Whizard Hlavaz
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Posts posted by Whizard Hlavaz
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Here's another term you sometimes hear.
Stippling: Applying paint with dots as opposed to strokes. Good for such affects as rust and dirt. Produces a broken, semi-transparent layer of color over a base color. Apply lightly and quickly with controlled dabs.
Who's next?
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I am at work so not sure what brand, but yes I prefer nylon. While they do degrade quite quickly, I find while they are good to use they hold their point really well. You need to make sure you clean them well, but I love them.
Stuart
OK. You're right about brand-new nylon, the points are perfect. They just lose it too quickly for my tastes, but to each his own. :D Happy painting!
-D.
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I would recommend you try nylon brushes they are so much better than sable, however if you like sable they do some of those as well.
Wow. :oh: This shocks me. :oo: Do you really find nylon to be better than sable? I've had nothing but trouble with my nylon brushes. They beat up far too easily for my liking, don't hold the best of points, and seem not to hold the paint as well. What brand(s) do you use that you like so much?
Now, I'll grant you, I have a few nylon brushes with very interesting edges - chiseled and fanned and so forth - but these are oddities in my collection and not my "main go-to" brushes.
And, I don't mean to hijack this thread by any means, I'm just completely stunned to hear someone say they like nylon over sable. Perhaps we should start another thread if Archaon objects to any debate that may arise...
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Archaon,
I'll apologize. You were looking for "cheaper" brushes than GW, and I didn't exactly steer you in that direction, given that the GW prices that I just saw run about $5 US per brush as opposed to Vallejo's $6 US.
Just the same, I'd still advise you to give some thought to the Vallejos (or any other Kolinski sable brush). With proper care, they'll last you forever and ever.
-D.
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Well, for starters, let me say welcome to the boards, Archaon.
Unfortunately, I can't offer you much, if any, advice regarding the painting of CAVs. I'm strictly a fantasy fan.
That said, however, I can offer you a bit of advice regarding brushes and that would be to steer you away from GW brushes. My personal experience with GW brushes has been very poor. I don't like them at all in that the sable they use is pretty sub-par. It doesn't hold its shape particularly well, and few, if any, of my GW brushes ever seem to form an acceptable point. They're good for slathering paint, I'll grant you, but when it comes to fine detail, they're a joke.
You'd do much better for yourself to find a couple of Kolinski sable brushes as opposed to Red sable. The Kolinski is substantially finer than Red -- it holds a point like a pin, springs back into shape virtually on its own, and holds paint like a sponge. Great hair that, but what do you expect from mink?
Vallejo makes a fine series of brushes made from Kolinski sable. I only a have a few of their smaller brushes, but they are excellent. Eventually, particularly if your interest really takes off, you'll want to get a couple of Winsor Newton Series 7 Miniatures. However, considering your budget at present, these brushes would break the bank. They're normally about $15 US. Reaper purportedly will be offering brushes in the near future, but you may not wish to wait until then (nor am I certain that they'll be using Kolinski). Your best bet I would say would be to find some Vallejo brushes. I can't offer you any advice on where to buy them in the UK, but here in the US, I use Fantization and The WarStore. I believe I last paid about $6 US per brush.
Good luck!
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I prime minis in very large batches when the humidity happens to dip below 80%...which during the Spring and Summer months isn't that often.
I hear you. Before too long I'm going to have to assemble and file a slew of minis in preparation for the coming winter months here in NH. Otherwise, it's back to brush on primer, which really isn't an attractive option. :glare:
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I have a confession to make.
After all the positive things I had to say about Krylon earlier, I just had my first bad experience this weekend.
At first I thought I had a bad can of paint. It was brand new, never before been used, but the spray came out as though it was full of grit -- almost like that textured sealing paint you sometimes see. Unfortunately, I didn't follow my own advice and failed to test it before spritzing a mini. So, I had to dip another model.
Well, I brought the can back, exchanged it, went home and scrubbed the mini, and dug out my trusty can of Krylon gray primer. However, I didn't spray the mini right away and it's a good thing I didn't.
I'd been having a nagging thought all the way to the store and back that perhaps it wasn't the paint, but the fiendishly high humidity we've been having here in New Hampshire for the past week or more. Virtually 100% at all times. Well, sure enough, my can of primer, which I've used on a number of minis and has always been smooth, produced a gritty spray when I tested it. Mystery solved.
