Hi all,
I recently finished my paint job as well and thought I could share the result. I hope you like it =)
A noob painter question... Is it normal that matt varnish looks glossier than satin varnish? What did I do wrong?
Regards!
BTW! I made a custom box too
Outside:
Inside:
Very nice!
I do like the style and the high contrast looks great. I'd like to know what paints and especially what/if you seal the miniatures. You do not have to go into great detail. The custom case is also really nice. You have to love those tackle cases for holding small bits.
Great work!
Hi thecoldwarrior,
Thank you!
I used Vallejo Game color paint. Mixing tones when I did not have the desired color. For sealing I wanted to use Vallejo matt varnish in the humanoid monsters, investigators and some monsters, and Vallejo satin varnish for the most disgusting parts of the monsters and eldrich but it turned out bad. I do not know what I did wrong but matt barnish looked more like satin varnish to me in the monsters so I did not apply it into the humanoid nor investigator minis.
I do love the result; the minis look great in the game.
I have some Model Color from Vallejo. The main issue is the clear protective finish. It is common for matte to still have some sheen to it. This is most noticeable between flat/matte paints and clear coat of any kind. I'd be fine with some sheen if it was not sticky. Lint hair and dust is not good on minis
I paint a lot of minis from several companies. I'm not new to this. From what I've found... this type of plastic does not like the clear coating (spray). Maybe I will have to try brush on clear coats.
There is just no real point in painting the minis if its going to rub off the first time you use it in a game.
I forgot to mention I used Citadel Chaos Black on spray as basecoat. I was unsure whether to use white or black as basecoat but I saw a tutorial that used black and I went for it. I wonder if white would have given me another result. Are you saying that this could be the cause of the matt varnish sheen or you just say that sprayed paint in genera does not stick in these minis?
I used a brush to barnish the monsters, not spray. Maybe that is why I got this shiny result with matt varnish. I do not want my minis to rub off but for now the paint itself (without varnish) seems to stick pretty good on the minis. Someone accidentally dropped one of them and nothing happened (either the paint sticks for good or I got very lucky).
I know they want to sell paint, but Game Color description in vallejo site ( link ) says the paint is resistant to scrapes and abrasion:
Edited by DimaxThis compact range has been especially developed to contain all the frequently used colours in fantasy figures, in a formula particularly designed for adherence on plastics and metals, using a new resin of unequalled durability and resistance to scrapes and abrasion.
When I started painting minis i used black undercoat. Now and for some time I use white. There is not really anything wrong with either and each affords its own qualities. Black undercoat (or primer) is good in that the shadows are instant but light or bright colors take more work. With white as a base color all the colors added will be brighter and cleaner but shadows must be added.
From what I have found the type of plastic used for these minis is different than that of say GW plastics. While the MoM minis have some detail its no where near the amount from other companies. These minis are made for a board game so the material is less expensive but also more durable (there is more flex w/o breaking). The problem is that this plastic also does not like certain paints and or top/clear coats. I have tried to paint the minis from the game Battle Cry (great game!) as well. Its the same sort of plastic and did not like to take the paint and clear coat either.
When I emailed and chatted with the people at Krylon they suggested that their product would work even on this sort of plastic. I did not get the result I was looking for. It is just the nature of the material.
As a side note... If you get Reapers new Bones line (plastic resin) do not prime them. The material is formulated to paint directly on the miniature. The paint took to it very well though washes needed a base color first. This also poses a problem since I do not know if you can then clear coat this new material :/
The main issue is that the minis NEED a top coat else they do chip scratch and ruin the paint work when used. Regular plastic and metal and even most of the resin I've used take a top coat well. Its these board game plastics that don't like it.
Hi thecoldwarrior,
Thanks for your tips. What you say is rather interesting. I am quite new to painting and have never considered that the mini's matherial is also key.
I will consider varnishing all the minis now... I feel I will use the satin barnish instead of the matt varnish since I got a shinnier result with matt... I still do not get why that happened though... :-)
I will also start with CotW minis soon. I am looking forward to painting those two new Eldrich monsters...
Cant wait to see them!
I had said not to prime the new Reaper Bones. I painted one last night and was reading more about them. Apparently you can prime them its just that you do not have to. Also Krylon's flat clear coat went on nicely and sealed the mini perfect with two coats. So far it is not tacky and still looks great!
