Ok, 2 new paints and moar questions.

First, this is the prettier of the two. Got an extra cr90, and without any rhyme or reason came up with this just sitting there at the time (I really need to come up with plans before I start). I don't really adhere to canon all that much with the rebels it seems. Feels a bit steam punky with all the brass looking stuff, but on the other hand all the colors make me thing of the circus...

This is my attempt at Howlrunner... I kinda got the effect I was looking for (the symbol), but I'm not 100% satisfied with it, feels a bit Native American... With the red, it's pretty clear I was caught between 2 minds about what to do (see above about deciding before I start), and then I just left what was there, there. Might try it again once I get some simple green...

Has anyone reading this used any stencils? Maybe thats the way I should go over free-handing?

The CR90 above was a lot lighter before I Nuln'd the whole thing. Is there a guide or tutorial that someone has made about getting it to just go in the nooks and crannies and not put it all over the model? I've got the base Nebby B and CR-90 that I might touch up, but I'm not trying to make them this dark on the basecoat if that makes sense. I have been using a black primer though, could be part of it, even with 2 coats of base ontop of it.

As always, thank for the ideas and comments, they're appreciated.

Thin your Nulin oil with water and a tiny bit of liquid soap (to break surface tension).

Don't be afraid to add water, directly to the ship, as you are applying the Nulin oil if it seems to dark.

I prefer to use Earth shade to wash Rebel ships as it gives them a bit of a dingy look, but isn't as dark as Nulin oil.

I'll have to look into that. There is also some blue shade I saw someone use on an ISD around the edges that I liked... Still very new, so I'm going to have dum dum questions, even after reading everything and watching vids.

Picked up an MC30C, Gonzi's and Reb Transports, all should be arriving today, probably repainting them all.

Is it a good idea to prime the FFG painted ships, or can I just paint right over them? I'm probably going to continue to prime, but I'm curious if i still need to.

My first repaints were not primed, some I am very happy with, some not so much. However I prime everything now, just to get a good bed for pigments to adhere to.

I would also recommend looking into all the GW shades and glazes. Some of my best results came from using color appropriate shades, and complimentary glazes.

17 minutes ago, cynanbloodbane said:

appropriate shades, and complimentary glazes.

Yeah, I have a complete lack of exp with these things (shades and glazes). I'm trying to watch vid's to learn the technique's and understand them more, but I'm very much befuddled about when it's appropriate to use what technique.

I want to use the battle wear and tear stuff I found on these ships (below) on mine but I'm not sure what that technique is called. I was going to take some hot needele thing and put some scaring on the models, but I like these things here that look like a cross between blaster marks and bug splatter instead.

14 minutes ago, Recon00 said:

Yeah, I have a complete lack of exp with these things (shades and glazes). I'm trying to watch vid's to learn the technique's and understand them more, but I'm very much befuddled about when it's appropriate to use what technique.

I want to use the battle wear and tear stuff I found on these ships (below) on mine but I'm not sure what that technique is called. I was going to take some hot needele thing and put some scaring on the models, but I like these things here that look like a cross between blaster marks and bug splatter instead.

Ok, you have a tone of techniques to play around with just from that picture.

Shading, panel lining, dry brushing, washing.

Look for MC 30s or Kittens on sale, depending on your faction of choice. These are great units you won't mind having multiple of, and the models have nise details and shapes that are conducive to lots of painting techniques. Also grab a bottle of Simple Green. Don't be afraid to try new things. If it fails, you still learned something, and into the simple green vat it goes. Try again tomorrow.

Just pick the technique you want to work on.

Glazes enhance bright colors, and are great for simulating defused lighting. Start small with them on lighting effects and corresponding bright colors.

It is important to remember that this is something you will always be able to improve. Enjoy the journey. We have a lot of really amazing painters here, and all of them have different strengths, and are always willing to help.

Ask specific questions. You are better off asking how to accomplish a specific technique, than asking for blanket advice. Blanket advice incorporates alot of style opinion over technique.

As to the battle damage, I will let someone more accomplished answer. I understand the principal, but have never really mastered using the technique to the point I feel qualified to teach it.

