The scale is the thing that most bedevils me.

I was recently watching some commentary on house rules from [b]Lion in the Trenches[/b], who was reacting to suggestions that he place an Austrian cruiser in the Sea Zone off Tsingtao in his Global 1914 customization. He made the point that a single Austrian cruiser doesn’t scale with the squadron or fleet implied by the corresponding game piece.

By my estimate, Global 1940 models ground units at the level of army corps, naval units at the level of fleets or task forces, and air forces at the level of wings. There are a handful of exceptions for colonial detachments, such as the two starting British Infantry in Kwangtung (Hong Kong), which stand in for about 14,500 defenders historically. India’s potential as a source of colonial manpower is significantly curtailed by the British Empire’s income problems, and Australia often explodes in production by the end game (win or lose) even when their national manpower pool and industrial capacity would never have allowed it.

In my opinion, scale should be balanced rigorously against the opportunity for fun gameplay. In my Global War games, I always add a French Infantry in Indochina, for example. There is also a clear movement in favor of bulking up the Dutch presence in the East Indies when games of Global War are played, and many players prefer to give the Italian fleet-in-being a fighting chance with set-up variants to blunt the Taranto Raid.

I’ve just begun the process of painting my Global 40 pieces. My goal is to paint each of my armies a single, common color. I’d like to ask for some help from the community.

I’ve collected for years, but I purposely avoided painting. While some of the collections I see on YouTube look good–I’m especially fond of G.I. Joe’s–all the painted pieces I’ve ever seen in-person were caked with paint to the point that they were no longer easily recognizable, or even very appealing visually.

That said, I have a backlog of clear plastics from 3d printers (HBG and Shapeways), along with unpainted 1:72’s and mismatched colors from HBG’s Battle Pieces line. At some point, I was always going to have to bite the bullet.

I really admire the weathering style popularized by siredblood and G.I. Joe, so I decided to go for that.

I opted to follow G.I. Joe’s painting method as closely as I could. I purchased various Rustoleum Painter’s Touch 2x Ultracover Paint + Primer cans, along with some of the Flat Gray primer. I then bought a copy of A&A41 so I could experiment on the pieces in that set. I have not attempted to paint anything other than those OOB pieces yet.

The primer went on perfectly, and there was minimal, if any, loss of detail. I tried very short bursts from a distance of about 3-4". I was able to get full coverage for my pieces in 2 separate applications, turning the pieces with a craft stick.

The paints had a very uneven application. Some cans produced a fine mist that seemed to go on well. Others shot tiny gobbets of paint and went on thicker. There is no outward difference between the cans other than color type, although I am using virtually all satins. I did one coat of primer on each piece (spread over two sessions to cover all angles), then two or three sessions of paint, trying to cover all angles.

I allowed 24 hours for the pieces to dry. Overall, I found two results, both unsatisfactory: either the pieces are so covered with paint that detail is no longer detectable, or else they have many spots where the primer is still visible despite multiple applications. I haven’t tried any staining with polyurethane yet.

Can anyone help me solve my problems of coat thickness and coverage?

One friend suggested that these cheaper cans might have applicator tips of different qualities and recommended Tamiya paints for modeling.

It’s also possible that, given my intention to do some weathering with stain, incomplete coats of primer and paint would be fine.

Finally, I might be using a bad technique.

Also, is there any way to remove “failed” paint jobs to try again, without harming the plastic beneath?

I’d appreciate any assistance very much. Cheers!

Where did you get those nifty armored car pieces?

Where can I learn more about their 1936 version?

Thanks, AlphaKappa. Much obliged for the helpful recommendations! I have some follow-up questions, if you don’t mind.

You’re the third person to strongly recommend Tamiya paints. I’ll go hunting for those this coming weekend.

I did wash all of the pieces first in soapy (dish soap) water, then let them dry thoroughly. I live in a very humid location and have been spray-painting during a particularly wet week. That said, when I began this experiment, including the painting, it was a warm, sunny day, so the blotting problem isn’t specific to high-humidity days. I do all my spray painting in very short bursts, from different angles, and in quick passes, left to right, right to left.

I have been quick to paint after priming: anywhere from 20 minutes to 3 hours. I am very satisfied with the Rustoleum Flat Gray primer, which does preserve all the detail I desire, but I will compare with the Tamiya primer, if I can find them.

I’ll also hunt down the Simple Green this weekend. Sad to hear that I probably won’t succeed with 100% paint removal, but I do intend to try again with the same colors, so it shouldn’t be too much of a problem as long as I can combat some of the bad caking. I have some Soft-bristled toothbrushes I’ll start with.

Special thanks for warning me about eye protection.

Thanks, AlphaKappa. Much obliged for the helpful recommendations! I have some follow-up questions, if you don’t mind.

You’re the third person to strongly recommend Tamiya paints. I’ll go hunting for those this coming weekend.

I did wash all of the pieces first in soapy (dish soap) water, then let them dry thoroughly. I live in a very humid location and have been spray-painting during a particularly wet week. That said, when I began this experiment, including the painting, it was a warm, sunny day, so the blotting problem isn’t specific to high-humidity days. I do all my spray painting in very short bursts, from different angles, and in quick passes, left to right, right to left.

I have been quick to paint after priming: anywhere from 20 minutes to 3 hours. I am very satisfied with the Rustoleum Flat Gray primer, which does preserve all the detail I desire, but I will compare with the Tamiya primer, if I can find them.

