The Miniatures and Scale model appreciation thread

[JoeK]

Nearly finished up an Otherworld Wraith.

[Wiper]

Very nice, great colour scheme - purple and bronze work really well, as does the turquoise highlighting - and I love the shading on the sword. I've been thinking about painting those lovely zO Emerald Guard figures these past few weeks, and I think you've just pushed me over the edge: I've a day off to myself on Friday, so what better way to spend it? I'll just have to resist going for a purple and bronze colour scheme

[JoeK]

Hey, you paint 'em however you want. I reckon purple and bronze would do the job rather nicely!

[mechamonkey]

Thats a fantastic colour scheme there JoeK, love it especially with the base detail.

[JoeK]

Alas, the base has had to be stripped of all the snow, as for some reason the glue I was using just would not set properly. Still, it's all primed again and I'll give it another whirl - was never completely convinced by the first attempt, so we'll see what happens this time

[Cocky]

Lovely stuff as usual Joe.

I finally bought some infinity miniatures. They have really blown me away with how detailed they are despite being quite small at 28mm true scale. They are also quiet a challenge to paint at least the couple I have tried so far. The models are covered in little plates and very smooth sections making them very different to lotr models. I may need to get a brush small than size one

[Benji Dude]

They are amazing models and that is an amazing paint job!

[JoeK]

Lovely stuff as usual Joe.

I finally bought some infinity miniatures. They have really blown me away with how detailed they are despite being quite small at 28mm true scale. They are also quiet a challenge to paint at least the couple I have tried so far. The models are covered in little plates and very smooth sections making them very different to lotr models. I may need to get a brush small than size one

That's bloody great Cocky - could be your best paintjob yet! Really must get around to buying some Infinity figures!

And I got around to properly finishing off the Wraith - third time lucky with the basing though - bit of a learning curve on that one. Still, it does the job...

[Wiper]

Lovely stuff as usual Joe.

I finally bought some infinity miniatures. They have really blown me away with how detailed they are despite being quite small at 28mm true scale. They are also quiet a challenge to paint at least the couple I have tried so far. The models are covered in little plates and very smooth sections making them very different to lotr models. I may need to get a brush small than size one

Just gorgeous.

[Padlocked]

Tips on painting cloaks, mixing water with GW paints and blending (for animal fur) greatly appreciated.

[Cocky]

For cloaks I tend to use layering from dark to light. I'll paint the entire cloak with my darkest shade first and then layer on progressively lighter tones with maybe a wash at the end to smooth the transitions.

For thinning paint I have a dropper bottle of clean water. The amount of water to use is dependent on so many factors that it's impossible to say. As a guide some say to thin your paint to the consistency of milk. I prefer to have my paint thin enough that I can draw paint onto my brush through capillary action. The most important thing is for the paint to flow nicely from the brush onto the model whilst maintaining control - ie not running off into recesses. It helps to wipe the brush against a paper towel or the back or your hand to remove excess fluid.

There are also mediums that you use for mixing with different effects such as matt medium, glaze medium, slow dry.

There's a lot to be said about blending but basically you want to use lots of layers of thin paints or fancier techniques like wet blending. One simple change that you can make to improve is to use a wet palette. To make one you need a tray, sponge, baking paper and water. The advantage of this over the usual tray palettes is you can mix a nice continuum of different shades and tones which will stay wet for longer.

This is mine from this morning

I have to go now but if you need any further explanation feel free to ask.

[Padlocked]

That's awesome, thank you. I'll give that a go - got a big figure with a large cloak that I'm trying to do now, so that should help.

[Padlocked]

Started painting some Doom minis. They're already further on than here, but having fun so far:

[JoeK]

On a chaos theme I thought I'd try my hand on the new GW Beastman Shaman. Great figure, although I'm scratching my head in working out just how you'd ever go about painting it if you'd stuck it all together beforehand! However, we're getting there with it.

[JoeK]

I've been busy doing some painting for Mike, who has his own little miniature company (and game) called Twilight (http://www.worldoftwilight.com/Miniatures.html). Very different figures, and really pleasant to paint .

Here's a Noble Guard (colours are purposely garish by the way, and definitely a slightly simpler style than I might otherwise have gone for if I were doing it for myself):

And here's a bigger chap called an Eragu. Beefy chap.

Around 3 hours painting time each one I guess. It's the one thing I find slightly tricky when painting for other people...but something I'm planning to do a little more of for the forseeable future .

[Cocky]

I really love how much attention you put into the base for all of your models. Do you use actual rocks or do you make them yourself?

[JoeK]

I really love how much attention you put into the base for all of your models. Do you use actual rocks or do you make them yourself?

