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G'day all

so im pretty new to miniature painting and recently got some Army painter quickshade, mainly as a means to paint quicker. I been doing some test models, they coming out a lot darker than expected.
(maybe im leaving too much quickshade on there?. not dipping models, just brushing over whole thing then brushing excess off)

so i figure im either gonna have to use a brighter/lighter version of colours (suprisingly difficult to figure out).

or highlight models (though i dont want to be spending too long on each model).


I have a bad back and spending any extended amount of time in one position hunched over can get quite uncomfortable/painful. I do enjoy painting, but I prefer the playing more.
I have a habbit of picking infantry heavy armies (40k / FoW), sooo many little dudes to paint.


Im happy with 'Average' looking models, and have been looking for ways to streamline the whole painting process.

I got the quickshade cause of all the buzz about speedy painting etc.

several people seen me using it and usually ask "why not use just a normal GW wash".
I not used any other traditional wash yet.

whats the difference between a traditional type wash and quickshade?
Is it really much quicker than using a traditional wash?

thanks for any help
PW

some test models, No highlights, just base coats, few details, quick shade, Matt varnish

Wash is basically just very thin acrylic paint with a high pigment density and perhaps a flow improver. Quickshade is some kind of varnish.

Dipping models was en vogue some years back as a fast and easy way to shade models. It began with historical miniature painters dipping their minis in the kinds of products you'd normally use in wood finishing, such as urethane or polyurethane stains and varnishes. I'm not exactly sure, but it wouldn't surprise me if Quickshade were one of these.

If you want to use the Quickshade but don't want to significantly darken the entire model, you could try using a paper towel or q tip that is slightly damp with paint thinner or white spirits and wiping off the "highlight" areas. This should work even when the varnish has dried.

However, if you just want to paint and shade things quickly without a lot of fuss, I would suggest painting in inks and washes alone. If you prime your models grey or white, you can grab the proper color ink for the area you want to paint and apply it neatly. It will still pool up in the recesses, creating a shade tone, but will only tint the raised areas, creating natural shadows and highlights. This is one of the fastest and easiest ways I know of to quickly paint miniatures while giving them some shading. It works much better on areas like cloth and skin than on large, smooth surfaces like Space Marine power armor so it's a good choice for IG, Orks etc.

If you want to paint armored figures quickly I would just find a spray primer that can work as your base color, then use an ink or wash to draw lines in between the armor panels and finally highlight or drybrush the edges with a lighter shade of your base coat. No overall wash necessary!

Edit: Just saw that you posted a picture, those don't look half bad but if they're too dark for you overall try what I said above about priming and then painting with ink. You also might want to try drybrushing as an easy way to add highlights.

Ive used both. AP quickshade is what put the Army Painter line on the Hobby radar so to speak. They were all about speed painting tabletop quality models. That being said, that stuff is THICK. And needs heavy dilution and is sticky as hell. i personally hate it. AP make FANTASTIC washes now. Just use those. You can easily wash an entire model just as fast as any dipping quick shade, and its less tacky, not as thick, and looks better in the end.

It's supposed to be thick and sticky, and not meant to be diluted. It's a polyurethane varnish, much like what you can get at Home Depot or Lowe's.

Also consider that if your existing colors end up too dark after a Quickshade, it's worth trying to brighten up your base colors as well as a means to counter-act the darkness of the shade.

you can make a glaze of your basecoat by adding a lot of lahmian medium (1:1 medium to paint) and hitting the raised areas to reduce the darkening effect of the quickshade OR regular shades. The thinnes of the glaze allows the darken areas to still show through a LITTLE bit and thus blends better.

AP dip is great, in many circumstances. But, like any other hobby tool, you need to learn how to use it...and only you can judge if you like the finish or not. For historicals or grungy armies it's awesome. It is a form of wood finish (though wood finishes that have been tested don't work quite as well, so there is some science behind how they formulate it).

It can be thinned with mineral spirits and does gunk up after a month or two of use. You'll never use a whole can. However, if you're dipping hundreds of miniatures like me...it's well worth it. It does apply a protective varnish, but also needs flattening after use. I paint some surfaces after using the dip etc.

You need to have a method to dip, or brush on (though that's tough as it starts to dry pretty quick). If you're aiming to be a pro painter...don't bother. Also expect lots of flak from hobby try-hards who will be angry you're churning out an army as they paint four figures. In this hobby I heavily advise all the shortcuts you can find up to the level you're willing to compromise on your paintjob. If you want tabletop ready, decent paintjobs - dips, washes, colour primers...go nuts.

It's a bit of a learning curve - you'll find it takes a lot to make sure it's not pooling...and you need to check back after a few minutes even when you think it's finished, then don't touch it for 24 hours or more. You'll find ways to wick up spare dip (shredded paper towel works great). Occasionally you'll miss a spot and end up with gloop on a joint...that's the process of learning, lol. You also need to learn when to stop painting. Dip can undo some finesse paintwork you've done by simply shading over it. Block colours and very little else is necessary before dipping.

It's also less useful on super dark miniatures, etc. It will literally "Sepia tone" your minis so you need to be careful what colours you're using and what final effect you want to show up. You can use q-tips with mineral spirits to touch up over-done portions or parts of the miniature you want cleaner, etc.

My use of AP dip works wonders on my Chaos Marines but is less helpful with my Eldar (requiring more clean-up and touch ups after use).

Personally I like qs. When it comes to terrain especially or imperial knights. But for just about anything else, it’s way to thick and pools in a manner that is pretty much unrecoverable.

If it's too thick, you thin it a bit. If it pools, you remove the pools. I don't go so far as the people who use an electric drill to spin the miniatures, but there are plenty of ways to use AP quickshade without ruining your models (currently sitting on 500+ models having been dipped).

It's not just some miracle button though where you dip it and forget it.

One thing I would recommend if your minis turn out to dark after dipping is to "spin" the model on a drill or milk frother to spin away the excessive liquid. It really helps stopping the dip to pool up to thickly.I dont have any photos of my own set-up to share but a fellow Dakka user wrote an article on that is helpful.

https://www.dakkadakka.com/wiki/en/Dipping_Tyranids