So I took a photo from google images and used a "paint" app on my phone to color it the way I want before I sit down and paint it for real. I was wondering if I could get tips and advice on how to get it to look as close to this as possible.

The way I understand it:

1.) I should gently wash my model with soap and water to remove dirt and grease from the factory.

2.) I do a light base coat on everything, in this case, black.

3.) I do a second coat to finish the base coat.

4.) I use painters tape and add my purple highlights

5.) I then paint all the white pieces

6.) I do a light wash in nuln oil to give the ship shading

7.) Finishing touches on the canopy glass by adding a gloss coat


Is there anything I should change/add or do different?
Thanks in advance guys!

Depending how steady your hand is, you probably won't need to use painters tape and worse comes to worse you can always go over any mistakes in black.

Maybe look at a purple wash for the purple parts, better shading and go for a light grey rather than a white as it will be too stark.

I'd be tempted to do a little battle damage / wear and tear, by sponging on some gun metal / bronze randomly over the model. Take a bit of sponge from a blister pack (like you get for warmachine or wargammer models) tear off a small corner and dunk the rough edge in paint.. dab it a few time on some paper to get the majority of the paint off and then go to town on the model, gives nice random patterns and makes the ship look a bit more lived in.

You've got it down pretty well. I don't think you'll need to tape off areas, since you're staying within the panel lines.

If you prime in black, you can just go from there, adding the purple and the grey/white. If you want a brighter purple, you're going to want to under-paint those areas before getting to the purple (assuming you prime in black). In which case, paint over those areas in gray, then a lighter gray, a white (do at least two or those colors) then in purple. The reason being is that if you paint a color over a darker color, you get a darker value of that color. When you paint your purple over a white or light gray, it will be more luminous than if you had done it straight onto the black primer/base--it all depends on what you're going for. Practice on some cardboard or other scrap and see which suits you.

Nuln oil really darkens colors, so when you use it, try only adding it where you need it (i.e. don't wash the whole model, unless you're looking for a dulled, darkened ship). Also, don't let it pool on raised or flat surfaces; it gives the paint job a "rushed" look. If it pools, you can soak it up with a dried brush. You can then go back in the base color to go over spots where the Nuln oil got away from you and do some clean-up.

The only other recommendation I would make is to add some kind of metallic color in there for some of the tubing that's all around the ship. If you don't want to invest in a paint pot of silver, copper or gold, a decent option are metallic markers (Sharpie makes some). Used sparingly, metallics can help tie your ship's paint job together.

Good luck and keep us posted!