Bits of cork are some of my best chums mate. Years ago I bought a huge bag of random bits of the stuff, and I don't think I'll ever get through them all. I then tend to chop it up a little, and sometimes add a few bits of putty here and there, but that's pretty much it! To be honest, I find the basing pretty much the fun bit at the end - if it's done okay, then it can hide some of the sins of the paintjob on the figure

The base on the top one was literally just flattened putty (milliput does the job, but I've been using Magic Sculpt for a while now - it's just brilliant stuff), and scratched a few lines over it for the flagstone base.

I'm a very lazy person in reality - if you can do the job effectively, but with as little effort as possible, it's a win for me

That said, I'm going to be chopping up the base on the little guy soon - he needs to go on a different base. I've asked Mike to send me another copy of the figure to be on the safe side - the putty is sodding rock hard and the figure is completely stuck in it, so I'm a little worried about his health after I can it off!

[Cocky]

Thanks. I think my local art store sells rolls of cork so I'll pick one up tomorrow. I'm really unsure about how to base my infinity models as most of my material is grass/woodland stuff. Maybe I can use the cork to make an urban rubble base?

Anyway here's my latest nomad:

Trying to blend over such small areas is ridiculous but I'm pleased with the sharpness of the details and how all of the colours fit together.

[Wiper]

Knowing the size of the model, that's just insane, Cocky. Insane.

[Cocky]

Heh, thanks. The technique I used was something I have been working on for a while without any success until now. All of my previous attempts were awful and I went through a lot of dettol in removing all trace of my failed experiments. Then last bank holiday I had something of a breakthrough moment where everything just clicked and made sense. It's a very painstaking method in that it requires lots of glazes to build up the colour but also rather fun.

[Cocky]

Finished my nomads:

[JoeK]

Awsome stuff mate! Really coherent group - makes me want to buy some!

Only crit I'd say is paint the rims of the bases black - the colour takes the focus away from the figure a little. Aside from that though - all good!

[idiwa]

Fantastic Cocky, the colour scheme really makes it.

[mechamonkey]

Awesome work Cocky, those bases work so well.

[Treble]

I just wish I could pozz again... spectacular stuff. Speaking as someone who is so cack-handed he'd have trouble covering one in poster paint, I'm aghast at this level of skill.

[JoeK]

Another couple of chaps done for Twilight. Very OTT, and rather silly

Just finished another three too!

Who says I don't paint anymore?

[Cocky]

Love the gems on their feet. I would have been lazy and just painted them metal.

Btw what's the best way to do edge highlighting? I'm long out of practice and struggling giving my space marines definition. I tried using slow dry to give me time to correct any mistakes but the paint becomes too transparent.

[JoeK]

Love the gems on their feet. I would have been lazy and just painted them metal.

Btw what's the best way to do edge highlighting? I'm long out of practice and struggling giving my space marines definition. I tried using slow dry to give me time to correct any mistakes but the paint becomes too transparent.

I think it's just a case of gradual build up really and certainly on the edges where you can - using the edge of the brush to paint along the edges to get the thing nice and smooth. After each increase in highlight I tend to glaze the whole area to keep the colours together, and then right at the end use almost white for the final highlight. You should find that you still can water the paint down to the usual levels and eventually it'll come good.

Actually, I'm just about to carry on painting up a Space Wolf termie, so I'll bung some pics up later on do you can see. It's been a pretty quick paint job so far, so maybe not the smoothest of things, but it might help!

[Cocky]

Thanks I'll give that a go.Part of me wants to wait until I have an airbrush before I paint any power armour again but then I think its worth spending time to learn these skills.

[JoeK]

Thanks I'll give that a go.Part of me wants to wait until I have an airbrush before I paint any power armour again but then I think its worth spending time to learn these skills.

I've been toying with the idea of an airbrush for ages, but considering my skills at tidying up are chronically poor at the best of times, the thought of constantly cleaning the thing put me off. Depends if I do more commission stuff than what I do at present really. For me, the only major advantage would be if I was doing lots of the same things, or huge monsters/vehicles and both of these subjects leave me pretty cold at the best of times. A mate of mine does do commission painting as a full time job and he constantly advises pesters me about it being a must. As it stands, I'm happy enough using brushes for the forseeable future!

Actually, Cocky - what 'colour' marine are you doing? I only ask because it might be a bit of fun if I paint one up myself over the weekend and attempt some sort of step-by-step. It might not look anything great at the end of it, but it might give you some ideas. It'll also be a usual exercise for me! At the very least it might give you an idea of what not to do !

Let me know the chapter!