Kosh's Korner - Wargaming on a Budget

It's budget time again. This pay period I'll be buying the last few items needed to get our models primed and ready for painting. Also, I'll share with you the first set of models I bought. On a side note, if you're looking for a very, very good tutorial on taking pictures of your models check out this article written by Hyun over at Wee Toy Soldiers. Let's get started.

Modeling Sand or Flock
Modeling sand or flock is used for basing your models. It's glued on to the base using PVA glue and can be painted with the rest of the model. Some people like to base their models before they prime them, while others like to base their models as the last thing they do. I think I'd prefer to base them before priming and paint the base material as I paint the model.

GW sells this stuff for $8 a tub. I bought sand made by Gale Force Nine. They have three types fine, medium, and rocky. I picked up a container of each and mixed them all together, it was $13 for all three containers. There are plenty of cheaper ways to get basing material. If you want sand you could go out and collect it on the side of the road or the beach if you live near one. As for flock, you can make that out of sawdust and paint. Here's a written tutorial and a video on how to make flock, both are from Miniwargaming.com.



PVA Glue
PVA Glue is used to make your sand or flock stick to your base. PVA glue is nothing but ordinary white or yellow glue. Elmer's Glue, Wal-Mart brand, wood glue, it's all the same. Whatever you do, don't pay $7 for the GW PVA glue. I picked up a big bottle of Elmer's Glue All for $2. You're also going to need a cheap paint brush, I'd say a size 3 or 4, to apply the glue to your base. I got a cheap brush for $2 at a hobby store.

Spray Primer
Primer provides a base coat so that your paint adheres to your model. Without a primer your paint will rub off the plastic when it's handled. GW sells both white and black primer for $10 per can. From what I've read, beginners should use black primer to start out with, while most advanced painters tend to use white primer. If you'd like to know the reasons why, since I have no experience with either, check out this article by Starks. I bought the GW brand Choas Black for $11. Honestly I wanted a gray primer but, was unable to find one. If you know of a good brand of gray primer let me know.

Buying Models
I haven't completely decided on an army list yet. However, every list I seem to come up with usually has 10 Chaos Space Marines in it, therefore I bought the Chaos Space Marine box set for $39. Yes, sales tax in my state is ridiculous, it's 9.75%. Anyway, I'm pretty excited about getting started on them and hope to do so sometime this week. Check out the sprue.






Budget
The total amount spent this time was $67. I'm going to save $20 from this budget and bring it forward to the next budget. I'm anticipating that I'll need it to buy paint, brushes, and possibly some shelves to store the paint. But hey, I'll be back before then. The next couple of articles will be works in progress on modeling the Chaos Space Marines. See you then.