Tried a Custom Squadron Paint Job

By ApollosSpear, in X-Wing

So i was inspired by all the great custom paint jobs for squadrons recently and took a shot at making my own. I think they look great. What do you all think.

Spartan Squadron

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this was the first scheme that i came up with. I later added the Rebel symbol and the nose stripe after i finished the X-wing and the B-wing because i thought the Headhunter was looking a little plain

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it took me a long time to settle on the arrows on the wings. i had no idea what to put there.

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as soon as i started painting the B i thought how cool would it look to have a mouth ah-la the Flying Tigers?! such a bad ass scheme and i think it fits the B amazingly.

I am retouching the E-wing. the dark around the copper plate on the wing didnt look bad until i took the group picture so i will post that later today after it is finished.

thanks for looking!!

I dont know if its the flash but the blues a little bright for my personal taste but they look cool.

I dont know if its the flash but the blues a little bright for my personal taste but they look cool.

Thanks ! No it is bright, i used a clear blue over a white base coat. i had a new blue that i bought but it was too greyish blue for what I wanted

Edited by ApollosSpear

I really like "Different" stuff. Some of the lines could be a little cleaner, but all in all well done!

i like the idea of ure own squad like my own imperial fleet +1

now to paint the rest of ure rebels that way >;O

I really like "Different" stuff. Some of the lines could be a little cleaner, but all in all well done!

Thanks! yeah i have big hands and thick fingers and with no painters tape they come out a little messy.

i like the idea of ure own squad like my own imperial fleet +1

now to paint the rest of ure rebels that way >;O

thanks, i am thinking of customizing my imps too. but not too sure on what to do.

Idea is great and especially Tiger-mouth is excellent, but sorry I'd prefer more natural drybrushed/washed look instead of thick overpainting. But you like it, and that is the most important thing.

Idea is great and especially Tiger-mouth is excellent, but sorry I'd prefer more natural drybrushed/washed look instead of thick overpainting. But you like it, and that is the most important thing.

Thanks. i was going to do a wash, but when i finished painting them i liked how bright and crisp and how they popped that i decided not to. I wish i could have used can paint (these are too small) or an airbrush (dont have one yet) .

Thinning your paints a little bit more would have helped Hanu's problem. I love your color selections, they really pop out, but the wonderful details in the sculpts get washed out when the paint is too thick and e colors too bright. You generally want to avoid glossy effects on miniatures. It's ok to have a bright color finished matte, the brightness of the color isn't related to the shininess. Also, a wash will darken the colors, but that's what you want it to do: a wash will seep into the cracks and details, and make them stand out. Then, you take your layer color, and go over all of the panels, leaving the cracks in their darkened state. You'll retail the effect of the bright layer, but also you'll get to keep the sculpting details.

Great effort. Paint looks a little thick and colors a bit saturated but good job on a custom squad. I'm still working up the guts to make one myself!

Thinning your paints a little bit more would have helped Hanu's problem. I love your color selections, they really pop out, but the wonderful details in the sculpts get washed out when the paint is too thick and e colors too bright. You generally want to avoid glossy effects on miniatures. It's ok to have a bright color finished matte, the brightness of the color isn't related to the shininess. Also, a wash will darken the colors, but that's what you want it to do: a wash will seep into the cracks and details, and make them stand out. Then, you take your layer color, and go over all of the panels, leaving the cracks in their darkened state. You'll retail the effect of the bright layer, but also you'll get to keep the sculpting details.

thanks. i have them clear coated with a pearl clear. maybe i'll thin out some black and try a wash on one. if i dont like it i can just rub it off with a towel and should have not problems

Great effort. Paint looks a little thick and colors a bit saturated but good job on a custom squad. I'm still working up the guts to make one myself!

thank you, you should do one. it is fun coming up with a scheme and make the ships your own.

ok, so i did a super thin black wash on all of the ships and then did another coat of the pearl clear. here are the new pics and i have figured out that my camera just cannot pick up some of the details.

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the details where the shark mouth is are not picking up on the camera. i assure you that you can see every line that is on that part of the B because of the wash.

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I really like how the E-wing turned out. it catches your eyes immediatly

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and the group shot

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Edited by ApollosSpear

I like the colors and the patterns. You usually don't want to use high (or even med) gloss paints for minis. It makes them look a little more like toys. Maybe you didn't and the lighting just isn't great. You also lost a lot of the shading.

On miniatures this size, you should try and avoid using gloss paint. It's generally too thick, doesn't give great coverage and tends to fill in and obscure any detail. Always paint the model with matt colours, and if you want a gloss finish, give it a final coat of gloss varnish. The matt colours will generally cover better and dry to a thinner coat than the gloss does, thus not burying the details. And this will help if you want to apply a wash, also.

ok, so i did a super thin black wash on all of the ships and then did another coat of the pearl clear. here are the new pics and i have figured out that my camera just cannot pick up some of the details.

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the details where the shark mouth is are not picking up on the camera. i assure you that you can see every line that is on that part of the B because of the wash.

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I really like how the E-wing turned out. it catches your eyes immediatly

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and the group shot

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Nicely done though.

Edited by Spaceman91

Really like the color schemes!

Looks good! What about an Awing and a Ywing? You have more work to do! :-)

Looks good! What about an Awing and a Ywing? You have more work to do! :-)

Alright i have added an A-wing to the squad. i took all the suggestions as well as used spray cans (which i am much better with) and here is the result.

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so i used silver leaf spray paint to do the under coat, then i tapped off the areas that i wanted Red Mica and sprayed that. then i took some Metallic Blue and thinned it down a lot and hand painted that on the areas i wanted. I painted the cockpit and did touchups with chrome silver.

then because i felt funky and when i entered a gundam model competition i loved the results of the color, i decided to custom my shuttle

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so i used black enamel as the undercoat, then used the Red Mica over top. i love how the black not only darkens the red but also shines through. Then i clear coated with pearl.

what do you think?

Ooh, I like the shuttle. The dark maroon works really well with the engines!

Ooh, I like the shuttle. The dark maroon works really well with the engines!

thanks! i thought it would look good, but i think it turned out better than i expected.

Wow. I really like that shuttle and A-wing. A lot.

Wow. I really like that shuttle and A-wing. A lot.

thanks, i appreciate it

THIN YOUR PAINTS

THIN YOUR PAINTS

if you are talking about the ships i painted before the A-wing, then i took that suggestion and used it on the A-wing. if you are saying that i still need to thin the paints for the A-wing then i have to disagree. there would be no way to thin them any more with out them becoming unusable. i used spray paint for all of the Awing except for the Metallic Blue and i used a 75% to 25% thinner to paint ratio on it. i had to do three coats to get the paint to not look like a wash.

Edited by ApollosSpear

I did a flying tiger paint on my b as well. but not over the area you did. I like the idea, but like some have said personal taste on the blue, and I like blue. BUt hey, if you like it then more power to you!