That CR90 looks beautiful BTW. You show a solid grasp of the basics.

Lets start with an exercise. What technique would you have most wanted to incorporate into the CR90 , pictured above, but didn't know how?

Ah, tutelage! I love it.

For the CR90 (thanks for the complement), I think the only things I'd really want to play with... The color transitions are very abrupt, but, they're different parts and I think that's really coming down to just start differences in colors chosen and not really a technique thing. I like that the colors stand out, but I also kinda wish they were muted now, just a touch, and I think a wash would do that pretty well. So no, in retrospect, I don't have any real problems with how I painted it or the brushwork I did. The whole thing is growing on me.

The one thing I would like to add to it is some of those pock marks. On the front and a few different places on the hull... give it an old/new look, like some of the ship has replacement parts that aren't beatup and some of it is. Looking at DWRR's ships (Also just found an old post where he's left the game, so I don't think I'll be hearing back from him on the direct message I sent), It looks like it's just some really fine pinpoint paint in a randomized order, but I'm not 100% sure. Leads to two questions... whats the best brush to hold a tip in your (anyones) experience? I feel like I need to get some actual metal needles to put just a touch of paint on and transfer it over to the model, is that an actual technique, or something novice's do? I feel like I'd have more control.

I'm going to do a MC30 in the coming days. As it has a bit more size to it, so I'm going to try a few different things on it. My idea is that I'm going to have a swath or two (some sort of striping/ribon) of color, and then try to do the sponge technique for making it look pocked/scarred like the base is shining through. Little bit different technique than the AF Mk2's above, but might work.

And yes, I need some of the simple green so I can just play around. I try really hard to "get it right the first time"... which is crazy considering I'd never describe myself as a perfectionist... Thanks for you help @cynanbloodbane (and everyone else who's commented up to this point).

**edit also, funny story, I have yet to play my first game...

*** second edit, found this, which answers some of the questions.

VI. weathering -

chips - for armada, I use a medium gray, tip a torn piece of foam into it and stamp it on some paper until it leaves smaller stains, then stap that over the hull

scratches - paint a black line, then a thin white line next to it

worn edges - take a small syntethic brush, stipple medium gray in corners where the panels would wear down usually

scorch marks - wipe a small amount of black paint with a q-tip onto the hull,

first turn it around in circles in one spot, then in a straight line starting in the centre of the circle, heading out

melted metal - I dunno, ask Lyr, the ship sadist

Another question: Magnification. I've been Mk1 eyeballin' these and I'm doing well, but I'm considering getting something to magnify this stuff with. Any recommend brands/rigs to get?

Alright, forgive the cell phone nature of these, still WIP. Have this muddy brown/red coloring on the MC30 that I'm going to try and make look like the AF's above this post, then I'll dirty it up with some wash to bring the color down a bit. T

The rebel (scum) transports are almost done. I like bits about both of them, but they arne't the same bits... so maybe next time I'll combine what I like into 1, and see where we sit... also, my green is a little too shiny on the nose, need to see if a dullcoat can bring that down.

The Gozanti Cruisers, I tried to do a sword down the spin of it post wash. Came out ok, need to figure out how to highlight it a bit, and then add some dry brushing to the edges to highlight the whole thing.

With my stated goals, any suggestions?

Mk1s are all I use while squadron painting... but my posture helps. My desk is high enough that I can elbows on the desk, hands in front of my face, wrists touching, with nice overhead daylight bulbs.

I generally only use Citadel brushes, but I will admit that their latest series of them has seemed much more lacking than their previous ones, and I’m in the market for a good mid range brush to compliment the singular Windsor Newton I have at top edge.

Brush maintenance is very important though.

No paint on ferrule.

no mixing with paining brushes.

separate water pots for cleaning, mixing, and metallics.

proper storage of cleaned brushes.

proper cleaning of brushes.

all of that...

without those, little point in truly investing in something to hold a point ?

20 minutes ago, Drasnighta said:

proper storage of cleaned brushes.

proper cleaning of brushes.

