Trying out Munitorum Varnish

 


Though it is 12 years since I started the hobby- I have never used a varnish before. Up until today, my models have always gone into the world with just their paint- exposed to the elements. (Or, more realistically for my earliest time in the hobby- just base-coated). I suppose I had never seen varnishing models as something that was necessary as a teenager, but since returning to the hobby after my university hiatus, I've been considering protecting my miniatures more seriously.

Reading up on varnishes, it seems a lot of people consider varnishing models a necessity- something which can assist with the finish to a paint job as well as protecting them. As I've got a project which involves a lot of metal miniatures, and metal chips paint very easily, I finally decided to take the plunge and try some out.

I decided just to go with Games Workshops offering for the first varnish I would buy. I suspect that this probably isn't the best varnish out there, but as Games Workshop aims their products at people starting out, I guessed it wasn't the worst place to start. From what I could find, people describe this as matte/satin in finish, and there are some complaints about it causing frosting in the finish- though this seems to be due to not shaking the can for long enough, or from poor weather.

So- what to test the varnish on? I decided to varnish some Lord of the Rings miniatures I had been painting up- miniatures which are likely to get some use on the table, and which it wouldn't be a complete disaster if they ended up with a slightly strange finish. So, I cracked out the can, and here are the results.

Frodo and Sam

Frodo and Sam came out quite well- Sam in particular ended up with a nice smooth finish, as I'd hoped. Frodo's brown and green cloths were perhaps a little more glossy than I'd been expecting.


Merry and Pippin

Merry and Pippin have ended up being a little on the shiny side. Perhaps it is something to do with the colours- I sprayed them at the same time, in the same manner, but overall they still came out fairly well.


Aragorn

Aragorn was a little disappointing. I'd deliberately been painting his Green coat to be quite dingy, and dirty- as it is depicted when the Hobbits meet the ranger at Bree in the Films and Book. The varnish really brightened this up though- and left the green and light browns quite shiny. Again, with this being done at the same time- my only conclusion between why this and Sam came out differently is the finish on different colours.


Overall then, I'm not sure about how I will use varnish moving forwards. I had been intending to use this for metal miniatures representing soldiers from the First World War. A shiny effect would be the very opposite of what I'm looking for. The dilemma then is leaving them without varnish risks the chipping of paint- leaving shiny silver amongst the otherwise dark colours too. 

The varnish effect is good, however, just perhaps not for my intended use. Moving forwards, I think I may use this for any bright miniatures I paint- and for those which are likely to be used for gaming frequently to protect them. For my WWI project, I might look elsewhere for a more matte finish- perhaps from a paint on varnish.

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