Miniature Painting/Sculpting/Modelling Megathread (Shut up and use Simple Green)

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Zhent: Oct 18, 2011; The difference between gods and daemons largely depends upon where one is standing at the time.

This page is why I do not post pictures of my mini's. Great stuff.

Richyp - Do you use retarder in all your paints, or just when blending them together?

# ¿ Oct 6, 2012 04:38

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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 15:04

Zhent: Oct 18, 2011; The difference between gods and daemons largely depends upon where one is standing at the time.

Skillness622 posted:

Has anyone here bought a FW Contemptor dread? I am seriously considering buying one as they look amazing and I'm looking at getting back into the hobby side of things after a 10-year break. What are they like as miniatures to build/paint?

Also, I've worked with FW resin before, but as I said that was a decade ago and have working practices changed at all?

They look incredible once done. I actually just took this photo of a friend's FW contemptor:

He pinned the entire thing together, so it would take a little bit of work over a normal plastic model but it's well worth it, looks awesome while playing.

And on an airbrushing question:

Is the Badger Aspire TC910 compressor that Michael's sells worth the money? Michael's always has those 50% off one item coupons floating around, it would seem to be a good way to get into airbrushing without spending crazy amounts of money.

Zhent fucked around with this message at 18:24 on Oct 8, 2012

# ¿ Oct 8, 2012 18:18

Zhent: Oct 18, 2011; The difference between gods and daemons largely depends upon where one is standing at the time.

Also, if you have any tips or suggestions on using washes successfully - do you need something like flo-aid to achieve a fairly even wash across those terminators?

# ¿ Oct 10, 2012 17:46

Zhent: Oct 18, 2011; The difference between gods and daemons largely depends upon where one is standing at the time.

richyp posted:

Dusted off some black primer and made a start on the first 5 Dark Angel Tac Marines while waiting for the last few Terminators to dry. I've finished off one just to see if the green looks right, the other 4 are pre-highlight stage. I'm kind of torn as I like the subtlety, but part of me wants to go lighter still with another highlight, which I started on his right shoulder.

(The red bolter casing needs hitting with a wash but I'll do the wash on all 5 at the end, so ignore the orangeness of it)

Far be it from me to comment one way or the other, but it looks pretty good the way it is. I struggle to keep the green real dark while still getting an even coat, so it ends up lighter but that's unintended.

This is a picture I took of a recent squad of Veterans I painted. Any suggestions on what to practice / work on would be welcome.

# ¿ Oct 11, 2012 14:36

Zhent: Oct 18, 2011; The difference between gods and daemons largely depends upon where one is standing at the time.

Enentol posted:

Hit the bolters/weapons with a black wash and then a quick highlight. Simple and it would really put the models over the top.

Thanks - I'm trying this now [black and green] and will see which looks better.

richyp posted:

Looks pretty good, if I was being overly critical I'd suggest maybe on the robes to not go straight to white or if you do, thin it some more so the transitions are a lot more subtle.

There is actually another level in there that didn't come through in the picture very well, but I've not yet grasped the concept of blending the paints together so the shades flow consistently, and there are definitely lines.

# ¿ Oct 12, 2012 01:30

Zhent: Oct 18, 2011; The difference between gods and daemons largely depends upon where one is standing at the time.

Enentol posted:

Do you have any pictures of the effect? It sounds interesting but I've never heard or seen a green wash over red done before.

I tried both and actually ended up liking the green a little more than the black. Here's how one came out:

Taking pictures of them really points out how bad some of the brushwork is. More practice is needed.

# ¿ Oct 12, 2012 03:28

Zhent: Oct 18, 2011; The difference between gods and daemons largely depends upon where one is standing at the time.

richyp posted:

Made a start on the Librarian, the face is finished as is the bone coloured tabard. Next job is to fix up the blue and blend some in gradients as the highlights are quite over powering.

Group shot

I'm not sure if these are a greater inspiration, as DA are the army I've collected and painted for a number of years now, or disincentive, as you are going through them faster and better than I.

