How to make realistic rust effects

Some weathering effects are created rather than painted. This applies to any textured effect, such as mud, snow or rust, among others. Of course, we can try to simulate these by painting them. But it is easier -and more realistic when painting a 3D model- when we create them. In this tutorial I will explore the new corrosion creator set by AMMO, U-Rust, designed to create textured rust effects. I think that this kit was initially meant for dioramas and big scale models, but as a wargamer I was curious to see whether we could also use it to paint small…

How to create leaves for your bases

We have many options and product to decorate our bases or terrain, including the classical electrostatic grass fibers or the popular grass tufts. However, some of these products might be very pricey, specially if we are looking for small leaves fitting the scale of our miniatures. In this tutorial we will see how we can use a natural product as a cheap (free) and very effective alternative to simulate leaves in our bases or terrain. The necromancer illustrating this guide is a lovely model from Citizens of the Old World (Heresylab).  The key ingredient are birch tree seeds. Although you can…

How to decorate bases with plants

One of the most important part of a miniature -although some times ignored- is the base. Even a poorly painted miniature will look more interesting when placed in a nicely decorated base. And vice versa, sometimes a  poorly decorated base might hamper the quality of a very well painted miniature. Today we will see how we can combine different materials to create interesting mixtures of grass and bushes in our wargaming bases. I will use as an example a German HMG team in 28mm by Kromlech Historical. If you wonder how to paint the German uniform, check this guide.  Remember that…

How to do urban bases

The bases for our wargames miniatures are as important as the miniatures themselves. A very nicely painted miniature based on a very simple base might affect negatively the visual impact of the model. And conversely, a simple painted miniature based on a very nicely decorated base might result in a very visual lay out. Therefore, I would suggest you to spend on the bases as much dedication as you do when painting the miniature. There are many different ways to decorate our bases. It will mostly depend on what we want to simulate. We can go from a desert in…

Trench and mud

I had the great opportunity to prepare a diorama for the cover of Wargames Soldiers and Strategy #90, where I have represented one of the probably most charismatic scenes of the last century wars, a trench raiding. More specifically, a German counter attack to take a trench section back. I wanted to share with you some details addressing the preparation of this diorama, although you will actually find more information inside the magazine. Additionally, in this very same WSS issue I have published a complete step-by-step painting guide of the Spanish 1898 colonial army, using the new miniatures from 1898…

Working with the terrain I

There are many ways to represent the sand base in our models or dioramas. We can just fix modeling sand with white glue and then paint it, we can use ready-to-use products, we can sculpt the texture, etc. In this post I want to explain another simple way using sands and clays from nature. You can find more information about how I preprared the vignete in the last issue of Wargames: Soldiers&Strategy. This way is not the best or the worst, it is just another way. I like it because I don’t have to paint the sand and therefore I…

Decals, transfer and stencils

Decals, transfer or stencils? Nowadays we have different possibilities when we want to put the Balkan cross in a Panzer IV, or the allied start in a Sherman. However, decals for vehicles are dominating the Wargames, thanks to games such as Flames of War or Bolt Action. But in large scales we can find other options, like transfer or stencils, and we can also use them for our 15mm models. Decals and transfer are too similar -a printed film above a paper-, but the application is different. Using decals, we wet the paper in first place, and when the decal…

How to do a dusty road

Because I’m currently living in Finland, from a while I wanted to paint a Finish vehicle. First, I thought about a captured soviet T-26 tank. But the Stug III G it’s more impressive!. And I decided to display it in a dusty road. After gathering some information, thanks to some friends, I decided to paint a tritonal camouflage, very similar to the German one. And although I prepared a mud base when I started this project (because the ambient influence!), the Finish Stug tanks fought in the Continuation War, in Jun and July of 1944. Therefore, I switched the viewpoint…