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ok so they are as follows

1. Are primers and GW spray paints the same thing? As im really confused by it

2. Iv decided to use Necron Abyss as the basecoat (after primer/spray) for my (soon to be) Tau army but need helping choosing colours to go with it for highlights etc.

3. Basing. Atm iv got some of the GW Static Grass (looks like it even tho the tub says Gravel ) but not sure whether to use it or just get some of the Gravel/Sand.

4. From pervious experience with metallic paints they sometimes clump and produce a very nasty look (lookin at my Shining Gold ) anyway to stop it clumping??

Any help would be appreciated


http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?catId=cat470012a&prodId=prod810847
^^^ Link To GW Necron Abyss for people wanting to see it

Edit: To add smilies and ask new question

Primers are what you apply first to bare plastic or metal. It provides a bit of a rough surface for following layers of paint to stick on. The same paint will also look different over dark or light primer so figure out what color you want to use for whatever purpose and stick with it.

Brotherjulian wrote: Primers are what you apply first to bare plastic or metal. It provides a bit of a rough surface for following layers of paint to stick on. The same paint will also look different over dark or light primer so figure out what color you want to use for whatever purpose and stick with it.

ah right cool, so the GW spray works fine then. As for colour im probly gonna use black as i want my basecoat to turn a lil darker, not overly sure if tht works with foundation paints. shall see tho

Actually, the GW sprays aren't primer. They're just spray paint. Primer is specially formulated to bond to the metal/plastic you spray it onto, and prevents chipping and peeling of paint as it provides a much better surface for paint to adhere to. Spray paint won't do that.

Yeah, you definitely want black undercoat for necron abyss. To highlight it, I'd start with mordian blue, then either ultramarines or enchanted blue, depending on weather you want a more subdued or vibrant tone. Final highlight, just mix space wolves grey into whichever blue you used before that.

Oh, and be aware that you will have to mix necron abyss really thoroughly or it will come out as a glossy black with blue marbling.

ah right thanks for the replies so far both Q1 and 2 answered

1. no

3. Don't use it alone, bases look like a football field afterwards

4. Thinner coats with base color (like yellow for gold)

1: No they are not, GW spray is paint, either Chaos Black or White. Back in the day they made an actual primer it worked good, so they discontinued it. In general, you use white primer if you are useing either lighter colors; think pastels, or your useing brighter colors. Grey primer will give you a more natural look. Black primer works great if you want a darker model. I tend to use mostly white, but I paint in a very bright style.

2: Choseing highlight colors is kind of difficult with the GW range of colors, it can be done. Generally I recommend going a shade lighter for the highlight or dry brushing color and a shade darker for the wash color. This meens you may have to get a few different colors and mix them together to obtain that perfect color your looking for.

3: GW baseing materials work really well, I perticularly like their gravel, as it has alot of viriaty in it. I would try and steer you away from useing just static grass to base your model, its hard to get the effect your looking for with just static grass alone and in many cases it can look cheesy. What I would suggest is basecoating the base with Moradin Brown, then useing some kind of gravel over that, once its all dry go back with the static grass and but a few patches of the grass on the base.

4: As far as metallic paints clumping, I've never really had a problem with them, but then I thin all of my paints with water. Its always a good idea to thin your paints, especially GW paints, as they tend to dry and thicken in the pot rather quickly.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the reply

in regards to the primer/spray, ill prbly stick with a black spray. all im after is tabletop quality so primer isnt that big of an issue. plus ive never had a problem with just spray before.

the washes, highlights and drybrushin is a dauntin task atm....never had much experience using them apart from a tharka green wash over scorp green

i do admit my baseing looks overly simple, so yea ill fork the extra £5 or so for the sand and try use the spare grass that iv got for detailing

most of my paints now have started to clump together i will most likely fork out £10-16 on replacing them and try not leave them standing for so long (wernt used in like 3 years lol) as for thinning the paints i never have done that, not overly sure if it has had an effect on my models(might have, i always put it down to my bad painting lol)