I think I will try the Krylon stuff on the MoM minis again to see if its still not working.
First I thought the models alone are very nice, but then I saw the custom box and it blew my mind. Fantastic idea and so well executed!
Thank you! =)
Very, very impressive. I can only dream about getting results that good.
You, sir, are not a noob painter.
What's your basic technique? Do you basecoat, wash, then highlight? Or do you do it a different way?
What do you use for washes and how do you apply them? How do you get your wash to settle down into the cracks and crevices in the miniature and have it stay there without staining all of the raised areas around them? With some of the models, the crevices are not very deep and I can't seem to get my wash to sit down in there without applying too much and flooding the whole area. (I have particular problems with the faces.)
How do you get your black outlining to look so clean? What technique do you use to do your outlining? Do you use ink, paint, or is it a black base coat showing through?
Also, how did you paint Gloria's dress?
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Edited by jlhorner1974Very, very impressive. I can only dream about getting results that good.
You, sir, are not a noob painter.
Thank you! =)
I consider myself a noob because these are the first miniatures I paint in more than 15 years and, back then, I did not have internet nor a friend to show me how to paint. The results were obviously not this good.
For these minis I spent countless hours online, reading tutorials and blogs and watching videos on youtube. I recommend you these:
For eyes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhH-GWvHG00
For flesh: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-rsH9wdaVg
I also recomend you these videos that cover Call of the Wild minis painting:
There is a book a friend lent me that is quite good with the basics: "How to Paint Citadel Miniatures". You can search for it online. I do not know how expensive is it.
What's your basic technique? Do you basecoat, wash, then highlight? Or do you do it a different way?
What do you use for washes and how do you apply them? How do you get your wash to settle down into the cracks and crevices in the miniature and have it stay there without staining all of the raised areas around them? With some of the models, the crevices are not very deep and I can't seem to get my wash to sit down in there without applying too much and flooding the whole area. (I have particular problems with the faces.)
I basecoat in black (primmer, with Citadel Chaos Black spray). Then I paint flesh and eyes (including highlighting), then base colors (I guess this is what you call basecoat). After that I sometimes use black wash but only if I feel I will get good results. As you say, sometimes it does not settle down well into the cracks and crevices, and sometimes the black will darken too much. I never use wash on flesh though. Finally I highlight the rest of the miniature and, depending on the result, I use a bit of wash to darken some areas... It all depends on the mini and the results I am getting.
I apply a lot of layers when highlighting. Have a look at the videos above to know what I am talking about =)
How do you get your black outlining to look so clean? What technique do you use to do your outlining? Do you use ink, paint, or is it a black base coat showing through?
It is the black primmer / basecoat showihg through. I try leaving it unpainted while I paint the surrounding areas. If I mess up I correct it with black and paint again that area with the desired colour.
Also, how did you paint Gloria's dress?
If I recall correctly, I started with flesh and eyes, then I painted the dress and shoes in green and started aplying thin layers of progresively lighter green by aplying yellow to the mix. I read somewhere that every layer should cover around 20% less area of the miniature. The belt and the cap are red and for the collar I used gold colour, trying to leave the surrounding basecoat in black and then aplying very little of black wash on top. For the typewritter I believe I did the same as with the collar but using silver.
I hope my answers help =)
Edited by DimaxWow, that's an incredible amount of information, thanks!
I kind of suspected that you used a different style than the simple one I've been using. I typically have only learned the simple method: a base color, a wash to shade, then a couple of highlights. I think it's going to take a lot of time for me to get to the point where you are.
I'll definitely take a look at the videos you posted, thanks. It's a bit frustrating for me as it seems like there are lots of different painting styles out there and I'm trying to figure out what approaches to try. I think you've given me a lot of information, so I will look at the links you've posted and figure out what to try.
Just curious, how long does it take for you to paint a typical investigator figure?
Thanks again for all your help.
Hi! Glad you liked the post :-)
It is difficult for me to tell how long it takes me to paint a single investigator. I painted the flesh for all of them at once and then I grouped (painted together) the investigators that shared colours. This saved quite a lot of time, I think. But if I had to make a guess by dividing the total time I spent into 12 investigators... Anything from 2 to 3 hours per investigator is a safe bet.
Regards!