinguish the command tank is to just have the platoon command vehicle with the hatch unbuttoned. Whilst it may be cooler to have all the tanks painted this way, it makes identification during gaming simple.
10. Stowage. Stowage on tanks is a great way to improve the look of your vehicles. Look at some pics of WW2 tanks and crews had all sorts of things on the back and sides of their tanks. BF make packs of these and include them on their new plastic frames. However you can use all sorts of things like camo neting, logs to make your tanks unique. This is especially good for mono-colour vehicles like US and Soviet, green tanks.

I hope you enjoyed this post and it has inspired you to paint some of your lead pile.