Cerridwyn1st

That's funny in retrospect, since the dog found a kitten not too long after Cedric said that...

And one more to complain her cats knock over the lamps, causing the light bulbs to break so you need new ones. Don't forget a couple dozen to post the virtues of full spectrum compact florescents as the best light sources for painting.

Cats aren't just sensitive to death. When I was giving birth (it was a home birth, by the way), my cat sat by my head when I was in the final "big push". She didn't pay that much attention to me before then during the labor process. But I petted her between a couple of contractions in the final half-hour or so, and it was comforting. When "Sivrel" was just about to make his big entrance, the cat went down by my feet and watched him being born.

Well, I kind of like a mix of off-topic humor and on-topic advice. Especially when you get a little of both in one post. Like most things, a little is amusing but a lot can drive you nuts. And yes, I DO intentionally phrase on-topic advice in a way that it's funny in an off-topic sense. Whiz, I hope you won't get insulted and quit posting. I like reading what you have to say. Wren: Going to have to try the lubricated GS trick. I guess that will work as long as you don't need to sculpt feathers or scales to make the GS look right. It's always tough to decide at what point you should assemble: before painting, after, or sometimes during. It just depends so much on how the model is put together and what you want it to look like when you are done.

Well, I tend to be fairly consistent in what I will use for a "recipe". I painted an army for a client once over the course of a year. Used the same recipe for the reds throughout. Put them on the table and they all look like they were done at the same time... One of the hardest commissions I've done was to "match" the paint job on a figure a client gave me. I didn't know the colors that were used and I also needed to match the "style" from the other figure. Came out to a pretty good match. Of course, if it's a "new mix" for me and not one that I'll use often, then I really need notes to recreate it. My problem has been that I don't do this, and I really need to.

Richard gave you one of the Necrons? Wow, that's cool. Wish I had an example of his technique to look at. I really liked it. That's where I got the idea for using a "mix" that's paint, ink and metalic as a base coat for metals. Gives you something nice and dark to work up from.

I like the color gradiations and the peacock is very nice. I'd like to see a little shadowing to give it some definition. Maybe a wash or glaze just the recesses if you don't want any color added on top of the gradients. Other than that, a very nice job.

Last Man: Thanks for the link to the article. Sounds like the colors the author uses are very close to what was mentioned above. Cerri

Well, I have vision insurance and it's about time for a yearly exam. I'm thinking of having the doctor write me a perscription for glasses that would be good for painting, since the glasses I have now seem to be working OK. For painting, I now use a magnifying lamp with daylight florescents installed. I had a set of optivisors once upon a time but eventually sold them because I didn't use them. I think my problem was that I didn't like wearing something on my head that fitted over my glasses. It was more comfortable to me to look through the lens than to have something hanging on my head all the time. I might like one of those optivisors with lights installed, just becaue they would be more portable, but I'm not sure.

Yes, gold braid often has thin metalic fibers wrapped around yarn or cotton string. The resulting threads are braided or twisted to form the cord. I'd start with a dark brown base and work through a brownish-yellow to bright yellow. Almost a gold NMM mix would look nice. It would look like gold braid. If you didn't want it to look quite so much like a metalic, then forgo the white highlights. I've been using VGC Beasty Brown to VMC Yellow Ochre to VMC Light Yellow. In RMS, I think that would translate to Intense Brown, Faded Khaki and Sunlight Yellow.

Hey, Orcsoul, I had one last bit of advice: expect change. What you like to use will change as your skill level increases. For instance, when I first started using sables I bought a WNS7 3/0 mini. I had been trying to paint details with those gods-aweful tiny synthetic brushes. The bush out after one or two minis, and then they are useless. At the time, the 3/0 mini was to coolest thing since sliced bread. The great thing about WNS7 is that the hair length is kind of short. It's especially true for the miniature brushes, but still somewhat for the regular ones. That with the high quality hair gives a very springy, responsive brush that is easy to control. It can help you a lot if your brush control leaves a bit to be desired. Now I'm finding I like brushes with a bit longer hair length. I've got much better brush control than I did back in the day, so I don't need the brush to be quite so tight. It is still better to have high-quality hair with lots of spring. If it is a little longer, I've got more room for my brush load without having paint work its way into the ferrule. So keep in mind that a brush you love today may hardly get used in a couple of years. You may love WNS 7 miniature brushes now, but fine you like Raphaels better in the future. When I started, Reaper Pro Paints were the coolest thing I'd ever seen, especially the flesh tones. I started using tube acrylics which I would thin to a good consistency for models. It was wonderful to have a paint with a consistency that worked much better on models right out of the pot. Later I discovered Vallejo Model Color and Reaper Master Series after that. Those are my favorite paints now, along with additives and distilled water to thin them out. So the only constant with your painting is going to be change. Enjoy it and enjoy the experience.

