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Hi there folks!

Once again I have decided to collect the venerated Death Korps...but this time I have the money to do so!

So, to start off I need to know where I can get a good quality, but relatively cheap Airbrush that I can paint ALL of my Kriegers with, and also where I can get decent paints to paint them with.

Then I would like some tips and tricks to collecting and painting a Forge World army. I litteraly have no idea what I'm doing, all I know is to prepare them similar to how you would finecast, and to not mess up the painting XD

Thanks in advance guys (And gals),

LazzurusMan

LazzurusMan wrote:Hi there folks!

Then I would like some tips and tricks to collecting and painting a Forge World army.

LazzurusMan

Be original, nothing is more boring then seeing a finely caste army painted in drone with everybody Else's. Also spend some time to customize a squad or two, try avoid similar looking models at all costs.

Oh, I will be making as many little adjustments as possible to make them unique...I'll also be painting them in snow colours to go with the display board at my local gaming club

As far as the airbrush goes....there are literally dozens of those threads....look in the forum here (a new one pops up about every four days it seems).

On the krieg - one of my buddies is going that route, and using a mix of forgeworld and other company models (if you look around you can find em). Personally, if you can afford it and have the patience, I would stick with the forgeworld troops, as they are just far superior in quality.

One note; what ever paint scheme you go wtih, practice it on some metal minis first - they are MUCH easier to strip and repaint than any resin or plastic.
(maybe practice with some old steel legion guys).

best of luck!

Cheers Dave

I'll have a look at some of the other airbrush threads, and as for practicing on old metal models, if I can find it I have a giant box of old DE and Rohan stuff I can ruin


LazzurusMan

Also with FW models, clean them very throughoutly before doing anything with them to remove the casting release agent or your paint willjust fall off in flakes if it even sticks at all.
Soak them in slightly warm water and soap, a strong one and scrub them clean with a soft toothbrush or something akin to that.

Last fw model I had I left overnight in slightly warm soapy water then I dried it thoroughly, paint went on like a charm


Anyone know of a good way I could paint them for snow combat?


LazzurusMan

The usual winter camo schemes will look out of place on greatcoats. For the troops, proper basing and weathering will likely give the bulk of the impression, so simply stick to color ranges that you think would work practically with a winter warzone and aesthetically with your basing. There's plenty of info out there on WWI uniforms to serve as inspiration. I've seen some very attractive blue-grey schemes on Krieg that work well with snow/mud basing.

Since you're looking into getting an airbrush, the hairspray method would allow you to get some potentially very cool and equally realistic worn whitewash effects. While mostly useful for armor in the "tank" sense, applying the same effect to the helmets/armor plates of troops would likely look quite snazzy, as well as helping to drive home the theme. With the greater prevalence of armor in WWII, you're likely better off looking for reference material that period, instead, if you need it. Luckily, there's plenty of info on the topic specifically aimed at modelers.

Awesome

You couldn't possibly explain or point me in the direction to some of the airbrush techniques you mentioned, or any others that could be useful?


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Just had a look on google images...and apparently they didn't change the uniforms for winter in any way in ww1...so in theory if I can find a nice looking scheme...and combine that with winter weathering...they'd look right

Pretty much. You'll see cold weather gear vs. warm weather, of course (I know I wouldn't want to wear a wool overcoat in the summer), but camouflaged uniforms for troops weren't yet in vogue. Even in WWII, lots of appropriate colors were used in clothing (browns, greys, olive, etc.), but not usually arranged in disruptive patterns.

As far as the airbrush techniques, I couldn't find any specific to worn whitewash winter camo, after an admittedly brief search, that actually showed the whole process, tutorial style. I know I've seen them, but I can't recall where. Everything I have on hand is in PDFs of old modeling books and magazine articles. There's plenty to be found on the hairspray method, more generally, though. It's frequently used in conjunction with coarse salt for paint chipping effects, but the salt only acts as a mask - you can still make use of the process without it.

Basically, the idea is to paint your model normally, then seal it with varnish. Over the top, you spray a few layers of hairspray and let them dry. Over that, you spray your white camouflage. After that dries, you take a stiff brush and some warm water, applying it to areas you want to chip. The water softens the underlying hairspray, allowing you to physically rub and chip away at the whitewash, realistically emulating wear and tear, at scale. Search for a few of the easier to find (salt and) hairspray chipping tutorials and you'll get the basic concept down in no time.

Cheers for that oadie
I'll definitely have a look round dakka and the interwebs when I get a chance.
Any tips on making good snow flock or where I can find some? A friend of mine has used bicarbonate of soda and some GW flock...but it came out like icing...or more accurately, like plaster!

I'd pass on GW flock; it appears to be white static grass - not very snow-like. Woodland Scenics is a safe bet, but I'm sure other companies have decent offerings, too. I haven't done army-wide snow basing, yet, but I've experimented with baking soda (sodium bicarb) to that eventual end. I've found that the result depends largely on the ratio of the mix and the method of application.

If you mix the two into a slurry and smear/paint it on, it'll probably look a bit like cake icing. If you go lighter on the glue, though, and mix thoroughly, you'll essentially just coat the grains, which gives you clumpier snow that can be teased and crushed into place (sounds abusive, but it really works ). Much more realistic for churned up, icier snow.

