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WIP Wave Serpents

My first attempt at using liquid masking;

All colours are Vallejo; Beastly Brown / Dwarf Skin / Dead White, Chrome / Dark Green / Transparent Green

Part 1 was undercoat white followed by airbrush (I am a beginner airbrusher so still learning techniques) of browns and whites.

I then applied the liquid masking to the strips that edge the wings and go up over the engine cowlings. the liquid pooled due to the shape of the model and I had to change it's up angle and re-apply a few times to get it all covered. Not really sure how thick it needs to be so I was generous.

I then sprayed the whole model chrome, added some dark green and then covered the whole model in transparent green. It required a second coat of transparent green which dulled the metallic look a bit.

I also had a few little spots of beading of the green on the chrome; advice on how I avoid this?

When I peeled the masking it tore some edging a bit. I may not have left it to dry long enough and am giving the other two longer to dry. (edit: I think the tearing may have been the result of using the metallic paint combined with the masking being too thick at the edges.. maybe)

I then did a bit of line work (WIP) to see how it comes up.

Will probably do a white dry brush for edges and then pick out the detail and gems.

I am thinking on how to add the thorn pattern after that.

Edit: Okay today I had a go at painting with liquid greenstuff -"What?" you say.. I wanted a 3-D feel to the thorns of my Biel-tan so I decided to try doing some with liquid greenstuff. I thinned it down with some Lahmian Medium and then painted the vine onto a test model I have to try it out. Will see how it dries and then try some paint and will post. Wish me luck hehe

Edit: So went back and resprayed - using blutack to mask - work much better than the liquid masking; very little tearing; I also painted dark green along edges before I painted the chrome to try and reduce tearing. Still getting beading over the chrome :(

Added the black line work using a 0.7mm paint pen. Need some tidying and slips fixing but starting to come together.

Edit: Okay I solved the beading issue; no extra thinning and increased the distance of airbrush from model for an ultra light first coat. No beading at all on two wraithfighter models I did. You can also see the blutack masking on this pic.

Update: added decals and thorns to a wave serpent

Update: 1 Wave Serpent finished (I noticed in the pics a smudge on the left engine cowling which has been fixed since)

Did the dark green stage get overpainted? Not sure I understand what happened there. It's neat to see progression pictures like this, as airbrush masking can get kinda technical, but some accompanying text would be greatly appreciated!

 John Prins wrote:
Did the dark green stage get overpainted? Not sure I understand what happened there. It's neat to see progression pictures like this, as airbrush masking can get kinda technical, but some accompanying text would be greatly appreciated!

Updated!

Thanks for the update. I guess the chrome got so smooth the green wanted to pool up? A thin coat of matte varnish might cure that. As for the chrome not showing through the green, maybe airbrushing an actual wash rather than a paint might work better. I've never tried Vajello's transparent paints, though.

 John Prins wrote:
Thanks for the update. I guess the chrome got so smooth the green wanted to pool up? A thin coat of matte varnish might cure that. As for the chrome not showing through the green, maybe airbrushing an actual wash rather than a paint might work better. I've never tried Vajello's transparent paints, though.

The photo doesn't show it but the green does have a metallic look to it. The transparent green worked nice - they have the range of transparent colours I will have to add to my toolbox now hehe.

This is far more advanced than I do. The forethought and planning shown is great.
Thanks for sharing the process. I have a trio of falcons to do, and will probably try something like this.

Since I also use green, which paints did you use? For the mask, too? Thanks.

 Skinnereal wrote:
This is far more advanced than I do. The forethought and planning shown is great.
Thanks for sharing the process. I have a trio of falcons to do, and will probably try something like this.

Since I also use green, which paints did you use? For the mask, too? Thanks.

Perfect. thanks loads

 Skinnereal wrote:
This is far more advanced than I do. The forethought and planning shown is great.
Thanks for sharing the process. I have a trio of falcons to do, and will probably try something like this.

Since I also use green, which paints did you use? For the mask, too? Thanks.

Let me know how you go and any improvements you have

Looking great.
Quick tip. You mentioned paint tearing when removing the making. I've always had better results pulling tape immediately after spraying. If I'm shooting to a mask I'll even run drying retarder pretty heavy to give me time to pull the mask before it starts to set.
Good luck and keep posting pics!

PourSpelur wrote:
Looking great.
Quick tip. You mentioned paint tearing when removing the making. I've always had better results pulling tape immediately after spraying. If I'm shooting to a mask I'll even run drying retarder pretty heavy to give me time to pull the mask before it starts to set.
Good luck and keep posting pics!

I'm spraying 3 or more colours over masking; so can't really do this. Thanks for the idea tho will try it if only doing one colour.

Very interesting - thanks for sharing!

Update: So went back and resprayed - using blutack to mask - work much better than the liquid masking; very little tearing; I also painted dark green along edges before I painted the chrome to try and reduce tearing. Still getting beading over the chrome :(

Update: Okay I solved the beading issue; no extra thinning and increased the distance of airbrush from model for an ultra light first coat. No beading at all on two models I did. You can also see the blutack masking on this pic.

Update: decals and thorns

Wow! Great step by step and liquid masking usage. I never thought of using it like you did. Fantastic results! Thanks for sharing.

kestral wrote:Very interesting - thanks for sharing!

Sarigar wrote:Wow! Great step by step and liquid masking usage. I never thought of using it like you did. Fantastic results! Thanks for sharing.

Cheers

Update: 1 Wave Serpent finished - 2 more and the fighters to go