Page 25 of 68

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

Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2019 3:02 pm
by Daveman
I posted elsewhere that we're really enjoying Blitz Bowl, a not-quite-just-a-simplified version of Blood Bowl that's a lot of fun and plays a lot faster. The problem was I already had Human and Orc players painted and finished with grassy bases, but the board that comes with Blitz Bowl has a dungeon/arena look to it. I knew I wanted to start collecting expansion teams but really prefered a grassy playing field and so I started a new project...

Image

The Blitz Bowl field is much smaller than Blood Bowl so I knew it would be a much more manageable size. This is a piece of MDF that I marked out a grid then routed it out with a small attachment on my Dremel. I painted the outer edges and score keeping area in stone, then did the field in green, flocked it (sealed in with glue and copious amounts of sealer spray) and then painted the end zones and line markings. The Blitz Bowl game board is double-sided with different configurations of obstacles on the field. I made my obstacles modular so they can be moved around accordingly. Picked up a "star player" figure and painted him in gold to use as a statue for one obstacle, as well as some Orc Cheerleaders to have a "screaming fan" on the field too :)

A while ago my wife got a Cricut machine (essentially a printer that cuts shapes/patterns out of paper, cardstock, etc.) and I used that to make out the number "plates" on the scoring track.

I've also been busy painting additional expansion teams too, including the Dwarf team in these photos.

Image

Image

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

Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2019 3:07 pm
by AWS260
That looks amazing!

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

Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2019 3:23 pm
by Smoove_B
Wow, yeah. That's impressive.

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

Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2019 12:02 pm
by Gato
Giving a shot at painting Mansion of Madness miniatures.
Trying to keep it simple, a little shading and almost no highlight.

Image
Image
Image

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

Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2019 1:40 pm
by hentzau
Nice work!

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

Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2019 2:03 pm
by Smoove_B
Yeah, when I painted the MoM minis it was pretty basic. I didn't feel there was much room to be detailed. I like the creative bases.

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

Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2019 5:36 pm
by Zarathud
I started the Pathfinder Gargantuan Red Dragon last night. The Army Painter Red Ink did a wonderful job turning a basic red into a brilliant red.

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

Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2019 11:26 am
by Gato
2nd round of my Mansion of Madness investigators
now with improved picture quality
Started adding a little more highlight to the minis

ImageImageImage

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

Posted: Sun Feb 17, 2019 9:32 pm
by Archinerd
Daveman wrote: Fri Feb 08, 2019 3:02 pm I posted elsewhere that we're really enjoying Blitz Bowl, ...
Very cool.

Well, in a nerdy miniatures game kind of way.

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

Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2019 10:59 pm
by Delcar
Been re-bitten by the painting bug, have gotten back into it over the last few months, and have started running a 5e game that is going great.

So I've taken a little R&R time, and my main relaxation this week is miniature work. I've been goofing off today, meant to paint, and my google search for gnoll miniature paint lead me here... and I've spent all night reading all 25 pages.

Such a great community, I couldn't resist joining. I'm a similar 'vintage' to Blackhawk - a tiny bit older with more time behind the DM's screen then the paint brush.

Once if move or figure out how to link Google Photos, I'll post some pics.

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

Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2019 11:12 pm
by hentzau
Welcome to our little eclectic corner of the internet. You’ll be hard pressed to find a better group of imaginary friends.

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

Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2019 11:21 pm
by Punisher
Welcome to the family.. May (insert deity of choice) have mercy on your soul.

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

Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2019 11:59 pm
by Blackhawk
Delcar wrote: Mon Feb 18, 2019 10:59 pm Such a great community, I couldn't resist joining. I'm a similar 'vintage' to Blackhawk - a tiny bit older with more time behind the DM's screen then the paint brush.
I think you'll find that most of the folks here share a similar vintage. We run older than the average game community. We make no claims to maturity, however.

And welcome aboard!

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

Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2019 3:08 am
by Zarathud
The Pathfinder Gargantuan Red Dragon's spines and underbelly have been painted. Next step will be some drybrushing, getting the eyes/mouth, cleaning up the black base, then getting the photos online. Very easy to paint.

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

Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2019 11:15 am
by Smoove_B
Welcome to the forums! There's always room for more gamers here!

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

Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2019 11:42 am
by hentzau
Last night I speed painted 3 Gangs of Rome figures so I could get a test game on the table (I've only had the game for like a year now.) Very simple paint schemes, just base color, then a color wash, and then some dry brushing if I can tonight before the game. No basing done yet, I need to make up some cobblestone bases for these guys, but they'll work for this test game with partially painted buildings and temples.

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

Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2019 9:29 pm
by Delcar
Thanks for the welcome!

I finally put my silicon roller (from Green Stuff World) to the test with some Apoxie Sculpt, and it makes for great cobblestone bases.
Spoiler:
I'm also happy to discover that the Apoxie Sculpt is still good after a couple years in the garage.

