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Hello dakka! Been off the radar for a while and been wondering what concoctions you people have for your models/scenary? We all know that this hobby is pricey and every little bit helps. I personally have made made my own rust effect wash with steelwool and other chemicals (I know its dangerous) I would like this thread to help those that don't know and those that do how to refine certain aspects, for example making washes with tea! Please give a descriptive writeup and not merely say that you can use this or that as we have a lot of people that are not as experienced as others in mcgroobering things.


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Testing why I can't see the thread?

A very cool effect I used for some bark on trees, but would also work for basing where you want a similar, rough, uneven, boiling effect is to simply smear a coat of Gorilla Glue and then spray with water.

The water activates and foams up the glue, where it will then dry. How much it foams depends on how thick you have the glue and how much water. Only a very light spray of water from a water bottle is needed.

Craft paint and flour made into a paste works great for mud.

I'll have to try that Gorilla Glue thing.

Iv wire brushed rust off of scrap steel i have lying around.

Also recently learned out to make my own mud texture paint by using drywall filler, pigments, dirt, grit, rocks, flock, small sticks and roots, and water.

works super well.

the wetness and gorilla glue technique is an interesting one.. it reminds me of a thread we had over on warseer a while back, where somebody noticed that the glue seemed to set faster on his magnets when he sharpie'd the surface to mark the polarity he needed, which led to the chemistry discussion of why the moisture in the ink triggered the glue faster. Was an interesting discussion.

I use p60 putty. Its orginally used to repair holes in car bodies. But it sets in about 30 mins and during this time you can cut sand n mould it into any shape you want with ease. I can knock up 100's of bases out a small tin. Once dry it can easily be sculpted further, thro on badin grit and your done. Personally i only half cover it with grit/sand. My painting trick makes it look real nice without A) costing the earth, B) cheap as a tine that lasts forever and C) saves a tone of time too.

I should of made clear i use it for basing but has a million of other uses aswell!! Its a 2 part mix so you can add as much or as little of the red stuff to make it cure quicker or thin it down to get into small tiny areas or gaps.

Dried blood is easily done by mixing Blood for the Blood God and:

Agrax Earthshade
Rhinox Hide
Sand and grit
and matte varnish.

It's a rusty brown, looks just like dried blood with a few good chunks in it.

Pearlescent nail polish. The swirly look of it is great for crystal balls/holographic displays.

 Carlson793 wrote:
Pearlescent nail polish. The swirly look of it is great for crystal balls/holographic displays.

That is a great idea!

Anybody tried alternatives to weathering powders?

I do metallic colors (not silver and gold, but metallic greens and purples, etc) by painting a base colour then painting the lower areas (where shade would sit) with Leadbelcher. I then apply a shade (must be close in colour to the base colour) and then dry brush with Necron compound. I've only tried this in silver colours so ymmv.

KINGPIN54 wrote:
Anybody tried alternatives to weathering powders?

Grind up some artist pastels, that will provide you a workable alternative.

KINGPIN54 wrote:
Anybody tried alternatives to weathering powders?

I've made my own for years ( there were NO pre-made "weathering powders" when I started doing this stuff, and pretty much everyone who did weathering did the same thing back then). Artists chalks and an old spice/coffee grinder. I've got an artists' supplies place a short walk away (an Eckersleys for the aussies) and I get my supplies there (also the occasional paint brush).

Does anyone create their own texture paints by mixing in silt etc ?

 oldzoggy wrote:
Does anyone create their own texture paints by mixing in silt etc ?

I mean you could.

I think a far better alternative is to buy pumice paste. You get an enormous quantity for slightly more money than the GW texture pots, and can just paint it after it sets.

KINGPIN54 wrote:
Anybody tried alternatives to weathering powders?

My suggestions here aren't all really "homebrew" but are cheap alternatives.

