[Miniatures] Painting tips and progress reports (with pics!)

TiLT · Post by **TiLT** » Wed Mar 20, 2013 2:24 pm

Just wait until you start to splash it on and think "oh shit, this can't be right!".

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Wed Mar 20, 2013 2:44 pm

I ordered the "strong tone" as folks seem to say that's a good neutral shade that should work with most colors.

Honestly, I'm just looking for a reason to STOP fiddling with some of my figs. I've been touching and retouching everything as I learn how to shade, drybrush, etc.. At some point I need to just cease. Seppe and I are playing Saturday so that's good. Hopefully that means I'll start thinking of them as game pieces again instead of art projects.

TiLT · Post by **TiLT** » Wed Mar 20, 2013 3:08 pm

Make a clear plan for what you're supposed to achieve with your minis. Do the basecoat and be done with it. Then do the shading, and be done with it. Finally do the highlights to the degree that you've decided on beforehand, and be done with it. If you feel the need to tweak, don't. Just move on to the next mini. Pretty much nobody but you will notice the results of you going back and tweaking, and you risk making things worse.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Wed Mar 20, 2013 4:55 pm

MiniWarGaming is an established painting site/shop. They've decided that they're shutting down their store, and are doing a huge giveaway. Link.

If you sign up, you will get access to a whole series of downloadable painting videos (14 separate DVDs worth) for free, although numbers are limited. I've watched their stuff before, and it is very good. You have to agree to a subscription, but if you cancel before the free trial runs out, it is cost-free (although I'd take a look at the other stuff in their vault before canceling.)

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Wed Mar 20, 2013 5:04 pm

Apparently, they're shutting down to yet another set of Games Workshop retailer policy changes that have made it impossible for them to keep dealing in GW products.

GW, you crazy.

TiLT · Post by **TiLT** » Wed Mar 20, 2013 5:55 pm

Hey thanks, that's a really good deal. I got the entire collection of DVDs and will start downloading them now.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Wed Mar 20, 2013 8:14 pm

Nice, thanks Blackhawk! I just wish I wasn't getting them for free under these circumstances. I always hate to see game stores go out of business.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Thu Mar 21, 2013 9:22 am

Oh great and wise Blackhawk and Tilt, I need your help.

I want to start painting up some plastic minis in some of my boardgames (it's my "Pimp my game" project). Do I need to prime them? Will acrylic paints be fine? I'm guessing so, but just want to verify.

Thanks guys!

hentzau · Post by **hentzau** » Thu Mar 21, 2013 9:58 am

I've always had problems painting soft plastic...it just doesn't work for me, chips and wears off very easily.

At a minimum, you need to wash off the minis with soap and water. I personally would prime them, but you have to be very careful because a heavy primer coat will really obscure detail on the smaller plastic minis.

silverjon · Post by **silverjon** » Thu Mar 21, 2013 10:28 am

Assuming model paints are not significantly different from household paints in their bonding chemical reactions, then a plastic-specific primer may be necessary. I was looking for some at Home Depot on the weekend to redo my kitchen cabinet handles on the cheap, but one of the Rustoleum sprays I like is now advertising itself as "adheres to plastic too!", so that's another option to look for.

If not specified, paint likely won't bond well to plastic.

Boudreaux · Post by **Boudreaux** » Thu Mar 21, 2013 10:38 am

hepcat wrote:I want to start painting up some plastic minis in some of my boardgames (it's my "Pimp my game" project). Do I need to prime them? Will acrylic paints be fine? I'm guessing so, but just want to verify.

It depends greatly on the specific game/minis, but I've had a lot of success using the Army Painter brand primers. I've painted minis for Fury of Dracula, Wrath of Ashardalon, Cyclades, Earth Reborn, Last Night on Earth, and they've all turned out fine using that primer. Acrylic paints for the actual coloring, and then a clear matte finish.

For the most part the plastic they use in board game minis is fine to paint. Occasionally I'll run across one that has really soft plastic minis, but I don't think I've tried to paint any of those.

Boudreaux · Post by **Boudreaux** » Thu Mar 21, 2013 10:47 am

Blackhawk wrote:If you sign up, you will get access to a whole series of downloadable painting videos (14 separate DVDs worth) for free, although numbers are limited. I've watched their stuff before, and it is very good. You have to agree to a subscription, but if you cancel before the free trial runs out, it is cost-free (although I'd take a look at the other stuff in their vault before canceling.)

I signed up for this, but it appears their website is getting slammed by new accounts and people trying to download these. I can't stay logged in, and website links are taking several minutes to load. After 30 minutes I haven't even been able to access the downloads page.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Thu Mar 21, 2013 10:48 am

I think it also depends (and I say this after painting a single tray of Zombicide figures) on your end goal. I'm using cheap craft store $0.59 acrylic paints. Some colors seem to work better than others without priming the figures, but since I'm going to wash/dip them in the end it really doesn't matter (to me). I'm not sure what I will do with the actual player characters, but I did consider a spray coat of primer. The internet really does seem divided on whether or not to prime, and for the reasons mentioned here -- losing some of the details. For me it's also a logistics issue. To prime my figures, I'd need to set them all outside (currently 30 degrees) or possibly in my garage and hope for the best. While I might need to spend some extra time touching-up some bleed-through of the grey figures, I'm guessing it's still less time than trying to figure out how to prime the figures in this weather. That will teach me to start a new hobby during the winter...

