"Secrets we never shared?" Topic

The occasional mention of "how I do it" for painting or modelling can be inspiring in a "I never thought of that" way. A moment of revelation, but so easily then lost in the ether on this forum.

Immediately comes to mind was a pair of tips from von W, in my early days.

If you want a thin cuff piping do not try to paint a thin line. Paint the whole cuff that colour, then paint up to the edge with the cuff colour…stopping just in time….and be sober.

A red stripe on a shabraque, the same, paint brown first, then the red to give s sharp edge.(indeed , he also mentioned Vallejo ivory as a secret of the professionals for white. What about his secret recipe for Greenstuff? He got my vote for Most Helpful etc)

Who was it recently said undercoat black all you want, but then dry brush white to bring out the detail? That is simply genius……..forgive me I cannot find it, to again say a thank you, but I have tried the idea and………….yes.

Are there other one-liners we can share? Simple ideas however oft repeated…….

If you use an ink or wash have a dry brush handy to wick away the excess from where you don't want it to pool. I usually put ink on liberally and then remove with the dry brush until I have it exactly the way I want it.

Another ink tip… put a coat of dullcote on before inking. It will help keep the ink from discoloring the paint. Don't use gloss before ink because it will frequently cause the ink to bead up.

I've been using pigskin, then pale yellow, with an ivory high light for my white uniforms. I much prefer this to grey in the background.
Using 3.0 reading glasses has improved my painting immeasurably.

I generally prefer a "warmer" white for cloth, but I use a pale grey blue for base coating straps just to give them a different look from the cloth. I think most people do this.

Paint fringed epaulettes in a very dark color, then dampbrush or drybrush in a much lighter shade.

Starting about 25mm, use cold and silver pens for buttons.

Use very fine black pens for eyes. They'll last a lot longer than brushes

I use more of a "damp-brush" for the double priming,but that may just be semantics. Friend of mine started me using Liquitex Basic Phthalo Blue over that for dark blue--lower concentration of pigment gives a glazing effect. Really eye-catching. Works with Phtalo Green too. And a bright yellow,instead of white,for the dry brush,gives a warmer color.

He also came up with an easy flesh technique: raw sienna with flesh highlights. I've had people ask me how I did faces,and be surprised at the simplicity of it.

Been a black undercoat guy for 30 years but now I have just had a go at dry brushing it white. Yes it makes up for old eyes. Marvellous!

When I super glue a shield on I sprinkle the join with fine sand for extra reinforcement.

Great idea for a thread btw.

I put my arm in a large plastic shopping bag when I prime/seal to keep my hands clean. I use a long strip of plastic with double sided tape on it.

Read the label on the tube first. Never try to superglue anything with wart remover.

Flashman, I buy 100 latex rubber gloves from an industrial supply store. After a few uses throw out and pick out a new one.
One box lasts years.

tell me about varnish or overcoating.
I have been using the GW matt and man does it matt by figures. Silver is essentially turned into Gray.
I'd like to protect the figures without completely matting them.
Anyone successful with different products?
Aerosols are definitely the preference in this question.

At a certain time of life, a pair of spectacles optimised to focus at about 12" really helps.

Oh wow…this is only a few hours into this thread.

this is a superb response……..

There is so much out there in terms of expertise…..

Flashman 14, you are right, but I did not realise it…….if even one idea emerged I thought this worth posting. I hope this beats drum majors for responses (but I doubt that)

As a less than talented painter I really appreciate the tips here. I especially like the "be sober" tip for the cuffs, who knew?

Really though, great stuff here!

I use Micron pens of various colors and sizes for eyes, tattoos, lining, quick touch up, and a host of other things. Best investment I ever made and you have amazing control.

I put my arm in a large plastic shopping bag when I prime/seal to keep my hands clean. I use a long strip of plastic with double sided tape on it.

Are you painting or spraying on primer?

Read the label on the tube first. Never try to superglue anything with wart remover.

