Contrast paints/Speedpaint for buildings?

[destofante]

Since my "armies" are historical and 15mm, when it comes to figures I found little to gain in shifting from my traditional Vallejo acrylics to any of the recent wave of speedpaints/contrast paints. But I wonder if this could be an option for accelerating the way I paint terrain and buildings -- I have a bunch of Western and Central European 15mm terrain pieces, from a variety of sources, from resin to MDF. Did anybody experiment Speedpaints with buildings? Any tip, suggestion, or tutorial to share?

[anevilgiraffe]

depends on the surface, contrast/speed really needs relief texture... thatch should be good, expanse of plaster not so much...

[fred]

On resin buildings with good detail they should work well

I tended to use fairly thinned paint over pale base coat on buildings anyway

I think they would be bad on unprimed MDF - and perhaps not great on any MDF due to lack of texture

[SgtSlag]

If your buildings are plastic, or non-porous, give the contrast/speed paints a try on a test building.  If you do not like the results, soak it in Simple Green cleaning solution (full strength from the jug), and after 24-48 hours, scrub it with an old toothbrush to remove the remaining paint.

As an alternative, you can paint a building with craft paints, using simple block painting techniques.  Then, brush on a dark brown color of water-based (dries within 15 minutes, very low odor once cured) urethane stain, from the hardware store.  I like a dark Walnut color.  This will collect in the folds, darkening them.  You will need to remove excess pools of the urethane stain using either a clean, dry brush, or by soaking it up with the edge of a paper towel.

This is the classic Dip Technique, only with it being applied with a brush.  It works surprisingly well on buildings with some texture, giving them an aged, weather-worn look.  I recommend throw-away brushes, as once the urethane dries, it can be very difficult to remove (Simple Green will work, but it might take 4+ days to remove it).  Whether you buy satin or gloss finish, you will need to apply a clear matte coat, to dull the shine.

Here is a plastic, Marx Fort toy, converted for mini's gaming purposes.  I glued some untreated MDF over the plastic catwalks, as they were too flimsy, and too narrow for figure stands to fit on them.

MDF should be sealed with a wood sealer, prior to painting anything on them.
 If you look more closely (click on the image, first, then use your mouse wheel to zoom in), you can see how the urethane stain did not cure evenly on the MDF surfaces because I did not seal it, first.  Once the 'grain' surface of the MDF is sealed, it will take paint normally, and evenly.  Cheers!

[Chairface]

I`ve been using some speed paints on buildings lately. I`m working with a lot of cream and pastel colours lately and the speed paints have been helpful in tinting them the right colour. Now we`re talking brick and stucco here. It won`t work on everything.

[Burgundavia]

You can approximate speed paint with a flow medium and inks, which are a lot cheaper and for a building, the coverage doesn't matter as much.

[destofante]

Well, I did.
I bought a couple of Speedpaints, some resin buildings from Monday Knight Miniatures, and I got to work. Actually, it is work-in-progress, as I am writing during a break. But here’s the initial impressions.

Starting from the roofs. My choice was a terracotta reddish brown, and a blueish grey for a more Western/Central European look. Runic grey and Ruddy Fur were my choice. Out of the bottle, the materials feels like an ink, but with higher pigmentation — which, I guess, it is exactly what it is.

On the brush, it flows easily, so I have a sense of faster painting than with my typical acrylics. One caveat, though: the paints flows, both on the brush but on surface as well, and as the model dries, gravity keeps pulling the paints. So, the angle at which the model rests while drying matters — not an issue I had to deal before. I have a few models drying at the model, and I will include pictures if I can figure out how to do so (but I am attaching a few pics to the post.)

[destofante]

Good news, I figure out how to attach pictures.
Bad news, I cannot figure out how to attach pictures STRAIGHT.

[SgtSlag]

Speed/Contrast Paints are a further development from the properties and functions of the original Dip Technique:  the pigment is pulled down by gravity, accumulating in folds and recesses; if you learn how to work with Speed/Contrast Paints, you will know how to work with most wash techniques, but especially the tried and true, Dip Technique.

Always be mindful of paint/wash accumulating in recesses and folds, but especially be aware that gravity will pull them down towards the ground, based on the position of the model, while it dries.

Oil/Solvent based solutions will take days to dry fully, but you will have a working time of around 15-30 minutes; after that, you will need to use a paper towel wetted with mineral spirits to wipe away excess stains.  Water based solutions will typically dry within 15 minutes before it dries, and maybe 5 minutes of working time to clean up excess accumulations of stain/paint.

I have not worked with artist oil paints, thinned with mineral spirits, as washes.  My understanding is that these have a working time of a couple of days, with paper towels wetted with mineral spirits.

When I work with solvent based wood stains, I bake them at 200 F, for 30 minutes, to fully cure them.  I hate waiting.     Cheers!