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I'm not home atm, but I'm kinda plannin for when I am (tomorrow evenin')

If I use the GW airbrush to basecoat a model, say Knarloc green, do I still have to undercoat it first, or will this do?

How good a coverage does Iyanden darksun have over above mentioned knarloc green? is my hope for full cover a bit too much to hope for?

When you guys use the GW washes, do you dillute it with water?

Can the GW airbrush be used with the GW washes?

Thanks!

//Calle

Normally the foundation paints sticks to models well enough , for display models you shouldnt need undercoat .
However if you game often and it'll get touched / bumped / abused alot , i would say undercoat them just to be extra safe.
Iyanden darksun should cover the green easily .
I dont dilute my washes with water unless im using it to shade part of a very light color.

Okay, so. One at a time:

If I use the GW airbrush to basecoat a model, say Knarloc green, do I still have to undercoat it first, or will this do?

Are you meaning do you have to prime the model black, white, or gray before putting down the Knarloc Green?
Because if that's what you're asking... you ALWAYS prime a model before basecoating. Always. It ensures that the basecoat will stick better, and ensures a good, solid coverage over the bare metal/plastic.

How good a coverage does Iyanden darksun have over above mentioned knarloc green? is my hope for full cover a bit too much to hope for?

It should have a good coverage, to be frank. I don't see why it wouldn't. However, I'd have to know what you're trying to accomplish(is the Darksun being used as a highlight for the Knarloc Green? Are you using it as a cloth color or the like?) in order to better answer.

When you guys use the GW washes, do you dilute it with water?

Not really. You can use it just fine straight from the pot, and watering it down even a little bit can cause it to pool oddly. However, don't put water into the actual pot of wash. When your brush is loaded with the wash, just barely dip it into a cup of water.

Can the GW airbrush be used with the GW washes?

Probably. I wouldn't suggest it though, washes tend to be a bit difficult to really get to work with an airbrush. The whole point of a wash is to sink into the crevices and bring out the shading that way, but spraying it on might lead to some weird pooling effects on the models.

Ah, couldn't find this untill i searched through my profile, well, ya live and learn.

I'm hoping to use the gw airbrush to speed up the process in which I paint my orks.

My process is like this ATM

Black undercoat.
Iyanden darksun on all skin parts.
Knarloc green on the cloth.
snakebite leather on the leater bits.
Mechrite red on the "details" (some on gloves, armbands etc).

As even with a big brush, the knarloc takes time.

step two:
drybrush the Iyanden with sunburst yellow.
highlight the Mechrite with blood red.
Paint the grey boxes of my camoflage, outlined with black.
Paint the booots dark grey
1 green wash on all skin and cloth.
1 additional green wash on all skin.
1 wash of devlan mud on anything not skin.
wash of badab black on the boots



This is step one, which I was hoping to change to:
airbrush Knorloc green.
re-basecoat the skin with Iyanden.

second step change into:
Airbrush of green wash
Paint on the camo pattern
Paint the boots dark grey
snakebite leather on the leater bits.
bestial brown depths to the leather bits
Airbrush of devlan
Mechrite red on the "details"
Brush wash another layer of green wash on the skin.
brush Badab wash the boots.

Or something... I'm hoping to find a way to speed up the process.

Here's an "end result" and middle process pic of what I'm doing...



This takes WAY too much time atm. (without airbrush). I love the end result (though that pic is bad..), but I seriously need to speed up the process.
I don't have much time to paint, and it's taken me three weeks to get 14 shootaboys done (not counting the shootas, which I've dislocated atm...),
which gives the rough estimate of nearly a year to finish a 1k army.

I'm a modeler/converter first and foremost, painting is more of a chore when it takes this long...
I'm open for all suggestions that will speed up the process, without inhibiting on the end result too much...

//Calle

Any process which involves so many steps is going to take a long time.

To really speed up army painting you have to reduce the steps and compromise the number of colours you use.

You should look into magic dip as a technique.

Spray the basecoat in the most predominant colour.
Paint the other colours.
Drybrush highlight on each colour.
Magic dip.
Optional extra highlight by drybrushing.
Final varnish.

Everything won't come out looking like a Golden Demon winner but they will look great en masse on the table.

Reserve the multi-stage painting for the main character figures.

I've looked into "magic dip", specificly the Fanatic army painter line, And come to the conclusion that the GW washes gives a MUCH better result.

I'm using the lightshade FAP dip on my tiny eldar sideshow though.

So, any other suggestions on how to speed up the above process without killing the end result?

I know alot of those steps comes from the camo pattern, but that's kinda unavoidable when going bloodaxe...

//Calle

Magic Dip is using wood or floor varnish to shade and varnish a figure in one go.

http://www.tabletopgamingnews.com/2008/04/19/13713

http://www.fanaticus.org/DBA/guides/Painting/acrylicfloorwash.html

http://www.fanaticus.org/DBA/guides/Painting/paintingstains.html

Various dipping and/or washing methods using coloured varnish, inks, acrylic inks (Devlan Mud) or thinned paints (Payne's Grey) are available. They all work by quickly shading a simple basecoat without doing several layers of highlighting.

http://www.dakkadakka.com/wiki/en/The_Secret_Ingredient:_Paynes_Grey_%28by_Iffy%29

Once you look at all this stuff you'll see there is basically similarity in all the techniques. They all depend on allowing the natural pooling of the dip/wash/ink/varnish to do basic shading for you. The only difference is that the Magic Dip (Miracle Dip) also does the varnishing stage.

The key problem is that you can't get fantastic, Golden Demon results without putting in the time and effort. If you want figures painted quickly you have to cut some corners, and use techniques that get them "good enough for jazz" without a lot of effort.

Dipping works well for organic type figures such as Tyranids and Orks, compared to SMs who have very structured, flat armour which lends itself to hard edge highlighting.