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For mine I used clear resin which stank to high heaven and came in 2 parts (a big bottle of liquid and a small bottle of hardner). I mixed it with Tamia Clear Green paint and Tamia Clear Blue paint. I did it in 2 pours with a plasticard edge to prevent the liquid running off. It was very thick and so didnt leak too much which was good as I'd feared it might.

For the waterfall from the pipe I used Vallejo Water Texture 'transparent water' which I put on plasticard then peeled off and painted with Tamia Clear Green again.

I tried using clear elmer's glue! Tinted red with a little acrylic and some inks.

I've always assumed it would shrink horribly, but have wondered how it would fare in this kind of application.

The verdict is that it shrinks horribly.. :p. But really, it shrinks a lot, takes a long time to dry (~36hrs for 1/4"-3/8").

The good things:

it retains bubbles really well - something rather unique i think.

Mixes with near anything - i tested inks, acrylics, gloss medium, dye and graphite (don't ask why) all mixed well and cured thouroughly.

I don't think i'll use it agin for this application, but i may if I ever need bubbles!

Exciting times! Looking forward to the judging

On mine, what you see is pretty much what you get. I just sculpted everything out of the plaster blank I'd cast. I wouldn't do this with water or other more transparent liquids, but I figured that for molten metal, which is opaque (if glowy), it wouldn't be an issue.

I'm rather happy with the paint job, as well. I'm not really a painter, and so I think this is just about the most comprehensive job so far. I'm rather happy with how the little bit of osl turned out. One thing I did which I don't see a lot of painters do with glowy stuff, is that I used lowlighting as well as highlighting to make it look brighter than it actually is.

Ooo, lots of nice there.

Good thoughts, Hotshot.
Thin layers, I've found, are good for reducing the wait. But whether that saves time in the long run I don't know...
Sounds like an experiment is called for.

Good to hear about so many different products.
Nice to see the resin worked out, wtnind.

Don't know if you don't try, TerrainWalker.
Thin layers again, are a good way to avoid shrinkage of things like glue. Avoids the large dip in the middle as each layer only shrinks a little bit, but will require many more layers than dedicated water effects or mediums like I used.
Yeah, water effects are usually made to avoid bubbles, so it's good to know that if you want something there is a method.

Anvil'; Yep, another unique solution to the problem. Didn't say it had to be transparent fluid.

Oh, and by the by, mine's smaller than a CD. I don't know if you'll want some proof pics, but I can provide them if need be.


Paint-wise- I just use basic Applebarrel paints, and mix from primary colors. A habit since I've taken college-level painting classes where we weren't allowed pre-mixed colors.

@dr. H yep, thin layers would have done the trick I imagine i think I'll join you in sticking to my water effects as well for the most part

@Anvil props on the OSL. That's my weakest painting skill so I always admire those who can pull it off.

Anvildude wrote:Oh, and by the by, mine's smaller than a CD. I don't know if you'll want some proof pics, but I can provide them if need be.

It's as if you were reading my mind... or reading my messages to Cam'... I'm watching you Anvil'.

A scale shot is always useful.

Paint-wise- I just use basic Applebarrel paints, and mix from primary colors. A habit since I've taken college-level painting classes where we weren't allowed pre-mixed colors.

"Painting's not my strong suit"..."college-level painting classes"... Where's my shifty eye Orkmoticon.

So tell us, how do you mix bronze from primary colours?

TerrainWalker wrote:@dr. H yep, thin layers would have done the trick I imagine i think I'll join you in sticking to my water effects as well for the most part

I'll have more thoughts in my critiques after the results.
What I used is not sold as water effects, it's a glaze medium. It just happens to cure transparent and not shrink.
Probably find that most of these things are all the same stuff. Trade secrets just keep us from finding the vital ingredient.

@Anvil props on the OSL. That's my weakest painting skill so I always admire those who can pull it off.

Yeah, I've still not found my way to a satisfactory OSL method myself.

Indeed it would be good to have scale shots of all the entries. They can be posted here if you like. Not fully necessary but would be very much appreciated.

HAH! No, the bronze was an old GW paint pot I had lying around, highlighted with some GW gold. The sheen on the spilt mess was also a GW metallic, drybrushed on.

For the OSL- well, a lot of it was just the scale of the piece- it's big enough that it's easy to paint. The other half is using an old brush that I don't care about too much, and 'drybrushing' thin, runny paint, stroking from the brighter to the dimmer. Layer that from darkest colors to lightest, and remember that the brush still is laying down and spreading around paint even when it seems dry.

The painting class was large-scale oil painting, and portrature/still lifes, rather than model painting. Very, very different skills, I can tell you.


Scale shot incoming.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Alright, scale pic added to gallery.

apple barrel (or similiar brand) makes a bronze, Dr H

re: water effects - I tried to use some Vallejo still water (inside the barrel incase it's not obvious). This was meant to be a simple replacement project for my original idea. Of course, no plan ever survives contact with the enemy! The still water itself is an excellent item, don't get me wrong. I had issues retaining it :( my barrel was not as water proofed as it needed to be :( So it pretty much mostly leaked out. Twice. Sigh.

I painted and sealed the inside of the area with matte varnish, and waited two days to attempt the liquid. One reason I painted the 'water' so brightly was it was meant to be under a deeper layer of still water, which would have made it look less bright, and it would have (theoretically) given it more depth (the painting). Anyway, obviously that didn't quite work, sadly.

