Octopus Overlords

Thanks! I know a lot of Pathfinder dragons run small in D&D terms. This gives me what I need to know.

So I did it, BH...broke out the airbrush. And, I think I’m doing something wrong.



I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong, but I’m not getting good coverage. It was almost akin to a dry brush rather than a covering spray. I was using spray primer...the White was Vallejo and the tan was Stynylrez. It was like a solid 5 minutes of airbrushing per fig to get what you see there.

Maybe too much pressure? Not enough pressure? I was running at around 30 psi when I was brushing. I had the trigger all the way down and back and got what you see.

Off to the inter webs to research.

I've seen anywhere from 10 to 40 PSI for airbrushing (although most fall in the 15-30 range.) It varies somewhat between paints and brushes. My thoughts are, first, work the kinks out on paper with contrasting paint, not on miniatures. It'll help you figure out what's going on. Spidering? Too thick? Too thin? Too close? Too far? Sputtering? They all have different causes. One thing that I've learned is that maintenance is an absolute must. A few times I had horribly uneven paint flow and it turned out that there was an almost imperceptible spot of paint dried on the needle interrupting the flow.

There's a learning curve for sure. The results are worth it (especially with the amount of terrain you make), but you have to approach it as a new skill that requires learning rather than just a variant of a spray can.

Abandoned the airbrush, used paint on primer. A few things I finished up over the weekend...

Nice (paint) rack.

Love dogmeat and the colors on the guard. The base and grit on the vault dweller too.

Not real happy with how these guys turned out. The colors didnt quite match up to what I was going for.

Next up is the guy in power armor, and I’m kind of hesitating to get him started. I’ve never been any good at getting painted metal to look like metal.

Let me see if I can find my notes for my own power armor.

Ok, found 'em. First, I figured out which in-game items they'd based them all on, then went into Fallout 4 and used the console to set up my characters as each of the miniatures and took screenshots to color-match. That's obviously not necessary, of course.

The power armor was primed black, then painted with a very dark metal. I then drybrushed it with a mid-brightness silver. After it dried, I washed the entire thing with black wash, then went back and washed the deep areas (inside the knees, deep areas, between plates, etc) a second time to make them even darker. I then lightly drybrushed with the mid -brightness again, lighter than before. I then hand-painted (rather than drybrushing) highlights onto the edges and corners with an even lighter silver. After that I went back and reapplied wash into the cracks and edges only - I didn't flood the whole miniature, just painted on the shadows again, taking care to emphasize the separation between plates.

I added a little rust to some of the gears and such. I used a weathering system intended for plastic models, but a little sepia/orange/red wash here and there followed by black to regain the details might work, too. Or even a little very subtle drybrushing.

I don't drybrush very often anymore, but I've found that it is rough enough that it really does add a sense of texture to metal. Just make sure that the brush is completely wiped off. If you see paint when you drybrush your rag/paper, it's got too much on it.

Better shot:

Hi guys,

I'm a total newbie when it comes to painting but I'm planning on starting in the next couple of months.

I was wondering if this kickstarter is a good deal? Or am I better off just checking some local stores for paints and stuff?

Maybe, but it's impossible to say. There are too many variables. Pigment quality, how finely it is ground, how dense the pigment is. I personally wouldn't back it for two reasons: First, the deal isn't that great. The $80 + shipping (so probably $90) pledge has 33 paints. That's three bucks a bottle, which is barely under retail cost for most paints, and you'll end up with colors you don't need. It isn't a bad deal, just not a great one. Second (and most significantly), I don't know the company. I don't know their paints. There are lots of companies out there with great reputations whose paint has been tested and used by thousands of people, so it isn't an unknown. Vallejo, Reaper, Army Painter, Scale 75. If you spend money on their paints, I can promise you quality. These? They may be the best thing on the market, ever. They may also be so bad that they're useless. I have no idea.

You'd be better off picking and choosing from a known manufacturer. You might end up with a bit fewer colors, but you could guarantee results.

Cool, thanks!

Yeah, I'm with Blackhawk here. They're likely better than craft store paints, but the pricing suggests they're competitors to the brands he mentioned - and I don't know a thing about them. To that end, I've been a die-hard fan of Army Painter for years, but I just picked up a few theme packs to paint Bolt Action WW2 American soldiers, and I really like them - they're by Vallejo.

And since we're in the thread....