I know I've seen you post on this a few times, but I don't recall elaboration around the storage. I put the plastic tube bit back around them each time, but I'm guessing you have a better way.

1 minute ago, Recon00 said:

I know I've seen you post on this a few times, but I don't recall elaboration around the storage. I put the plastic tube bit back around them each time, but I'm guessing you have a better way.

That can be fine as long as you don’t touch or bend the bristles putting it on... ideally, they should be suspended vertically, tip down, but with no pressure on the bristles, so they can hang naturally - this is why the citadel paint pot lid has different sized brush diameters - to hold them when dry.

Cleaning, well, fresh water - room temp, never warm - swish and swirl, no pressure and no touching the bottom of the pot... gently roll on s tissue or across a palm while drawing it back to make/maintain a point — and forvtop end stuff, consider some “magic brush soap” (search for just that ? )...

but in the end, it’s mostly just “don’t abuse the bristles”

10 minutes ago, Recon00 said:

I know I've seen you post on this a few times, but I don't recall elaboration around the storage. I put the plastic tube bit back around them each time, but I'm guessing you have a better way.

Not sure if it would be Dras approved or not but this is what I use.

2 minutes ago, Megatronrex said:

Not sure if it would be Dras approved or not but this is what I use.

This satisfies the technical requirements, and meets tentative approval subject to the completion of the requisite paperwork in triplicate.

2 minutes ago, Drasnighta said:

This satisfies the technical requirements, and meets tentative approval subject to the completion of the requisite paperwork in triplicate.

Looks like I'll be settling for tentative approval then. ?

11 minutes ago, Megatronrex said:

Looks like I'll be settling for tentative approval then. ?

You will be informed when said tentative approval expires and requires statement of non conformance paperwork to be filed in quadruplicate.

7 minutes ago, Drasnighta said:

You will be informed when said tentative approval expires and requires statement of non conformance paperwork to be filed in quadruplicate.

I do like being a non-conformist.

Alright, I finished my GR-75's. I need to get a real green and not this glossy/metallic looking stuff. Would dullcoat bring that down? I like the look, like it's seen some action, but it almost feels too grainy...

The Gozanti's are very clean in comparison. I'm happy with the way the sword/sabres' down the spine worked out, it wasn't exactly what I envisioned, but it looks solid.

Lastly is the WIP MC30C. I wanted to let it sit for 24 hours before coming back to it so I could contemplate my next move. I did more of the chipped paint sort of effect on the front, and I think it will clean up nicely with a wash. I tried to highlight the panel seams like I've seen so many do before, and that came off ok. Painted the section between raised structures a darker color, will probably go over and highlight a few of the protruding parts in there with some lighter grays and maybe a spec of another color (red/yellow?).

I don't know what to do with the superstructure thought. I gave it a bit of a bath in a watered down black, but I'm not sure how I want to highlight around the edges. Should I go lighter than the hull color or make it darker to blend? I've read contrast is a big plus here, so I'm thinking lighter, but idk. Also, I'm thinking about highlighting or otherwise painting some of the "bulidings" in that superstructure group, to make them stand out more. Is that a good idea, or is it likely to get very busy with all the colors? I don't have the biggest complement of colors yet (going by ye olde Hobby Lobby tonight to grab some brighter things), so I've been mixing and using some weird stuff here and there... so any ideas would be awesome. Even if I don't use them here, I appreciate all the feedback.

On 7/26/2018 at 10:07 AM, Drasnighta said:

gently roll on s tissue or across a palm while drawing it back to make/maintain a point — and forvtop end stuff, consider some “magic brush soap” (search for just that ? )...

but in the end, it’s mostly just “don’t abuse the bristles”

The best way I had found is to just use my lips to retain the point, while I gently suck the excess moisture out of the brush. If done properly, even a drybrush I ready to be used again in about an hour. Tissue paper and your palm lack the control needed to maintain an even point.

I don't care how wrong this sounds, Spit, don't swallow, or you will pay for it later.

Just my opinion, use whatever works for you.

