40k Space Wolves & Daemons Boot Sale Bargain - Help Lawnor identify and fix please (Spring Cleaning)

My infantry are now “finished”, but they aren’t finished-finished, as I’m giving the transfers lost of time in the sun to bleach away the yellow before I try them out.  I’ll post a section on them once I’ve some finished shots to share, which will hopefully be this weekend.  If I can’t call them done and cross them off my list soon I’ll get grumpy.

What I can share is the work I’ve done on their bases.  Every base was undercoated a dark colour, either a black or the base colour grey of their rocks.  The rocks  were painted with VMC Neutral Grey, washed with Nuln oil and drybrushed up with P3 jack Bone.  The mud was painted with P3 Battlefield Brown, then drybrushed with P3 Bootstrap Leather and then a little P3 Jack Bone.  This is the same as before.  Simples.  I then reclaimed the pin holes I had made back at the start of the project so I can see where people will end up standing.  Then I added some winter flock from Serious Play Scenics.  Not much.  I don’t want the flock dominating the bases, or getting in the way of attaching the models.  I then masked off the rims of each of the bases as I don’t want to get any snow stuck there.

You see that blue line on each of the bases?  That’s the direction the wind is going to be coming from.  I’ll be applying the snow in multiple coats so being able to spray from the same point layer after layer is key.  I didn’t think it through properly for the bases with guys already on so I largely ignored it for them and just did the best I could without ending up with snowmen.

With this done, it was time to prep my workspace.  Two key things to remember going forwards

1. Everything will be covered with hairspray.  It will ruin everything.  Do it inside a box.  I used the box I use for airbrushing, and even then I lined it with newspaper as i wanted to keep using it
2. Snow flock is a very fine powder.  It will go everywhere and you will want to recover it.  I wore a dust mask at a  times and waited until I was home alone so no one could create air flow near it.  I also prepared 2 clean trays lined with clean newspaper for working with the snow on.

I lined up all my bases in the box and drowned them in Tescos Everyday Value Hair Spray and then transferred then to a clean tray for flocking.  I do not want the excess snow getting stuck to the excess spray and being wasted.  I was very selective when spraying the bases with models on, and even then made mistakes.

The snow flock was then applied through a Wilco’s tea strainer reserved solely for this task using a small spoon over all the bases before being allowed a little time to dry.  I’ve no idea how long it wants, but I gave it around 10 minutes.  Hours might be better, but I wanted this done before anything happened to blow snow everywhere.

Once dried, the excess was gently shaken and tapped off.  I had some snow stuck to the minis so I took a wet brush and cleaned them off as best I could.  Everything was transferred back to the box, the excess snow as returned to its container and I repeated this process a few more times to build up the layer.  Once I was happy with the results, I left it for a couple of hours to dry, cleaned off the models with a wet brush, and then gave everything 2 coats of gloss varnish with the airbrush to seal it in.

Next stage was to glue the minis in place, and peel off the masking agent. It became evident that I was transferring snow to the minis so they were cleaned up with a wet brush once more, and everything was sealed once more with gloss varnish. Previous coats had been more of a blanket coating without picking anything up. This was an individual target approach. Once dry I painted up the bases and gave just the bases a coat of gloss.

They are currently sat on a shelf waiting for the transfers and looking quite good. here are a few points of interest:

•  The snow used is from precision ice And Snow. I received a sample set in an AssetDrop discovery box last year.
• Every time you apply the first coat of hair spray or varnish over the top of the snow it “melts” a little. You end up with a little less there than before. Plan for this.
• I suspect this stuff is designed for display pieces rather than models. I think it is at its best when it is allowed to pile up and then left loose, rather than sealed in so it can be handled or breathed near. If anyone knows a better way to seal it in when piled up please let me know.
• Wear a dust mask! No one wants to inhale hairspray. I’ve no idea if the snow is bad for you, but typically any fine powder you can inhale is usually bad for you. Plus you really don’t want to breathe or, god forbid, cough at the pot of snow!