Mechanithralls

Well this is a Mechanithralls speed paint. Just having some fun as last time picked up the brush to do the objective markers really loved it.

This was stage 1. Unfortunately took 3 coats of P3's Thrall Flesh to get a nice coat then a wash of GW's Athonian Camoshade. Maybe a drybrush of the base coat would have been good here but decided not worth the effort at this stage.

Then Gave the metal a coat of P3's pig iron and the Wounds a coat of Skorne Red.

Gave the metal a wash with a mix of 2 parts brown ink, 2 Cryx Bane base, 2 drops glaze medium and 2 of water. Gave the first one a wash of GW's Carroburg Crimson but not worth it. Didn't do it to the rest. Then when this stage was dry the whole model got a Nuln Oil wash. A little dry brush/highlight would finish it off nicely but not until the rest are at this stage.

Note to self the Nuln Oil and the brown one are getting very low. Definitely keen on trying out some Vallejo Model Air to fill out some of the missing colours from P3's range.

Objective markers

Well been wanting to do these for a while good to get them done. Really didn't take long and was a lot of fun. Assorted P3 paints. Going forward will base them properly.

Really not happy with the quality of these iphone pics. Need to get out the SLR and light them properly.

Hills Finished

Well put some flock static grass assorted bit's and pieces on top of the hills and they came up ok. Fit in one of the smallest drawers as well if put in the right way.

Managed to get the grey Vallejo primer at Tin Soldier Penrith. They are sold out of the white,grey and black i n GG city. Plenty of the other colours. Now which ones are popular? So why are they not stocked........ Then the owners complain people order online.....

So the big question what to do next? Kraken? more Cryx? or get the big Khador Inn project underway.

Drybrushing the Hills

Well that was a success. Vallejo gray primer as the base. Washed with various experimental washes.  Vallejo black wash being the best. Mix of liquitex matt medium(3), water(3) and black ink(1) coming in second. Must try this with surface tension breaker instead of water next time. Last GW Nuln Oil. This was the only real "failure" was a very smooth even coat over the entire surface.

However after dry brushing all look fine. First heavy drybrush with the base coat, then Matisse Carbon Grey, they Vallejo Model Air light grey and then a light touch of Model Air White. Started with a dry No6 squirrel brush. No washing in water first. Then the secret is to keep going and don't wash it out with water between coats. Gives a much more consistent colour grade and is so much faster. start with a heavy dry brush on the base coat and get less and less each time. Make sure you only touch it with the final white. Don't forget to wash it with a brush cleaner after this it will knock the brush around. Try not to over do it on flat surfaces also. It's very easy to press down to hard on the brush and scrub the surface. Does a ok job but squashes the hairs flat and ruins it. Best to take it easy, dip it back in the paint, dry it off and start again. Patience is key.

The colours you pick are not important either. This was what i could find on the shelf with a good colour range. For example the white was sitting on the table from the last thing i painted which was why i picked that one of the 6 or more other different types i must have.

Vallejo Gray Primer is not what it seems

Well turns out Grey primer is just a name and actually just a normal Vallejo Model Air paint. Good thing it was such a good colour! :) Now been renamed base grey. Got a second coat on all the hills last night.

Asked Vallejo though if you can use the new acrylic polyurethane primers on foam and you can. Will see if i can pick one up in the city today. They don't have them at the Games Cube.

Hot Wire Foam Factory

Got a Hot Wire Foam Factory(HWFF) kit today. The four in one with knife, scuplting tool, engraver and router. Wasn't sure i needed them and if i could get away with the smaller one but glad i did. the router is the bees knees.

HWFF 4 in 1 kit

So far just cut 4 hills Warmachine style. Edging with the router. Takes some practise but the last one looks much better than number 1. In any case they are all more than useable.

Shame i forgot to coat them with the HWFF coating products before i started undercoating. Used the Vallejo Model Air Gray primer. Looks great as a base coat for rock. Have to see if it is available in a larger size.

Trying out minature mentor speed painting method

Have a look at the miniature mentor link and the speed painting DVD. Highly recommended.

Well i gave the spray can method a go. Definitely not the same fine shade of the airbrush method but definitely the very small amount of effort required. Given me inspiration to do it properly with the airbrush next time.

Painting with the red didn't work to well. Tried diluting it with jojo sonia's magic mix. Tried a lot of other combos as well and water worked best. Used a 10% surface tension breaker mix on the khador jacks as i thought it would work well on the big flat surfaces. In the DVD the guy uses GW baal red wash. Don't like the colour of the GW red wash so didn't try it. Might work though if i only use a little. However after reading the privateer press books it recommending diluting with ink. Will give it a try with some water next time. The red paint i used for khador was Matisse red light (PR254).

Keen to try the P3 paints. Got the trollblood paint set.