Rust, oil and stencils. Thats a lot to take in.

That rust looks like splattered brains.

Thanks for the tut, your bases look both classic and original, you must be really happy with them. I like the overall look of your models too and can't wait to see a big group pic :0)

I love the heavy laser troopers and the zombie wearing allies colors also. Can't wait to see more of your work. Bases also look great.

Thanks a lot for the nice replies.
I could not paint the last weeks due to my job, but now I am back to continue my Axis forces. And finally I got Operation Cerberus from my FLGS . For the next weeks my painted troops are in one of the shops cabinet, as the owner wants to promote the game a bit more.

Right now I have the rest of the zombies, the girl from Cerberus finally (Cy-baer was the faster buyer on ebay a few weeks ago, but now I have my own *g*) and my first walker on my desk.

@Psykostevo: no, a splattered brain would look different, trust me

Splattered brain tutorial?

Psykostevo said:

Hahaha

Ghrik: for someone new at painting minis, how do you do such small areas like the face and teeth without getting paint all over the head? I am concerned once I get my first set and start out to paint them, I will be too sloppy. Thanks for any help!!!

Wet your paint down, only use the tip of the brush. Dot get paint past the half of the bristle. And always maintain a point on the brush. Don't use the brush to put the paint on the model. The brush holds the paint. Think of it like a fountain pen. Many painters make the mistake of using cheap brushes and loading them up with paint.

Zjb12 said:

Psykostevo already wrote a few important things. I may add a few more.

1. use a good brush. I use Kolinsky sable brushes from Da Vinci or Windsor & Newton.
Good brushes hold a lot of paint and you can paint longer. Before I attended a painting workshop, I used cheap brushes. But since I was "forced" to try a better one, I know why I is a big difference! And, as Psyko said, water down your paints.

2. care for the tip of your brush (!!!)
The tip is your main tool to paint, especially for fine details.
My standard brush size is 2, if the tip is in shape, I paint eyes and similar things without problem. I use size 0 for finer details. And I have a 0/10 brush (actually just a few hairs *g) for a few crazy things. But 99% of the time I use size 2 for everything.
You can find many tips about the care of your brushes in the various miniature forums in the net.

3. hmm, how do I call it... reduce the "weapon spread"
You need a steady hand to paint fine details or straight lines. To optimize that I do the following:

- I attacht the figure one something more comfortable to hold it as the normal base can be fiddly to maneuver. Take a piece of wood or something similar. I use a screw cap from a lab bottle as it lies nicely in my hand.
- put your elbows on the table, this helps a lot.
- for fine details like the eyes, I put the palm of my brush hand on the figure hand, as when both hands are connected they both oscillate as one, greatly reducing your shaking.

4. practise
well, the most annoying step But practising also gives you a steady hand.
I really like painting tiny details like faces. If you make a mistake, just repaint it and try it again. sometimes the eyes are ok with your first attempt, sometimes you will need 10 or more. If you have spare heads use them fro practising. The units from a big British miniature company usually have a lot of spare heads (and nerver legs *g).
At the beginning just focus on painting the eye in one color until you are used to see, where the eyes are and where the lids start. If you manage to do this, the face will already look great. If you have the routine just try to add the pupil. And if you manage to do that, you can add a tiny dot of white for the reflection. ...and after that you must paint the complete reflection of the enemy the figure is facing

You could also start with painting just the face of the miniature, as if it's not working you could strip the colours and start again. I always paint the face at the end as then I'm forced to to it good as stripping the paint is not an option anymore . Or if possible (as it is for Dust figures) I paint the head completely separate.

5. for the pupils, I often use a toothpick as a stamp with watered down paint. If you don't use too much paint it just has the right size.

Wow, a lot of thext, I hope this is somehow helpful.

I can remove the head ? Rly? ( A ranger screams heard in the background). It is easily attacheed back?

Lska said:

Oh my, what have I done ... just use a dot of glue to attach it afterwards. As the heads are on a stud, it's no problem. I had some Axis soldiers kissing their rocket launchers which I had to correct. Fortunately they seem to use less glue for the heads. If you can turn the head with rather no force, just go for it. If there is a lot of resistance, think about it twice.

