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Given how much we're talking about dipping in the discussions forums, or at least the stuff that goes along with it and how much people bitch about it, and pictures are being shown and questions asked, I figured it was time to start a Modeling and Painting Blog on the amount of Dipping I'm going to do, the results, and how I did it.

Below are my latest tests, all are Pre-Matte finish, mainly because it's been raining here in NJ for the past few days.

Pre-Matte Dipped Shoota Boyz - Front
The order here (left to right) is Varathane (darker) Dip, Non Dipped, and Miniwax Polyshades (lighter) Dip.

Pre-Matte Dipped Shoota Boyz - Right
The order here (left to right) is the Varathane (darker) Dip and Miniwax Polyshades (lighter) Dip.

Pre-Matte Dipped Shoota Boyz - Left
The order here (left to right) is the Varathane (darker) Dip and Miniwax Polyshades (lighter) Dip.

Pre-Matte Battle for Skull Pass Dwarfs
The order here (left to right) is Base painted, Dipped (Miniwax Polyshades (lighter) Dip, and then Painted+Basic Inking

Now you'll notice, I have two dips for at least the Orks. The other test model I posted used the Varathane Stain and Polyurethane which turned out like so:

Pre-Dipped + Dipped Example
Dipped after Matte Finish

Now from what you can see using the almost universally recommended "Miniwax Polyshades Antique Walnut" that I've seen everyone in every Dipping Guide I researched mention at least once, the coverage is a lot lighter. Not as many dark spots internal to the crevices in the model, but on the other side it stains the model itself less (ie. the original colors come through a bit brighter and aren't darkened as much).

This made me think, what about testing it on my Dwarfs? I don't want a really dark dip for them, since they're supposed to be relatively "clean", but the shading would be nice. Also since I wasn't sure about it, I quickly painted up one of the BfSP Thunderer Champions (a model I never plan on actually fielding) and painted it in the same colors as the first Warriors squad I did, and dipped it in the lighter Miniwax stain. Please note that for the horns on the dipped model I painted those bleached bone instead of skull white, which is what the other horns are painted in the normal models. The difference in color of the horns is a combo of Dip+Different Paint used, not a function of the dip exclusively.

The results came back pretty good, and I can't wait to see how it looks after getting a matte spray put on it. If they can all come out like that, then I may dip most of the army after getting base colors put on!

Additionally, the Shoota Boy Ork that is dipped in the Varathane (Darker) dip was done using a Drill to spin off the dip into a box instead of the "flick" method. It came out alright, but you have to be careful not to get too much dip off. I actually "re-dipped" that model because so much came off when I first did the dip and spin I wanted to go for it again.

So as I'm finding out, a lot of prep time is going to be crucial to getting everything dipped. From putting dowels onto each base and getting styrofoam all setup for batches of models to stand up in (with the dowel) while drying or awaiting to be used with the Drill, it's not going to be super-duper speedy. What it will do is give me good results that are way, way above my painting ability, and the time I put into each model will be pretty small once I get organized about doing this the right way.

I'll post up more pics once I get the matte finish done or when I test dip some other models to see how they come out.

Voodoo, if you dont mind, I may add to your blog here with an example of dipped eldar guardians and aspects.

I'm going out to get the dip tomorrow and may have a couple of test models ready soon.

I thought you were going to dip your avatar warboss and show da pics :(

Do you have a non blurry picture of the finished result AFTER the matt finish. That is the most blurry picture. You weren't trying to hide somthing where you? =P

For one thing I think you need to work on the bases a little bit. Can't really comment on the model otherwise since the picture is out of focus but I'm not really fond of the bright blue pants, unless the Ork has escaped from a local circus.

You guys can post pics of other dipped models if you want.

I will take more pics of the matte finished model and post it tonight. If it stays dry enough I'll do a quick spray of the three other models posted that are dipped.

The Boss won't be dipped till I have a set technique that I like and I've decided which dip I like the color of best.

And yes, I know I need to work on the bases for the Orks, these were the first guys I ever did so the bases are terrible. I plan on gluing some rocks, re-painting it, and maybe adding something else, dunno what yet. I want to get the painting/dipping done of the other models first though.

And I liked the Blue pants. I figure if I'm going to wear blue jeans every day, so will my Boyz. Course I liked the UM Blue colors before I ever started Marines, it shows in my models.

