I have a mass of Essex late Dark Age / early medieval 15mm DBA armies picked up in a 3 for 2 sale some years ago, and they seem like good candidates for a block paint and dip approach. Not to mention that with Dux Bellorum on the shelf it seems criminal not to try to get them tableworthy.
So here we are then. Block paint dullish colours.
Add acrylic stain. Used as-is, and applied with a wet brush.
And voila.
Hmm. Not spectacular, but probably comparable to other more expensive products. With a highlight here and there and a coat of matt varnish these might look OK.
Brilliant! that's the way to go! and you're right by high lighting and using Matt dull varnish to your painted work your figures/armies will look lovely!
ReplyDeletecheers,
Thanks for the encouragement, Phil!
DeleteCheers to you, too :)
They don't look so bad, my buddy is a huge dip method painter. He actually uses stain from the hardware store (I forget what he said it was at the moment) cheap and inexpensive. He buys his colors in tubes from an Art supply store saving gobs of money not buying hobby paint. He uses bright colors because when he dips them (yes he actually dips them in the varnish) and pulls them out it dulls the bright colors. Dude he has kicked out like 7 armies in the time it's taken me to paint one (I am not exaggerating, really!). Best of all at arms length you can't really tell the difference between mine and his paint job. If you wanna win a painting contest, don't use this style. If you wanna have a lot of figures that look cool on your table then keep on going man, cause we are all gonna be dead soon, so let's game!!!!
ReplyDeleteCheers
Kevin
I think you're right. With a highlight they look about the same us some of my more meticulously painted efforts! Which goes to show that a) my meticulously painted efforts can't be all that flash and b) this has the potential to be a bit of a time-saver. Maybe I should put this stuff into a separate pottle and sell it to wargamers? I could call it - oh I don't know - troop painter? ;-)
DeleteGood basing really helps with Dip/Glaze paint methods. Sure they'll never look as good as models using three layer highlights or blending, but you can crank out the product. I think they look nice, and dipping certainly suits Dark Age subjects. A spray or two of Matt varnish and you're onto a winner.
ReplyDeleteCheers Aki. When it comes to figures I've always been a 'quantity at reasonable quality' man, so hopefully this will be able to fulfill both requirements!
DeleteThose miniatures look the part. As stated above, good basing and matte varnish will pull everything together.
ReplyDeleteCheers El Grego. Not sure if my basing will qualify as good, but at least it will be consistent :)
DeleteThey look good. I keep wanting to dip and then draw back. Like every gamer, I have a lead mountain I want to scale down. I see a lot of people use the dip and their stuff looks very good (Dean Motoyama, this means you). I'm just intimidated by the novelty of it.
ReplyDeleteThanks David. It's taken me a while to decide to try it, but I think it makes sense with Dark Age figures as there is plenty of cloth, and in reasonably dull shades. And you're right, Dean has turned the dip into an art form. In fact, he was one of the people who made me decide to go for it.
DeleteLol! Thanks for the plug, David :) Great looking work on these, Aaron. I have to agree the "dip" (staining) is the faster way to get decent troops on the table. I'm happy to see that acrylic local version being used - never seen that before. I once tried to make my own stain using acrylic floor wax - which wasn't bad as it dries much quicker than Minwax, but I failed to used the proper type of ink. Maybe some day :)
ReplyDeleteCheers Dean. It's certainly firing the enthusiasm (for the moment, at least!).
DeleteShow us the results after you've socked them with a dull coat or two. Clear coat tends to wash in the...er...washes so they look a bit more even and natural.
ReplyDeleteAnd so I did. Unfortunately, I was a little hasty, and didn't pay enough respect to the humidity!
Delete