Made leap into BOB

[Curadh]

Hello All

Well I made the leap and picked up some models of Chinese bandits from Copplestone.  Very nice castings, little if any flash, and molded from a nice material.

I cleaned up all of the models, epoxied them onto fender washers and glued on the ground clutter.

Next step is the base coat, but before I do, I was interested into looking into the dip method of painting.  Since the copplestone Chinese I purchased have that gritty unkepmt look (they are the bandits of course), I figured the dip might be a nice method to give them a rough and tumble bandit look.

Let me know if anyone has tried that dip method and liked it (or disliked it).

[Digitarii]

I use the dip method all the time. It takes some getting used to, but the way it speeds up painting the rank and file makes it worthwhile.

[ushistoryprof]

I'm a little unclear on how the dip process works.  Could some one give a simple step by step process?  Be an older dog new tricks have to be explained slow and simply some times. Thanks.

[Digitarii]

The basic theory behind the dip method is using a very thin, very dark wash to add shading to a mini that has basic blocks of colors already in place. No highlights or shading, just the base colors. Some people use minwax as the dip, I use a custom mix that I came up with a long time ago:

16 oz. future floor finish (IIRC it's now called KLEER)
1.5 oz sepia brown ink
1.5 oz black ink

The future/kleer is a super thin liquid acrylic, so it will mix with ink or paint very easily. Mix all of these together thoroughly, preferably in a wide-mouthed sealable container. The acrylic also has a very low surface tension, which helps to get the ink to flow and settle properly. Once you have mixed it, you can either brush the mix on or literally dip the painted model into the mix. The ink will settle in the creases and crevasses of the model, thanks to the acrylic. You can shake the model or knock off the excess, but I keep a large soft bristled brush nearby to get any excess off. This stuff dries pretty quickly (10 minutes or less) and is very glossy. Some brush on or spray on matt varnish will do the job for you.

[Furt]

I use the dip method all the time. It takes some getting used to, but the way it speeds up painting the rank and file makes it worthwhile.

Have you any images of your figures painted with this magic formula?

[Digitarii]

I'll see about getting some pics this weekend.

[ushistoryprof]

The basic theory behind the dip method is using a very thin, very dark wash to add shading to a mini that has basic blocks of colors already in place. No highlights or shading, just the base colors. Some people use minwax as the dip, I use a custom mix that I came up with a long time ago:

16 oz. future floor finish (IIRC it's now called KLEER)
1.5 oz sepia brown ink
1.5 oz black ink

The future/kleer is a super thin liquid acrylic, so it will mix with ink or paint very easily. Mix all of these together thoroughly, preferably in a wide-mouthed sealable container. The acrylic also has a very low surface tension, which helps to get the ink to flow and settle properly. Once you have mixed it, you can either brush the mix on or literally dip the painted model into the mix. The ink will settle in the creases and crevasses of the model, thanks to the acrylic. You can shake the model or knock off the excess, but I keep a large soft bristled brush nearby to get any excess off. This stuff dries pretty quickly (10 minutes or less) and is very glossy. Some brush on or spray on matt varnish will do the job for you.

Thanks, I give it a try.

[Curadh]

Thanks very much for the formula and the proceedure.  I suspect I'll trial it on some older models first.  I'm off to pick up the materials now.
I'll post the pics soon on my attempts- good or bad.