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Okay.
So, I'm assembling over 50 CSM, and I don't have the time or patience to paint them. The way I paint, I give more detail to each mini than I should on troops (3-4 hours a piece, minmum). That's GREAT for special pieces, but not for troops. I'm not trying to win a Golden Demon with 'em. I just want 'em to look decent.

So, I've decided to dip them.

Here's the thing, though... They're going to be painted up as undivided.
I can't paint them Black Legion if I want the dip to work right. Black doesn't dip well.

So, I need help with color choices.

What colors would look the best dipped?

I don't want to use a color "claimed" by an existing Power.
To me,
Red=Khorne
Green=Nurgle
Blue=Tzeentch
Pink=Slaanesh
(for THESE purposes, anyway)

Besides that, blue & pink don't seem to dip that well.

Regardless, though, I need to find a color scheme.

I'm soliciting advice, suggestions and information.

I know that earthy colors tend to dip well, but I don't think I want to paint my CSM brown. :sigh:

I'm not worried about the metallics. I know they tend to dip well, too. It's the opaque colors that concern me.

I'd appreciate any information/wisdom/suggestions that anyone could impart.

Thanks, guys!

Eric

You've kind of painted yourself in a corner.

You're dipping, which pretty much kills any bright or "cool" bluish colors.

You don't want any primaries, and you don't want black or brown.

Codex Grey, of course, would look awesome with a Walnut / Tudor dip.

White would be similar to Pre-Heresy Death Guard, and is always striking.

You could also try Orange, which is uncommon, or a dark Purple, but I'm not sure you'd like them.

And a really dark off-Black Brown would dip nicely. If you do it right, it would appear to be "black", without actually being black.

Purple/ White marble. Like that Chaos land raider that's posted in here. You could paint each guy pretty sloppy and still have them come out awesome imo.

have you looked at using vallejo airbrush paints. they are very then but still thicker then inks. prime white brush on. got a friend that doing his dark angels. says that it only takes one coat and they look really good.

werewolfhunter wrote:have you looked at using vallejo airbrush paints. they are very then but still thicker then inks. prime white brush on. got a friend that doing his dark angels. says that it only takes one coat and they look really good.

I use regular Vallejo paints.
It's not about paint quality or how many coats it needs... it's about the fact that, if I try to paint ANY detail, I'm going to go "character level" on each model. It's just the way I am.

I don't want to do that.
I don't need it and, TBH, it's too much work for "bump around" troops that won't be used to win any competition.

It's looking like a bone white with brown based metallic accent is the color combo, so far... I just don't know.
I don't MIND orange, I'm joust not sure how the "Sunkist Chapter" would look. LOL

AAARRRGGGHHH!


Thanks for the help so far, guys!

Eric

MagickalMemories wrote:
I don't MIND orange, I'm joust not sure how the "Sunkist Chapter" would look.

Orange

Thanks for the link, GD.



I'm just not feeling the love for orange CSM.


Eric

Yay, Fiery Loins!

I've got to agree with John - I think Codex Grey with dip would look pretty cool - it gives a nice, skeletal color. You could have a "Bone Collector" army. I found this pic yesterday as I was looking around for some SM dipping ideas:


I thought it looked pretty cool - would actually work kind of nicely for Deathwing...too bad I've sworn them off.

I think natural/neutral colors work best for dipping - browns, greys, greens. Last year, I did a SW army by spray-painting grey, painting the ammo packs, bolters, etc. and dipping with black stain.

The black stain (and I forget the name) will probably look better for power-armor. Also, you can go back over with paints. One of the keys is to touch-up big plates (shoulder pads, helmets, etc.) by having a paint brush dipped in thinner - just touch it on the shoulder pad, and it'll make the stain flow off the flat surfaces.

I'd go with a lighter green, brown, or grey. You can use anything as an accent color - red, orange, etc. and dip it as well.

The best answer is to experiment with it and see what works best. You may find that you need to go a shade lighter for the basecoat so when you dip it, it comes out the shade you want.

Death By Monkeys wrote:Yay, Fiery Loins!

I've got to agree with John - I think Codex Grey with dip would look pretty cool - it gives a nice, skeletal color. You could have a "Bone Collector" army. I found this pic yesterday as I was looking around for some SM dipping ideas:

You know, that's not too bad looking.
That's Codex Grey base color? Almost looks as if it would've been a bone white.

dietrich wrote:I think natural/neutral colors work best for dipping - browns, greys, greens. Last year, I did a SW army by spray-painting grey, painting the ammo packs, bolters, etc. and dipping with black stain.

The black stain (and I forget the name) will probably look better for power-armor. Also, you can go back over with paints. One of the keys is to touch-up big plates (shoulder pads, helmets, etc.) by having a paint brush dipped in thinner - just touch it on the shoulder pad, and it'll make the stain flow off the flat surfaces.

I'd go with a lighter green, brown, or grey. You can use anything as an accent color - red, orange, etc. and dip it as well.

The best answer is to experiment with it and see what works best. You may find that you need to go a shade lighter for the basecoat so when you dip it, it comes out the shade you want.

Good info.
Testing is hard, as I don't have any models to spare, really. In fact, I need more CSM... At least 15 or so.


The idea is that I'm creating a cr@pload of CSM Troopers (like 72 -- 10 bp & cs per unit with a melta and a plasma for each unit to swap out with, total of 12 models per unit).
Once I have that done, I'll create 3 or 4 Champions of each god.
They'll all be painted the same colors, and the champs will hold the icon (and have the appropriate head, etc). This way, I'll have 72 CSM troops that can be used with any icon and enough to field up to 6 FULL SIZE units of them in any configuration I'm likely to use.

Thus, the need to dip! LOL

Eric

That marine was probably white primer. You can kind of see it on the collar and sharp edges where the dip doesn't stick.

Yep - I don't actually know what the base coat on that was - I just found the pic on a dipping site, but I imagine it was white. I was just figuring it'd look as good with grey.

I agree with Moz. The sample marine was basecoated (or primed) pure white and dipped in walnut brown. It's much too bright to be Codex Grey, much less Bone.

Codex Grey produces some of the most sinister-looking SM / CSM you can get, dipped or not. I think the Relictors are Codex Grey.

If you go to my wesite press the [WWW] button, and you'll see what Floquil railroad "Reefer Grey" looks like after a black wash. I think Codex Grey is a bit darker, and dipping will take it bit more yet again.

John I dig your Eldar. Really like the faces on your Warlocks.

Thanks, Stelek.

Tho you were kinda supposed to focus on the grungy SM.