What's funny is that I hate the clear bases on the green tablecloth, but when they're on my forest-print neoprene mat, they look great. You can really see (or not) the difference here:

I just love seeing the miniatures you all painted. You are so much more advanced than I was. I was just starting to get half way descent when I lost interest (and capability) in painting. A couple of years ago.
I must have thousands of 25mm metal and 28mm plastic military figures still to be painted.
If I could figure out how I make you guys my heirs for my miniatures and models.

Just a general comment: Last year I got a set of Scale 75 Scale Color Metal 'N Alchemy. They're metallics, and they are, hands down, the best metallic paints I've ever tried. They're densely pigmented, but not thick and gooey like most metallics. The leave a really, really metallic look on the piece. Each set comes with a set of core colors. So the 'Steel' set comes with a silver that's almost black, one that's dark silver, one that's bright silver, and one that's almost white. It allows you to sort of 'pick a triad' and use them to basecoat, shade, and highlight the metallics without mixing, which is a godsend with metallic paints. Each set also contains four colored metallics that are amazing, especially for adding some variety to your miniatures. I've done a couple of pieces with blue armor that really stand out on the table. The steel set (I think it was the steel set) comes with a pure white metallic that is perfect for brightening any other metal, too.

I'm not sure of the Bolt Action scale, but i'm going to toss this link in, just in case it's handy.

https://www.miniaturemarket.com/table-t ... /tiny.html

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Fri Mar 29, 2019 12:17 am I just love seeing the miniatures you all painted. You are so much more advanced than I was. I was just starting to get half way descent when I lost interest (and capability) in painting. A couple of years ago.

Just to give it some more reference, this is what my Bolt Action game looks like on the table (click to embiggen):

I must have thousands of 25mm metal and 28mm plastic military figures still to be painted.
If I could figure out how I make you guys my heirs for my miniatures and models.

[/quote]

Damn, that' a lot of figures! I wish you lived closer - I'd come over and paint with you.

I'm not sure of the Bolt Action scale, but i'm going to toss this link in, just in case it's handy.

I'm playing with "heroic" 28 mm scale figures. I think I saw those MM tiny things before - years ago maybe? when they were first coming out. I guess they've expanded the line. Thanks.

I've got a bunch of their terrain. The guy that runs the company lives in St. Louis, and is at Fear the Con every year, so I got to browse through their stuff. It's 3d printed, super cheap, but the quality is good for the price.

In my lifetime I've probably painted 20,000+ miniatures and 1000+ models. The hobby gave me pretty much a lifetime hobby.

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Fri Mar 29, 2019 12:20 am Just a general comment: Last year I got a set of Scale 75 Scale Color Metal 'N Alchemy. They're metallics, and they are, hands down, the best metallic paints I've ever tried. They're densely pigmented, but not thick and gooey like most metallics. The leave a really, really metallic look on the piece. Each set comes with a set of core colors. So the 'Steel' set comes with a silver that's almost black, one that's dark silver, one that's bright silver, and one that's almost white. It allows you to sort of 'pick a triad' and use them to basecoat, shade, and highlight the metallics without mixing, which is a godsend with metallic paints. Each set also contains four colored metallics that are amazing, especially for adding some variety to your miniatures. I've done a couple of pieces with blue armor that really stand out on the table. The steel set (I think it was the steel set) comes with a pure white metallic that is perfect for brightening any other metal, too.

I spent a bunch of time looking for the Steel set at Adepticon, but came up empty. Even the Scale75 booth didn't have it. My FLGS doesn't have it in stock either. Amazon is out. Only place I've been able to find it on line wants to charge me $8 for shipping. I've asked my FLGS to hold onto a set for me once they have it in stock again.

You won't regret it. The pigment is so fine that it goes on smooth and looks like metal, as opposed to looking like it has metallic flakes.

Didn’t have the patience to wait for the Scale75 paints, so cobbled this together with my AB paints.

Looks great!

After trying the free miniature painting at PAX Unplugged last year, we decided to pick up some paints and give it a try. Here's our first attempt, a fish man and cultist from Mansions of Madness.



I did the fish man, and I'm pretty happy with the results, especially his fishy blue lips. But I'm most impressed by my wife's discovery that the cultist model has a serious pornstache going on.

Nice!

My wife gave me crap after noticing many Zombicide female zombies were wearing pantyhose. Jokes about how zombies had to be slow so their pantyhose didn't run, whether a zombie was painted like a callgirl, etc.

(Really need to get a light box...)

