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Hey,

Some background, I first got my hands on a 40K set about 18 months after 2nd edition was published (yes, I'm a bit of a crusty), built up a couple of small Blood Angel and Ork armies, with a smattering of Space Wolves and Tyranids acquired from school friends selling partial collections. Unfortunately, living in the arse end of nowhere, I didn't get to fight much (and never was much cop at painting) and when 3rd edition came out I started to drift into forms of modelling that didn't require 2 people to be worthwhile, mostly 1/48 aircraft. Fast forward about 20 years (if I didn't feel old before, I do now). Out of the cupboard came my box of minis, my kids aren't old enough to paint or play 40k, and if you exclude the rather naff stuff that came in the 2nd edition box and some rather tragic looking 1st edition stuff, there probably isn't enough to form an army, even if the rules still allow for my units!

The stash is now divided between keepers (which are now either in Dettol, much to my wife's dismay, or waiting for me to buy more Dettol!) and paint mules/let the kids play with them till they break.

So, having been reading the form for a few days to get some ideas, I decided that this is a great opportunity to learn to do what I've spent 20 years studiously avoiding, i.e. brush painting, after getting some paint I thought I'd start a thread here to chart my progress and hopefully solicit some feedback (or just plain old heckling, that's ok too.. ).

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First a picture of the keepers:



I'm not going to run out of paint mules:


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Attempt #1: Shading a Gretchen

Not the most glamorous start, but I had a few in the paint mule pile that were already base coated and some painted ones to compare against.

I've not done anything like clean seams, drill barrels or do the base, and there are obvious mis-strokes that I would clean up if this was a keeper, this is just to see if I can shade... The Gretchen in blue clothes is the new ones.







Reasonably pleased with the results for a first go, going to try another and see if I can get the blending a bit smoother.

Any comments or general abuse welcome...

Cheers,

Jamie

Hi,
Good luck for your quest of perfection (in painting) !

Firstly, remember that several thin layers are better than one thick layer. Ok, it takes more times, but it is better.

Then, never forget to prime your models.

Go in the "tutorial" section of this forum, search on the internet, etc... It is very instructive !

And eventually: don't give up, it takes some time to be good at painting.
But don't be afraid of testing new stuff !

Attempt 2: Captain Tycho

Perhaps not the easiest of choices, but it was the first one I was happy with the paint stripping

Gun and face are still WIP, and still some minor cleanup needed, but reasonably happy with the rest so far.

Cool. Always great to see a rescue project. Nice work on Tycho he's looking great so far.

EDC

I'm a big fan of rescuing old models, especially 1st and 2nd ed stuff. I've been doing something similar myself this year.

Great job! Looking forward to seeing more!

Been a bit all over the place recently, trying different techniques out on different models, and occasionally finishing one!

After going round in circles on the face, I decided to put Tycho to one side until I'm more comfortable, if I need to give him another bath in Dettol, so be it.

Digging around in the to-do pile, I found an old Rogue Trader era Librarian that had never been painted, as a positive there was no face to paint!




Back to an old Tallarn Desert Raider for face and blending practice. The blending was better, the face, well after a few attempts, let's just call it a work in progress and leave it for another day!




Needing a bit of a break from faces, a metal 2nd edition Bjorn the Fellhanded, not going to win Golden Demon, but now I'm starting to feel more comfortable





Can't avoid faces forever, so time to face them head on



A few from the in-progress pile, the Death Company have been given Sanguinary Guard bits from eBay, possibly not strictly legit, but they look cool at least




Anyway, onwards and (occasionally) upwards! Thanks for looking.

Jamie

Keep at it Flying Penguin. I remember all those figures...and some that are even older editions

Just keep posting and painting and enjoy the feeling when you complete each one.

Cheers,

CB