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Hey all, I'm new to this whole deal and was looking towards this community for some help, tips, and guidance. I just assembled the warriors for the most part, and am planning on doing their bases tonight. Does anyone have any suggestions or words of wisdom they can pass along before I dive headfirst into furthering this process? Here's a shot of how they stand now.



Thanks,
Jano

Prehaps undercoat them before you do the bases, otherwise painting will be more difficult.

It depends on how you are wanting the bases and wat colour of primer you are using.

If the bases are going to be dark sand or similar then glues the sand onto the bases, then primer them. OPTIONAL: Seal the sand with watered down PVA(I myself do this).

If they are going to be on a grassland with rocks and stuff then glue only the rocks and such down, do not glue the grass on.

Its pretty much a case of:

If the bases are going to be dark and you are using black spray, glue the sand/stuff to the base, seal sand if applicable, then paint everything, then glue flock/snow stuff on the base.

If however you are doing dark bases with a white primer then glue the sand on after the primer and hand coat the sand.

A bit of advice I was give, which I dont use, is that the bases should contrast the model so dark model = light base, light model - dark base.

If this made sence then please say so, as i feel iv rambled a bit lol.

DJano wrote:Hey all, I'm new to this whole deal and was looking towards this community for some help, tips, and guidance. I just assembled the warriors for the most part, and am planning on doing their bases tonight. Does anyone have any suggestions or words of wisdom they can pass along before I dive headfirst into furthering this process? Here's a shot of how they stand now.



Thanks,
Jano

First, I'd suggest doing what Lokir says. You don't really want to do the bases outside of after undercoating and painting the models themselves. It takes a bit of practice, but you can with a really cheap brush or a toothpick apply PVA glue(Elmer's white glue--or whatever the school glue people use these days in the liquid form is) to the base and then dip it in the flocking material. Let the glue dry, then shake off the excess flock back into the container and you have very little waste.
Second: make sure you've cleaned off all the mold lines from the models and the attachment points. They tend to draw attention towards themselves once a model is painted and it always makes you feel like kicking yourself afterwards.
Third: Did you know that you can, in fact, create your own album here on Dakka and upload your photos there? There's no big deal of using Photobucket or the like, but Dakka itself loves getting more and more attention for the galleries. Even if it's simple work in progress stuff like your photo is--it's a big deal and contributes quite a bit.

Now, as for painting schemes: what do you have in mind?

Thanks for the help guys! I'll be sure to do the undercoats first. I'm planning on going with the white, and then making the cloth a light red and the armor a gray with white highlights.

Before I do the undercoat I plan on gluing the arms on, but how will this affect using the white spray paint? I know its quick bursts of the paint from multiple angles, but will this get behind the guns/arms?

And from now on I'll use Dakka's albums, I wasn't aware I could do that, thank you!

DJano wrote:Thanks for the help guys! I'll be sure to do the undercoats first. I'm planning on going with the white, and then making the cloth a light red and the armor a gray with white highlights.

Braver soul than I am. Light red and gray/white is definitely asking for some issues when you get to painting the vehicles. Striking color scheme though.

Before I do the undercoat I plan on gluing the arms on, but how will this affect using the white spray paint? I know its quick bursts of the paint from multiple angles, but will this get behind the guns/arms?

It should get behind the guns/arms, yes.

Before you do the primer coat though, I'd suggest a little trick that I use for when I prime models that I need to rotate. Save bottle caps from soda bottles, or anything with a plastic bottle cap. Take a pin vice or a really fine finishing nail and drive it through the top of it and attach it to a pen with the inkwell on the inside removed and the tip removed as well. Use a bit of painter's tape and set it up so that the model sticks onto the top of the cap, with the nail hanging down and a hole in the pen's cap so the nail fits snugly--but can be removed from the cap by just pulling the pen down.

It will give you something to be able to hold onto and rotate the models as you spray them. If you just put the nail in each bottle cap you've saved so you don't need to really handle the model, you'll be set for life on the smaller stuff.

And from now on I'll use Dakka's albums, I wasn't aware I could do that, thank you!

Looking forward to seeing some progress from you.

We'll be watching.

If you're using sand: glue it on first, then prime everything.

If you're just using flock/grass: save it for last.

Also, if you haven't put the arms on yet, I've found that using sticky-tack to fit them first is helpful. There is nothing worse than getting the arms on and then realizing they are in bizarre positions. Using the sticky-tack can help you try out different arm combinations and see what they look like before committing to gluing.

As for spraying primer, I've seen many people, including pros, starting the spray while the nozzle is directly facing the model. A better way to do it is to start the spray to the side of the model, then drag it over. This can prevent thick build up.

Nectorprime wrote:

I've seen many people, including pros, starting the spray while the nozzle is directly facing the model. A better way to do it is to start the spray to the side of the model, then drag it over.

Option 1 doesn't seem very pro in my opinion, it risks getting the dried paint particles mixed into the fresh primer on the model. I would strongly advise against that approach. Option 2 is fine, however.

AesSedai wrote:

Nectorprime wrote:

I've seen many people, including pros, starting the spray while the nozzle is directly facing the model. A better way to do it is to start the spray to the side of the model, then drag it over.

Option 1 doesn't seem very pro in my opinion, it risks getting the dried paint particles mixed into the fresh primer on the model. I would strongly advise against that approach. Option 2 is fine, however.

Exactly.

After a bout with some technological difficulties (my motherboard on my desktop died, my laptop got a virus that wiped it clean and I had to reformat, and my cell phone/camera broke) I managed to fix two of the three, as well as continue my work on my Fire Warrior Squad. I ended up purchasing a Tau Battleforce and adding another 12 warriors to the original twelve. I'm still not very far along, but I plan on taking up the majority of my night trying to figure out how to do this whole painting thing.

Here's all 24 warriors primed with Citadel Skull White.


That's with no iPhone flash.


And with iPhone flash.

Is one better than the other? I plan on hooking up a lamp tonight anyways, maybe that will help the pictures turn out better, too?

Comments and criticisms appreciated!

Imo none are better than the other.

However if you want to get really good pics then invest in a decent camera, even a £100 with a Macro feature would do.

I tend to hate taking group shots of 5+ minatures, they never look good imo but yours look pretty decent.

Here is a good article about photographing your models.

http://www.dakkadakka.com/wiki/en/Debunking_the_Myths_of_Miniature_Photography