Ezekiel -

If you are just starting, I suggest you find a local hobby store with a painting club/class. Then you can go in on a painting day and use the store paints and get lots of tips. And, you will find out what colors you really need the most. Trust us, you will be much happier with buying the colors you really need in good quality paints rather than buying a larger varied set of iffy ones.

I highly recommend http://www.thewarstore.com/. I've ordered from them a couple of times, and their prices and service are great.

I hate to do it, but I have to rescind this recommendation. I put in an order on the 10th for a project I have stalled on the table for a game in less than a week. After a full seven days with no shipping notice, I emailed them. They replied that they were out of stock on some items and could either ship a partial order or hold the whole thing until they were in stock. I checked. Out of the eight items I ordered, three are now out of stock. None were out of stock when I placed the order a full week ago (however several other things I needed were, in fact, out of stock.) I did some searching. I found dozens of complaints about TheWarStore, all from the last couple of years. All were that they have become incredibly slow in processing orders, half of what they sell is out of stock, and they don't keep their website updated to reflect that. I don't know why, but the store has gone downhill, and are no longer reliable.

I contacted them, explained all of this, and asked them to cancel my order. I'm going to have to do my shopping for paint and supplies elsewhere.

Give Squadron a look for paints and supplies.

Isgrimnur wrote: ↑Wed Apr 17, 2019 10:50 am Give Squadron a look for paints and supplies.

Thanks. I gave them a look, but it seems like they only carry a couple of the brands I use. They have tons of Vallejo and Squadron products, but no Reaper, Army Painter, or Scale75.

I like miniaturemarket.com but their free shipping is incredibly fast from St. Louis to Chicago.

Finished a purple Beholder from Nolzur's. Going to look at touch ups on Friday. Turned out darker than I expected, but there's a good contrast with the lighter eyestalks.

Yeah, I think I'll be using Miniature Market from now on. I've ordered from them before without issue, they're not local, but they're regional (about 4 hours away), and it turns out that I've played several con games with one of the managers.

Cylus Maxii wrote: ↑Mon Apr 15, 2019 12:45 pm Ezekiel -

If you are just starting, I suggest you find a local hobby store with a painting club/class. Then you can go in on a painting day and use the store paints and get lots of tips. And, you will find out what colors you really need the most. Trust us, you will be much happier with buying the colors you really need in good quality paints rather than buying a larger varied set of iffy ones.

Thanks!

Anyone have a link to a walkthrough on really quick & easy stormtrooper painting? (Imperial Assault) The best I can find so far are still like 15 minutes per figure, which for me would be closer to 20 or more. I really don't need mine to be museum pieces at all; I'm just aiming for "good enough to look like stormtroopers".

Not off the top of my head, but when it comes to speed painting, the fastest technique is usually assembly-line painting. If you have 20, divide them into two groups of ten, or four groups of five (depending on how complex they are), then do one color on each of the ten, then the second color on each of the ten, and so forth.

It's probably the one you've see, but if this is Imperial Assault, Sorastro has a great set of videos:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... AQbG9izBrH

As an aside, since there has been a bit of discussion lately in the other thread, it looks like he's started a series on painting Journeys in Middle Earth, too:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... 4G3jRGrsBJ

I'm using his Journeys in Middle Earth guide now. I'm following it loosely; I changed some of the colors to my preference or availability. Plus I don't have the patience to mix colors like he does.

I should have pictures up of most of the enemy figures in a day or two. I've just about finished all of the base coloring and just have to do shade, final detail, and basing.

Any of you minis folks done any chipping? I’ve been looking at videos about using hairspray and salt or chipping mediums to rough up surfaces. I’m toying with using Vallejo Chipping medium, but if someone has any practical experience, I’d love to hear it.

I have not. I've read about it, but I haven't done any pieces that it would be a good technique for. I generally paint for what I play, and the majority of the miniature-using games I've played in the past 20 years have been fantasy (primarily D&D, Pathfinder, Warhammer, and Warlord, with only Savage Worlds branching out.) To be honest, painting for board games is a very new thing for me.

I'd actually really like to do some non-fantasy painting, but I'm always in the middle of one game or another that needs specific pieces.

I’m getting deep deep deep into Fallout Wasteland Warfare and the terrain pieces all have to have that busted up rusty look. Sponge rust chipping might be the easiest in the long run, but if you don’t try new things, you don’t grow. I may pick up a small bottle of chipping medium and try it on one of my Nuka-Cola machines. Maybe do a head to head testing both effect and how long it takes.