"The Wargamers Army painting guide" Topic

Of possible interest?

Free to read here

PDF link

Armand

Superb… Freakin' Superb! The techniques are fantastic. Their high priced, high end products are not my cup of tea, but the techniques are fantastic.

Back in 1998, I painted Army Men figures, only painting the bits that were different in color, than the plastic they were made of: flesh, guns, boots (sometimes), and equipment (sometimes, as a lot of GI gear is painted green/tan). I applied The Dip Technique (Urethane-Stain), brushed on. The Urethane-Stains come in a wide variety of colors, there are more than just Tudor colors to choose from! What I effectively did (and still do, today) is to use the figures' plastic as a 'primer' color, for their base color: it is a waste of time, money, and materials, to cover the entire figure with primer, when the plastic is the correct base color, to begin with.

The same concept can be applied to metal/resin/plastic mini's by priming them with their base/most common color, before applying paint to color their bits and bobs.

This guide is spot on, for beginners. It will yield decent results the first time they try its techniques out. It will encourage beginning painters by giving them successes, with minimal efforts, minimal time investments. If beginners skip the Army Painter products, it won't cost them as much, either.

It does go beyond the basics, introducing dry brushing, and highlighting, but it covers the basics. Beginners can always up their game with more advanced techniques, later, after they develop an interest in painting… That is, if they develop an interest in up'ing their painting game -- I chose not to, and I love what I've produced, by the 1,000+ painted mini's I've completed in my collection.

Replace their branded products with inexpensive craft paints, and DIY Store/Hardware Store Urethane-Stain products, and it is perfect for beginners! Thanks for sharing this. Cheers!

A votre service mon ami…

Armand

Good stuff. Agree with Sgt Slag, helpful for beginners, but basically it's a big, shiny ad for Army Painter products. However, I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Good on AP if they can help out gamers and make a buck in the process. I would just point out to any beginners(like Sgt S said) that there are many alternatives to the products described in the Guide. Often(sometimes much) cheaper alternatives.

Plus I've just never been a single source kind of guy, be it AP, Games Workshop or some other outfit. Just my 2 cents.

Thanks.

Armand

I took their advice, painting a group of Gnolls almost completely the same primary color of the finished figures: Americana Honey Brown. Now all I need to do, after it dries completely, is to paint the bits and bobs which are a different color. I gotta say that this was inspiring and motivating for me. I used Rustoleum's 2x White Paint + Primer spray paint, and that left me cold, and uninspired to begin painting them… Seeing them covered in the lighter shade of brown, however, really got me excited to begin painting these bad boys!

I just painted almost the entire figure with the Honey Brown paint, not worrying one iota about neatness, or accuracy. I applied the paint, well mixed, but not diluted, at all. Now I just have to apply: dark spots, on their bare skin/fur areas; black around their eyes, snout, and mouth; paint their clothing/weapons/equipment, and then Dip and matte!

I plan to brush on The Dip Technique, to shade them, followed by a matte clear coat, to finish them for the tabletop. The Dip Technique will darken their fur, around two shade levels, so I am fine with the lighter Honey Brown base color for their fur.

I was suffering from the White Page Syndrome (writers suffer this, staring at a blank page, struggling for inspiration to get the first words written…), when they were sitting on my paint desk, all white. That was disappointing, as I have another bunch of these figures which have already been bloodied on the gaming table. These reinforcements have been assembled, and primed, for 6+ months. I just was not motivated to paint them. Period. Now, I am… Cheers!