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While we talking about terrain, when you are done painting and texturising your table, mix normal white wood glue with water and paint the entire table with it, let it dry and repeat. After about 3 coats it would have created a "softer" surface that your minis that fall over and dice will thanks you for.

KINGPIN54 wrote:
While we talking about terrain, when you are done painting and texturising your table, mix normal white wood glue with water and paint the entire table with it, let it dry and repeat. After about 3 coats it would have created a "softer" surface that your minis that fall over and dice will thanks you for.

This is a good idea, and would be quicker and cheaper than varnishing. My only concern is does the pva add an opaque layer on the terrain?

 thegreatchimp wrote:

KINGPIN54 wrote:
While we talking about terrain, when you are done painting and texturising your table, mix normal white wood glue with water and paint the entire table with it, let it dry and repeat. After about 3 coats it would have created a "softer" surface that your minis that fall over and dice will thanks you for.

This is a good idea, and would be quicker and cheaper than varnishing. My only concern is does the pva add an opaque layer on the terrain?

unless you paint it on very thick. Diluted with water it dries clear, not too sure if you paint it over something glossy black. But if you've got sandpaper effect on the playing area - it really does make a huge difference.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
And seeing as we talking about tables, if you gonna make your own table, don't get the board cut exactly to size, add a bit on either side for you and opponent to have space to pack reserves and killed minis.

Accidental discovery: if you apply superglue to an opaque piece of plastic, it will become transparent. I found this out when I accidentally got some superglue on the lid of my Testor's Dullcote. When it dried, I could see right through the lid! I think the science behind this is that the superglue will fill in the crevasses in the material, creating a smooth surface for light to shine through. Incidentally, you can do the same thing with frosted glass and clear tape. You know, if you wanted to.

I could see this being useful if you wanted to re-purpose lids/bottles into helmets, cockpits, windows, etc.
Hope someone finds this useful!

If you have a feline overlord that likes to sit right in the middle of your workspace, place a small box at the corner of your table.

 Zogg wrote:
If you have a feline overlord that likes to sit right in the middle of your workspace, place a small box at the corner of your table.

Thats probably the most amazing thing iv ever heard.

Also is why im a dog person.

 Zogg wrote:
If you have a feline overlord that likes to sit right in the middle of your workspace, place a small box at the corner of your table.

I've got a pair of the little buggers and all they do is come down in the night and fight on my workstation. Scatter my paints everywhere. I've not been able to find any of my reds for weeks.

 Desubot wrote:
Thats probably the most amazing thing iv ever heard.

Also is why im a dog person.

I regret not getting a dog or two.

Yeah - dogs are defintely a more passive audience. Mine sits in an office chair beside me happy to be there but not to get 'involved'!!

My wee tip (probably mentioned already) for freehand always pencil it on first, even on a dark background; the light catches the lines and will still stand out to start painting on and thin your paints even more than usual. Lumpy freehand looks dire

Always change your brush water between sessions.

 Januine wrote:
Yeah - dogs are defintely a more passive audience. Mine sits in an office chair beside me happy to be there but not to get 'involved'!!

My wee tip (probably mentioned already) for freehand always pencil it on first, even on a dark background; the light catches the lines and will still stand out to start painting on and thin your paints even more than usual. Lumpy freehand looks dire

I missed that one so love it

I started using a double bin type water holder. one side for cleaning brushes, one for rinsing paint. That way I don't have to get up and go all the way to my kitchen to clean the brushes & I clean them more frequently. Added bonus it's square and I don't knock it over like I did my cups


also, dogs

Never set your cup of coffee anywhere near your water mug.

Another odd but good one: If you use sand for basing and it's pretty consistent in size, and like me you're too lazy/cheap to go and buy some different weight sand to add some variety, whenever you've finished some modelling or cleaning up minis, take all the little offcuts and scraps and just shake them into your container of basing material. Instant variety!

That's exaclty what I do! I always clip up sprues and bitz and put them in my sand box, saves me a lot of time and energy.

Get a wet pallet. Now. I made one yesterday and put some paint on it, now, twelve hours later it's still wet and paintable. Get one.

