Hey there! I've been following this forum for a while and I really love many of your guys' work. I've been painting my own ships for a couple months, and I finally feel ready to share some stuff which I'm particularly proud of.

For now, I'll just share my current project: an A-Wing.

Great looking ship! I haven't seen many steel ships out there.

I've been considering doing a polished aluminum undercarriage on a ship, myself.

As a matter of curiosity, was the paint scheme inspired from anywhere in particular?

Keep posting!

Thank you very much! Indeed, I drew inspiration from two main ideas: firstly, color on bare metal style of many mid-20th century war planes has always looked really cool to me, and I intend to paint more ships in line with that style. This is the first ship I've painted with a metal paint and, to say the least, I learned a lot over its developement. Secondly, the color pattern for the blue and black were heavily inspired by another A-Wing paint scheme I saw once on Google Images; I wish I could find it again -- the original artist seemed extremely talented.

Welcome and thank you for posting your work.

I like the scheme and you are an absolute madman for using metallic paints on your first. Bravo..it's very well done. Those paints can be a nightmare to work with at the best of times.I have been working on some A-wings with the metal skin and I have had no luck getting them to look even half as good.

I can't wait to see the rest of your work, John.

I find metallics really tricky do I avoid them.

Yours looks really good man!

I find metallics really tricky do I avoid them.

Yours looks really good man!

Couple things they did mention.

1) you can change the tone by varying the color of the undercoat. Great for changing panel colors.

2) won't be as "bright" as Alclad but they are acrylic. No lacquer fumes.

3) suggested that you allow them to "set up a bit" if you're going to brush them.

I think I'll base coat in black, paint some panels grey, blue and green and give it a go. If you want more color variation you can use inks to 'stain' individual panels.

I'll let you guys know how it turns out. If I can figure out how to post pictures I'll do that too.

Very Nice, The blue works well against the Gun metal

All the best,

Barry.

Thank you very much! Indeed, I drew inspiration from two main ideas: firstly, color on bare metal style of many mid-20th century war planes has always looked really cool to me, and I intend to paint more ships in line with that style. This is the first ship I've painted with a metal paint and, to say the least, I learned a lot over its developement. Secondly, the color pattern for the blue and black were heavily inspired by another A-Wing paint scheme I saw once on Google Images; I wish I could find it again -- the original artist seemed extremely talented.

This is really awesome. The only thing that i would say, is if you want the naked metal finish, make it just a *smidge* lighter. But, i'm not here to nitpick, this is truly amazing.

I find metallics really tricky do I avoid them.

Yours looks really good man!

I just picked up some "Metal Color" by Vallejo. The guys at Last Cavalry (lastcavalry.com) swear by them. Airbrush straight from the bottle with water cleanup. They're acrylics! Haven't had a chance to try them yet.

Couple things they did mention.

1) you can change the tone by varying the color of the undercoat. Great for changing panel colors.

2) won't be as "bright" as Alclad but they are acrylic. No lacquer fumes.

3) suggested that you allow them to "set up a bit" if you're going to brush them.

I think I'll base coat in black, paint some panels grey, blue and green and give it a go. If you want more color variation you can use inks to 'stain' individual panels.

I'll let you guys know how it turns out. If I can figure out how to post pictures I'll do that too.

Vallejo Metallic are always good choice Personally I can recommend Vallejo Air paints. 'Usual' Model and Game metallic colors may be clumpy, so Metal Colors/Vallejo Air/Liquid Golds are best. All the Vallejo paints except Liquid Golds are water based, so you can easily dilute them, but metallics work better when diluted with Airbrush Thinner.

Also, metallics looks best when painted over coresponding base color. If you want to get light silver, choose the chrome/silver/aluminium color and paint it over white or light grey base. If you want to have rich, warm gold, then paint it over yellow base (and so on).

I'm always careful with washes - when I want to get light metallics, I use wash+small brush only on recesses between panels. If I'd wash all the surfaces, color would get darker and less shiny.

And there is always option of highlighting metallics with lighter toned paints, but this topic can be left for later

Nice. I like it. Simple but unique.

You need to repaint more miniatures man! I would love to see what you can do with a TIE!

Thank you all very much for the feedback! I'm really happy you appreciate it and I really appreciate the recommendations; I will absolutely be experimenting more with those.

I will also take advantage of this moment to share some additional work.

The HWK-290 I based largely on the SR1-Normandy and I'm especially proud of it. That and the TIE Phantom (Influenced by the Red Baron) were both commissioned pieces. The T-70 was one of the first minis from this game I painted; it has a twin with blue accents (not pictured.)

EDIT: I've edited this post to embed the photos, rather than linking to an Imgur album.

The HWK is really nice too! Great job.

Here's my newest piece. I did this as a commission. It was a real learning experience, doing all the freehand lines and shapes. I know future work will only get better, but none-the-less I'm pretty pleased with the end result.

Edit: I'm also doing a Protectorate with the Syck's paint scheme. I'll be uploading photos of that as soon as I'm finished, too.

Haha nice, that'll be confusing.

That M3-A!! Quite clever, that A wing is just beautiful as well. Nice Job!

I hope I never play against your repainted Sycks and Fang Fighters; I think I'd go cross-eyed trying to keep them straight.

Excellent paint job by the way.

The Syck works well in the Protectorate paint scheme.

Well done, Great execution !

All the best,

Barry.

Here is the Protectorate. I hate it. I think it's the worst thing I have ever painted. I'm bringing both ships to the buyer today, so I'll see what he thinks. I'm absolutely going to offer him a redo if he wants it.

It's not as bad as you seem to think it is. Don't poo poo your work in front of the client. It may not be to your taste, but your craftsmanship isn't lacking. Let them decide if they like the work.
Simply ask if there's any changes they'd possibly like before you hand it off.

I agree with Majeure.

Don't knock yourself so much.

Yes the biggest critic of your own work will be yourself.

But each piece is a learning experience.

You get better and better as you go.

And besides....I think you have achieved what you where after.

The Syck is a two tone drab green and purple.

Not exactly a complementary colour scheme is it when you think about it !

So now you apply those two colours to a craft that is normally more vibrant in colour.

You have done the job well.

Two dark colours together is a very hard thing to get right.

Don't be so harsh on yourself, learn and enjoy what comes next.

All the best.

Barry.

Thanks, guys He ended up actually liking it quite a bit. I'll consider it a bullet dodged. If I were to redo it, I know I would have made it cleaner: I tried roughing it up to make the Scyk's scheme more interesting, but in the end I think I just had too much going on. Maybe a fresh out of the shop look would have been better for that one.

Next up: A Jumpmaster 5000. It'll be my first large ship. The amount of painting that'll be involved is a little intimidating, but I'm excited about it too. I'm hoping having that much space to work with will really allow me to do some creative things.

Here is the Protectorate. I hate it. I think it's the worst thing I have ever painted.

Waaaay too harsh on yourself mate - that looks Fang-tastic!

- - -

Both repaints beautifully mimicked the level of weathering of the 'factory' scheme you've emulated.

The Protectorate comes out of the pack with clean, un-weathered scheme which your Scyk repaint has replicated.

On the other hand, the Scyk comes more grimy and non-uniform which your Fang repaint had captured.

If it was me paying, I would not be disappointed.