Either way, keep posting - I need more examples to copy.

# ¿ Oct 12, 2012 21:56

Zhent: Oct 18, 2011; The difference between gods and daemons largely depends upon where one is standing at the time.

Question about brush maintenance: I bought a WN Series 7 Size 0 brush to see if a better brush would actually improve my painting, and I've noticed that as the brush dries slightly the tip gets much more separated than my cheaper purely synthetic brushes.
Is there some sort of brush maintenance or preparation that I've missed for these natural brushes, or is this just to be expected and I need to learn how to use a brush again? Should I just cut those random hairs off?

# ¿ Oct 16, 2012 02:15

Zhent: Oct 18, 2011; The difference between gods and daemons largely depends upon where one is standing at the time.

SRM posted:

Khorne Berserker Rhino time!

This is great. Did you use weathering pigments to add the faded brown around the tracks, or is it painted on?

My Dark Vengeance librarian, in-progress. He needs some work still, and some highlighting. Any other suggestions appreciated.

# ¿ Oct 17, 2012 17:50

Zhent: Oct 18, 2011; The difference between gods and daemons largely depends upon where one is standing at the time.

Slimnoid posted:

Did your primer come out fuzzy? It looks like it did.

Suggestions, etc.: give the cloth parts a brown wash, then go back over it with whatever colors you used. Washes in general really help to capture detail and help colors blend together.

It's actually the first experiment I did with airbrushing the base coat onto the model. I'm not sure what may have gone wrong there, perhaps the paint was too thick or something. I'll have to keep experimenting with it.

Limp Wristed Limey posted:

I would also suggest getting a dark blue and paint that around the edges of the armour to add some shading.

Would washing into the recesses of the armor achieve a similar effect? I'm not sure I can re-create the shading that airbrushing the model achieved; although it may not come out in the picture, the blue is noticeably lighter on top of him than it is from below.

# ¿ Oct 17, 2012 19:34

Zhent: Oct 18, 2011; The difference between gods and daemons largely depends upon where one is standing at the time.

richyp posted:

Finished the Interrogator Chaplain. Lovely model, bitch to paint (I hate black), in hindsight it would have made sense to prime him black and get some proper metals rather than the Vallejo Model Ones

Could you post a picture of the back of his robes? I'm working on him now as I finish up my librarian and I'm finding it difficult to paint the robes well.

# ¿ Oct 18, 2012 14:12

Zhent: Oct 18, 2011; The difference between gods and daemons largely depends upon where one is standing at the time.

mastergeebo posted:

I could almost understand using a painting service if you wanted say, 100 ork boyz for a green tide formation but honestly, it would be a lot more impressive to field it and know that you painted that many boyz.

That is what holds me back every time I, as a not so good painter, look at something some of the real artists post and wish I had that for my army. I prefer knowing that everything on the table is mine.

Airbrush question:

I'm looking for a first airbrush; I've read the link in the OP and understand that I'm looking for an internal mix, dual action, gravity fed airbrush, but there are a number of options out there and having had no experience with any of them, I'm not sure which are reputable and which are simply blowing smoke.

I came up with this Badger RK-1, but does anyone have a better suggestion for around $125?

# ¿ Oct 23, 2012 02:38

Zhent: Oct 18, 2011; The difference between gods and daemons largely depends upon where one is standing at the time.

Cataphract posted:

Just about finished my nurgle helbrute. Got to do a few tiny touchups that I've noticed in this picture.

This is very well done, definitely gives the Nurgle feel without going over the top.

# ¿ Oct 25, 2012 14:15

Zhent: Oct 18, 2011; The difference between gods and daemons largely depends upon where one is standing at the time.

Yeah, I have been basically copying Richyp's posted models with my own DA while I re-learn how to use a paintbrush.

Also don't worry about what the pictures look like, you're zooming way further in than it would ever be seen in-hand or on the tabletop.

