Lead Adventure Forum
Other Stuff => Workbench => Topic started by: Legion on 13 July 2025, 09:50:08 PM
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Hi All,
Back into painting after recently discovering Speed Paints.
Came across these unfinished figs from a dozen or so years ago.
Will the already painted bits look darker or out of place if I go over them with the new paints?
Any other advice you can think of?
Thanks much,
L
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Havign switched to 90% Xpress/Speedpaints, I can understand your enthusiasm :)
And as to your question - The underlying colour WILL affect the final outcome - can be used for interesting effects, but we've generally been stripping (Reccomend Biostrip!) and re-undercoating minis
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Contrast paints are great! On the white areas they will obviously work well.
For those areas already painted in strong colours, using a similiar colour will unlikely have much effect. I'd perhaps use a darker shade thinned down to just act as a wash to shade the colours already done.
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You'd be better off stripping them and then re-priming them.
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If you have already purchased the Speed Paints, then, yes, strip and start over with a proper base coat compatible with Speed Paints.
If you have not purchased Speed Paints yet, I would suggest using Acrylic Paint Pens (https://www.amazon.com/s?k=acrylic+brush+tip+paint+pens&s=price-asc-rank&crid=2V2WLXWWC5HML&qid=1752516578&sprefix=acrylic+brush+tip+paint+pens%2Caps%2C175&ref=sr_st_price-asc-rank&ds=v1%3A3jmBvopmw%2Bbd1nP%2BNx7RqgNZ0aJfaED22DIELjUwaIs) (average of $0.42 per pen!), followed by a dark wash. Give me a chance before you click away... ;)
I've been doing assembly line painting since 1995: I organize figures by grouping them by pose, then applying the same color, same brush stroke, on each successive figure. I got my painting time down to 10 minutes, per figure, on average. That includes batch priming, block color application, and Dip'ing (brusing it on, not dunking it in the can) with removing the excess urethane stain back into the can using my throw-away school painting brush. Example: Gnome Spearmen (https://photos.app.goo.gl/4Lbm2DTWHS8FgnYP6), approximately 20mm tall each; Human Ultra-Heavy Cavalry (https://photos.app.goo.gl/yKyEovuSezwGD3BB6) (BattleMasters game plastic figures).
Recently, I tried using inexpensive Acrylic Paint Pens with a Brush Tip (the other sorts of tips really do not work for miniature painting). Using these in place of paint bottles and a palette, I cut my figure painting time down to 5 minutes per figure! Some Chaos Archers (https://photos.app.goo.gl/8m3WeZFkzD2Q5vjG7) (BattleMasters game plastic figures; EM4 Dwarven Halberdiers (https://photos.app.goo.gl/eyPwZRJgFJhqy9Px5) converted from Spearmen to hold the metal Halberds (https://photos.app.goo.gl/kwkeBU245cu4AdYE8).
Speed Paints will yield better paint quality results, for roughly the same amount of painting time, but they will cost considerably more than a set of Acrylic Paint Pens ($0.69/pen color: 72 colors will cost you around $50, versus 89 Speed Paints colors for $507.59 + s/h, or $5.70/color, w/o shipping factored in). That $450 you saved on paint, will buy a few new armies worth of figures...
In case I did not make it clear, the Speed Paints will average around 5 minutes painting time, per figure, so the same speed as what I achieve with Acrylic Paint Pens and The Dip Technique (I batch them for a matte clear coat after the urethane stain dries, which is included in my time evaluations for average total painting time per figure -- drying time is not included in my calculations, but I bake them in a dedicated slow cooker, at 200 F for 30 minutes, after Dip'ing them, before I matte clear coat them).
My point in posting, is that you have other options than just Speed Paints.
It depends upon what you are painting for: the 2% of the time in which you view your figures two inches from your orbits (eyes), or the 98% of the viewing time when they are sitting atop your gaming table? It is a matter of personal choice. I paint for the 98 percentile, ignoring the 2%. I am all about speed painting my figures as fast as possible, without spending loads of money on paint. The Acrylic Paint Pens cut my painting time in half, with virtually identical results to what I achieved without them. Up to you. Cheers!
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Thanks for all the help, Gents!
Looks like I’ll be stripping them.
I got some of the DeepCut SP Markers too which I’ll be trying out on a batch of Grey Aliens I dug out of my lead mountain.
L
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Eh, slap on the speedpaints first, then decide whether or not to strip them.
Shouldn't take too long to put on the *SPEED* paint, right?? :D
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Eh, slap on the speedpaints first, then decide whether or not to strip them.
Shouldn't take too long to put on the *SPEED* paint, right?? :D
This!!
Give it a go - you will at least learn a bit about how the speed paints work - at best you will actually be happy with the results and have some finished figures.