Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

I recently proxied together some Spider Fiends of Slaanesh. I would like to start painting them in a color scheme similar to a black widow. I am priming them black but would like to base coat them so that they will have a wet look to them similar to a natural black widow.



I was wondering if someone who has more experience painting than I (about 3 days worth) could help me find a way to achieve such a look.

Would it be a good idea to purchase a bottle of water effect and mix it with some chaos black? If so could someone give me a clue as to how much water effect to paint might achieve the desired look?

I would experiment myself but I don't want to go out and buy a bottle of water effect if this thought is way off base. Thanks.

The easiest means of achieving this is to use a gloss varnish to seal your mini. If you don't wish to do that, inks are another option.

Good idea. Do they make a paint on Varnish? I only want the spider parts to glisten not the daemonette torsos so I think a spray on Varnish might be a little tricky to use. I don't have any experience with inks but I understand the concept. I may try both methods on the excess goblins that came with the spiders and see what gets the best result.

Use a gloss varnish or water effects, but that might make it look slimy.

 Deunstephe wrote:
Use a gloss varnish or water effects, but that might make it look slimy.

Could you also use this to make blood look bloodier?

 Nafarious wrote:

 Deunstephe wrote:
Use a gloss varnish or water effects, but that might make it look slimy.

Could you also use this to make blood look bloodier?

If it's nurgle-y, I suppose. But it'd wind up looking like red slime. I use Tamiya clear red for my blood effects, but even with orks I haven't done it a lot.

or dip in clear polyurethane sealer.

Quaden wrote:
Do they make a paint on Varnish? I only want the spider parts to glisten not the daemonette torsos so I think a spray on Varnish might be a little tricky to use

There are plenty of brush-on varnishes available, both from miniature paint manufacturers and those who cater to craft and fine arts markets. I regularly spray my models with matte varnish, then apply gloss (I use Vallejo's offering) by hand to select areas to make them look wet or shiny. For the amount of surface you need to cover, though, I think it might be worth spraying everything with gloss varnish, then masking off the spider body and spraying the daemonette torso with a coat of matte to kill the shine. Since you only have one seam (torso transition) to worry about, it shouldn't take long - the bulk can be covered quickly with a crude tent of newspaper or aluminum foil.

I just use gloss nail varnish for things I want to look wet. It's easy to paint on, cheap and you can get it at the supermarket.

This gallery has an Eldar army I painted for a friend, where most of the models are black, with several coats of gloss varnish to give the exact shiny, wet, carapace look you're after. (I apologize for the poor picture quality, and the two pics in there which have nothing to do with the Eldar army) I can personally attest that regular black, followed by varnish, will do what you need. (If you use two thin coats, you won't get chunks.) You can throw a black ink wash on over that to give it a little shine before you apply the gloss varnish. (Again, with the varnish, you get better results from multiple thin layers than from one thick one.)