Paint it black.

[Legion1963]

No, do not worry. I am not going to ask for tickets for the up coming Rolling Stones concerts. However, if anyone has some and seeks a friendly like-minded soul to pass them onto....send me a pm.
After this little side step now to the more question concerning the hobby at hand. Recently i bought form a friendly fellow here on LAF my all time fave GW miniature, Skragg the Slaugtherer. You know that big, evil looking ogre from way back when all was nice and hobbity like. Presently i am in the proces of giving him a nice coat of paint and i've decided to paint his suit of armour black. But how to paint that. Black is always somewhat difficult to do. Mind you, his armour should not be neat but as a professional warrior (that i imagine him to be) he certainly looks after his tools of the trade. So it must have a used look having gone through several battles but not neglected. Perhaps someone can give my a few pointers which will be much appreciated. Cheers.

[Cubs]

You've really got two ways of coming at it. You can either add slightly metallic layers to a black base, or add black washes to a metallic base. If it was me, I'de start with a very dark metallic base and then do both - a few sparing highlights and some black ink washes. Wear and tear and general age can be easily to armour by the odd tiny silver fleck (to show scratches) and a bit of brown ink patched in recesses (to show rust and deterioration).

[jthomlin]

A quick and effective method is to paint the armour black and lightly drybrush with gunmetal to taste.

[Legion1963]

Okay guys, these suggestions are rather helpfull. Cheers.

[Ramshackle_Curtis]

Drybrushing, hmm, well a soft brush will help. However, try doing the highlights by running the edge if the bristles along the edges you want to highlight. DOnt poke and jab, be more discerning. Dont use the tip, use the edge!

[Vonkluge]

You might try adding a bit of PURPLE to whatever base you use, it is a trick I sometimes use on horses as in the daylight their silky coats and combination of light sorces and refletions will give that effect. Then I do REALLY light coasts of thinned grays in progressively lighter shades. You really have to decide how much work you want to put into it, the more work the better the look, but there's no getting around black is normally tough.

Bill W

[former user]

I once painted a black plare armour by simply adding metallic powder to black paint, but then it was about a magic obsidian armour.
I am not going to give You advice on how to paint, there are others better gifted to that.
I'd rather ask You how the idea behind the black armour is -
there are basically three ways to make iron or steel black: paint it, soot it or oxydize it with magnetite (blueing)
the first one is rather simple and can result in very different looks. It does not hold very well and has to be redone frequently and will not protect the surface from rust
the second one is the simplest and something any ironworker can do, but wipes off easily, but it als protects from rust. And it can be renewed easily
the third one requires specialist work and was done for the more valuable armours, but easily acquires scratches and can be repeated only with a lot of preparation that includes removing all leatherwork.

all these of course look very different when represented in miniature.
My approach for an ogre armour would be the second one, since it is very raw looking and does not require much skill (from the armourer). basically any visible metal can not be shiny but dulled.

[Vonkluge]

Here's some pics of a few "IRON" looks I did a few years ago....


This was the "base" toy before IRON paint treatment.



This is after painting with a lacquer based flat black auto primer that caused the crinkle effect (planned) and gives the iron that really rough and old look. There is a bit of dry-brush work here as well as a blue wash, a black wash, a rust wash, another black wash, then a selective rust wash treatment and a bit of metallic dry brush highlight work. parts of the leg armor and arm armor are actually dark grey.



Variations on the same process over RESIN

[LeadAsbestos]

I did this:


Shitty, but effective!

[Legion1963]

I did this:


Shitty, but effective!

Hello LA, thanks for that photo. If you do not mind i have saved for further reference while paiting my own Skragg. However, i think yours looks very nice(i like the crewcut hair...i planning to paint mine with a bold head) and indeed...very effective. Although i would not use (so much) blood. Thanks so much.

[Legion1963]

Gents, all your suggestions and knowledge has been put into a reference sheet that i intend to use to paint Skragg. The result i will show here on LAF. Many thanks to all those who responded to my topic.