So I worked like a dog on these and got them done in two weeks (of course, I haven't had time to try the game as a result). I'm happy to post if it helps give people inspiration, and feel free to ask any questions you might have. For 150+ miniatures, these went fast since they are so small and most of them just required a base coat-dry brush-wash-a few details. The rebel troopers took the longest. Sorry in advance for the non-optimal photo quality, as I only have a cell phone camera to work with and wanted to try to fit everything into a handful of photos.

Awesome job! your rebels are especially sexy!

love the modified troops to be the endor commando types.

and that black and orange CR90 is bugatti

Thanks! The helmets aren't exactly the right shape for the Endor troopers, but by cutting off the antennae, it was close enough!

Wow, amazing work!

Wow. This is amazing. How long did it take you and how did you do the bases?

Thanks, everyone.

It took me two weeks, with the bulk of the work during the weekends. The minis were small enough that they didn't require a lot of details, but I still did what I could and Googled a lot of images online so I could vary ship paint schemes and uniforms (for instance I cut off the antennae to adapt a third of Rebel troopers to look like those on Endor). Many of the ships/vehicles (especially the Imperial ones) went fast because they were a base color plus dry brushing and a light wash with few details in another color. The death stars took longer because I chose to do freehand lines to bring some added details, and I was very happy with the results. The rebel troopers took the longest, but they weren't as bad as I feared.

I decided to mix up basing to go with different uniforms/uniform details like different rebel troopers and the sand troopers. I just had different basing materials (foliage, sand, small red/blackrocks, snow/snow plus ice using Secret Weapon realistic water, one river bed using realistic water over brown/blue/green/white, etc.) and tried to mix up bases to match the various types of planets. I also had several bases just be lighter silver drybrushed over darker silver to simulate the floor of a building. And I just used basing materials with standard glue.

All-in-all, I was happy with the results and this was quicker than I expected. I'm guessing I probably put 15-20 hours into it.

I am in awe of your rebels, though I don't think I'll end up painting them half as awesome as these. I think I can probably do alright with the Imperials, however.

Any chance you'd be willing to be more specific on materials? Paints, brushes, base materials?

I'm an extremely novice painter -- I've made some edits to X-Wing Miniatures ships, but over 80% of my attempts wind up in a "learn how to strip paint from X-Wing Miniatures" pile... Seriously.

Thank you, first of all!

Obviously, some of this just requires practices. We all start from the beginning at one time.

As far as X-Wing, I'm thinking that you would need a nice detail brush. I struggled with small details for years (I was just buying brushes at Michael's) until I got some nice sable brushes in a Kickstarter (synthetic is an option too) that were size 0 (fine detail) and size 1 (detail). It made a world of difference, as instead of throwing away brushes every few months, they've lasted a year. Using brush cleaner has helped too.

I use a mix of paints, unlike some people, so I have Citadel, Reaper, Vallejo, and P3 paints on regular rotation.

For basing material I used some Citadel fake snow and various flocking sands and grasses. It's hard to tell from this poor photo, but many of them have a steel floor for an interior look. I tried to mix it up since the soldiers would be on various environments.

As far as painting, the Imperial side was quick. You can just prime (important), then start with a darker base coat (like dark gray) and then do drybrushing (do you understand that concept?). I ended up painting some freehand lines on the Death Stars to provide more details. For the stormtroopers I primed them white and then used black wash to do all the hard work in providing the black lines. Then I just used more white to highlight details that got obscured by the wash flowing into the recesses.

As far as the Rebel ships it was more of the same (basecoat and drybrushing), although I tried to mix up the paint jobs, such as the Gold and Red X-Wing squadrons. For the white ships I added some lighter brown washes sometimes to simulate grime and wear. The rebel troopers took the longest, and I made a few uniform variations, including cutting off the antennae to make them look a bit like Endor rebel troopers. Overall, everything took 2 weeks, but it was worth it.

When you base coat, are you brushing on a base coat, or spraying it on? I've heard some folks will use spray paints for large quantities of smaller items, not sure if that's advisable here.

Also, I'm familiar with the term for dry brushing, not the practice, but I can always YouTube it!

Great job man! Thats alot of work!

When you base coat, are you brushing on a base coat, or spraying it on? I've heard some folks will use spray paints for large quantities of smaller items, not sure if that's advisable here.

Also, I'm familiar with the term for dry brushing, not the practice, but I can always YouTube it!

I use spray (Army Painter matt white or black) for base coating just due to ease of use. I know some people brush it on, but that's a TON of work for 150+ miniatures.

