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The past 10 or so years of my modeling and painting have all been with dudes and small scale mechs like battletech. I'm really good at painting mini's. Recently I started to paint my new Rhino's and Pred's for my Space Marines. And I must say, I suck at painting tanks. I can't get the apint to apply smoothly, or if it does apply smoothly it's all multi colored like it is not layering correctly. I'm betting it has to do with my paint to water/flow improver mix and the brush I'm useing. But before I go out and buy new stuff, I'd like some suggestions and technique info that maybe I can try with my current stuff.

What paint mix should I be useing 3/1 paint water 5/1 paint water, etc?

I have a semi large brush, I think it's a gw tank brush. Should I get a bigger brush? This one is about as wide as my thumb and flat.

Do I just go with the even application that is streaky and try applying more layers to build up the color? Or is there a good way to single layer it?

I did use my airbrush on the tanks originaly, but now I am finding that if I miss paint a detail and hit the stuff that is supposed to be the base color, I can't touch it up cause the color comes out too dark so you see a splotch. I have a feeling it is cause of the way the airbrush applied the original base color. So I went back to black prime and am going to do this by hand. Hence all the questions.

Firstly are you undercoating with some spray?

If not, get some. Its quite essential.

if you are then just slap on the first coat with the biggest brush you've got (within reason) don't worry about detail as this can be picked out later with some black.

I usually water my paint down a bit, usually 1:1 or paint 1:2 water depending on the colour.

Pick out details later using a smaller brush and then just highlight and shade away until you get the look you want.

Hope that helps, there are some great tutorials here on Dakka which may help you out if you want to take a look.

Mookie

I see you've primed it black. If you're doing the majority of the model in the same color, you may want to consider primering it in that color instead. It's much easier to pick out the details in black (or grey/white) later.

If you're doing a light or medium color against a black primer (or a dark or medium color against a white primer), you may get some streakiness to it. This is especially true if you're using a gloss primer, as the paint doesn't tend to stick well.

What I find best to do when this happens is to first paint with a very thinned out layer. I try for something just a bit thicker than a wash, usually between a 1:2 to 1:1 paint:water ratio. It will end up having a fogged look to it, with the primer showing through. This gives your following coats something to stick too. After this dries, I go back and add a second layer that is moderately thinned. Usually at this point it will be looking decent, but a third layer may be required.

Whatever you do, I wouldn't recommend adding a very thick single coat. These never go on easily and will give it a lumpy appearance. If you do a search for some "worst model paint" thread, you'll easily find some pictures of people who've put on a very thick single coat.

Your brush sounds more than large enough.

I know it can be frustrating to have to build up multiple layers of the same paint color, but the end result is really worth it.

Also, if you're doing a light or medium color against a black primer, it may pay to have your first coat be a darker shade of the same color. You can also try to build over your existing coat, again using a thinned paint. This not only gives your paint something to stick well too, but it also means any spots you may not get 100% will look more natural, as they will have a shaded look.

Good luck with your tank, and share some pics of your progress. The people here are great about giving tips that really pay off.

I've primed black and the main color is Reaper Deep Red.

Ok so I just need to paint it similar to my marines. Mutliple thin layers with the current brush I have.

I was trying to go on with a bith of a thicker layer and do it with just like 2 layers instead of 3. Thanks for the advice!

I'm doing some Blood Angel vehicles. I prime in brown and then put a layer of Mechrite Red over it with a #4 flat brush, followed by a layer of Red Gore, using the same brush.

Here are the results

Wow that mechite red looks really good. Making me rethink my paint color. I was going for something a bit darker than blood red. So I chose the reaper deep red, but I have been having application issues. And I'm starting to think a change is in order.

Might try out that there mechite.

Mechrite Red is the basecoat (over brown) with Red Gore on top of that. The red gore gives it the nice deep color, but needs the coverage that Mechrite Red provides. Red is a pain to basecoat over black.

Your brown, was it the primer or did you start with black primer?

if brown was your prime, was it spray or brush, and what brand?

Rustoleum Camo Brown. I also use their Camo Green (Imperial Guard) and Camo Khaki (Tau) as primer coats. Here's a comparision of a couple of primer colors I use:



The Space Marines are primed in Rustoleum Camo Brown, the Tau in Rustoleum Sandstone (slight texture to it), the Tyranids in Rustoleum High Heat Almond, and the Deff Dreads in Rustoleum Black.

Hey Ifurita, how did you do the smoke/singed effect on your barrell and around your exhaust vents? Just a black glaze/wash in those selected spots?

I know it sounds lame, but you know, you can always just paint your tank black. Not much layering to worry about, and black always looks good. Add gold highlights and it will be so cool.

Of course, if you have to do a different scheme to match your army, that's another story, but I think the advice given here will help you out.

Any pics of your tank so far?

The black was done with black weathering powders and a makeup brush (stolen from my wife, not mine).

Nah, no pics as of yet. I have not started on him cause I have been pursiing a paint fogging/chalking issue with Reaper's reds the past month.

So I finaly tabled the reds and have decided to try out the above mechite/red gore combo. Going to be a big brighter than I was going for with the brick red/deep red combo from reaper. But I can't work with those paints until they reformulate or fix the foggin problem however it goes.

Ifurita wrote:I'm doing some Blood Angel vehicles. I prime in brown and then put a layer of Mechrite Red over it with a #4 flat brush, followed by a layer of Red Gore, using the same brush.

Here are the results

What did you do to achieve the mud splatter look?

I let my kids take them into the backyard and run them through the mud and then seal it when dried ...







Actually, here's my 'how-to'

http://kan.org/michael/mkp/weathering_mud.php

Ifurita wrote:Rustoleum Camo Brown. I also use their Camo Green (Imperial Guard) and Camo Khaki (Tau) as primer coats.

I second you one using these spray paints. I love them and use their dark brown camo for my orks since an ork is like 60 or 70 percent non-green colors. Plus it allows for red to cover well and works great as a base for rust and dirt.