"Staining the Hive" Topic

Taking the good SGT's advice I decided to use minwax stain to shadow my hive terrain. I couldn't find the exact product he recommended but tried what I could find

Staring with the base coat as noted before

Thick coat of the minwax polyshades polyurathane stain. The shade is Jacobean. I couldn't find the exact product recommended. This seemed to work well, although it didn't just flow off. I had to wipe it down with a towel. The towel has to be handled carefully since it is now soaked in linseed oil that can spontaneously combust.

Ready for a few days of drying. It will get dry brushed and then sealed with a coat of clear flat to take off the shine and make it even more durable.

What do folks think?

I could be biased, but… I think it looks damned fine! [Big grin!]

Minwax makes a variety of different products, and they are not all equal… Most folks use the Tudor Urethane Stain, for The Dip Technique. Tudor is absolutely black. The Royal Walnut I recommended, is a lighter shade of brown-black. I bought a pint can of Tudor stain (not urethane…), and I nearly ruined a miniature when I brushed it on -- it turned totally black! Ack!!! I wiped it off with a paper towel ASAP, and it turned out OK. Whew!

I think the full color, as seen in the first photo, could work, but it would be decidedly dark. The linseed oil wipe-down you performed is closer to what I expected it to turn out like. Nice save, with the linseed oil! Jacobean is really quite dark, which is why I won't use it, in any form. Again, it is challenging to get the right product.

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If you decide you do not care for it, and you wish you could start over… You can! Just paint it with latex paint, let that dry, then start over with a different shade. The urethane will take acrylic or latex paint, without issue, once the urethane is completely dry. I do not know if it will take oil paints, but I suspect it will, without issue. Cheers!

So far so good. The dark will get toned down a bit when I dry brush it. I'll give it till next weekend to dry and then dry brush

That looks great! It will likely dry a shade lighter. Plus it met the first rule of applying washes:

If you start to apply the wash and it looks too dark and you think "OMG! I just ruined this and will have to repaint it and try again." you're probably on the right track.

Are there any entrances on vertical walls? I usually paint those a shade darker and two on top to emphasize that they're in shadow.

There are no openings on the vertical sides. There are a number on the ground in front of the hive and on the top. Plus bugs can dig their own in a hurry. I have scatter terrain for them!

I got the other two base colors painted on. I'll stain and dry brush them as well. What do folks think?

It's all about experimenting. You will not know for certain, until you apply The Dip, and then work it, to see what it will turn out as. That is a huge part of the fun: you don't know, until you know. ;-) The great news is that you can always repaint, and start over, with a different approach. Cheers!