Spent the day making Myconids, and assorted fungi. (pardon the mess)
Spoiler:
Recent PC mini (Dragonborn Paladin)
Spoiler:

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

Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2019 10:03 pm
by Delcar
The Myconids are great, I get to play with colors that I otherwise wouldn't use much, at least till the Sauhugin late in the campaign.

I also am making a custom Sovereign Myconid, the Zombie next to him is what his 'armature' was made from.
Spoiler:
(That Hulk in the background is soon to be a completed Hill Giant. I think he came from a Slurpy Straw back when the Ang Lee movie hit.

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

Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2019 11:03 pm
by Blackhawk
Nice! I've never tried the rollers, but I do have a good selection of base stamps I use constantly, which are essentially the same thing.

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

Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2019 2:25 am
by Zarathud
Dragon is done except for clear coating, along with 3 gargoyles and 3 skeletons from the D&D Ravenloft game. I'll get photos uploaded in the next few days, work permitting.

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

Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2019 8:53 am
by YellowKing
I finished all my BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA minis last night. Can't say it was my finest work, but we're getting it to the table Thursday night so I was going for function over quality. It's always really satisfying to finish off a complete set for a game.

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

Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2019 12:27 pm
by Blackhawk
Last three D&D sessions:

I finished a dwarf for one of the players in my group. Character dies the next session.
I finished a gnome for my son's character. He retires the character the next session.
I finished the rogue for Michelle's character. She gets a new job and has to leave the group the next session.

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

Posted: Mon Mar 04, 2019 12:48 pm
by hentzau
Hey BH! I've moved several steps closer to actually using an airbrush, by getting it out of the box and on the workbench. So a general question...do you have a rough approximation of flow to paint when using standard craft paints? I have a bunch of MDF Roman buildings and I thought this would be a good way to get going with the airbrush.

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

Posted: Mon Mar 04, 2019 1:25 pm
by Blackhawk
hentzau wrote: Mon Mar 04, 2019 12:48 pm Hey BH! I've moved several steps closer to actually using an airbrush, by getting it out of the box and on the workbench. So a general question...do you have a rough approximation of flow to paint when using standard craft paints? I have a bunch of MDF Roman buildings and I thought this would be a good way to get going with the airbrush.
First, a disclaimer. I'm barely even an amateur when it comes to airbrushes. I have a few projects I'd like to use them on, but I still have a lot of learning to do first. I mostly use it for priming (again, Badger Stynlrez is the best primer you can get.)

I've never used craft paints in an airbrush. They tend to have such coarse pigments and are so thick that I worry that they'd either cause a lot of clogging problems, or would be thinned so much they'd be hard to work with. Some quick reading suggests that they do work on some airbrushes, depending on the tip, but that you may need a slightly higher air pressure. General wisdom seems to be to thin to approximately the consistency of skim milk, and that 70% distilled water, 30% isopropyl alcohol is decent, cheap thinner for them. I'd think that an acrylic retarder might be of value, too, but you'd have to experiment (and it isn't as easily available as the water/alcohol.) Oh, and the 'distilled' element of the water actually is important.

/edit - This may be useful.

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

Posted: Mon Mar 04, 2019 3:43 pm
by hentzau
Blackhawk wrote: Mon Mar 04, 2019 1:25 pm
hentzau wrote: Mon Mar 04, 2019 12:48 pm Hey BH! I've moved several steps closer to actually using an airbrush, by getting it out of the box and on the workbench. So a general question...do you have a rough approximation of flow to paint when using standard craft paints? I have a bunch of MDF Roman buildings and I thought this would be a good way to get going with the airbrush.
First, a disclaimer. I'm barely even an amateur when it comes to airbrushes. I have a few projects I'd like to use them on, but I still have a lot of learning to do first. I mostly use it for priming (again, Badger Stynlrez is the best primer you can get.)

I've never used craft paints in an airbrush. They tend to have such coarse pigments and are so thick that I worry that they'd either cause a lot of clogging problems, or would be thinned so much they'd be hard to work with. Some quick reading suggests that they do work on some airbrushes, depending on the tip, but that you may need a slightly higher air pressure. General wisdom seems to be to thin to approximately the consistency of skim milk, and that 70% distilled water, 30% isopropyl alcohol is decent, cheap thinner for them. I'd think that an acrylic retarder might be of value, too, but you'd have to experiment (and it isn't as easily available as the water/alcohol.) Oh, and the 'distilled' element of the water actually is important.

/edit - This may be useful.
I got a bottle of flow agent when I got the kit for Christmas 2 years ago, so I'll use that when thinning down the paints. And I saw a couple of youtube tutorials from dudes that I wouldn't trust to mow my yard. Thought I would check to see if you had any practical experience. It may be that the airbrush will be too fine a tool for large surfaces and I'll just end up using a larger brush on them anyway.

