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I like painting single models - not whole armies. I simply hate the idea of me having to layer and highlight 40+ models. Therefore I haven't completed any of my five thousand armies, but this time I feel better.

After what for me was a lot of experimenting (going through Dark Angels, Salamanders, Imperial Fists, Aurora Chapter and Dark Angels again), I found something that works for me. Here's a quick test model (I know it looks very crude, but I think the idea behind the paintwork will work to some table-topish degree. I imagine the stoic White Scar marines to look very dirty within about 35 seconds after they've been deployed on the battlefield anyway. This is also a model that was painted in dark green before, and that explains the clumped paint and rough edges... That's it for disclaimers!):



Here's the very easy way to paint White Scars:

1. Superglue the model to a large screw.

2. Spray with white primer (I used Army Painter Matte White).

3. "Attach" the screw (with the model glued on) to a power drill.

4. Dip the whole model in Army Painter Quick Shade Dark Tone.

5. Give it a few rounds with the power drill (I did it into a large jar so as to not get shade everywhere).

6. Immediately after dipping, clean the flat areas of the marine with an old brush. This has to be done quite quickly so you can take advantage of the fact that the brush will "suck up" the small blobs of quick shade that has collected in the recesses of the model. I also try to remove all the quick shade from detailled areas like knee and elbow joints, that will be completely covered by other colours. Afterwards, let the model dry for at least 12 hours. Be very careful to avoid touching the model. The slightest touch will leave fingerprints!

7. Give the model a light spray of matte varnish. Only give it enough to remove the "glossy-ness", or you'll start to ruin the details of the model.

8. Drybrush the whole model with Praxeti White. How much drybrushing is needed depends on how "clean" you want the model to look.

9. If you wan't the model to look even cleaner, you can layer and highlight with very, very thinned down white paint.

That's it.

Here's a picture of my first small batch of marines, taken just after the dipping-step:



Feel very free to leave harsh critique, and I'm sorry for my bad english!

That looks very impressive and quick too, I'll be following your progress with these guys.

Thank you for your kind words, GiraffeX! I really, really hope that there'll be something to follow here!

I looked through my marine collection and found what ever I can use for my army. I read somewhere that you can use break fluid to strip paint from models, so here we go!



I really hope this works! I tested it on one model to see if the plastic would melt, but it looks promising after the model has been in the fluid for 12 hours. No details has gone yet...

Simple green works well, but softens green stuff. Biggest advantage is that it is not nearly as nasty as break fluid and smells so much better.

Good job finding a way to get your army painted in a hurry. Still seeking a quick way to paint my nids. My Marines get painted fast but have a more detailed paint scheme, go figure.

@barnowl: Thanks for the answer! I've always envied my tyranid-playing friend because he just can paint his models like this:



(Spray white or bone, basecoat chitin with maybe one highlight or drybrush and then, finally wash whole model with sepia- or Agrax Earthshade (and maybe an extra wash of the weapon and tongue with purple or other colour)).

Look forward to seeing more of your work, looking good so far!

That's pretty nice. This is how I go about painting all-white models.

1. Spray white
2. Payne's grey wash
3. Layer white

Results something like this:-

@ Davylove21: Your method is potentially much better (and the model in your picture looks really great by the way), but I just can't get myself to do that much layering on 40+ models... I wish I could, though!

So, the models have left the Bath of Brake Fluid. Almost all the models I stripped had at least two, and some of them even four, layers of paint on them, so after two hours of scrubbing (beats moldline-removal), I am very satisfied with the result!

While most came out perfectly plastic grey, some still have a green look, but it doesn't look like there's a layer of paint on them. It is as if the plastic changed hue... Strange!

I accidentally put some Forge World bits in there as well, but luckily they survived. They were very soft when I took them out of the fluid, as if I had warmed them up, but the details hadn't changed, and after some time they hardened again.

I scrubbed the worst off after 12 hours, and then put them back into the bath and left them for another 12 hours.




Automatically Appended Next Post:
First batch done:

Next: Rhino-painting! Or suicide by flying tank.

I have to go on a two week long holiday from tomorrow, so I'll have to wait a bit till I can experiment further on the Rhino. Today, I got almost all of the models needed for my first 750 points dipped:

Just a little update. Today I've been working on this big guy:

The terminators looking ace so far, I must have missed your last batch of bolter guys they really do capture the White Scars paint scheme perfectly.