Great safety tip!

When using superglue apply an equal sized amount of white glue to the other surface.creates an INSTANT bond….very handy for spears etc…i do mean INSTANTLY!

Like the sand/superglue idea…gona try that as well…great thread BTW

cantbeatdavy – are you saying that mixing/combining the two gives fast adhesion and filling qualities?

Yes,indeed.in my experience.tricky to get two halves lined up correctly.and I always use best quality glues I can afford.not the cheapest ones from budget stores.

Speaking of quality glue, the best super glue I have used is the 4-pack of tubes from China at Walmart for $1.64 USD/pack. Look for the 4-pack of black tubes. Great stuff.

While I'm here…..add a little ping to your artillery. Drill a couple of mm into the shotty end of the barrel. Glue in short piece of thin steel wire.undercoat.then push over the steel wire some cotton wool. Add some orange\red splashes near the muzzle, and,a cannon ball attached to the end of the wire made of "greenstuff" painted black.there you have your artillery shooting.

wrgmr1,
What color do you use for Pigskin(your painting white
tip)?

For a great gap filler just mix baking soda or talcum powder with super glue. Use an old exacto as a spatula to apply.

Baking soda sets quicker than talcum powder but makes a more durable fill.

PS. Got this from the Tested channel on youtube.

Similar to the first tip for painting cuff piping… when you paint eyes go back after the fact with skin tone and narrow the eye to a line. Easy to avoid the bug-eyed look with one extra step.

Gentlemen, pls learn from my sad experience. Pay close attention while I reveal what will be a potentially life-altering secret to painting:

When spray painting both a matte finish on a group of already completed minis, and a base dull black on another group of prepped unpainted figures, LOOK CAREFULLY at the label of the spray paint you pick up and hold in your hand. Make sure that the matte finish goes on the finished figures, and that the dull black goes on the unpainted bare figures! Got it? *Under no account feel so rushed while doing this pre- and post- painting work, that you carelessly pick up the can of dull black, and spray your carefully painted miniatures with an all-covering layer of black.*

There, now. You're welcome.

@ tuscaloosa- we all feel your pain!!!!

@cncbump
Two possible solutions with primarily aerosol work 1) use satin spray varnish e.g. from Games Workshop (you get matt and satin spray variants, where the satin is less matt, but neither gloss). Be careful to use it sparingly with light "passes". If you apply too much while wet the paint underneath will crackle when the varnish dries ((the paint job on a couple of my 19eme Dragons was damaged as I was in a hurry and not careful enough once).
2) If you want even more gloss finish with some models use Army Painter varnish as dip or apply w brush (I use a large brush for control. Dab on quick and use paper tissue to soak up if necessary. With practice you seldom need this). It works as both wash and varnish at the same time. Highlight as preferred. Apply a matt varnish w a brush over the areas you want matt. Although more work generally, the Army Painter varnish is really strong and protects well.

I use AP for my "quick paint" technique: Undercoat (spray with main colour, invest in the extra spray paint it is worth it) block paint – varnish/wash – highlight – satin spray varnish. If I undercoat in black I drybrush the black w grey before block paint. You can leave out the highlight for the masses of figures where no characters are based.

The type of Optivisor which Front Rank sell can't be recommended enough. A game changer:)

Leidang, that's very useful. Of never heard of that.

Whenever I try to spray prime (using metal primer), I wind up with someplace unprimed. Under or in some corner.

I do like the idea of dry brushing to discover what all those lumpy areas on the figure are supposed to be.

Now I use thinned down (10:1) flat, solvent-based rustolium metal primer. I use the predominate colour of the figure and a soft, very brushy big brush. It is a very thin coat and the surface tensions is such that it wicks into places that you missed touching. You also don't breathe the aerosol paint particles.

Is there some magic and awrosol spray priming?

1968billsfan, usually I do a wash in the spray primer color--takes just a few minutes with the cheapest Testors brush. (I remember brush priming, and I'm not going back.)