Last, I'll pass on some advice that was given to me in this thread earlier when I posted one of my DA - if you hit the red on the bolter with a light green wash, it will darken it up nicely and look more used / less super-red.

# ¿ Oct 30, 2012 13:59

Zhent: Oct 18, 2011; The difference between gods and daemons largely depends upon where one is standing at the time.

Manifest posted:

Ha ha we are all three on the same page.
I'm doing test minis for heresy Emperor's Children, Night Lords, and Thousand Suns now.

Does anyone have a pre-heresy Death Guard marine painted up they could post? I'm leaning towards them as the legion I want to collect, but could use an example to practice towards.

# ¿ Nov 9, 2012 01:04

Zhent: Oct 18, 2011; The difference between gods and daemons largely depends upon where one is standing at the time.

I finished painting the DV Chaplain

The smoke coming from the censers on the backpack was difficult, I had to repaint it 2 or 3 times before I got something acceptable and even now I'm not thrilled with it, that's just the best result of a bad bunch.

Working on those Terminators in the background now.

# ¿ Nov 16, 2012 15:53

Zhent: Oct 18, 2011; The difference between gods and daemons largely depends upon where one is standing at the time.

Slimnoid posted:

That doesn't seem too bad, though it's out of stock and out of my price range. It's funny, I can find piston compressors for as low as $40, but diaphragm compressors are proving to be a real pain to find at a reasonable price.

Note sure how close you are on price, but I purchased this, which is basically the same as that badger model without the case and saves $30 or so:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0038D38AA/ref=oh_details_o05_s00_i00

I've used it fairly heavily, 3-5 days per week, for the last month or so. I'd recommend it provided you aren't looking for something that will let you airbrush more than 2 or 3 hours at a go - it does get fairly hot after a while.

Also, it's not /quite/ quiet enough to carry on a normal conversation while it's pumping. Fortunately, with the tank attached it isn't on all the time.

# ¿ Nov 20, 2012 04:32

Zhent: Oct 18, 2011; The difference between gods and daemons largely depends upon where one is standing at the time.

Slimnoid posted:

Honestly I'm a bit of a cheapskate. If I can score a compressor for $80 or less I'd be perfectly happy. This doesn't seem all that bad, and I'm sorely tempted to pick this thing up because there's an HF a short distance away from my house (and added bonus of being something my dad could use too).

I almost bought that HF compressor as well, but wanted something a little quieter so my wife could work in our office at the same time as I airbrush.

The first link is basically the exact same compressor as mine, without the tank. It will work just fine hooked directly up to an airbrush, but the compressor will be running any time you are brushing, so you may find you need to take more breaks to let it cool down if it really heats up.

# ¿ Nov 20, 2012 05:02

Zhent: Oct 18, 2011; The difference between gods and daemons largely depends upon where one is standing at the time.

Recursive Expanse posted:

I need to stock up on basing materials. Been a while and places I used to order from are lost/forgotten/defunct. I don't really need bulk, but just a variety of grasses and flock. Not too interested in sand/ballast either, I've seen what black lava can do, and I'll experiment with that for awhile.

Actually, on that topic, is there a better place to buy those little grass shoots from than http://www.sceneryexpress.com ? I know that Army Painter is basically reselling someone else's grass tufts, so I'm going to try and avoid them if possible.

# ¿ Dec 10, 2012 20:24

Zhent: Oct 18, 2011; The difference between gods and daemons largely depends upon where one is standing at the time.

Adrian Finol posted:

Crossposting from the 40k thread:

Bam! Done! This was a really fun project.

That looks incredible.

In a prior post you had mentioned that you are loving your airbrush - what model are you using? It obviously is working out well for you.

# ¿ Dec 19, 2012 14:32

Zhent: Oct 18, 2011; The difference between gods and daemons largely depends upon where one is standing at the time.

Digital Jesus posted:

So dudes, I'm looking for a dual action gravity fed airbrush to supplement my single action, so I can try to do some more delicate work. Is there anything any of you would recommend? I'm reading in some places that Iwata is amazing, and in other places that they're overpriced for what they are...