And so, I must caution everyone, especially after my glowing praise of Krylon, be careful in high humidity. It says as much on the can, but I'd never paid attention. Now I know better. I'm sure this holds true to any spray paint and not just Krylon, but I thought I'd warn you all anyway.
Now if I could only convince my landlord to build a paint booth in the cellar....
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Do you spray varnish your figs? If so you might look for Testors Dulcote. It's the best flat finish I've seen and should tone down any glossyness (is that a word?) that your paints give you.
Ditto that. After having been advised here on the forums to use Dullcote, I'm a true believer. Great stuff that.
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Great tips, Errex. I'm still trying to get the hang of freehand myself. Thanks for sharing.
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Attracted by the claims that it's biodegradable and unafraid to try something new, I put aside my brake fluid last night, pulled out the container of Simple Green that we have lying about the house, and tossed in a mini that needed some stripping.
I have to say I'm very impressed.
The biodegradable quality was enough to convince me to change (there's no need for my hobby to pollute the world if I can help it on my end...), but I will admit that I think the SG is actually stronger than the brake fluid. The paint came off with *very* little effort or scrubbing. Less effort than brake fluid as I could recall.
So, just be sure, I dipped two other minis -- one in SG; one in BF. And the results: SG wins. I had to scrub the mini in brake fluid just a little harder (which, mind you, isn't very hard at all). Normally, I would have just tossed it back in for another dip to loosen any paint that was being stubborn. Not necessary with the SG. The running water did most of the trick.
And so I'm sold and would like to change my prior vote from Brake Fluid to Simple Green.
It suits me better anyway. My mother's maiden name was Green and, given those things that I find pleasurable in life, I guess you could say I'm pretty much a simple Green. (OK--Boo-hoo. I know...
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So a little dab of toothpaste, a little water to get the Foaming Action ™ going, and in the mouth.
mint... mint... what the heck! uuugggaaahhh!
Stop! You're killing me!
What a great story... And the trademark! Precious! :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
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I have just begun using Vallejo, so I can't comment with any authority but to say my initial reaction is very positive.
I do use GW and, for the most part, find their paint to be the worst I have used. It's clumpy, it doesn't flow well out of the bottle, is difficult to shake up without adding a stainless steel BB to the bottle, and the bottles themselves are dreadful -- I have had a number of them completely dry shut no matter how careful I was keeping the lip clean. In fact, I suspect they don't seal well, if at all, and that's what accounts for the paint being clumpy. Some nice colors, but miserable paint.
I do use Reaper and have been very pleased. The color selection is excellent. The consistency is very easy to work with. They shake up well. The bottles don't stick and seem to seal very well. Only occassionally have I encountered a skin on the top, but nothing to complain about at all. Good paint. If I had to ask for anything, I would ask for there to be an inner lip on the styrofoam cap insert to prevent the paint from flowing over to the edges while the bottle is open.
I also use Delta Ceramcoat. Decent paint. Flows well. Dropper bottle, like Vallejo is appreciated. Big bottles -- well worth the price. Indeed, very economical. Huge array of colors to choose from. Overall, I'm pleased.
Here and there I use Liquidtex acrylic. Good paint there, if a tad pricey. Mainly, I use Liquidtex Flow aid and varnishes when painting minis. Pleased there as well.
That's pretty much it at present. Oh, I guess I should add: Winsor Newton extender and sometimes Future magic wash.
Hope that helps. If I had to make a judgment at present and choose, I'd say go Reaper. However, I reserve the right to change my vote once I've had more experience with Vallejo. As I've said, so far my experience there has been positive. If Reaper changed their bottles, they'd have a bit more of an edge.
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Welcome, indeed. Looking forward to seeing some of your work.
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Great stuff. It's exciting to see so many talented people's work. Thanks for sharing.
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I use a DOT3 Brake Fluid. The glycol ethers are safe on metal and plastic alike but strip sealed and non-sealed acrylic paint and primer (particularly Krylon primer) with minimal scrubbing and also dissolve some epoxy and glues. I don't have any data on timeframes, but I usually let the mini sit overnight and the scrub the next day with a toothbrush. Most of the paint comes off with running water. Just be sure to wear gloves!