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Thu Mar 21, 2013 10:50 am

Thanks guys! I'm stocked up on primer so I'll try that route.

I'm going to pick up my quick shade (hopefully) tonight after work. I was looking at Tilt's order of things when using it and is it safe to assume that after using the quick shade, it's easier to highlight the details because they'll be more readily apparent?

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Thu Mar 21, 2013 11:01 am

It's better to wash before highlighting, as unless you're specifically formulating your wash (or dip) for it, it'll darken the highlights.

As to priming, it is always a good idea on pieces that will actually be handled, or the paint will tend to chip, even with varnish. Re-read my section on priming. Done properly, it won't obscure detail - remember that the purpose is to prepare the surface, not to cover it evenly. That said, test it first. If you don't have a scrap of sprue, put on a rubber glove, turn the miniature over, play straight-man, wrap your fist around it and just spray the bottom of the base. Some soft plastics react with some primers and turn permanently sticky - they don't dry. Ever.

Keep that in mind when the Bones start showing up. I've tested several primers on leftover scraps of Bones, and the only one that worked correctly was Army Painter Spray Primer. In fact, I liked the Army Painter stuff so much that I'll be using it for all of my priming from now on.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Thu Mar 21, 2013 11:02 am

Boudreaux wrote:
Blackhawk wrote:If you sign up, you will get access to a whole series of downloadable painting videos (14 separate DVDs worth) for free, although numbers are limited. I've watched their stuff before, and it is very good. You have to agree to a subscription, but if you cancel before the free trial runs out, it is cost-free (although I'd take a look at the other stuff in their vault before canceling.)
I signed up for this, but it appears their website is getting slammed by new accounts and people trying to download these. I can't stay logged in, and website links are taking several minutes to load. After 30 minutes I haven't even been able to access the downloads page.

Once you've gotten it into your account, you're golden. You can download them in your 'vault' any time (next week, for instance.)

Boudreaux · Post by **Boudreaux** » Thu Mar 21, 2013 11:27 am

Yeah, finally got in and am downloading now. There's a lot of good stuff in their DVDs.

Zarathud · Post by **Zarathud** » Thu Mar 21, 2013 12:28 pm

This is why the Reaper Bones was such a big deal. Not until recently did plastic take the paint well enough.

What game are you pimping?

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Thu Mar 21, 2013 1:32 pm

Me?

Spartacus, Earth Reborn (which already has primed minis right out of the box), maybe Descent 2nd edition someday, etc..

hentzau · Post by **hentzau** » Thu Mar 21, 2013 2:38 pm

Zarathud wrote:This is why the Reaper Bones was such a big deal. Not until recently did plastic take the paint well enough.

What game are you pimping?

I do disagree with that statement a bit there, Z. I have a GW High Elf army that is 75% plastic, the figs were from like 20 years ago (gulp!) and they took paint beautifully. What you're getting with the newer plastics is a level of detail that wasn't there with the older plastics.

The problem with the modern plastics used in most board game figs is that they are a soft plastic. If you can bend it without stressing it, you have to take some extra steps to get paint to stick. At least in my experience.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Thu Mar 21, 2013 8:12 pm

Okay, just applied army painter's quick shade (strong tone) to 9 of my minis. I brushed it on...and pretty lightly at that. I'm worried I may have brushed it on TOO light, as a matter of fact. But I didn't want to over do it. The minis are very glossy right now and they definitely have some deep shadowing in crevices. I also managed to use the brush effectively enough to prevent the whites from looking browned out in almost every spot applicable.

Question though: if I'm using quick shading, should I be applying shade (the thinned paints variety) as well still? Or is the quick shading enough? Do I also dry brush still too?

Zarathud · Post by **Zarathud** » Thu Mar 21, 2013 8:53 pm

You're right, hentzau. Forgot about GW partially because I've been avoiding getting sucked into Warhammer for 20 years.

My only figs from them are individual painted figures picked up cheap from the bulk GW dealers at Origins. I was also intending to type more about the paint detail not looking right. Serves me right for replying while waiting for someone at work to finish a conference call.

Zarathud · Post by **Zarathud** » Thu Mar 21, 2013 8:56 pm

I think you use quick shade then dry brush to tweak the highlight colors. If you want to darken a few spots, I think you would shade in between.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Thu Mar 21, 2013 9:19 pm

The quickshade is a wash (the thinned paint variety), just a 'quick and dirty' version.

How you paint is entirely up to you. Decide how much time you want to spend on your miniatures. If you just want something better than what comes out of the box, putting down two or three colors and quickshading is plenty, and more than you'll see on most peoples' tables. If you want to spend more time and get nicer results, adding more shade to some areas and drybrushing are good options.

