"Army Painter Soft Tone and Dark Tone Alternitives" Topic

Hello Everyone!

As a follow up to my 'Strong Tone' question I thought I'd see if any of you know what the Minwax equivalent of Army Painter's Soft Tone and Dark Tone are?

Do any of you have a Magic Wash formula that would would compare?

Don't know about "tones' but I use MinWax English Tudor gloss and then a day or two later dull it (if wanted) with Dullcoate.
Here's an example of what I talking about from my blog.
link

I'll add, that because of all the white I didn't stir the can much to keep the pigmentation level low; a soft tone I guess.

Oh, the MinWax needs at least a day to setup for the effect to be complete.

I have been playing around with a formula I found using acrylic floor wax. You can adjust the color, or have a number of different shades mixed up. Cheap and flexible.

More information here at my blog
link

10mmnapoleonics.blogspot.com

+1 for MinWax English Tudor Gloss. The secret to the MinWax dip method is to make sure it sits for at least 24 hours before you even think about touching the model. The English Tudor works well as a light to medium tone.For Dark Tone I like MinWax Bombay Mahogany Gloss. Like the Tudor, let it sit.
With both, follow with a dull coat spray.

Overall, I'll pay the extra for the AP dips.
yawargame.blogspot.com

My airbrush magic wash is Future thinned 50% with wet water, 1 part artist paint to 8 parts thinned Future.

"Future" here in southern California is sold as Pledge with Future Shine. My wet water is 1 drop generic dishwasher rinse aid to 1 cup filtered water. The artist paint I use is Liquitex Soft Body acrylics.

So the ratio is 4 parts Future, 4 parts wet water, 1 part Liquitex paint.

So far the only color I've used is Raw Umber (a medium brown).

I've brushed on Magic Wash made using Burnt Umber color (a dark brown) but don't remember the ratio. It was probably 10:1 Future to paint, no water or other thinner.

Haven't done a magic wash yet with black or reddish brown (e.g. Flesh Wash). The Raw Umber works almost universally for my painting subjects and color choices.

I've never used MinWax or Army Painter dip, so I can't report precisely how this compares, but it works for me.

The Equivalents are as follows

Soft Tone = Pecan
Strong Tone = Antique Walnut
Dark Tone = Tudor

I use Antique Walnut for most of my models, but Tudor has been getting alot of use recenlty, expecially for figs that I don't want to give a brown tint too.

I use the satin version for all of these and give it 36-48 hours to dry, just to be sure. Tudor can be the hardest to find, but ACE usually has it, and if not they can order it in for you in a couple days.

Can anyone comment on how the drying time changes with cold weather? I do my painting in a unheated and uninsulated garage.

donrice – airbrush magic wash? Do you really spray instead of 'dip'? How does that work?

Minwax has a new polyshades color called "mission oak"… anyone try it? I wonder if it's a tudor substitue?

Mkultra99, yes, totally spray, works great.

Admittedly I've been doing it for all of about 2 months.

Anyway the thing is, Future airbrushes fine AS IS right out of the bottle. So there's your foundation, something that already works. Thinning it obviously doesn't make spraying harder. So it's just adding the right ratio of paint (or ink I guess) to get results that look the way you want. And writing it down for next time.

I have brushed on magic wash and obviously that works too. (Actual dipping has never been something I've geared up for, as Future doesn't come in the right bottle for that.)

RecMcL, it doesn't get THAT cold where I live, but the tip that has worked for me is to bring the miniatures into the house to dry so they are at normal temperatures. Takes away a ton of worrisome variables.

I would not try urethane dips in cold weather. The lowest temperature I've worked in is about 45 degrees (F). Drying/curing time is extended.
With cold weather any spike in humidity could cause hazing of the finish.

Regarding temperature and humidity,
Now that I mostly use brush applied matte varnish and apply the minwax with a brush, it's not an issue. I do it all inside, and the fumes are no more than you would get from painting a model with non-acrylic enamel model paint.

Mulktra99,
I don't think Mission Oak is a Tudor Substitute. Tudor/Dark Tone are unique in that they are based around a black pigment rather than a shade of brown.

Based on the Polyshades color chart
link
The only colors with a black base are Tudor and Classic Black.

I've never used classic black but reports I've heard suggest that it's not transparent enough to be an effective dip and is effectively a black paint on miniatures. I could be wrong…

Mission Oak looks like it will darken things more than antique walnut, but it still appears to be a brown-based stain. I also purchased Bombay Mahogany once as a potential tudor replacement, but it looked far to red to me, so I returned the can without applying it to a figure.

I really can't speak highly enough about Tudor being worth the effort to find.

Ordinary Bass, you are correct. Classic black is very much a STRONG black stain and is really dark. I've used it on wood working projects and looks great. It is much more of a cover color than a tint color like Tudor is.

Tudor is an old fashioned stain that frankly is out of favor for the most part which is why a lot of stores won't carry it. Classic black is more popular since it's a more bold color.

I brush on my MINWAX 'dip.' I use the crappy cheap nylon brushes you can get 100 for $2.00 USD at the craft store and throw the brush away when done for the day.

Does anyone know the UK equivalent of min wax?
Cheers

Tzen – Army Painter dips, 3 colours, widely available in UK. Work well, Very pleased (and I compare that with Future wash – I have found the Army Painter works nicely)

Thanks Marc but looking for an alternative (ie cheaper) to army painter.
Cheers

Tzen
In UK Ronseal do the job I saw that here in fanaticus DBA fans website : link
RONSEAL
ronseal.co.uk

still for UK, you can add Dulux Woodsheen :
link