I'd like to get a Harder-Steenbeck like the BuyPainted dude but it's too expensive in Australia and not the kind of thing I want to get from international eBay. Right now I have my eye on an Iwata Revolution HP CR but I'm totally open to suggestions.

I'm not sure how prices stack up relative to us, but I would recommend looking at the Badger Renegade Krome RK-1. It's about $120 here in the US, two different sized needles, and a very nice trigger. Badger also has great customer service, I've sent mine back to them once already [my issue] and they fixed it and sent it back for the cost of shipping, basically, after calling me to explain what they did and make sure that was the only issue I had.

e: Amazon link http://www.amazon.com/Badger-Air-Brush-RK-1-Additional-Regulator/dp/B0078MEXX8

I've been working on this Contemptor-pattern dreadnought, trying to get my Dark Angel army finished up in time for the new Codex release. It's almost done, I just need to finish up the purity seals and clean up some of the armor around the big scrollwork in the center.

Zhent fucked around with this message at 14:38 on Jan 11, 2013

# ¿ Jan 11, 2013 14:32

Zhent: Oct 18, 2011; The difference between gods and daemons largely depends upon where one is standing at the time.

What kind of an ultrasonic cleaner do you use for this? Just a jewelry cleaner, something from Brookstone or wherever?

Also, painting update, been working on this guy since I finished my pre-heresy Contemptor-pattern dreadnought. Not sure what to do for the barrel and gun barrels, would like a real rusty pattern, if anyone has a good corroded paint scheme I'd appreciate it. Also any tips on the rotting flesh, this is my first Nurgle demon.

# ¿ Jan 14, 2013 21:34

Zhent: Oct 18, 2011; The difference between gods and daemons largely depends upon where one is standing at the time.

VoodooXT posted:

Helloooooooooo Devlan Mud replacement. How has the Army Painter Strong Tone ink been working out for you?

I'm really liking it. I got all three, strong dark and soft. Dark is definitely a black ink, strong and soft work really well for browns. Strong is between, it's almost a brown/grey wash.

All three are thinner than Devlan Mud, so it will do a better job of washing into the crevices but won't work quite as well if you use your washes to tint an entire flat surface. Also, dropper bottles are great.

# ¿ Jan 15, 2013 04:44

Zhent: Oct 18, 2011; The difference between gods and daemons largely depends upon where one is standing at the time.

Aranan posted:

I'm looking to sell off all of my Warmachine/Hordes models and some other random hobby stuff (moving and changing factions at the same time). I figured I'd do SA mart first, then bartertown/ebay. What's the best way to handle shipping? A flat $5, or should I charge by weight or what? I just don't want to wind up losing money by shipping metal mans. I haven't done this before. (obviously)

If you are US-based, the USPS offers flat-rate shipping boxes of a couple of sizes - the smallest should fit anything but the largest purchase. That way you also know beforehand how much it costs to ship them, I believe it's about $7?

# ¿ Feb 22, 2013 03:34

Zhent: Oct 18, 2011; The difference between gods and daemons largely depends upon where one is standing at the time.

LumberingTroll posted:

I have the full set of Badger Minitaire, coming at the end of the month, which will go in the rack in the window.
But I am also moving in a couple months so I will be taking it all down.

I've received my Minitaire paints, and have been looking for something to hold them in and still be able to see them - what is that wall-mounted rack, is that from Back2Base-ix as well?

# ¿ Apr 14, 2013 00:26

Zhent: Oct 18, 2011; The difference between gods and daemons largely depends upon where one is standing at the time.

Slimnoid posted:

Crossposting from the 40k thread. Ork Battlewagon!

Getting more comfortable with my airbrush. I used the salt technique with this one, and learned a few things in the process (wait a few hours goddamn).