Also, can we get 365 tips so someone can make a calendar for 2016?

That would be a great calendar.

Today's tip: use reference pictures. Study pictures of models you want to emulate. Take pictures of your own minis, and refer to them later. This will both help you improve, and allow you to look back upon your work to see how far you have come.

 Cleatus wrote:
Today's tip: use reference pictures. Study pictures of models you want to emulate. Take pictures of your own minis, and refer to them later. This will both help you improve, and allow you to look back upon your work to see how far you have come.

And write down how you got those results. You might think you will remember, but memory is a fuzzy thing.

Take pictures, print pictures, mark up pictures. Or mess around in photoshop. It’s easier to test things out like this instead of screwing up your paintjob and having to start over. Good for both technical work (how to center something) or testing aesthetics. I like a report cover and dry erase markers so I can adjust.

Some examples:
Where do I want to place the chevrons on my CH?


How do I center the Symbol on my banner?

The best one I have is one I learnt from building model plane kits. When you come to fill joins etc..,don't just slap in the filler! Get some masking tape(I use Tamiya) and surround the area to be filled. This way it will be much easier to tidy up and you will not lose much detail.

Well mine for today is, you don't have to go expensive to try something. Wanted to attempt to make some orks "wear" killed tyranids, bought a box of tyranid snapon temagents and a box of snapon gretchen. A bit of cutting and the runtherd now boasts a cloak of a dead tyranid.if it can be done with those it can be done with the larger expensive boxes. End of the day...don't be scared to try something new.

If you have a wet palette, refill the water every day!

 Matthew wrote:
If you have a wet palette, refill the water every day!

Or make a super-cheap DIY wet palette with a damp paper towel and parchment paper. Then just throw it away at the end of your painting session!

Defeats the point that some of us use them for though, which is keeping a colour for a few painting sessions.

Do your research. Better still, do research adn build of a file of images. Especially when it comes to wanting to do some sort of weathering or the such effects. Hit up Google image and check out how metals, paints etc react to damage and weathering. For exmaple if you want to have a fig with beaten, weathered armour - google things like - 'blue-chipped paint, 'old blue cars', rusted metal and so on. Save a few of the best images for inspiration, reference material etc.

 Buttery Commissar wrote:
Defeats the point that some of us use them for though, which is keeping a colour for a few painting sessions.

That's a good point. I mainly use it to keep my paint from drying out during the painting session. Occasionally I do want to save my wet palette, and on those occasions I just slip it into a ziploc bag. Works for me.

I mostly use mine for starting to paint, closing it and then forgetting for several days and opening it to find the paper has dissolved.

 Januine wrote:
Do your research. Better still, do research adn build of a file of images. Especially when it comes to wanting to do some sort of weathering or the such effects. Hit up Google image and check out how metals, paints etc react to damage and weathering. For exmaple if you want to have a fig with beaten, weathered armour - google things like - 'blue-chipped paint, 'old blue cars', rusted metal and so on. Save a few of the best images for inspiration, reference material etc.

Can't stress this enough! If ever in doubt, LOOK IT UP! Search for real-life images of what you're trying to replicate, for painting tutorials, for places you can ask the original painter how they achieved a certain effect (the Dakka blog/showcase fora are perfect for this), look to see if anyone has done it before. If you're painting an X-wing, look up stills from the films. If you're painting Batman, search Batman comics. If you're converting a Blanche-eqsue Inquisitor, go through old articles or White Dwarf magazines or Inq28 sites for inspiration.

And further to that, remember that it's perfectly ok to 'beg, borrow and steal' techniques, methods, styles and effects from wherever you find them. If you like something, find out how it's done and nab it!

And exalted. Think the whole research thing is one of the best bits of advice that can be given

Get a cheap plastic turntable to prime on. Speeds up priming as you can get to all angles without touching the model.

Buy "No Tresspassing" signs from Walmarts and use those as Plasticard! Way cheaper than buying the card from hobby stores and its the same type of stuff. Works wonders for only a few cents a sign

Man, I wish walmart existed in Sweden...

Also, THIN YOUR PAINTS! Might be the most boring one, but do it! Even a drop of water helps!