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IronfrontAlex wrote:Is airbrushing worth the effort with marines?

Airbrushing is great for applying base colours quickly and easily. I spent forever trying to get a good orange spray paint to do my Eldar before getting an airbrush and compressor and being able to litereally spray 5,000 points whatever colour orange I wanted in a couple of hours.

Thus if you are wanting to paint your marines a colour that does not have its own spraypaint it saves a lot of time and effort and doesn't leave you with the problems of brush marks, uneven paint, etc. Plus it is much quicker. I can spray an individual infantry model in about 30 seconds. The paint also tends to dry a lot faster.

Well I paint Orks and I pretty much go...

1. Undercoat with black.
2. Coat all the skin with dark angels green.
3. Dry brush the skin with snot green.
4. Coat the weapons in chain mail silver.
5. Dry brush the weapons with Tin Bitz.
6. Coat the armor in Tin Bitz.
7. Dry brush the armor with chain mail silver
8. Detail the weapons and armour.
9. Paint all cloth catachan green.
10. Paint all leather a light brown.
11. Detail the leather, weapons.
12. Detail the face, eyes, teeth. etc.

I have one such list for every scheme I paint, so I don't forget stuff, as that is annoying.

This is the basic one for my marines:

Base colour: Luftwaffe Camo Green
Eyes (lenses on weapons, too): red gore, baal red, blood red, white dot
Scouts: drybrush pants with earth then khaki then bone
Shading Ink: Flesh Wash
Highlight: Camo Green
khaki+bone mix: shoulder pad inlays
earth thinned down: shoulder pad inlay recesses, parchments
bone: parchment stuff, highlights on shoulder pads
Black – soft armour, shoulder pad trim, backpack, helmet stripe and bolter
calthan brown: leather parts, bags and such
boltgun metal – soft armour and bolter, grenades and backpack
glorious gold – gold bits ( mostly on leaders)
yellow olive – frag grenades
cold grey – chest eagle, skulls, highlights on shoulder pad trim and weapon
badab black – metal parts on weapon, eagle and skulls, frag grenades
drybrush/highlight leather parts snakebite leather?
gryphonne sepia – gold parts
white highlights on chest eagle (drybrush) and shoulder pads (inlay, top)
polished gold – highlights on gold bits
gory red: seals, chapter badge, krak grenades
black: tactical markings, seal texts, repairs
baal red: seals
blood red: seal, seal texts
khaki+bone mix: squad number, repairs
luftwaffe camo green: repairs
Faces: bronzed flesh, two layers, flesh wash, bronzed flesh again, then tiny highlights with elf flesh; note to self: needs trying a different approach

SilverMK2 wrote:

IronfrontAlex wrote:Is airbrushing worth the effort with marines?

Airbrushing is great for applying base colours quickly and easily. I spent forever trying to get a good orange spray paint to do my Eldar before getting an airbrush and compressor and being able to litereally spray 5,000 points whatever colour orange I wanted in a couple of hours.

Thus if you are wanting to paint your marines a colour that does not have its own spraypaint it saves a lot of time and effort and doesn't leave you with the problems of brush marks, uneven paint, etc. Plus it is much quicker. I can spray an individual infantry model in about 30 seconds. The paint also tends to dry a lot faster.

only good red one i know of is armypainter.

IronfrontAlex wrote:Is airbrushing worth the effort with marines?

Depends on how many you are painting. If you are doing a 10+ model unit or a very large model then Airbrushing your primer, foundation, and primary color can save you lots of time.

I wouldn't say its extra effort, just extra investment.

Peter Wiggin wrote:

IronfrontAlex wrote:Is airbrushing worth the effort with marines?

Depends on how many you are painting. If you are doing a 10+ model unit or a very large model then Airbrushing your primer, foundation, and primary color can save you lots of time.

I wouldn't say its extra effort, just extra investment.

you half-sold me. Once i find A:armypainter red and B:a suitable spray device i'll be in

Dark Eldar warrior.
(Sub)assembly.
Apply basing material.
Grey prime on assembled legs+torso+head
Grey prime on assembled rifle holding arms.
Shadowing/pot-holing with chaos black
[flesh basecoat and wash]
Basecoat on bodysuit
Highlight(s) on bodysuit.
Basecoat on Armour.
Wash/ink on armour and body suit (conveniently same colour)
Basecoat on pouches, loincloth, gun and armour secondary.
Wash/ink on armor secondary, loincloth, pouches and gun (conveniently same colour)
Highlight(s) on armour secondary, armour and everything else, including flesh if present.
Metallics inc. wash and single highlight.
eyes if appropriate. (only on helmeted models)
Basing paint.
I dont approve of using a wash as a finishing touch, is cheating in my eyes

IronfrontAlex wrote:Any tips of "painting within the lines"? I always end up getting one color or another on something i didin't mean to, leaved me touching up the mini between each stage!

Lighting - Get a good, bright light. Not a desktop lamp as the colour of the bulb doesn't help. Better light really makes the world of difference when you're picking out details. Try looking at a primed mini under a few different lights and see for yourself.

Paint flow. Like a blunt knife, you're more likely to have an accident when your paint is too thick or thin. It's not an exact science, so grab a test mini and play around with consistency. Usually, you just need to let a GW paint down a little before you can push it around. A paint with good consistency will flow better. You won't need to make any over brush strokes on a detail, just gently apply the brush and the paint will flow onto it. Gentle nudges will spread it across the surface better than brush strokes.

Brush load. They need a lot less than you'd think, especially with good consistency. When I paint, I load my paint up and my brush looks as if the bristles are coloured. I can still see them, and the paint isn't pooling on the brush. It might look wierd, but there's plenty there. Paint on a brush lives in the resevoir behind the point. It flows to the point as the paint is applied. PAINT DOES NOT LIVE ON THE POINT!

Pacing - Take your time. Nuff said, it's not a race. Unless it is. erm.

Enhance! - Get a helping hand - a solder tool. Cheap as chips. grasp model in the clips (naturally by the base, or whatever you hold it with when you paint). You can see the minute detail through the glass. get a 2x/3x and watch in wonder as the fine detail brush dots the pupils in the eye!

After a few uses, you'll have a better grasp of where stuff is and how to apply paint to it, and you will use it less, which is good. Break it out again for anything new and unfamiliar and use as before.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rolson-Tools-60335-Helping-Magnifying/dp/B001BMSBD4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1299230820&sr=8-2


As for the airbrush - This series is a must watch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQE1yTwjaGY&feature=related