@cncbump, in horse & musket I've been known to matte the figures and then paint the metals. Not a solution for Normans, obviously, though in some cases you could gloss finish and use a brush-on matte for exposed flesh. But generally Rittmester is right and satin will work.

And I neglected the first and best painting advise I ever received--"Robert, give everything a good white undercoat and keep painting until you don't see any white."

Not always my chosen technique, but I always remember the advise.

I was never happy with how my 'black' horses (either 15 or 28mm turned out), but a friend told me to paint the black / brown colours in and then finish off with a blue ink wash. The blue comes up with a wonderful sheen that is not too glossy.

Love this thread!

@1968billsfan
As mentioned above, I buy a pack of 100 plastic gloves and hold each miniature upside down while I spray on the undercoat to fill in the recesses from below. I change gloves every 5-10 mini. Then I line them up and spray on undercoat diagonally from two sides from above. Any area left without undercoat takes seconds to brush on w watered down paint. Saves a lot of time!

I usually base infantry and horses before undercoat. Riders I glue w pvc glue to a medium sized matchstick which I then place in a holder made of leftover "plastic foam" glued to stiff cardboard (excuse my English). I undercoat in larger batches than I paint and complete (use a mask for this work, any damage to the brain from such fumes is permanent). It is advisable to only undercoat one color at a time to avoid undesired color mixing. At least keep a good distance between miniatures and/or use different trays to move about different colored minis. The reason I undercoat the bases is to save time as I later paint them before adding silflor tufts (for single based minis). However, I do basing afterwards when I place multiple minis to the same base.

My mommy sent me to kindergarten dressed as a hussar….wrong kind of secret?

An extra tip about Micron or other permanent ink pens: The first coat of varnish over permanent ink should be fast drying, sprayed on, in a light coat.

Many varnishes act as solvent that reliquifies the permanent ink and cause it to run, smear, or fuzz out. I hit it first with a light spray of dullcoat, because dullcoat dries very quickly and doesn't run. Once this dries into an armor coat against damage, it's safe to do heavy coats of gloss clear, or brush-on varnish.

Muzzle-loading horse & musket artillery. I drill out the muzzle to create an actual bore hole on cannon barrels big enough to do so.

Black paint or a dot of Micron marker looks fine on tiny barrels too small to drill, but an actual hole filled with black paint looks better. A divot is deep enough.

I usually lightly drybrush some black on bronze artillery muzzles, to give a nice "powder stained" look.

Horses Most brown and black horses should have at least one white "sock", almost none should have four white socks, and about half should have white marks on the face.

In all cases, drybrushing with white creates the random effect of organic variation. It's a small thing that really helps bring large formations of horses to life. When painting socks on a horse, drybrush the bottom of the leg with white until it looks right, then paint the hoof afterwards.

- Ix

cncbump said:

tell me about varnish or overcoating.
I have been using the GW matt and man does it matt by figures. Silver is essentially turned into Gray.
I'd like to protect the figures without completely matting them.
Anyone successful with different products?
Aerosols are definitely the preference in this question.

My solution to this is to brush on some gloss clear on the metallic areas of the figure that should gleam.

I had exactly this problem with ancients and horse & musket bronze gun barrels – I wanted dullcoat because most areas of the model are cloth or flesh or wood, but dullcoat (matt) removes the "metallic" sheen from metallic paints.

You could also go at this in reverse: gloss coat the entire figure, then brush on matt or dullcoat where the shine looks inappropriate. I've had less luck with brush-on dullcoat, because it usually isn't dull enough.

- Ix

I do the same as yellow admiral. Anything shiny or wet gets brush on glosscoat over the dullcote spray seal.

I recently did a bunch of desert lizard men and people were amazed by the gloss coated open mouths.