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Thanks, Anne. I'll have to look into the Reveal bulbs. Heat won't be an issue for me. My paint desk is right next to the air conditioner.... Ah... AC... Ah.
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3) Now in places where light is glinting, hit those spots with straight white.
Or straight pearlescent or bright silver-white...
But that's for highlights. I often use a different technique from Enchantra's for shading metallic bronze paint. Here it is:
1. Undercoat with black for dark bronze; white for light bronze.
2. Base coat with solid metallic bronze.
3. Wash with one coat of straight, undiluted black ink. Do not recoat. This will leave a shiny black skin like oil across the metal recesses. Recoating will cover too much of your base metal. In fact, I often dab away the ink before it dries to prevent it from being too overpowering.
4. Dry brush or layer mid-points, edges, and high-points with solid metallic bronze, leaving black in the recesses/shaded areas.
5. Highlight as per Enchantra's excellent instructions.
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Good tip, Coogle. Fortunately, my hands shake at virtually the same frequency, so I'm actually able to hit my mark 90% of the time on my own (my friends laugh at me, though. It's quite comical to watch me paint with my hands all a-flutter). I imagine someday in the future I may have to be medicated for my shakes. My grandmother was, and my mother is, and I seem to have inherited their syndrome. Oh, well. If my painting amounts to nothing more than an amusement for my friends, I'll still be pleased. Being entertaining is satisfying enough. :)
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I had a magnifying lamp a while back and didn't like it much. The depth of field on the magnification was very slim and more often than not, my mini would slip out of focus as I moved my hand... I know... Don't move your hands! :D That, and I was forever bumping my head against the lamp. Ah... Between my incessant shakes and clumsiness, it's a wonder I can get anything painted.
At any rate, I've found the Mageyes to be just the trick. They've at least eliminated the head bumping! :p (And according to my doctor, red wine will lessen the shakes... So, it looks like I'm good.)
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Well, SFwriter, I owe you.
My Mageyes arrived this week, and I've taken them for a test drive. All I can say is "HOT D@MN!!!"
They are much better than the old worn out headgear I was using. They're crisp, clear, powerful, comfortable -- everything I was hoping for. The depth of field on the magnification is much wider than the other gear I was using, allowing for easier painting without a loss of focus. And what's more, their design doesn't infringe upon my peripheral vision. No more flipping up my visor to select a paint pot. Now, I just glance up and reach. Very nice.
So, as I say, SF, I owe you. Great recommendation. I would recommend this product to everyone on this board, particularly if your vision has begun to fail you with the creeping years.
Look them up here: Mageyes.com
I went with the double hi Mageyes Plus and am very pleased. Trust me, they're worth price.
Edit: Ha! I've become "enlightened" with this post. Very apropos. Very funny! Ha! :D :D
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Nice. Thanks. I'll do that, Domni.
Appreciate it.
-D.
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I also have problems with bubbles forming. When they burst, they leave rings behind.
Bubbles could come from a number of sources. For starters, you should take care when mixing your paints/washes, not to do so very vigorously. This is easier said then done, mind you. Just try to be gentle.
Next, when dipping your brush into the paint, try to stay away from any bubbles that may have formed (despite your best efforts). They'll pick right up into the brush if you're not careful and then jump to the mini (the little fiends!)
Finally, when applying the wash, be sure to be gentle again. Brush the wash on evenly, easing into nooks and crannies. Don't scrub it on. This shouldn't be a hasty process even though it lends itself to be. Your best bet is to trace the contours with your brush, even though drawing across grains leaves nice pools in the deep recesses. It is within these pools that bubbles will form. When done, be sure to carefully inspect the washed area for bubbles. If any are found, try lancing them with your brush or else scooping them out. Whatever you do, don't leave them to dry. That's where your rings come from.
Another tip: If rings do form, no matter your efforts to avoid bubbles, you can remove them with a little bit of light friction (the edge of a knife, some sandpaper, etc.) and then smooth them over with another bit of your wash.
Hope this helps.
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Is that Monique an example of your work?
I agree it is a nice piece, however no, I am not responsible for it.
cbsAhh. Well. I appreciate your honesty, but....
"When someone asks you if you're a god, you say..... YES!!!!"
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Oh, and Ladystorm --- Is that Monique an example of your work? Very sweet that is. Very sweet.
Ok, you guys have concinced me.
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