Skills, mad skills! They look awesome. I especially like that you made them almost entirely unique. Now I am jealous and have to paint mine!!!

Skills, mad skills! They look awesome. I especially like that you made them almost entirely unique. Now I am jealous and have to paint mine!!!

Thanks! Good luck in your painting--I'm happy to answer any questions you might have.

What's your plan for storing these? They look incredible

I created a forum account literally to let you know these are probably the best I've seen out of a few dozen I've looked to for inspiration!

Why thank you--that's so kind of you! I didn't see the previous post, but I just have them stored in a Plano box lined with thin foam stored inside the regular game box. The box is so deep that everything fit fine.

The sheer awesomeness of your work cannot be summed up by the words of this post.

I am unworthy to gaze upon such magnificence.

Ha, thanks. It's actually been a while since I've played Rebellion, and this reminds me that I need to use these guys again (too many games, not enough time, plus the 2 player requirement)...

Wow, that really is amazing work!

On 4/20/2016 at 6:26 PM, Lurtz said:

Awesome job! your rebels are especially sexy!

No! Rebels are not sexy. They are nihilist, terrorist trash-scum, and will be destroyed.

The Imperials are sexy!

cant argue with that Mikael XD

feldar do a foam tray that fits in the box

That is a lovely work result! Wow! EDIT: And in 2 weeks only??! Incredibly awesome!

Please count me in as a big fan of your Death Stars. The free hand lines are great, and the starred bases are really neat. I'm definitely taking this as my main source of inspiration for whenever I dare start my painting them.

I also like a lot the variation in grey colors for the imperials - I'd probably use a blue-ish grey for Super Star Destroyers (and Interdictors some day) like you've done, and stick to "warmer/normal grey" for the Star Destroyers. (I think the movies go like that too.)

The Endor uniforms are great. Really! I just wish the standard uniforms in all reference material were a bit less... "uninspired", maybe? I mean - you've done them perfectly (on the right hand side). It's just I'm not a big fan of the reference blue-and-black they get. What is the source for the uniforms of the "left side" Rebel Troopers? They feel familiar but I can't remember where I saw them.

I quite like the stripes on your X & Y-wings, as well as Air Speeders and Correlian Corvets (especially like the red, yellow and green stripes). Have you used magnifying glasses to paint them? I love the color variations on the transports, too. Subtle enough, yet readable.

Do you have any recommendation for the painting of ("glowing") reactors?

Have I mentioned you Ion Cannon in "Hoth colors" looks fantastic?

I'm curious about the Mon Calamari cruiser on the right hand side (which is my favorite of the 3): is it "just" the result of base coat + wash + dry brush, then a few (is that black?) black thin spots to bring a battered look?

Overall a great result.

I'm thinking I'd probably try and have different bases for Imperials vs Rebels, to ease the reading of the game (especially ground troops). But I'm not sure yet. Those "Hoth snow" bases of yours look really good.

How much does it legitimately cost to get miniatures painted like this? I wish there was a place we artistically challenged people could get this done. I realize it'd be pretty expensive but still.

On 31/07/2017 at 9:14 PM, davidumstattd said:

How much does it legitimately cost to get miniatures painted like this? I wish there was a place we artistically challenged people could get this done. I realize it'd be pretty expensive but still.

I don't think the work is very far above what Rahdo got from Miniatures Mutated for Gloomhaven, filmed here:

https://boardgamegeek.com/video/137636/outside-scope-bgg/rahdo-runs-through-miniatures-mutated

EDIT: You may want to ask them to make sure to remove mold lines, and use matte varnish (if it is to your taste), but I guess that's about equivalent then.

I'm only quoting them because I saw their names earlier. I'm pretty confident there should be quite a few painters going through FB to propose this service - some with even higher artistic levels.

I wouldn't be surprised if MM priced theirs in the 5-to-10 bucks per mini range, for a SWR full set, but I haven't formally asked. That's of course a premium compared to the price of the game.

Thanks for all your compliments, Yan31! You raise a good point about similar bases, but I have fun basing by terrain. If I were crazy enough, I could re-base one side on a differently-shaped base, but I don't trust my cutting/gluing skills plus have a ton of other projects in my queue.

And having too many of my own painting projects is why I haven't really considered hiring myself out. Despite painting a lot, I still have tons of games left to paint, and then it gets a bit odd to start charging a lot of money if you factor in time spent/skill. But I do know there are people who do paint on commission and do a good job. David, if you were interested, I could get you in touch with one if he were interested.