I’ll also hunt down the Simple Green this weekend. Sad to hear that I probably won’t succeed with 100% paint removal, but I do intend to try again with the same colors, so it shouldn’t be too much of a problem as long as I can combat some of the bad caking. I have some Soft-bristled toothbrushes I’ll start with.

Special thanks for warning me about eye protection.

I’ve just begun the process of painting my Global 40 pieces. My goal is to paint each of my armies a single, common color. I’d like to ask for some help from the community.

I’ve collected for years, but I purposely avoided painting. While some of the collections I see on YouTube look good–I’m especially fond of G.I. Joe’s–all the painted pieces I’ve ever seen in-person were caked with paint to the point that they were no longer easily recognizable, or even very appealing visually.

That said, I have a backlog of clear plastics from 3d printers (HBG and Shapeways), along with unpainted 1:72’s and mismatched colors from HBG’s Battle Pieces line. At some point, I was always going to have to bite the bullet.

I really admire the weathering style popularized by siredblood and G.I. Joe, so I decided to go for that.

I opted to follow G.I. Joe’s painting method as closely as I could. I purchased various Rustoleum Painter’s Touch 2x Ultracover Paint + Primer cans, along with some of the Flat Gray primer. I then bought a copy of A&A41 so I could experiment on the pieces in that set. I have not attempted to paint anything other than those OOB pieces yet.

The primer went on perfectly, and there was minimal, if any, loss of detail. I tried very short bursts from a distance of about 3-4". I was able to get full coverage for my pieces in 2 separate applications, turning the pieces with a craft stick.

The paints had a very uneven application. Some cans produced a fine mist that seemed to go on well. Others shot tiny gobbets of paint and went on thicker. There is no outward difference between the cans other than color type, although I am using virtually all satins. I did one coat of primer on each piece (spread over two sessions to cover all angles), then two or three sessions of paint, trying to cover all angles.

I allowed 24 hours for the pieces to dry. Overall, I found two results, both unsatisfactory: either the pieces are so covered with paint that detail is no longer detectable, or else they have many spots where the primer is still visible despite multiple applications. I haven’t tried any staining with polyurethane yet.

Can anyone help me solve my problems of coat thickness and coverage?

One friend suggested that these cheaper cans might have applicator tips of different qualities and recommended Tamiya paints for modeling.

It’s also possible that, given my intention to do some weathering with stain, incomplete coats of primer and paint would be fine.

Finally, I might be using a bad technique.

Also, is there any way to remove “failed” paint jobs to try again, without harming the plastic beneath?

I’d appreciate any assistance very much. Cheers!

@CWO-Marc, thanks for the suggestions! Can you remind me of the scale of A&A warships? If I remember correctly, some Panzerschiffe stuff is too large by comparison, no?

The scale is the thing that most bedevils me.

I was recently watching some commentary on house rules from [b]Lion in the Trenches[/b], who was reacting to suggestions that he place an Austrian cruiser in the Sea Zone off Tsingtao in his Global 1914 customization. He made the point that a single Austrian cruiser doesn’t scale with the squadron or fleet implied by the corresponding game piece.

By my estimate, Global 1940 models ground units at the level of army corps, naval units at the level of fleets or task forces, and air forces at the level of wings. There are a handful of exceptions for colonial detachments, such as the two starting British Infantry in Kwangtung (Hong Kong), which stand in for about 14,500 defenders historically. India’s potential as a source of colonial manpower is significantly curtailed by the British Empire’s income problems, and Australia often explodes in production by the end game (win or lose) even when their national manpower pool and industrial capacity would never have allowed it.

In my opinion, scale should be balanced rigorously against the opportunity for fun gameplay. In my Global War games, I always add a French Infantry in Indochina, for example. There is also a clear movement in favor of bulking up the Dutch presence in the East Indies when games of Global War are played, and many players prefer to give the Italian fleet-in-being a fighting chance with set-up variants to blunt the Taranto Raid.

Any good suggestions on scales and sellers to supply older, pre-war battleship and dreadnought miniatures? I am thinking designs from about 1900-1914.

I’ve been searching Shapeways, but without much luck.

Cheers!

Where did you get those nifty armored car pieces?

Just like the title says, I would like to buy a very large, fold-out world map to try some variations for Axis & Allies.

After browsing the Internet for similar ventures, I found that a fair number of designers have gone this route, purchasing detailed maps and inking their own borders in heavy felt-tipped marker.

The trick is that I can’t seem to find a seller. Barnes & Noble sells road atlases that are much too small, while gas stations sell only regional and not world maps. Online, very large maps mostly consist of wallpaper or wall-hangings. Any ideas?

Any news re: those trucks, General?

I don’t like homemade dice.

Before I got into Axis & Allies, I was an avid player of Heroclix, which is a kind of superhero chess game that uses dice to help resolve combat.

It was very common for conventions, both local and regional or national, to provide customized dice as part of sign-ups, and per tournament rules, players could bring their own dice. When one player bought certified used casino dice and kept getting crushed, we began to feel something was up. After a few months of suspicion, we cleared the calendar and spent an evening testing the dice everyone was using. The results were sobering: even though not designed for cheating, custom dice were sometimes badly biased, both up and down.

My resort was to buy packs of dice from Hoyle, which I could at least put my faith in. I wasn’t seeking perfection–just something better than predictable, detectable bias.

Axis & Allies and HeroClix both try to get around the dice issue by allowing players to roll one another’s dice, but the problem is that, depending on which side you play, you either need better rolls on the attack more often (Axis) or better roles on the defensive more often (Allies at game start), so even using the same dice doesn’t really help if they’re meaningfully off.

Thanks!