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I recently decided to try out speed painting "Space Rangers" by em4 Miniatures which are basically uber-cheap SM knock-offs. I used a combination of spray basecoating and dipping in varnish. Here's the result:


Basically I primed the miniature white (to cover the glossy plastic the mini was made from) then sprayed it again with dark gray primer (the kind that they sell at Wal-Mart). Then I painted the inner components of the armor, the gun, the visor, and the base. I then dipped the miniature in Olympic All-in-One Varnish "Special Pecan" and flicked off most of the varnish onto my gravel driveway. One the varnish had dried, I coated the miniature with Krylon Matte Varnish, then added flocking to the base. Aside from the about six hours you need to wait for the varnish to dry, the process was quick and easily duplicated with pretty reasonable results.

To see a more detailed description of the process, and a few of the mistakes made along the way, click here

Sorry mate doesnt do it for me.

To be fair, Games Workshop space marines are neither alone nor very original. 40k players consider them iconic but there's very little to nothing about them that was unique up until ten years ago. These space ranger guys seem staple sci-fi but to call them SM knockoffs is giving GW waayyyyyy too much credit.

paint job is nice but looks like hes trying to blend in with the bland. heraldry and insignia are one of the things space marines got right from the start. let's spruce him up a bit, no?

I think he looks really nice... Just ordered a set and gonna try 'im

Just gotta find a good dip in UK - is it a very dark tone?

Cheers

No, it isn't a dark blend. I used "Special Pecan" by Olympic, which is a fairly mid-to-light tone. If you click the link you'll see what happens when you use something darker. If you're not sure you might want to consider a trial-size pot.

The Space Ranger box of 30 models, if I remember correctly was orginally released in the early 1990's for $20 U.S.

Many used them for Orks in Eavy or Mega armor because of the lack of GW availability at the time...

I heard another company had purchased the molds and re-released them...

Looks good!

WingWong wrote:I think he looks really nice... Just ordered a set and gonna try 'im

Just gotta find a good dip in UK - is it a very dark tone?

Cheers

Where did you order them from?

www.em4miniatures.com is where you can get the minis now. They are 5 for 2.50 UK

I'm not sure where you can get them in the US now. Mine were part of an older release.

Witterquick wrote:www.em4miniatures.com is where you can get the minis now. They are 5 for 2.50 UK

I'm not sure where you can get them in the US now. Mine were part of an older release.

Thank you

Interesting model and nice clean paint job. I could see some being used in renegade forces perhaps.

I use them for DH SS squads