I also corrected the running heavy suits to a walking pose as I don't like the face-to-ground running pose. But there I had to use a knive. Some arms also can be removed rather easily, but it depends on the amount of glue they used in the factory. One of my heavy laser grenadiers had his weapon in a really strange pose, so I cut the arms at the shoulder and repositioned them.

Ghrik said:

That's nasty i'll try removing them en force but i'll pass on kniving those guys, i may face a rebelion or other unpleasant stuff..

@ghrik, pyschostevo: thanks guys for the help! doing some supply shopping today. maybe i will practice on my kids plastic army figures!!! also, after you are all done, is there something you do/use to seal the final paint job?

has anybody made their own terrain squares and if so, what did you use as a base, just cardboard or thin foam board? the rules say the squares that came in the original core set or that you can buy in the pack are 9X9 CM, is that correct?

9x9cm, that is correct.

I have read (and back read) a lot of posts on this thread. I am a beginner on painting miniatures. I think I am going to copy some of those rusted effects. Thanks for this.

So, painted 4 old railroad supports that look like concrete walls and added my own made up razor wire, (old thin copper wiring, painted) to connect them. Can probably be some type of lengthened wall barriers with gaps between but razor wire blocking movement. Made 2 9x9 scenery squares, mostly forest type coverage of ground, low shrubs, rocks, and a pine tree. The tonight tried painting two of my kids plastic army figures. Definitely picked up some tips and skills real quick, but need to be more patient and will need to work n fine details, but they already look much better than just plain plastic men.

So, question: how long does it usually take for someone to completely paint the whole figure? Is it okay to use a hair dryer to hurry up the drying time so you can keep working? Is it better to just do one coat and/or section of a figure, but maybe do multiple figures, then come back the next night and paint the next section and/or layer?

If you use acrylics drying time is not a problem if anything it is too short. also I think most people paint in batches, I do a Squad at a time and it takes me a good but of time but I usually would consider the level of quality rather high for the most part. so about 10-15 hours for a squad with a camo job for me. I generally will do a squad one color at a time though I theme my army on a squad by squad basis rather then the entire army. also I think most people will paint multiple units at a time color by color as it minimizes brush and color changes.

Zjb12 said:

I try to paint in batches, but usually, when I start with the highlights I tend to fall back to my old habits and finish one mini after the other. As Dakkon said, acrylics dry quite fast so there shouldn't be a long waiting time. And for Dust figures I would be careful with a hair drier as the plastic gets wobbly rather quickly when heated.

It is nice to see a lot of questions and even nicer to see even more willing helpers. Should we open a general thread like in other forums for such topics if they are of a more general topic not related to a certain painter? These tips then might be seen by more people? Something like "The Dust Tactics Painting Support Group"?

Thanks again guys! How long would you say it takes acrylic to dry? I was doing more than one coat/layer last night, but wasn't sure I was rushing things. When I get my actual figures, I don't want to screw them up, so I need to learn some patience. It seems like acrylic drys fairly fast except in the crevices.

I think a separate thread might be good. It would center painting tips into a more common thread than having to jump around in several.

The number 1 piece of advise any would give is thin you paint. it should be at about the milk level for consistency and it should take more then 1 coat to become opaque. most of the time my paint take 2-7 layer to cover.

Dakkon426 said:

I have def. been thinning and that is a great tip and help! Thanks also for your comment on how many coats. That helps me know what to expect and not necc. Feel like I am screwing something up!

I don't exactly get the case of many coats. I understand it with light colors, like white. Then you need to give it a few layers to achieve the wanted colour. But why stick to many layers of the same paint with other colours like red or silver ? I use vallileo paints right out the conatiner and they seem fine ATM. They don't cover up the details of most figs ( cross out the faces, their face colour needs thining, that's a fact). Anyone would like to clear that up for me?

Thick coats of paint will cover fine details of the model. many thinner coats tend to mitigate this over thicker coats also thinner paint dose not hold brush strokes shading and layering with thin coats of different colors has very nice effects.

I finally finished my Angela. I hope you like her.

I had to rework the complete shoulder because of a big misalignment of the mould. Several of my fellow painters here had the same problem. In my collection this is the worst miniature concerning mould lines in general. And I hope they don't make another thin miniature like her as the plastic is too wobbly