TiLT · Post by **TiLT** » Fri Mar 22, 2013 1:48 am

Don't be afraid of putting on more Quickshade (or wash in general) than you think is right. It feels wrong at the very instant you do it, but the results are great once it settles. Just make sure you remove anything that pools up. If you're applying Quickshade or washes in too thin layers, you won't really get the effect you're looking for, instead merely darkening the miniature's colors. It needs to be thick enough that it can flow into the cracks and crevices of your miniature.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Fri Mar 22, 2013 9:38 am

After 12 good hours of dry time, they're lookin' mighty fine for the most part. I applied what I suppose is too little, but honestly I'm kind of happy with the results and don't plan on redipping them. There's some decent shading in crevices for all of them, while not that heavy overall. I'll try to get some photos tonight as I have a new mobile phone. Hopefully it will take better pictures than my last phone.

The best thing though is that now that there's some slight shading in smaller areas, the detail of my minis is just popping out. It's crazy how much detail I'm seeing now. I'm going to give them a little detail painting tonight (just buckles and small stuff that I can now see clearly), let them dry for a bit and then hit them with a matte so I can get rid of the glossy look.

What do you folks suggest for that part? I was going to grab some Testor Dullcote from a hobby store near work this afternoon for the job. But I'm obviously open to suggestions from the masters.

And thanks again for all your advice, folks!

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Fri Mar 22, 2013 10:33 am

Testor's Dullcote is what I've been using for 20 years.

Debris · Post by **Debris** » Fri Mar 22, 2013 9:47 pm

Blackhawk wrote:Testor's Dullcote is what I've been using for 20 years.

Agreed. Testor's dullcote is the only thing I've used the last 30 years. That's 50 years of recommendations. Beat that!

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Fri Mar 22, 2013 11:13 pm

Some quick math tells me it has actually been 24 years. I now feel very old.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Fri Mar 22, 2013 11:19 pm

I'm just going to assume you started at age 12.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Sat Mar 23, 2013 12:21 am

Painting? 16.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Sat Mar 23, 2013 8:36 am

Couldn't find dullcote but they had something called Model Master flat laquer which apparently is the same thing but with a different name. It worked great, so I'm happy with it. The shine disappears after about 10 minutes or so of drying.

Two of my completed minis below (still have to base them though). The first I'm really happy with, the second was a little too tough for my beginner's hands. But it's perfectly fine for table top in my opinion. Which is what I'm painting these for anyway.

Witchling Stalker

Lucius

Debris · Post by **Debris** » Sat Mar 23, 2013 9:17 am

Looking nice. Keep in mind once you seal the mini with the dullcote/flat lacquer, you can use a brushed on gloss finish to give the metal or wet looking items a little bit of their shine back.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Sat Mar 23, 2013 9:28 am

Cool, thanks for the tip!

Zarathud · Post by **Zarathud** » Sun Mar 24, 2013 11:21 pm

Primed about 1/2 my Zombicide minis and started applying initial coats of Army Painter's Necrotic Flesh and various GW paints for the primary clothes to about 25 figures. Never realized how much zombie bosom and leg I would be painting!

TiLT · Post by **TiLT** » Tue Mar 26, 2013 8:56 am

I began painting a few more of my Zombicide minis as well, starting with the heroes. Only done two so far (I've got plenty of things to do these days apart from painting), but I make sure to do them quickly. I sat down and painted one of them while watching the commentary for a Game of Thrones episode. I watched some of the commentary before even beginning the paint job, and was done with both basecoat and wash by the time the episode ended. The paint jobs aren't great, but I'm getting in the majority of the detail from the illustrations so that it's easy for players to recognize the heroes from across the table.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Tue Mar 26, 2013 9:49 am

My heroes are next, and I'll be using the cards as a guide. I do think I need to get some more brushes though to hit some of the details. The goal is to get them color-matched to the cards so (as you said) they're easy to spot on the board. I also finished my second tray of zombies this past weekend, which probably took me half the time as the first tray. I'll probably hit them with the stain later on this week. I found with my experimental one that it took a good 36+ hours to fully dry so I'd rather hit them all at once and let them cure when I know there's no chance I'll be playing with them. I'm actually considering a quickie job on the Last Night on Earth zombies as well. After hammering out 64 for this game, 16 seems like it would take me an hour.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Thu Mar 28, 2013 11:13 am

I picked up a dish of The Masters Brush Cleaner & Preserver last night. I used to use this stuff when I was doing work as a kid, and I remembered it work well. Man, did that ever hold up. A couple of brushes that I had hadn't been cleaned well ere stiff with paint still in them. Took me like 30 seconds with running water and this stuff to get them clean and pliable, and they still are today after drying overnight. I spent $10 at Michael's for a 2.5 ounce version. Linked is only 1 ounce per the description. Looks like internet pricing can get you a better deal.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Fri Mar 29, 2013 3:43 pm

Let's try the right thread this time, shall we?

I just finished off the last of the player characters for my current Savage Worlds campaign. That means I get to paint whatever the hell I want to for a while, instead of just what's needed.

It's an... unusual group.

TiLT · Post by **TiLT** » Fri Mar 29, 2013 6:20 pm

Very nice!

Do you do any color correction on your pictures? They look slightly unreal, and I'm wondering if that's because of the way they're painted or the pictures.