Quick Tip: Paint & Detail Order

I see a lot of questions on forums about when certain techniques should be applied in relation to each other and so I've put together this Quick Tip rule of thumb:

primer
acrylic paints
gloss
washes & decals
gloss if you've done decals
secondary washes & panel lines
matte sealer
chipping (sponge or brush)
pencil effects
oil & wash filter effects
pigments
matte sealer

See my Quick Tip on Gloss vs. Flat Sealer for a quick look at which the different sealers matter.

Quick Tip: Gloss vs. Flat Sealer

A gloss sealer will give the model a smooth, glass like finish; a flat or matte sealer has a rougher texture. But Gloss and flat sealers do more than change the finish on a model.

For instance, decals are easier to apply, and will last longer, on a gloss surface.

Here's a quick breakdown of which surface is better for various techniques:

Gloss	Flat/Matte
Overall washes	Oil filters
Decals	Panel line washes
Protect acrylics	Drybrushing
	Oil filter (dot method)
	Pastels/Pigments

Knowing which sealer to apply for which technique will help you decide in which order to apply weathering techniques.

For instance you should always apply a gloss layer before and after applying decals. However putting gloss over pigments/pastels will likely make most of your effort disappear.

Weathering With Pastel Powders

While considering which weathering tutorials to write up and where I would start I realized I have a Tamiya 2.5 Ton Cargo Truck sitting on my desk. Although it's not a 40k I'm going to use most of the techniques in my arsenal to get it finished and realized this made it the perfect tutorial project.

First up is an introduction to weathering with pastel powders. I'm using "Doc O'Brien's" for this tutorial. I'm happy with the product, and you get a few colours it's harder to match with art store pastel sticks, but you can do this much less expensively with generic art pastels and some sandpaper.

This is the un-weathered cab. I have base coated the interior and painted the seats.



The colors I'm using are "Rust Red," "Rust Brown," "Grimy Black" and "Dirt Brown." I will use Testors enamel thinner sparingly as we go - and that bottle will likely last me several years.



I bought a $3 pack of crappy brushes to use with powders. I took one of them and cut it off about 10mm or 1/4" from the ferrule. Using this brush I applied "Rust Red" in a generous layer. You can blow off, brush off or wipe off excess - like I do in the next step.



Using another cheap brush I applied some enamel thinner and wiped away a bit of the "Rust Red" powder. This also helps get the remaining powder into the recesses and will bind it more permanently to the model. In the image on the right I have added the "Rust Brown" powder.



Application of more thinner (left) and "Dirt Brown" (right).



Application of "Grimy Black" gives us the finished image for the deck plate. In the bottom image you can see where I stippled the rust near where feet would kick getting into the truck. Always remember that corners will be more heavily weathered in most vehicles. I applied additional black, and then thinned heavily, where the driver's feet would rub.



These techniques and materials can be used to create incredibly realistic rust, dirt and grime and are very well suited to vehicles. Use them on engines, treads, bolts, hatches... anywhere you'd expect to find gunk and rust.


Next up... playing with oil!

Tutorial Update

I posted a new freehand tutorial,Ultramarines 2nd Company icon on a cape, on the Relic forums as part of the freehand banner contest.

Flyer Display Stand for Forge World Thunderbolt

Materials:

Wooden Base - craft store
3/4" x 10" square acrylic rod - plastics shop
Glue, gravel and base materials
1/2" rare earth magnets - K & J Magnetics
Two part plastic to anything epoxy

I measured the base to find the center and simply epoxied the bejebbus out of the rod. I added two of the 1/2" magnets to the top using the same epoxy and one of them to the bottom of the Thunderbolt.

After the epoxy was dried (I waited 10 minutes) I went back in with my gravel and debris.

I was hoping that the magnets would be just strong enough to allow me to lift the entire display, base and all, by the flyer. It's not. It's strong enough to survive the customary bumps that come with life on a shelf.

More Fun With Magnets

High temperatures recently have made it impractical to paint, and impossible to prime anything, so I decided to jump in on putting together a new model. Right away I knew it would be my new Land Raider but I couldn't decide whether to put it together as a plain ol' Land Raider or as the fancy Land Raider Crusader... which got me wondering why it had to be one or the other.

Thank you rare earth magnets.

I put together the body in the normal fashion and embedded four rare earth magnets (1/8" x 1/32" each) in to the top sponson mount on each side.

I cut the top pivot from each of the sponson weapons and added magnets there instead -- two each to the Crusader sponsons, because they're metal, and one each to the standard plastic weapons.

The red dots on the front helped me mark where to embed the tiny 1/16" x 1/32" magnets to hold the Crusader frag launchers in place. There are six of the tiny magnets in the body and three in the launcher... for each hole. The more magnets the better the hold - and I can hold this thing upside down without anything falling off.

The pintle gunners will be swappable as magnets won't really work there. I will also make the front mounted guns swappable once I order a second housing.

When I'm finished it won't take more than a few seconds to switch between a Land Raider and a Land Raider Crusader.

Of course I don't have one in my 750 point army list but it will still be a pleasure to paint... as soon as I'm done with at least one other project.

I'm in love....

While working on the Kharn model I decided to put together a wet pallete to help with the NMM blending. I took an old blister pack, cut a sponge, and picked up some baking parchment at the grocery store.

Now I'm in love.

The paint not only stayed wet while I was working on the model for more than an hour -- but when I came back to the den after dinner and a movie... yup, most of the paint was still wet.

For any blended colours this technique is going to be invaluable.

Thank you, internet!