Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Future Wars => Topic started by: Thantsants on 30 October 2009, 11:06:02 AM
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Finally got around to starting the BTD Sontarans I've been waiting for. Tried to go for the shiny PVC look by drybrushing with gun metal and washing with black ink but failed miserably -
(http://i591.photobucket.com/albums/ss360/thantsants/Dr%20Who/sontaran.jpg)
- so went for the regular grey and light grey highlights approach, which I'm happy with but, at the risk of appearing kinky, I'm still hankering after the shiny black look! Any ideas - can it be achieved without shiny varnish?
(http://i591.photobucket.com/albums/ss360/thantsants/Dr%20Who/PA300076.jpg)
Anyway pics posted on my blog -
http://teasgettingcold.blogspot.com/2009/10/ooh-aah-just-little-bit.html
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I use Reaper Adamantium black:
http://www.thewarstore.com/product3758.html
Its a good gunmetal color which has a just slightly reflective sheen.
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Why not use gloss varnish? It would look pretty good I think.
If you want a metallic shiny black try mixing Vallejo Metal Medium with black paint, if you make the highlights pretty light it will shine but not look as grey.
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I get a really high shine by basecoating in Reaper Adamantium Black, then highlighting with reaper Honed Steel and touching the hotspots with reaper Polished Steel. See these two figures for examples (admittedly having a close light source helps the effect as well).
http://spielorjh.deviantart.com/art/Tirla-Theen-125843433
http://spielorjh.deviantart.com/art/Captain-Allister-Caine-135227317
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Thanks for the tips - liking the sound of the reaper paints - not looked thoroughly yet but are there any UK stockists? Might try mixing some gun metal with black and see what happens for now - painting the rest of the squad at the moment and they've gone too grey - hate painting black! The gloss varnish is another option but it'll have to wait as I don't have any!
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Why not use gloss varnish? It would look pretty good I think.
yep... I just glossed mine... :D
must repost them on the blog at somepoint...
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Another thing to do if you really don't want to use gloss varnish is use Humbrol paints for this bit. Matt black for the dark recesses and gloss black on the raised parts. You can still paint the rest of the thing with acrylics. They won't hurt on the same figure, as long as you don't actually try and mix the enamel and acrylic paint together.
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Just put an order in for some gloss varnish! Didn't like the black/metallic paint mix. Time to give my greying sontarans a black wash to deepen the colours and wait for the shiny stuff to arrive - looks like I'm onto German splinter camouflage next with my Fallschirmjagers - ouch! Might just have to procrastinate with my Rutan - as an old WFB Orc player I'm a bit more at home with greens.
Would certainly like to see your Sontarans evilgiraffe seeing as you've done such a good job on the blacks on your Master minis.
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Would certainly like to see your Sontarans evilgiraffe seeing as you've done such a good job on the blacks on your Master minis.
looks like the pics were deleted from my hosting site when I need to clear some space out for a friends wedding pics - have reloaded them now, so you can see them on this thread:
http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=5124.0
they have now made it to the rebasing queue and had the yucky brown stripped, just need to pull my finger out and put on the new finish... black Sonts on page 1 and red Infantry on page 2
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Brilliant stuff! Love the robot and did you use a ping pong ball for the ship - got one myself but it looked a little small?
Have now finished my lot, just waiting for the varnish -
(http://i591.photobucket.com/albums/ss360/thantsants/Dr%20Who/son4.jpg)
Plus an old friend...
(http://i591.photobucket.com/albums/ss360/thantsants/Rutan/PA310095.jpg)
Loads more piccies on the blog - http://teasgettingcold.blogspot.com/
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the ship is a DIY christmas bauble... the robot is a WotC Star Wars Probe Droid and the comm unit is greenstuff...
I've a load of tyranid spore mines for my rutans... haven't done anything with them yet though...
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Can see spore mines working really well for Rutans -great idea!
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Varnish has arrived and Sontarans are now shiny! Thought the Rutan might like a wet look also...
(http://i591.photobucket.com/albums/ss360/thantsants/Dr%20Who/PB160078.jpg)
(http://i591.photobucket.com/albums/ss360/thantsants/Dr%20Who/PB160076.jpg)
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I do think part of your problem lies in the drybrushing. It's not the most sophisticated of painting techniques and is very prone to dragging and/ dry blocking, (where the paint becomes patchy).
For these I'd try to build the black and gunmetal more evenly, then maybe blackline between the folds and helmet/armour lines. Then a dark wash when everything's totall dry. Same issue with the bear headed ones, again nice solid base block colour shading and hi-lights.
Look much nicer with varnish I have to say but watch those mould lines marine!
Good luck
The Commander
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Aye aye Cap'n - besides it isn't a mould line - its where his head rubbed against the side of the cloning vat - honest gov!
Must admit I could spend more time with shading, etc (getting to grips with it on a zoat I painted up and posted in the fantasy forum) - must learn not to rush and instead savour the weight of unpainted minis burying my desk, crying out to be painted!
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Aye aye Cap'n - besides it isn't a mould line - its where his head rubbed against the side of the cloning vat - honest gov!
Must admit I could spend more time with shading, etc (getting to grips with it on a zoat I painted up and posted in the fantasy forum) - must learn not to rush and instead savour the weight of unpainted minis burying my desk, crying out to be painted!
Get used to that my friend, too much lead/plastic/resin never enough time. Just patiently chip away at it, addictively add to it and leave it to the kids to continue your legacy! :D
Anyway have a go not drybrushing something dark, build up the highlights to one, two levels and then shade. You'll be pleasantly suprised.
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You make a good point about drybrushing. The only thing I use it for is groundwork on bases. I'm not one of those people who scoff at it as a short cut (I like short cuts), I don't do it because it so damn difficult to get good results that way. I don't have the skill to make it look good (it always looks hellishly messy when done by me), so for me it is no short cut at all. Regular painting is much easier to my mind.
Just my thought on the matter.