Review: Couple of Hobby Supplies

Lately I have been having marathon painting and modeling sessions to try and clear the painting queue for my Americans. Although I don't really enjoy painting, to keep things fresh I have been trying new methods that will hopefully save me time, deliver good results, and keep me motivated through the end of the project. I have already described how the airbrush has aided me (here and here, for example) and subsequently rekindled my desire for painting German tanks. But the airbrush still cannot really help me with 15mm infantry. Mostly my painting method for infantry boils down to the method described in this article (hint: it's a lot of dry-brushing). But two hobby supplies have recently helped make both my tanks and infantry stand out just a little more. These are: 1. The line of "tufts" by Army Painter; and 2. Vallejo's new pigments.

First, the tufts. These have been, without hyperbole, one of the best values for my dollar that I have ever bought for this hobby. For a mere $5 I was able to place two tufts of cool-looking flowers on each of the 50-ish small, medium, and large bases that I had to complete, with enough left over for at least another 20 bases.

Two examples of Army Painter's Tufts

Also, these tufts are super-easy to use. I just grip a piece of the tufts with bathroom tweezers, gently dip the bottom of the tuft in some Elmer's glue, and apply it to the base. It literally couldn't be easier. I give it a 10/10.

Army Painter Flower Tufts: distracting people from my pedestrian paint jobs since 2012

Vallejo's pigments have also been an outstanding discovery for me. They add just the right amount of realistic weathering to the tanks that I like to have at 15mm scale. The pigment doesn't overpower the rest of the paint job, but merely adds a nice accent to the model.

I apply my pigments at the very end of the painting process, using an old, ratty brush. Then I apply a matt varnish spray (Testor's Dullcote) as I always do, which helps seal the pigment to the model. I can see that after extensive use there may be a need to re-apply the pigment, but such low-level maintenance is definitely worth it for me. In the tradition of WWPD, I give it 9 out of 10 passed bogging checks!

So there you have it: two tools that have gone a long way toward making the painting aspect of the hobby more enjoyable and more fulfilling for me.