This is awesome. Do you have a link to a guide or anything about the salt technique? I'm having a bear of a time weathering my tanks with a piece of sponge, it's just not looking correct.

# ¿ Apr 17, 2013 13:40

Zhent: Oct 18, 2011; The difference between gods and daemons largely depends upon where one is standing at the time.

Leperflesh posted:

Next month is May, dude.

e. Oh he misspoke. We're planning on starting at the end of this month, so May will be the first month of oaths.

Never participated in the Oath thread, looking forward to it this year now that I have an entire army that needs painted.

Hellbeard posted:

A bit of work done:

This looks awesome, as usual. Perhaps the gun you are modeling it on is designed that way, but is the trigger supposed to connect to the guard? Seemed a touch out of place to me but what do I know [nothing]

# ¿ Apr 20, 2013 23:17

Zhent: Oct 18, 2011; The difference between gods and daemons largely depends upon where one is standing at the time.

Grey Hunter posted:

I might well take part in this years oath thread. I've just stripped all the Warhammer Quest models I could find (just missing a few rats and some snotlings from the complete set) along with a load of hero models that were in the old ice cream tub that 14 year old me used to store the game.

I would definitely suggest it. We did something locally for a couple months until the guy running it disappeared, and it was a huge motivational tool.

Grey Hunter posted:

14 year old me should have been convicted of crimes against painting. The colour schemese on these things were horrendous - I had a yellow skaven for gods sake - bad moon yellow as well! what the hell was I thinking?

That's alright. I'm in the process of stripping a bunch of bikes that I painted many years ago, and there are at least 4 different colors of spraypaint coming off - including what appears to be fire engine red. Ugh.

# ¿ Apr 22, 2013 14:00

Zhent: Oct 18, 2011; The difference between gods and daemons largely depends upon where one is standing at the time.

krushgroove posted:

I reckon we're overdue for an airbrush post that can be linked to in the OP - does anyone mind if I do it? I've got the outline all done for the airbrushing 101 DVD I did recently, and any corrections or additions can be sent to me by PM.

That would be great. I jumped on the cheap Sotar bandwagon but thus far have not really done anything with it other than basecoat and prime. The swords I've seen some people do are incredible, amongst other things.

# ¿ Apr 25, 2013 14:47

Zhent: Oct 18, 2011; The difference between gods and daemons largely depends upon where one is standing at the time.

Fyrbrand posted:

Some super nerdlord insisted I do OSL on my Cryx. I went ahead and got better pics afterwards. Picspam

For the battle damage / rust you have going on here, did you do the hairspray-style or is that sponged on separately?

# ¿ May 3, 2013 01:26

Zhent: Oct 18, 2011; The difference between gods and daemons largely depends upon where one is standing at the time.

Daedleh posted:

Goddamn.

You've got to post some step by step guides man.

I can post that for you.

1) Be Bachtere
2) Paint anything.

Guarantees incredible results.

Lethemonster posted:

I started with a black basecoat, then a few layers of fine white where I wanted the glow to reach. Then a layer of scorpion green. Since then I've cleaned up some of the lines with some gentle black, and once I'm happy with the shape I'm going to do a thinner lines of livery green and then run some white mixed with fluorescent green in the panel lines.

I hope it works out ok, I was quite nervous because I didn't want to ruin a big model. Figured I would never progress if I kept that up though.

Are you using an airbrush to get those nice gradients? I haven't yet tried to airbrush anything other than primer onto my models, but I think I need to start branching out a little, and that looks incredible.

# ¿ May 5, 2013 21:18

Zhent: Oct 18, 2011; The difference between gods and daemons largely depends upon where one is standing at the time.

TarDolphinorShark posted:

These were some Space Marines I got from Cyberlord XP that I converted into plague marines. I wanted to go for a look of freshly infected rotten guys instead of the alternate armor I see the stock Plagues sport.

How did you model the plague-sections onto them? These look really good and I want to steal that effect.

# ¿ May 9, 2013 20:35

Zhent: Oct 18, 2011; The difference between gods and daemons largely depends upon where one is standing at the time.