Before I poured the still water, I taped off the barrel with painters tape, so's not to remove my paint job. And duct taped around that. This has worked for me in the past. But somehow it still managed to leak out, mostly.

Getting a good seal on whatever you're trying ot use water effects in, especially if it's made up of pourous materials itself, that seems to be a real trick from what I've seen.

@Dr H - ah, I misread before. And yes "proprietary formulae" is what they all say :p larger companies like modge podge will give out their MSDS sheets which helps some. Just tell them you need it for your binder to meet safety regs

@Cam - scale shot will be over to you in a little while

Anvildude wrote:
The painting class was large-scale oil painting, and portrature/still lifes, rather than model painting. Very, very different skills, I can tell you.

I'm totally down with that. A is as good as a . Say no more. Say no more.

in other words; I know what you mean.

Ta for the picture.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Guilden': Maybe try blu-tack (poster tack) to seal gaps like that. It's useful stuff for masking camo' patterns too.

TW: Ah yes, MSDS. I even know "how" to read those too. Not to mention understanding proper chemical names. I'll have to look into it.

Polymer Acrylic Emulsion. Used in glazing compounds, matte mediums, any and all acrylic paints... looks milky and dries clear. Ever wonder why acrylic paints darken when they dry?

Only good for surface effects though. For good deep water effects a 2 part epoxy is the way to go.

Delta Ceramcoat makes a nicer quality paint than apple barrel, in my experience. Plus a fair number of their paints have proper names ( phthalo blue, burnt siena) instead of the phony made up names found on some brands.

dinner for scale...be warned...this photo is delicious and you may bite your screen:




but really, scale photos in the gallery now

I ought to see if I can't find that Apple Barrel bronze.

I don't know if it's just that I don't pay too much attention, or if my models aren't ever on display or what, but I don' t think there's much of a difference between different craft paints- sure, one might fade faster than another, or have different wear patterns, but if you're doing quick-n-dirty that's not a problem, and if you're being careful with the model, then that shouldn't become a problem either.

And I can get a 16 oz tube of Apple Barrel Red for 1/5 the cost of a tiny 2 oz pot of "Bloodthirster Spittle" or whatever.

pigment quality/percentage! it's like raw milk vs. skim "milk

Practically speaking, the difference you'll notice is coverage - evenness and number of coats. Try coating something dark in cheap yellow then a quality yellow for a test.


That being said, I use craft acrylics for terrain with the exceptions of metallics and inks/washes. Just too expensive to paint using hobby/artist acrylics and people already gripe enough about cost as is :p

I got some 'artist' acrylics as well- I'll have to try those for the lights next time. Just use the craft stuff for mixing, then.

Speaking of paint quality, if you don't have a problem achieving what you want to achieve with the paint you use, then you don't need to spend more for a "better" paint.

However, if you are trying out a new painting technique and can't get it right, no matter what you do and how closely you follow the tutorials... it might not be you, it might be the paints.

Pfah, tutorials. Go with your gut! That, and many many reference photos of real-life analogues.

Well, replace "how closely you follow the tutorials" with "can't seem to replicate your reference photos or photos of other's models" and it's still true.

The implication is that other people can achieve something with their paint that you can't. It might not be a problem with your hand, it might be that your paints can't do what you want.

Personally, I find tutorials useful. But rarely end up following them exactly. Use them as a starting point and then find what works for you.

When is the next one? I have been away far too long and feel like I need to compete again!

 zammerak wrote:
When is the next one? I have been away far too long and feel like I need to compete again!

We're in the process of judging this round, so when the results are announced the winner may take a little while to set up the next round and then it's all go again. Soon.

Heres a scale shot of my piece in full 360... I got this camera on Thursday so it's all a bit new to me hah. I tried to edit out the lightbox with a starfield but Flickr wouldnt recognise it as 360 at that point. Maybe it needs the edge pixels to match up 100% or theres some image tags that paint.net is dropping or something. Ah well.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/146947775@N04/29580363595

I chucked in a couple of dumpsters I worked on for necromunda into the background to break up the horizon a bit.

*just tried to load up the 360 view on my Windows Phone and it went ballistic lol looked crazy. Guess the guys at Yahoo are still working on that bit. But you should be able to drag the view around like a terrible dystopian low-res Google Earth.

Very unique way to show off a model.

Well this has been very difficult. Much debate and back and forward. It has also been very close.

All the entries are brilliant in their own rite. All have different approaches and I am amazed at the diversity.

In the end, we have to have a winner.

First Prize.........


Congratulations. Over to you for the next round.

Comments to follow, I will let DrH deliver his Critiques.

Congratulations to the winner.

I will emphasise that this round was the most difficult to judge that I have been involved with.

Every piece had something I really liked, judging and scoring threw up many curve-balls before we came to a decision. We were tested just as much as the contestants this round, and I'd like to publicly congratulate Camkierhi on producing a round of this contest that challenged us all.

It was great to see so many different approaches and techniques used to match the theme.

Thank you all for taking part.

And, as Cam' mentioned, it's customary for me to share my detailed critiques with the owners of the judged pieces.
Let me know if you would like to see my critiques and whether it be in this thread (so that everyone may learn something), or via PM (so you can cry to yourself at my harsh judgement ).

Congrats tek! And yep, bring on the critiques here so we can all weep together :p

Really excellent job all, and a worthy winner.

Congratulations Tek. And to all who entered.