Still painting minis

This is 25y old.

a reply to: d8track

Those are cool. They look like they've held up well. Thanks for posting them.

Get you some matte or flat lacquer, fog the first coat and then a wet coat. Fogging the first coat helps keep the colors from running.

a reply to: mtnshredder

Thanks for the advice. What do you mean by "fog" and "wet"?

Krylon (at Walmart) makes a great matte, clear sealer that I use for painting figs. Works great. (and cheap).

Also, at either Walmart or Michael's, or other craft stores, you can often find acrylic craft paints in all colors of the rainbow, for about $2 each. Sometimes even less during a sale. These work just fine.

If you haven't discovered these techniques yet, they will really help you.

1) Paint the fig all matte black first (usually with quality spray paint). I say quality because the cheap stuff is too clumpy. This will help recesses, cracks, and other detail POP when you use the next technique.

2) Dry brushing. Get very little paint on your brush, then lightly go over the area. Any crevices, etc. will be black from the initial priming, and the dry brush will only put paint where it needs to be and not seep in cracks, etc.

3) Shading. Have at least two to three different colors for anything you are painting. Medium color = main base coat of that area. Dark color = for shaded areas of that area. Light color = for highlights, lighter areas (like elbows, knees, chins, noses, cheeks, etc.)

What do you mean by "fog" and "wet"?

Fog, means just spritz it Wet means full coverage, ensuring you get in all the cracks, etc.

Using cheap paint is fine, but when priming (whether black or gray or white...I prefer black unless something has really vivid colors), go with a more expensive one, so it doesn't clump or drip. (or worse, be powdery).

a reply to: Gazrok

Oh, wow! Thanks!
I'll definitely get the sealer. I've been using acrylics. I got some of those at Walmart. I wish there was a Michael's because they have a better selection but the closest one is 45 minutes away, I think.
The shading techniques will come in handy. I've been painting a black base coat but it's with acrylic, which looks cool but I think a spray paint like you suggested would be better. I'll have to get some. Dry brushing sounds neat. I'll try that, too. Thanks again for the tips.

While the enamel does look great, it's a real bitch to work with (and clean up). For me, the hassle just doesn't outweigh the minor appearance differences. Just from my own experience. Also, way more colors available in acrylic.

Be very light with the touch when using the spray paint to prime. As I mentioned, spend more on quality paint for this, as cheap spray paint really sucks.

Dry brushing takes practice, but it will make your figs look pro in no time. If mine weren't all packed up, I'd post some examples. (I'm working on my mancave, and then I'll be putting up all my mini-fig cases).

Between the wife and I, we have HUNDREDS of figs for D&D, from the old lead ones, to more modern pewter ones, or even MageWar figs, etc. I even have a pretty sizable WarHammer 40K Eldar army as well.

I really can't wait to bring these guys back on display. Of course, only a fraction are painted though.

a reply to: Gazrok

Yeah my friend said that enamel is hard to work with. I really don't want to deal with all the added stuff like thinner and whatnot. With acrylic it just washes off with soap and water, so less fuss.
It sounds like you're a hard core gamer. I'd be interested in seeing pics of your minis once you get set up. They sound cool.

originally posted by: Skid Mark
a reply to: mtnshredder

Thanks for the advice. What do you mean by "fog" and "wet"?

Fogging is a really light coat. It gives the next coat/wet something to bond to and it also helps seal in the color coats. If you put on a wet coat first it could attack the color coat and possibly cause your colors to run. Fogging also helps in eliminating runs when you apply the wet coat. This all being so if you're using a lacquer based clear finish.

a reply to: mtnshredder

I see now. Thanks!

It sounds like you're a hard core gamer

Moreso when I was single. My wife is a gamer too, but these days, not a lot of time for it. We do a lot more with odd boardgames these days. But, we still do an occasional campaign or dungeon crawl too. The Descent game is great for this.

a reply to: Gazrok

Time can be an enemy sometimes. There doesn't seem to be enough of it to go around.

As I remember I did not just use enamel paint I was a mixer. I would get a high quality white acrylic craft paint and use it as the base and mix most colours with it. The colours I used were a mix of what I could find. I mixed enamel with the white acrylic and it made them easier to use. I found acrylic greens and blues worked good but I liked enamel reds and black.
Most enamels I used were for gold, silver, and copper with a metallic red and green and were applied last.
I only painted metal figures and I liked india ink to matte. It stains the metal and brings out all the detail just paint it on wait a minute then wipe it off. The ink is water base just remember it stains.

If you look at these figures you can see what I mean with the mix.

a reply to: d8track

Those are cool! I bet they look bad ass on a game board.