Taking the plunge with varnishes now. Had nothing but rotten experiences with varnish in the past - yellowing, frosting, etc, etc.
Some of the new UV stablised urethane varnishes now seem to do the trick nicely.
Some of these I am hitting with vallejo matte varnish afterwards, just experimenting with what works and what doesnt.
Seems like the best approach is to make sure there is decent gloss coat BEFORE applying the matte coat ... give it a day or more to dry thoroughly, and then hit it with a super thin matte coat - just a light dusting with the airbrush brings it back to matte, with zero frosting, and no loss of detail.
Anywhere, here are some marching out in full gloss ... bit of variety, and it gives them a nice 'toy soldier' look I think.
I think what I will do in future batches is go for a reasonably heavy gloss coat in all cases, and then use a real light dusting of matte afterwards.
In some cases, I can then leave some of the leatherwork like boots or shakos a little shiny, to represent some very nicely polished up units.
I reckon that good old-school Prussians and various Guard units for example should be immaculately turned out, with exceptionally shiny boots and headgear !
A slight satin finish is probably a good thing to leave behind on skintones as well .. what do you think ?
For wargames figures (sub 54mm scale), I prefer the more toy soldier like gloss or stain finish myself. Most of my 28mm units are in "Satin" finish.
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