To get the most out of the antique walnut satin, you need to use much brighter colors, a much warmer palette. For example, it looks like you used goblin green or snot green, which looks alot better under the darker stain. I used Camo Green for my ork's skin. I would also advice against using black if you can possibly avoid it, like on your boots and top knots.

Pictures at www.pbase.com/whitedragon.

I will also upload some pics from my collection when I get home.

Voodoo,

I dipped about 32 kroot last winter using a drill. I pretty much did the same technique as you, but I saved myself some time by not glueing the bases or models to a stick or whatever. I went and bought one of those flat wood drill bits that matched up to the size of the round infantry bases. Then I used two binder clips (you know those paperclip/staple alternatives) to clip the minis to the drill bit. After I dipped the mini in the stain can, I spun the drill inside a cardboard box at full speed while counting to 3. Well, sometimes 5. I guess that's just the 'technique' part. The clips allow for a speedy swap of the minis on the drill, and you don't need some crazy apparatus to hold the minis on sticks while they dry. Just be careful not to touch the mini while you're taking it off the bit, or you'll need to dip it again immediately.

It's actually super quick, and not messy as long as you're wearing gloves.

There was a brief respite in the weather so I did the Matte finish on the thee dipped test models and took some good pics of them. 'Ere We Go!

Dwarf Thunderer
Dwarf Matte Finish - Front
Dwarf Matte Finish - Right
Dwarf Matte Finish - Back
Dwarf Matte Finish - Left

I think he came pretty good, but I don't know if I want to dip the whole Dwarf army. The beard came out great, but I'm not so sure I like it for the rest of the model. The Dwarfs are supposed to look "clean" and I don't quite think that this comes out how I envision them. I think I'll stick to inking each model for this army.

But for the Boyz.....

Shoota Boyz!
Ork Shootas Matte Finish - Front
Ork Shootas Matte Finish - Left
Ork Shootas Matte Finish - Back
Ork Shootas Matte Finish - Right

The one with the Darker dip (Varathane) is on the left, the Miniwax one is on the right.

I believe for the Boyz I'm going to use the Varathane for a darker finish for them, I like it better. Hopefully these pics with the ones in the original post can show what results I'm getting with dipping.

Thanks to k0v for pointing out the drill bit idea. Such a simple and easy solution, no wonder I didn't think of it!

Last Spring I dipped what amounted to an army of nurglings - counts as Skaven Clan Eshin - with some bizarre nurgle mutants for assassins, ironguts, etc. Despite massive problems with my white spray, which is unfortunate as paint smoothness goes a long ways with dipping, I like how they turned out. The whole nurgle angle made the sloppiness very forgivable

When I dip I glue flat-headed screws to the bottoms of several models' bases (I usually do batches of 6, because I have 6 nice brass screws I bought vs the dozen I fond outside on a walk), slot one into a drill and spin them inside an ice cream tub with a hole cut in the top. If it matters I spin the model right-side up, so technically lower the tub around the mini. I spin for maybe 10 seconds, switch directions for another 10, then again, and again. Lot of spinning, and I end up dabbing off excess dip that's still in recesses and such.

- Salvage

I am sold! When I start my IG army, I will probably do all the troops in a dip, just to get the 60 odd bullet sponges done in a reasonable amount of time.

One thing I noticed, the dip makes the dreaded mold lines even MORE noticeable so be extra diligent removing them.

Ozymandias, King of Kings

Whitedragon were those khorne chaos marines undercoated blood red and then dipped with no other steps? Man they came out fantastic!

Also I am a big fan of your chaos knight/bezerker conversions.

Yes, blood red, then dip. I even sprayed them blood red as a primer, to make it go that much faster! The Terminator was a test of making chaos marines out of the new plastic marines, (which now we have plastic chaos termies...) but it is the only model I took a 360 view pictures of....

I can't take credit for the bezerker/chaos warrior conversions, as there are plenty on Bolter and Chainsword that gave me the idea.

More dipped goodness, and a different take on Orks. These are pre-matte finish.

And here is da boyz with matte finish!







Our warbosses, the one of the far right is not dipped.

Bah my dip must be old or mabye in serious need of sturring. It never stays that much on the model, its barely brown at all. Is it possible to flick too hard, or am I not leaving it submerged long enough. I just dip it in for about a second, pull it out and shake the excess dip off.

You need to stir the varnish. You are just getting the gloss without any of the actual color.

Ozymandias, King of Kings

is there any reason to dip marines? They seem a little smooth for dipping.

Some nice results in this thread. Congrats, Voodoo!

