Modeling Guides

Every miniature collector and gamer develops his own favorite painting style. Here are a series of models, painted using a number of techniques. Some are more effective on camouflaged paint schemes, others on monochrome schemes. An airbrush is a very handy tool, but is not necessary to achieve a great result. GHQ used acrylic paints on these examples, but enamels are favored by many modelers. Washes are created by diluting the paint; drybrushing is the opposite. Wipe nearly all of the paint from the brush on a scrap paper, then apply the bit that remains onto the upper surfaces of the model. After some experimentation and practice, your models will truly amaze your friends!

Monochrome Schemes

Panzer Grey, Russian Green...these are schemes that usually turn out too dark, especially if using paint chip colors. Shown here is a great, simple technique. Add depth with a black wash, and lighten the overall effect with a light grey drybrushing. Begin by mounting the assembled vehicles to the heads of nails: when done, just snap the models off the nail. Read more.

Polychrome Schemes

The navies of WWII usually camouflaged their ships, and here is one wild example. This was done without an airbrush, but rather with fine brushes for the intricate patterns. Always research how the original vehicles were camouflaged before beginning: the more complete your knowledge of the prototype paint scheme, the more realistic your model will become. Read more.

Water-slide Decals

A quick "how-to". Apply decals before you weather your paint job for the most realistic look. Read more.

Weathering Effects

Nothing in the military stays clean, unless you scrub it! Vehicles are generally dusty, or muddy, depending on the weather. Drybrushing can attempt to simulate this, but the best tool is an airbrush. Apply a mist of light tan, or light grey for dust, reddish brown for mud. Go lightly here, too much is bad. Dust can also be used to lighten models that got a bit too dark. Read more.

Airbrushing Polychrome Schemes

A fine tipped airbrush is a great resource for Micro Armour® painting. Whether WWII Germans or British, or most modern armies, begin with a base coat of the lightest overall color. Apply stripes of the second color with the airbrush. Once all the hand painting is accomplished, use the airbrush to delicately "dust" for a most realistic look. Read more.

Shading With Inks

Subtle and interesting shading can be created using inks. Unlike washes, they tend to more uniformly tint regions, rather than more heavily pigmenting redesses at the expense of raised areas. Experimentation is recommended to achieve the results you desire, but the effort will prove worthwhile. Read more.

Painting Micro Force 10mm® Miniatures

No scale is better for gaming the American Civil War or the campaigns of the Napoleonic Wars than 10mm/N-scale. GHQ puts a great deal of effort in to making the figures as accurately detailed as possible while being easy to paint. Features like braids and buttons are raised to make it simple to achieve impressive results. Read more.

When it comes to gaming terrain, they sky is the limit. The table-top world can be as simple as a piece of green felt with a masking tape road or a more developed geo-morphic system (where interchangeable pieces can be re-arranged into different scenarios) These are a favorite with more experienced gamers.

GHQ's Terrain Maker® offers a great system, one that is easy to make and is unsurpassed in beauty, flexibility and durability. The basics are covered here, and in the illustrated instructions in every package. Use Terrain Maker® (TM for short) to model the Afrikan desert, tropical islands like Tarawa Atoll, the frozen Russian forests and steppes, even the jungles of China, Burma, and Viet Nam.

You'll be hard pressed to beat Terrain Maker®.

Flatland Hexes

The vast majority of most boards are made of ½" thick hexes (TM1). They are used for fields, flat roads, townsites, woods and orchards. All you need are two cans of interior latex wall paint: one a light tan color, and one medium green. The tan paint is the "dirt" and the glue to hold the grass in place. For grass, use a moss green colored sawdust. To make different fields, substitute ground foam (such as Woodland Scenics) for the grass. Roads can be tan (dirt) or a grey (paved). In either case, allow the road to dry before continuing. Read more.

Stream Hexes

The Terrain Maker® system is unique in that water features have banks, and the water level is lower than the surrounding terrain. Streams and shores are made using ¼" hexes (TM2). If only 1 bank is used, it's a shore hex. Any number of flat water hexes can be used between the shores, to model anything from Antietam Creek to the Dnieper. Add a few white paint "waves" and make the bank a beach, and you can model an ocean for amphibious assaults. For most water, use a deep blue, like a new pair of demin jeans. Read more.

Hill Hexes

Standard TM hills are made using 1" hexes (TM3), but steep hills use 1½" hexes (TM4). Gentle, rolling terrain is made using ½" (TM1) hexes. In each case, after cutting the hex into two slope pieces, the slopes are glued to a base ½" hex. There are 3 different cuts possible (all illustrated in the instructions with each pack of TM3 and TM4), which produce 5 different geo-morphic slope shapes. By rearranging these, an infinite set of hill patterns can be achieved. Since they are separate hexes, they can be repositioned into a new board for the next gaming scenario. Read more.

Ocean Hexes

Another TM advantage is the introduction of a 4" hex pattern on the tabletop. This can greatly speed and simplify game mechanics. If you are a naval gamer, consider creating a set of these beautiful ocean ¼" (TM2) hexes. After mastering the basic "deep water" hex, try painting shoals, sandbars and reefs after the Flexpaste has dried, using tan or turquoise latex paint. Feather the edges with the deep blue. Once dry, wash some deep blue over the shallows. Then gloss coat as shown. Your captains now have some obstacles to contend with while battling on the high seas. Read more.

Desert Hexes

Very few places, even in the desert, are truly "flat." Though the majority of any desert board will be 1/2" hexes (TM1), wadis and dunes provide cover for unarmoured vehicles and personnel units. Choose a light tan, nearly beige, interior latex paint for your base. The other supplies you will need will be a large bottle of a rust red-brown acrylic or latex paint, white glue, and a light green ground foam. GHQ also offers sage colored ground foam just for desert bushes! Read more.

Winter Hexes

All of the hex styles you have read about in standard terrain are used in a winter board. They just have to be covered with snow rather than grass. And the trees are bare, or snow-covered conifers. The deciduous trees are now modeled from braided picture hanging wire, which is sold in hardware stores. Get several different thicknesses, especially the heavier gauges. These are used to make bare trees, which, though fragile, add a great deal of realism to any winter scene. Read more.