For drifts, mix up a stiff icing-like mix, spread it on and sculpt your drifts, then sprinkle some fresh baking soda over the top - the grainy top layer will give the whole thing a fluffier appearance.

Finally, if you go heavy on the PVA, the patch will dry translucent and slightly glossy - perfect for representing partially melted snow. Laying down patches of that with a daub of a denser mix on top of each one looks great for late winter scenes, or for trenches, non-iced water features, muddy road borders, etc. where you want a melted snow border.

If you seal over the top, matte or satin will give you a fluffier appearance, while gloss will look wetter, if applied over translucent mixes, or icier, if applied over a dense drift.

Baking soda and PVA are cheap, so I'd suggest playing around with mixes and laying them down on some scrap card. If you find something you like, you can use it. If not, buy some flock and try mixes using that. Or just buy the flock outright, if you're worried about baking soda yellowing over time. My test patches have been sitting around for nearly a year, now, with no issue, but I can't say whether they'll stay pristine forever. Mixing a bit of white paint into your mix is the usual remedy, but it can change the look of more translucent mixes, slightly.

Cheers again Oadie

Now to scour the internet for a cheap yet decent airbrush and post my SW army in the swap shop


LazzurusMan


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Okay...after a very short search on the net I found the AB model 130 and 180...anyone got any experience with these?

Also..if I went really cheap and bought the Humbrol airbrush, would that work?

Have you searched Dakka for beginner/choosing an airbrush threads, yet? There are a ton in P&M - the question gets asked at least weekly, it seems. The Master G44 is a popular suggestion for a budget brush that has all the bells and whistles (double action, gravity feed, MAC valve, range of available needle/nozzle sizes). The Deluxe Airbrush kit from Harbor Freight is about as cheap as it gets, but people have had mixed results (it's double action, but a siphon feed, and you have to contend with HF's spotty quality control and ever changing manufacturers/suppliers).

More generally, the cheapest brushes tend to be single action siphon feeds. Not all spray like absolute crap, though - one with a large needle/nozzle that has received good reviews might be a worthwhile investment for priming, varnishing, basecoating entire models, painting terrain, etc. For even remotely detailed model work, though, double action gravity feeds with moderately fine needles/nozzles are recommended.

I'll take a look, cheers

LazzurusMan


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Hmm...after reading a few posts in P&M...It seems an airbrush might be out of my price range...at least one decent enough to paint Death korps is...anyone know of any painting techniques that could work using a brush?


LazzurusMan


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As for a colour scheme...do you guys think this will work if I try painting it instead of drybrushing it?

--Gallery:2011/8/23/262368_sm.jpg--


LazzurusMan


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http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TOP-END-AIRBRUSH-COMPRESSOR-AS18-NEW-AIR-BRUSH-KIT-/380296526063?pt=UK_Crafts_DrawingSupplies_EH&hash=item588b7078ef#ht_8336wt_1195


Just found that on Ebay, if any of you know about Airbrushes and could tell me if that's worth paying for, it would be greatly appreciated. If not...then could you point someone that does in this direction?

Cheers,
LazzurusMan

Check your gallery link - you want to copy+paste the text in the box labeled "forum" for us to be able to see the image.

As for the airbrush you linked, both the siphon feed brush and the compressor look decidedly similar to Harbor Freight's offerings (the brush being the last generation - the packaging is arranged slightly differently in the current iteration). There's a lot of re-branding that goes on, so I wouldn't be surprised if you'd be getting the same stuff under a different name. If that is the case, at least the compressor is decent, for a tankless model. There's a bit of pulsation, but adding an inline moisture trap (acts as a miniature air tank, while further drying the air in the line) and extending the hose length can help. I can get mine to put out a steady 45-50 PSI, which is more than you should ever need, although it does heat up faster under that sort of load, as well as getting a bit jumpier (neither to the point of serious concern, I just try not to work the thing too hard).

Honestly, though, I'm just a well-read novice when it comes to airbrushing - I haven't fully sorted out all the issues with my brush to the point that I've started working on technique. I'll let people with more experience weigh in further on your options.

Hmm...I can't find the bit you're on about...but if you check my Gallery you can find my old Dkok Commissar I painted up...badly...

Here's what you're looking for when linking to gallery pics within a thread. You posted "--Gallery:2011/8/23/262368_sm.jpg-- " which is the code to embed an image in an article, not a forum post.

So, this is the guy you were talking about?

That could definitely work, but I was personally imagining something even lighter. Really, I should've just went to the gallery in the first place - I found a bunch of images to demonstrate what I was talking about at various points.

First, here's a light grey scheme that's been misted or drybrushed (hard to tell) with white to represent active snowfall and bitter cold:


Actually having the troops gear up specifically for winter can definitely look good, though, and help drive home the winter theme:


Finally, an example of the chipped whitewash effect on a tank:


And a closeup, where you can see how a jagged mask (like coarse salt) can come in handy:


Hopefully these have clarified a few of my suggestions, as well as provided a bit of general inspiration.

I LOVE that grey...it's actually what I was trying to get with the commissar!