That's one of those things I keep meaning to do... note the mixes, etc., that I use on pieces. I have to admit I'm AWEFUL about it. I have made notes on large index cards lately. Lots of space but they will still fit in a tool box.

I hadn't thought of that. Hmm, that might work... Currently, I just lightly hold one end of the bottle (sort of like a pivot point) while the other end bounces and shakes against the massager. Does shake my hand a bit, but it's fine for the 30 or so seconds that I shake with the massager. Ron PS: Of course, with the Reaper MSPs, I just manually shake for a 5-15 seconds. I still generally like the Derivan MiNiS, particularly the very matte nature of the paints, but they're a bit tricker to use. I've painted one mini almost completely with the Derivan MiNiS, and they're the paint that I let my 4 year old son use when he paints (given they come in a much bigger bottle, I don't mind him using them). I think that I'll still mostly stick to the MSPs. Methinks I sense a thread-jack coming...

ROTFLMAO - you people are so wrong. Even the on topic reply is funny as all get-out. Sometimes I like to mount a model on a soda or gatorade bottle top. Then I can put the mini on the bottle (filled with clean cat litter.) Gives me something nice and big to hang on to.

So what do you do, just rubberband the bottle onto the massager?

That is pretty cool. You could make your own for Reaper figs by copying the image from the catalog and printing it on card stock. Leave some space for notes or write on the back and you're golden. Since the catalog images are assembled and primed, if you wanted you could use PhotoShop to "color" the image and have an example on paper of what you want the model to look like when you are done.

I use glass pony beads or bits of sprue. I make sure the beads do not have any coatings or lining, just plain glass beads. Glass is inert.

Could you post a bigger pix? It's kind of hard to make this one out.

Awesome! Thanks! Do you know who did the English translations?

Emphasis on "SET". As in "more than one". The SET of three brushes from Reaper are synthetic. They do not sell any of the Master Brushes as SETS. They are sold individually and are made of Kolinsky sable.

Dull Cote is a Testor brand. There it comes in spray and liquid. Most gaming hobbiests use the aerosol spray. It's just easier to use. I've used Krylon sealers as well, but they never seem as matte as Dull Cote. It is better to spray a couple of light coats of Dull Cote rather than one heavy one. The product can become shiny if you overdo it. One warning: if a model is painted with metalics, you might want to use Krylon Satin varnish instead of Dull Cote. It woun't be as shiny as gloss, and won't dull your metals the way Dull Cote can. I don't paint a lot of plastic models, but the ones I have were fine with any sealer I used. Some one else may have a different story to tell. I'd like to add that Reaper offeres both synthetic and sable brushes. The ones I mentioned above are a three-brush synthetic kit. Personnaly, I really like Reaper's synthetic flats for drybrushing. The #2 will take care of a lot of smaller jobs. A #4 is good for larger projects. I've also used the smaller flat for basecoating. When the rounds get scruffy, you can cut them down to use as fine drybrushes. The synthetic brushes are good "workhorse" brushes, saving your fine sables for detail work and layering. I've been using my sables for years now and I've yet to have one get "scruffy". I do have some sable flats for drybrushing as well.

I HOPE I did not just pay $12 for a synthetic brush! You've quoted me out of context. I was talking about the three-brush set. Those are taklon. You are NOT paying $12 for a synthetic brush. The Masters brushes are high-quality Kolinsky sable. They have a shorter hair length than WNS7 of the same size, which allows more control. I've got about five of them in different sizes.

Best way to dip paint? The easiest and cheapest is to get dental toothpicks from Wal-mart or a grocery store. They look like tiny pallet knives and will pick up a nice drollop of paint without making a mess. Other really good tools are small disposable brushes you can get at a model hobby store. The same company makes little applicators that look like small one-ended q-tips. You get about 20 or so small brushes for less than $2. They dip paint nicely and do a great job of mixing things on the pallet. They can also be used to re-mix your paint if it starts to separate. At less that a dime each, you won't cry over loosing them or throwing them away.