@ Doctor X – yes – spray prime or seal.

deadhead: Great stuff here, thanks to you and to all hands posting comments.

question: Hoping this is not out of place here, would anyone care to share their secrets on doing the frogging, (lace?), on the dolman and pelisse of hussars in 15/18 mm. It takes me very long time and I always end up settling for less than satisfactory. Thanks in advance for any comments, John Miller

I second John Miller's request! Hussars' pelisse lace is my nemesis.

For those fine lines try using something solid and pointy such as a sharpened toothpick, very small drill bit, tip of a dulled and used Xacto blade, etc. I've seen results from people using all of the above and they have been impressive. I've even tried a few myself. It isn't the fastest but there is little touch up needed.

Another method you might be able to use is paint all the lace then go back with a Micron pen of a close color and draw in the gaps in between. That's a lot more dependent on the detail level of the casting.

Final method you might want to try is varnishing the figure then giving a wash of the pelisse/dolman cover over the laces to get in the recesses. Possibly follow up with a light drybrush.

For those average painters out there (I'm one), believe in the power of washes. I use dark burnt umber probably 40-60 with water (experiment until it comes out the way you like) and always put it on the flesh areas and sometimes the whole figure. It brings the flesh areas to life and adds a dirty-campaign look to figures -- this was especially useful for dulling down the bright Austrian white.
Also, when priming, I use upside down strips of duct tape that are in turn taped to a piece of cardboard. I place all the figures on the tape and prime. You can usually use the same set of tape 2-3 times before it loses adhesion. I probably prime 100-120 figures each time (15mm).

Deadhead--This one of the rare occasions where I wish the thread had been cross-posted to several other boards--Painting, for one.

Napoleonics Discussion. Gotta remember. . .

I once got told off for unnecessary cross posting…not unreasonably. It is on Napoleonic Painting too, but not beyond.

I had hoped there might be one maybe two good ideas emerge with half dozen responses. Some great stuff here………

Tuscaloosa did raise a laugh!

I did that once,with gray primer. Was able to get it off,fortunately. Been very careful since.

I wonder if Bill could still get this on the Painting board? Non-Napoleonics painters could benefit.

Wildman- I use Delta Ceramcoat pigskin paint. Not sure if they even make it any more, it's an old bottle.

Brown horses – I paint various colors of brown then wash rump, shoulders and forelegs with metallic bronze, copper or coffee colors, depending on the brown . Then wash with Delta Ceramcoat Walnut. This gives the horse a sun sheen.
As mentioned above, I paint dolphin grey on as a sock then high light with white.
link

Hussar pelisse – I will use Windsor and Newton series 7 brush size 000. Paint the lace white then add color high light.

This is getting better….

If anyone knows how to extend this beyond Napoleonics……….please do. I have noted down everything so far.

Brilliant that is has ranged from superglue (in my hands sticks nothing except my hands), to painting and shading of figures, let alone horses.

We all have picked up so many ideas over the years. Simple one liners. Great forum to share….

I wish I could remember who said the white dry brush over black primer. How obviously simple is that? Except I never thought of it……….

If you are happy to share your secrets that is!

Hussar lace

Quite a few hussar miniatures have no space between the horizontal strips of lace on the dolman and pelisse. Therefore I think it works best to block paint a dark tone of the dolman/pelisse color before dry rushing 3+ times w lace color. I use new small drybrushes for this kind of job (being a cavalry man (tanker) I want my cavalry to look the best and), it requires a flat brush without curly fibers to avoid filling the gaps between the tiny lace. 3-5 rounds with careful passes do the job. Let's face it, painting hussars takes looong time if you want them "collector painted".
My quick paint technique is to block paint in the lace color, wash with dolman/pelisse color (Army Painter has different useful wash colors) and drybrush/highlight fast w lace color once.

If anyone can recommend a really good brand w yellow paints I would be grateful. I use Vallejo for most, but I am not impressed by their yellows (maybe I got the wrong can in the shop?). I have bought a few from Games Workshop but have not started using them yet.