I will agree with Ozy, however, that the dreaded mold lines are popping out quite a bit, and they kind of ruin the effect.

snorkle wrote:is there any reason to dip marines? They seem a little smooth for dipping.

See Terminators above.

Yeah, those mold lines show up very easily when dipping.

Again, these were the first models I ever put together so there's a lot of stuff on them that isn't on (and won't be on) the newer models I assemble.

But if there ever was an incentive to getting rid of mold lines, this is it.

I modified a apple peeler, and stuck some bungee around it and attached it to my thumb. I can go quickly over mold lines and whittle em away almost as fast as I can turn the model. Take an apple peeler, cut off the top inch or 2, put some green stuff along the inside edges to give space for the shavings to come out around your thumb, then hot glue some durable stretchy material to both sides. Rubber bands break eventually, so an old loose bungee is perfect as you can snatch the individual bungee threads.

Hey Orock, could you post a pic of your apparatus? I'm still having trouble envisioning what you describe (and the prospect of easy mold line removal is intriguing).

Well I dont own a webcam or I would post my 200 some odd ork conversions (yes every boy is converted in some way, im much better at bits swapping and converting than painting sadly) But its an old apple peeler. Here is a picture of one, its basically a half pipe of metal with a slit in the middle, and shaped about the width of the thumb. Mine did not have the core remover at the end, it was pointed. I basically took an old one that was going to get thrown out, cut it in the middle, and made a piece about as big as my thumb.

http://www.shoppingwarehouse.net/prod-11850.html?src=froogle&src1=sw&src2=gbase&utm_source=Froogle&utm_medium=Product%2BSearch%2BEngine

I used green stuff on the walls to seperate it a bit from my thumb and to leave a gap for the shavings to come out. Then just hot glued a bungee. If i were to redo it now however, I would cut a thumb from a pair of leather gloves and attach it to that, as the shaving still occasionally poke you. DO NOT try this with metal, it will not bend on your thumb like plastic, and will give you metal splinters, which suck mightily. I still use my knife for metal. But for plastic you cant beat a sharp blade that is thumb steered you can just wipe across a models line like you would wipe the sweat from your brow (warning: product not meant to wipe sweat from your brow with, if skin removal and heavy bleeding occur, seek a doctor immediatley).

Yeah, OK, that makes a bit more sense.

I had done a search on Google for 'apple peelers'. This is what I got:

http://www.applesource.com/peeler.html

I was left scratching my head as to why you would need a crank to get mold lines off.

in some cases, brushing on the dip gives a much better and controlled result - and of course allows you to only apply it to certain parts of the model, e.g. you can use one colour for skin, another for weapons etc

I agree. My arctic nids hace a bone carapace and blue skin. I just drybrush the skin and stain their shells.

So I've been doing the Dipping thing again, this time with my brand new Ogre army. And it's been a hell of a learning experience.

FYI, this is using the "Darker" dip I've used on the Orks which for everyones information is:

Varathane Stain & Polyurethane
Early American
Semi-Gloss

It was only available at Home Depot around here. Lowes only had the Minwax and not a lot of Varathane. Anyway lets move on!

Lessons Learned
Ogres are BIG! They can be dipped, but boy do they want some work afterwards!
Highlighting, after dipping (and drying) really helps them look a ton better. The positive part is that highlighting these models is easy since they're so big.

Anyway, here's the before and after shots of my current batch in progress, with one model that has been taken to completion:

Pre-Dip
Pre-Dipped Group Shot
Pre-Dipped Solo Shot 1
Pre-Dipped Solo Shot 2

Post-Dip
Post-Dipped Shot 1
Post-Dipped Shot 2
Post-Dipped Shot 3
Post-Dipped Shot 4
Post-Dipped Shot 5

Solo Test Model, Post-Dip, Post-Matte, Highlighted
Matte-Highlighted Shot 1
Matte-Highlighted Shot 2
Matte-Highlighted Shot 3
Matte-Highlighted Shot 4

One thing I'm going to try now is doing the highlighting before doing the matte finish on the 4 models that are now in the Post-Dip phase. I did the matte finish on the solo guy just to see how the whole thing turned out with just a dip and matte finish. I wasn't happy with all the excess brown on the flat areas, that I started to highlight it (I never highlighted before, to show my painting skill level). I'm pretty happy with the results and I hope it comes out a little cleaner by doing it before applying the matte finish.

I'd appreciate any comments.

Thanks