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Hey guys, I just finished my Bjorn and I am rather happy with him. However, he is lacking a worn look, not done it with my other units, but he needs it. I was looking to add a pigment possibly? Was wondering, but no idea where to start, just need one that is a general worn look? Am I able to see it with Vallejo matte finish?

Any other advice on best way to weather something? My only concern is him looking to different to the rest of my army.

Beat start would be to varnish the mini. Start experimenting and just wipe the excess

Cheers bud, where is the best place to go for pigments? FW or another company? Any recommendations?

Recommendations on a specific pigment would be appreciated.

Worn is a very vague term? Do you mean worn clothing? Then is that leather? Cloth? Armour? Pigment powders are mainly used to weather or dirty items rather than give a worn effect, which is usually done through the painting process.


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Mig make the best pigments in my opinion. Theres also ak interactive, humbrol amongst many others. The ones to get depend on the effect you want.

I got (Burn Umber) and (Ancient Green Earth) 100g jars from https://www.earthpigments.com/
It is Arizona based company I believe. Very cheap, pure, powdered pigments.

Have to just work the pigment into whatever driver you will use, and good to go.

One point though on the natural pigments, they are very very powdery, And contain heavy metals, oxidations and minerals. DO NOT breathe any of it! Get mask!

i started by making my own using chalk pastels & a spice grinder.

 bubber wrote:
i started by making my own using chalk pastels & a spice grinder.

You could also just keep them in stick form and scrape whatever you need at a time. i know a lot of modelers do that.

Also get some graphite powder.

best weathering powder for metal and tracks. also pencils for edge highlighting.

I recently made my own pigments from hard pastels that you get in a craft shop. I just happened to get a set that were earth colours which I've ground up and put into empty paint pots.

It's definitely something you should try first to get a feel for what you like in terms of weathering your model. After that, invest in the proper powders and pigments, they're much better and will give you a guaranteed effect.

Secret Weapon Miniatures also make some good stuff. Them and Mig are pretty top notch.

MIG is in the top position when it comes to pigments and washes.
they have a big selection as they are aimed towards military model builders/painters.

I have some Secret Weapon Miniatures pigments, but I don't yet know how what to use to fix it when applied.

 Dreadclaw69 wrote:
I have some Secret Weapon Miniatures pigments, but I don't yet know how what to use to fix it when applied.

After painting, applying decals, static tuff, before static grass, matte varnishing. You apply it with a dry brush on areas you think it needs a slight weathering like dirt around the boots, bike wheels, tank tracks, exhausts, weapon nozzles etc. It essentially adds another layer/depth to your model where paint cannot achieve. Think of it like girls make up.

 Big Mac wrote:

 Dreadclaw69 wrote:
I have some Secret Weapon Miniatures pigments, but I don't yet know how what to use to fix it when applied.

After painting, applying decals, static tuff, before static grass, matte varnishing. You apply it with a dry brush on areas you think it needs a slight weathering like dirt around the boots, bike wheels, tank tracks, exhausts, weapon nozzles etc. It essentially adds another layer/depth to your model where paint cannot achieve. Think of it like girls make up.

Thanks for the tip. When it is applied do you do anything to fix it in place?

 Dreadclaw69 wrote:

 Big Mac wrote:

 Dreadclaw69 wrote:
I have some Secret Weapon Miniatures pigments, but I don't yet know how what to use to fix it when applied.

After painting, applying decals, static tuff, before static grass, matte varnishing. You apply it with a dry brush on areas you think it needs a slight weathering like dirt around the boots, bike wheels, tank tracks, exhausts, weapon nozzles etc. It essentially adds another layer/depth to your model where paint cannot achieve. Think of it like girls make up.

Thanks for the tip. When it is applied do you do anything to fix it in place?

You apply with a dry soft brush for wide areas of blend, smaller tipped hard bristle brush for crevasse areas, if you messed up you can use a damp sponge to wipe away or wet brush in combination to do so; when you spray the matte varnish it will seal it in place.

 Dreadclaw69 wrote:

 Big Mac wrote:

 Dreadclaw69 wrote:
I have some Secret Weapon Miniatures pigments, but I don't yet know how what to use to fix it when applied.

After painting, applying decals, static tuff, before static grass, matte varnishing. You apply it with a dry brush on areas you think it needs a slight weathering like dirt around the boots, bike wheels, tank tracks, exhausts, weapon nozzles etc. It essentially adds another layer/depth to your model where paint cannot achieve. Think of it like girls make up.

Thanks for the tip. When it is applied do you do anything to fix it in place?

This is only one method for applying weathering pigments, there are a number of different methods. For example can also apply them to a wet surface (using pigment fixer or white spirits), make slurry/paste and clump it on, a thin wash for oil/stains etc (look into military modelling for different ideas).

As to fixing them, there are specialised products (MIG have a pigment fixer), a lot of people use white spirits instead.

That said, it is important to note that applying any type of fixative (white spirits, pigment fixer, matte varnish etc) will alter how your pigments look as part of them will dissolve. So often on non-gaming pieces (military modelling etc.) pigments won't be fixed at all.

I usually dont fix any final pigments I use as they will be affected by any varnish as mentioned above. but as they are usually going into nooks and crevices anyway, its not usually a drama.

Thanks for the tips everyone.

An interesting cheap approach is to use colour laser printer waste cartridge contents. its messy and dirty, but can be set with a hairdryer set to a high temp and gentle blow, and gives some basic generic weathering.