SRM posted:

I never have more than a squad or so on my painting table. Piles of plastic and metal can get really daunting, while 3-10 dudes on your table are something you know you can put a dent into.

Adding to that - I think it's fairly important to paint models you like. Troops are rarely those, so I try to alternate between finishing 5-10 troops and one model that I am really looking forward to painting. It keeps painting from being a chore and still lets [forces] me to finish my troops choices.

Of course, that's how I have 2 Necron stalkers, 2 Tyranids, a Dreadknight, a Great Unclean One, and a Bloodthirster all painted without any armies to play with them. :homebrew:

# ¿ May 11, 2013 17:10

Zhent: Oct 18, 2011; The difference between gods and daemons largely depends upon where one is standing at the time.

I sprayed the Minitaire flat coat over the Minitaire gloss coat - the bikes are still gloss. Does anyone have some experience with these yet that could comment? Otherwise I'm going to fall back on brushing varnish on, but I was hoping these would work pretty well, as the rest of the line is great.

# ¿ May 15, 2013 02:43

Zhent: Oct 18, 2011; The difference between gods and daemons largely depends upon where one is standing at the time.

Gareth Gobulcoque posted:

How glossy is your flat coat by itself? I can't tell the difference between my Minitaire gloss and flat coat. They are equally shinny as hell.

Hmm, very good point. It's pretty shiny even by itself.

Bavius posted:

Have you mixed your bottles? I found shaking didn't do the trick and resorted to using an electric stir rod. My orks turned out great with both gloss and dull.

I'll try to break it up with the stirrer now and see if that helps. I did shake it before spraying it, but nothing out of the ordinary.

# ¿ May 15, 2013 03:09

Zhent: Oct 18, 2011; The difference between gods and daemons largely depends upon where one is standing at the time.

I just finished my oath for this month: Ravenwing attack bikes.

# ¿ May 22, 2013 03:40

Zhent: Oct 18, 2011; The difference between gods and daemons largely depends upon where one is standing at the time.

Fyrbrand posted:

The OSL and weathering are both nice, but you neglected some more basic stuff like drilling barrels, or at least painting the ends black.

That's a great idea and I am doing it once I get home. Somehow I missed it in other pictures. Im assuming I just paint the inside black once I drill it out?

Fix, also a good point and I will do that as well. Thanks both! Anything else, feel free to point it out, this is the beginning of a lot of bikes so I'm looking for anything to improve on - I'm working on line highlighting now, although that is a bitch.

# ¿ May 22, 2013 14:40

Zhent: Oct 18, 2011; The difference between gods and daemons largely depends upon where one is standing at the time.

OneTrueBru posted:

Awesome DA photos

Any tips to getting that razor-thin line highlighting, other than just tons of practice?

# ¿ May 28, 2013 15:08

Zhent: Oct 18, 2011; The difference between gods and daemons largely depends upon where one is standing at the time.

With the release of the new IA12 book from Forgeworld, I'm trying figure out the best approach to painting a Maynarkh dynasty Necron force. I think this is the best picture to show off the colors they are in the book, although it is a little small:

Would I be better off starting with a silver base and heavily weathering with tans / browns to get that sandy color, or starting with a sand / tan and using some brown washes? If I go with the second option, any suggestions on how to give them the appearance of metal beneath all the dirt and rust?

# ¿ May 28, 2013 21:01

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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 15:04

Zhent: Oct 18, 2011; The difference between gods and daemons largely depends upon where one is standing at the time.

SRM posted:

Just painted up my first three Ravenwing bikers. Black is a bitch to highlight, and I hate that all my dandruff and hair and finger prints show up on it.

These are great, and put my bikes to shame

Well done! I'm going to try and mimic your great line highlighting on my next set.

# ¿ May 30, 2013 13:49

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Traditional Games > Miniature Painting/Sculpting/Modelling Megathread (Shut up and use Simple Green)

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