Thanks for the link!

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

Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2019 12:57 am
by Zarathud
My pictures of the Pathfinder - Deep Cuts: Gargantuan Red Dragon

Initial Painting of Red+Khaki
Enlarge Image

Nearly Complete after Army Painter Red Ink+Soft Tone
Enlarge Image

Back view
Enlarge Image

Top view
Enlarge Image

The top view shows a little highlighting plus additional shading. I could probably go back and add in some more highlights, but it already looks great on the table. The prepainted selling price on this is about $300, but the unpainted figure was only $27.

I'm just waiting for a warmer day to spray on the Testors clearcoat. Chicago winters are terrible for productivity in completing painting projects.

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

Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2019 1:06 am
by Zarathud
While waiting for the dragon to dry, I pulled out some of the basic miniatures from the D&D Castle Ravenloft board game.

Gargoyles
Enlarge Image

Skeletons
Enlarge Image

I still need to go back and add another black layer for the bases. I paint all my miniature bases black so they match the prepainted miniatures. The gargoyles look better on the table than this photo, while the skeletons look worse on the table than the photo.

At least with diabetic kids, I'm never short of pill bottles for painting miniatures.

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

Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2019 1:53 am
by Punisher
FYI. Pics aren't showing up for me.

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

Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2019 2:16 am
by Zarathud
Should be fixed. Stupid Google Photos and having to copy the link from a link, then add -tmp.jpg to each link.

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

Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2019 2:31 am
by Blackhawk
Nice job on all of them. If it wouldn't be a hassle, can we get a picture of the dragon with something for scale? I've been glancing at him, but I'm cautious about the size.

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

Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2019 2:39 am
by Blackhawk
As an aside, I'm going to experiment with clear bases. I started basing for wargaming back in the 90s (Battlesystem and Warhammer), which got me in the habit of decorated bases. I'm honestly tired of messing with them, though, and clear bases might be a good alternative. The idea is that it looks like the miniatures are standing directly on the surface, which is great for RPGs when you use printed maps. I'll try a set that I'm working on. If I like it enough, I may go back and re-base my old stuff. Eventually.

Oh, and I'm talking about my RPG miniatures. The board game stuff is fine with black bases.

Here's what it looks like (not my miniatures.)

Image

Image

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

Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2019 11:15 am
by Smoove_B
I really like the clear bases for the board games I own that have all that detailed tile art. Since you're already a miniatures guru I'm sure you know about getting a non-clouding (i.e. dries clear) cement for attaching them to the base? That was something I learned about rather quickly - how superglue can get a haze to it, ruining the clear base function completely. If you're careful with super glue it probably wouldn't be an issue, but I like not needing to worry about it.

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

Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2019 11:51 am
by hentzau
I am on the fence about clear bases. They need to be really thin to be effective, IMO. Some of the best I have seen are from Pulp Alley.

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

Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2019 11:58 am
by Smoove_B
I've been using Litko brand, ordered off Amazon. They come in lots of different sizes but they're all 1.5mm thick. If I have some time today, I'll take a photo of my MoM miniatures that were slapped on them.

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

Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2019 12:33 pm
by Blackhawk
I ordered Litko, too. I've bought their products before, and was happy with them (although those others certainly have a better price...) I already have some acrylic cement on hand.

How well do they hold up during play? I'm a little concerned that they'll end up scratched and ugly.

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

Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2019 12:37 pm
by Isgrimnur
Zap-O Odorless CA+ Foam Safe seems to be recommended for gluing things. Testor makes a clear parts glue as well. I have not used either, so I have no idea how they hold up to handling.

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

Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2019 12:52 pm
by Blackhawk
I was more concerned about the acrylic of the base itself getting all scratched up.

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

Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2019 1:36 pm
by Smoove_B
I haven't found the bases to be delicate, though in truth the minis spend more time in a display case than being used. :?

Enlarge Image

If you embiggen, you can probably guess which mini I glued first and subsequently experienced the previously mentioned clouding of the CA glue when it dried. I had seen SCIGRIP #16 recommended and that's what I switched to instead.

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

Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2019 5:47 pm
by Zarathud
I would be worried about a glue mishap more than scratching up the base.

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

Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2019 2:21 am
by Zarathud
Blackhawk wrote: Wed Mar 06, 2019 2:31 am Nice job on all of them. If it wouldn't be a hassle, can we get a picture of the dragon with something for scale? I've been glancing at him, but I'm cautious about the size.
No problem, now that I've figured out the image host (I think).

Dragon with the D&D skeleton and the Bones Mystic Theurge miniatures for scale.
Enlarge Image

Sorry, I now realize that that's at a downward angle. The wizard and skeleton come up to the arm.
Enlarge Image
The dragon looks big on the table -- about 5 inches tall and 7 inch maximum wingspan.