Super-inspiring! They look GREAT! I started trimming Akagi last week but haven't had a chance to apply yet. I would have done everything wrong that you noted, so thanks for posting the tips. Great looking ships!
Ha. I went the opposite of grgbobe: I migrated from super cheap brushes to more and more expensive. For years, I used IMEX 2/0 and 0/0 that I could get at my local hobbyshop. I found that these wore out way too quickly, so I was using a new detail brush every 2 or 3 ships (I do a lot of detailing). Two years ago, I splurged on a Windsor and Newton Series 7 brush (size 00). These are about $20, but I'll never go back to anything else. I'm still using the first one I bought, and I've probably detailed 15 or 20 ships with it and it's not showing signs of wear yet. Full disclosure: I use "the masters" brushcleaner pretty neurotically to keep the brush clean and tip pointy.
Note that I used to use tiny 5/0 and even 10/0 size brushes for detailing, but find the bigger brushes (2/0's and my W&N 00) are easier to use and give better paint control.
For basecoating and other low-precision stuff, I use a #4 shader or the IMEX brushes size 0 or 2. I don't care about the point on these, so they "last" a long time. I have a W&N size 2 brush that I bought for this but never use (bristles too big and squishy)
I just replaced my 10 year old Army Painter drybrush with a 2nd one last year. Neither of these owe me anything. They're awesome and they get tons of use. I have an old Reaper Pro 4 that I use for this too, though it tends to hold more paint so I only use it when I want to be less subtle with drybrushing.
Last, I have an old, worn out Atlas 5/0 that I use for deck washes. I don't know why, but this brush works better for me for that purpose than any other.
First off, those are awesome! Second, I think I'm going to cry. Third, I'm already on your website trying to figure out what I'm going to order. Fourth, I'm going to XPForge to order some IJN carriers. Fifth, I'm going to have to hide these purchases from my wife.
One question, are your Essex class decals fit specifically to the unit? Is there some variation based on long hull vs. short hull?
Thanks!
Grg
I went through these same 5 steps, almost in the same order (my wife found out already) These decals look awesome - I just filled out my Japanese light carrier fleet!
I made a custom card for Graf Spee. Keeps same stats and 21 point cost, but adds SA "Avoid Engagement". This gives the chance to keep ER4 maybe a turn or two longer.
In the early sets of the game, I liked the occasional 25-50 point games - nothing bigger than a cruiser, no aircraft. My goto unit to build a small point allied fleet around was always HMS Kent. Shadow BB is useless, but Escort Killer + flag and good mains for 13 points was pretty good and left room for destroyers even in a 25 pt game. Stood up okay against Zara at 12 points. As the Axis, burning a few more points for Nachi at 19 was a decent deal, same with Baltimore at 18. The "nothing bigger than a cruiser" kinda took a hurt with Haguro in the new starter. Stands up well to Baltimore stats + all the many LL torpedoes. Kent is nowhere close in any stat category and only 5 points less.
Wow. Super-speedy delivery. The decals have already arrived. They look pretty good, though I'm going to need better eyesight and a steadier hand to use them!