Ground art pastels, or if you want to skip the grinding, dry pigments from Art supply stores - basically the same stuff in MUCH larger quantities. Also available in some amazing Metallic colours in the Pearl-Ex range.
http://www.dickblick.com/products/gamblin-artists-colors-dry-pigments/
http://www.dickblick.com/products/jacquard-pearl-ex-pigments/

Similarly, varnishes and matte mediums and crackle medium (for "martian ironearth" bases or armour) and different types of acrylic paste (textured and not), along with things like drying retarder from Art supply stores.
http://www.josonja.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&product_id=274&flypage=flypage.tpl&pop=0&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=31%7CJo
http://www.dickblick.com/search/?q=matte%20medium&x=0&y=0&sp_cs=UTF-8
http://www.dickblick.com/search/?q=crackle%20medium&x=0&y=0&sp_cs=UTF-8
http://www.dickblick.com/search/?q=acrylic+paste&x=0&y=0&sp_cs=UTF-8
http://www.dickblick.com/search/?q=drying%20retarder&x=0&y=0&sp_cs=UTF-8

Art inks for glazes and thinned for washes. They combine well with acrylic paint if you want to experiment.
http://www.dickblick.com/products/winsor-and-newton-drawing-inks/
http://www.dickblick.com/products/daler-rowney-fw-acrylic-water-resistant-artists-ink/
http://www.dickblick.com/products/daler-rowney-fw-acrylic-pearlescent-liquid-acrylic-artists-inks/

Pearlescent paints for some nice effects. A bit tricky to use, but they can give a great effect.
http://www.dickblick.com/products/liquitex-interference-acrylics/

"Water effects" can be gotten from hardware stores quite easily. Both in a can and as 2-part solution (two bottles)
https://www.bunnings.com.au/diggers-500g-cast-and-embedding-resin_p1874117
http://www.elichem.co.uk/p-5-glass-clear-polyester-casting-resin.aspx

Great snow effects. You can also try various mixtures of bi-carb soda and PVA (elmers/white) glue. Lots of recipies online, but I just to with the JS.
https://www.bunnings.com.au/jo-sonja-250ml-texture-paste_p1854446

Make your own washes - a bit of money to set up but easy to do and easy to customise colours and tones.
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/261541.page


This bloke has a lot of good DIY tips for homemade/cheaply sourced stuff.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsmD5774MOQhjYBkXqu3Jdw

I mean, I love buying model paint. It's almost as much fun for me as buying models (I'm weird like that) but between Art Supplies and a half decent Hardware Store (and a Paint place for custom spray cans) you can pretty much do anything.

Winter wrote:

 oldzoggy wrote:
Does anyone create their own texture paints by mixing in silt etc ?

I mean you could.

I think a far better alternative is to buy pumice paste. You get an enormous quantity for slightly more money than the GW texture pots, and can just paint it after it sets.

what is pumice paste ? googling it gives strange dental supply results

OldZoggy - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bM-bkNOLPfU

Tactical - the shade or glaze over base colours is actually a really neat way to achieve some mottled schemes. I remember a guy did Alaitoc Jetbikes by using a series of greys and then laying Blue Glaze over it to give it the singular colour.

Additionally, I found the gemstone paints have interesting effects. I did some flames with white, light grey, and a Pearl paint for white highlights and runefang on the steel. I then went over them with Waystone Green, and got a neat effect in general. Over darker colours, the gemstones can also provide a lacquered look.

 oldzoggy wrote:

Winter wrote:

 oldzoggy wrote:
Does anyone create their own texture paints by mixing in silt etc ?

I mean you could.

I think a far better alternative is to buy pumice paste. You get an enormous quantity for slightly more money than the GW texture pots, and can just paint it after it sets.

what is pumice paste ? googling it gives strange dental supply results

Well its used in dentistry

its a powered rock

 oldzoggy wrote:

Winter wrote:

 oldzoggy wrote:
Does anyone create their own texture paints by mixing in silt etc ?

I mean you could.

I think a far better alternative is to buy pumice paste. You get an enormous quantity for slightly more money than the GW texture pots, and can just paint it after it sets.

what is pumice paste ? googling it gives strange dental supply results

It's a powdered lightweight volcanic rock (it floats on water).
It's used by dental technicians as an abrasive for polishing purposes (and comes in different grades of fineness for the purposes).

I've made my own - pumice powder and pva. I mix it up to a slightly runny paste (one that will hold detail, but not be too hard)

The pumice gel I posted a link about earlier is a real nice substance - I use it myself. It takes pigment very easily from any acrylic, is self-adhesive, and it sets nicely. And it's really not that expensive.

Not a painting tip, but a modeling tip. If you want to represent deep wounds with blood/gore inside, just cut a wedge off the plastic miniature, then apply some thin plastic glie (works on citadel plastic, mind you) and use a needle to stir a bit the melting plastic to give it the wanted effect.