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I think I need some advice - I have finished the foundation layers on my army but I am unsure as to how to make them look a bit more "realistic"

So far the troopers have the fatigues in Calthan Brown with the body armour and helmets in Hormagaunt Purple, the LR is just all-over Hormagaunt Purple and the aquila's are white. This is mid-base colours.




They look a bit too "flat" to me but I am unsure as to what colour / colours to go over them with to make them look better (the LR especially). My army has a bit of a steampunk-style theme to it so I want to make them all look a bit grimy and battered.

What would be the best way to do this??

For the purple; a directed wash (ie you just let it into the recesses, brush it away from the main part of the surfaces. You need only a little wash on your brush) with black (badab black or thinned nuln oil). You'll find the purple wash (leviathan purple) moves the tone a lot. Highlight by adding a little light grey into the purple.

For the brown, a thin all-over wash of devlan mud, then highlight again with Calthan brown, then add a touch of bleached bone for highlighting,

It looks like you're painting on bare plastic. You'll find this makes getting a good look difficult, as it is hard to get into the deep recesses. This is where a black undercoat works well (as the black is a non-offensive colour for unpainted parts).

Yeah, prime your minis, it'll make painting them much easier!

I agree with winterdyne, use a devlan mud wash on the clothes to give them depth (but since GW doesn't produce devlan mud anymore, get vallejos "strong tone".... I think it's the same stuff)

Also, try weathering your armor. The models will look much more realistic with some weathering on them!

MrMerlin wrote:

I agree with winterdyne, use a devlan mud wash on the clothes to give them depth (but since GW doesn't produce devlan mud anymore, get vallejos "strong tone".... I think it's the same stuff)

Or agrax earthshade which is also almost the same

Pretty much my first attempt at serious painting so I appreciate any advice!

I was considering using a white primer for the models rather than black to lighten the colour slightly.

Do I need to add layer colours or should I just highlight the foundation colour?

Bit unsure as to exactly what a directed wash is, being pretty much a novice painter, models I have built up to now have been Airfix kits that have only had basic colours added (ie camo paintjobs or solid colours) so might have to be a bit more specific with me as I'm still really learning!

i found reading the how to paint miniture book by games workshop very helpful when i first started painting i would recomend reading it if you ca get a copy i have the old one rather than the new more expencive one