Here's my advice, for what it's worth: Brushes: Either the GW set of three or the Reaper set of three to start with. The Reaper set are all synthetic. In the GW, I think the Base Coat and Detail brush are natural hair, while the Small Drybrush is synthetic. You can add a couple larger drybrushes if you like, but if you are mostly painting human-sized 28mm figs you won't need them for a while. Once you have beaten these brushes up a bit learning the basics, go get some nice sables. You'll hear several names bandied about: Windsor Newton, DaVinci, and Raphael seem to be the current favorites. What do I think? Well, in the painting world I don't think anyone has done more to promote the WNS7 than Jennifer Haley. Jen now recommends DaVinci and Raphael. If I were getting new brushes, I'd go with what Jen buys. BTW, I bought the boxed GW Master Brushes on sale and love them. No matter what brushes you get when, buy some WN Brush Cleaner and Restorer and a cake of Master's brush soap. Learn when and how to use both. Your brushes will thank you. Things to not waste your money on: Any brush size smaller than 5/0. Really, even 3/0 is getting a bit tiny. When you are ready to upgrade to sables, go to an art store and try some out. No one can really tell you what size to get. For one thing, each manufacturer means something different by the size of the brush. Think I'm kidding? You should put my three #2's from Reaper, Vallejo, and Adikolor side by side. The differences in size are pretty marked, though the printed size is the same. There is also your personal preference; what you feel comfortable with. What you may find is as your brush skills increase, you favor a larger brush, but are more picky about how it feels and responds. You'll like a #1 with nice spring and a sharp point over a 3/0 that is not as responsive. Oh, and when I say "art store", I mean the real deal, NOT Michael's or some other big chain. Someplace where the guy behind the counter is working to get a discount on the stuff he needs for his studio, so he can help you pick a nice brush. Also, if you go to the store you can test the brushes. Sure, you'll pay a little more, but you can be sure you've got good brushes. Nothing sucks more than taking a brush out of the package and finding out it doesn't hold a point, no matter HOW much you "saved" buying it. Sure, you can return it, but then there's all that agrivation. It's kind of fun to go on the great brush hunt, playing with different ones until you find what you like. There are two things that you can get at Michael's: WN Cirrus flats and the little plastic brushes with crappy natural hair. A dozen are $1. Really good wash brushes, useless for anything else. The WN Cirrus flats make nice drybrushes. Primer: I have used GW, Armory, Duplicolor Sandable White & Black, Tamiya Fine White, Tamiya Gray, Floquil, Krylon, Krylon Fusion, Rust-o-leum Painter's Touch Sandable Primer and the crap you get from Wal-mart for $1. What can I say, I was just getting started and didn't know any better. What do I recommend? Depends on what you're priming for. Paint and Take figures or squads of table-top gaming minis: Duplicolor tops the list. Painter's touch is also nice. Krylon Fusion is OK, but I mainly get it for things where I want a color other than white or black as the primer. If you are at all concerned about the stuff working with plastic, then go with Fusion. I believe Duplicolor will work with plastic ut the Painter's Touch my not. The labelling does not say it is for priming plastic. For your character figures or something for a contest, Tamiya is the primer of choice. After that would be Floquil. The painters at Brushthralls suggest Duplicolor Sandable White and one other I can't think of off the top of my head. As for everything else on that list: don't bother. It's either too expensive for the quality you get or cheap crap. Spray sealer: again, depends on your purpose. For tabletop minis, the seal of choice is a gloss sealer topped by Dull Cote. For display pieces, you'd be more likely to put a couple light coats of Dull Cote. Something you may not have thought of: additives. To start with, just save yourself some grief and buy either Reaper or Vallejo that's ready to use. Yes, you can mix your own, but the stuff from the model companies is formulated for model paints. Also a couple empty droppers and some distilled water. Later you may want to get droppers and things like matte medium to make your own "gunk" or "magic wash", but go easy on yourself to start. Besides the stuff, the most important thing you can do is go hang out at your FLGS with some other painters who are willing to show you the ropes. If they will let you try some of thier paints, so much the better. Good luck and keep us up to date on how it's coming.

Sorry to hear you were having problems. You might try using Tanned Highlight as your base coat for the Fair Skin triad. You could even darken that a little with Tanned Skin.