Just now, cynanbloodbane said:

The best way I had found is to just use my lips to retain the point, while I gently suck the excess moisture out of the brush. If done properly, even a drybrush I ready to be used again in about an hour. Tissue paper and your palm lack the control needed to maintain an even point.

I don't care how wrong this sounds, Spit, don't swallow, or you will pay for it later.

Just my opinion, use whatever works for you.

This can also work, but with more expensive brushes, be mindful of what you are drinking at the time... Coffee or Cola increases acidity in your mouth which can degrade both the bristles and the glue attachment inside the ferrule if you are not careful ?

and Again, cheap vs expensive brushes ?

2 minutes ago, cynanbloodbane said:

retain the point,

I watched a GW vid yesterday that had the guy rolling the brush as he was getting paint on it, so it had a nice tip/point when he was ready to apply. This just common knowledge that I didn't know? Can you think of any other things you might take for granted?

I wear nitrile gloves during and after washing the subjects. They protect your hands from the harsh chemicals whilst washing and keep oils off the subject while painting. I’m bare skin during the prewash activities (trimming, modding, etc). You can get a box of 100, thin (5 mil) gloves for ~$8. https://m.harborfreight.com/5-mil-nitrile-powder-free-gloves-100-pc-large-68497.html?utm_referrer=direct%2Fnot provided

Nitrile is preferred because they don’t react (ie melt) with harsh chemicals and they won’t provoke allergic responses, both of which are issues with latex.

Your tiny ships are looking great.

Ok, I'll take a look at those gloves.

So, new questions. I've still got a core neb B, cr90, VSD and ISD that "need" painted. I'm intimidate by the bigger ships, namely because I'm not sure how many coats it will take to brush it on smooth and pretty like as I only have black primer. I saw someone in some post say that just heavily dry brush white over the primer to make a basecoat. While it makes sense in my mind, is that a viable solution for when you don't have a lighter primer? I DID have white primer, but it came out with that spidery type stuff on the models and killed detail. I mean I had no idea the Moldy Crow had windows on the side of it, I thought people were just painting the lines on their models when i was scrolling through these posts, but the more I looked at the more I realized I'd lost in detail thanks to some boo boo primer. Lessons have been learned!

Took the FFG paint off with that 91% alcohol (thanks for the posts about that Dras and others). Had a VSD (unpictured) AFMK2, CR90, and a Neb B. Painted the VSD black with white windows. Tried some dry brushing, but didn't like the look, decided to keep it "cleaner" and just be jet black with the small window light. Didn't do anything too crazy with the the CR90 or Neb B. Tried something out of my wheelhouse with the AF.

This was just a light gray mix over a darker gray primer, some of that dark blue wash from Citadel, and a few highlights. Really liked that I could use white as a highlight, kind of a novel concept for me. Hindsight, I'd probably use white around the docking rings and just have 2 colors on there.

One day I'll actually get around to using something besides a phone camera, but until then... Still struggling with my washes and not totally overpowering the original color... might have to look into pin washing so I can have some pristine/new looking paint in lighter realms.

During the loyalty purge at Rendili StarDrive while the remaining Mk2's were being sold "as is" or retrofitted back to the Mk1 design, Rendili was approached by a Hutt consortium. Wanting to be rid of any and all Mk2's, Rendili sold a half completed hull to the Hutts for a fistful of credits and were happy to be rid of it. The Hutts parked the half completed Mk2 shell in the middle of Hutt space, near their home planet of Nal Hutta, and used it in great effect as a floating cantina/make shift space port. The cantina was short lived however as the Galactic Empire continued cutting into the trade of the Hutts causing a significant dip in cantina business. The Rebellion approached the Hutts for the purchase of the Mk2 hull and reluctantly the Hutts parted ways with the floating paradise.

Having no time to waste, the Rebel shipyards quickly acquired and installed all the missing components into and onto the hull. Notably missing from the cantina-now-warship were the weapon systems, shield generators, propulsion units, and previously assembled dorsal fins. Unable to wait for the hull repaint, the alliance quickly christened her the Tsunami Sunset and pressed her into service.

**note, still a WIP, my first time trying wet blending, learned a lot (namely I need a different brush and a bit more paint).