What Minis Are You Painting?

So, I finally painted my first Silver Tower guy, whom my son named as "The-Bad-Guy-Who-Is-Friends-With-The-Good-Guys... For Now "

Comments for improvements are welcome, I've gotten into miniature painting not so long ago, and although I try to do at least an hour every day, there's a lot I don't know.

... like image rotation. He's straight on my picture why does he show up on the side here?

This forum doesn't deal with image orientation well. I ended up using an alternate image hosting service because everything I upload here shows up upside down.

That looks good man! Keep it up!

Here's a tip on that base. It looks like you used Astrogranite (or painted basing sand). Slap some Nuln Oil on that and let it dry completely. Then drybrush a color over it liberally. For my Silver Tower dudes, I did a three-part drybrush of Caledor Sky, Teclis Blue and then just barely Lothern Blue. For my AoS "field" miniatures, I'm doing Ushtabi Bone and Longbeard Grey. It gives a great look and it's pretty easy to do. Then just paint the rim with Steel Legion Drab (for the field guys) or Eshin Gray (for dungeon guys). Glue a couple of tufts or whatever on there and you are finished. If you don't want the rocky/gray look, there is also Lustrian Undergrowth (green) and Stirland Mire (brown). Agrellan Earth and Martian Ironearth are the crackle paints, I haven't had as good results with those.

Astrogranite is GREAT. Fuck a bunch of Elmer's Glue and sand/pebbles/flock. I just got the new Astrogranite Debris, which is the "thick" version. It's super chunky and kind of harder to apply, but you get a more rocky, more pronounced texture. I whole heartedly recommend those Citadel texture paints for the bases...it's surprising how much the look of a figure shoots up just by finishing up the base a little.

I'm working on Sigmar's Solid Gold Dancers right now. I got a Citadel L Base Brush and OMG, I think it may be the best $10 I have spent on painting supplies. For basecoating a model with a lot of areas with one color, it is _essential_.

I finished two detectives that just need to be sealed, I tossed some sloppy painted marine in there for scale for you non-15mm folks. Also I'm getting closer to calling my 1st Blood Rage figure finished.

Cranked out another Silver Tower character. Oddly, this is the second character I’ve painted for this game yet all of the actual Silver Tower minis are still on their sprues. I’ve got a Dreadball and a Blood Bowl team to knock out, then I’ll dive in and hit the actual Silver Tower minis.

Anyway, this game has a real dearth of female characters, so was glad to hear this Sylvaneth character was recently included in the app. I prefer analog over digital, so looked to see if she was also included in the recent card pack. She isn’t….too recent. The plan was to get an image of a Branchwych and crop it into a card template. Until I saw the following image…



What’s that…? The Bittergrub not riding on her shoulder? This could be a duo like the Warpriest and Gryph-hound? Both of the kids could use characters with ‘pets’? Hmmm…

So, I went into assembling the model with the idea that I may need to green stuff some gap in her back where the grub would be glued on…there’s no such space. You just glue it on…or not! So, it was easy to find a good sized rock to have the Bittergrub scuttling over. And here we go…

The Branchwych and Bittergrub enter the Silver Tower.





These images came out a bit more dull than I had expected. It’s hard to tell, but after sealing the models, I went back over the scythe end with gloss so it’s has a neat shiny look in person.

Michael Barnes wrote: That looks good man! Keep it up!

Here's a tip on that base. It looks like you used Astrogranite (or painted basing sand). Slap some Nuln Oil on that and let it dry completely. Then drybrush a color over it liberally. For my Silver Tower dudes, I did a three-part drybrush of Caledor Sky, Teclis Blue and then just barely Lothern Blue. For my AoS "field" miniatures, I'm doing Ushtabi Bone and Longbeard Grey. It gives a great look and it's pretty easy to do. Then just paint the rim with Steel Legion Drab (for the field guys) or Eshin Gray (for dungeon guys). Glue a couple of tufts or whatever on there and you are finished. If you don't want the rocky/gray look, there is also Lustrian Undergrowth (green) and Stirland Mire (brown). Agrellan Earth and Martian Ironearth are the crackle paints, I haven't had as good results with those.

Astrogranite is GREAT. Fuck a bunch of Elmer's Glue and sand/pebbles/flock. I just got the new Astrogranite Debris, which is the "thick" version. It's super chunky and kind of harder to apply, but you get a more rocky, more pronounced texture. I whole heartedly recommend those Citadel texture paints for the bases...it's surprising how much the look of a figure shoots up just by finishing up the base a little.

I'm working on Sigmar's Solid Gold Dancers right now. I got a Citadel L Base Brush and OMG, I think it may be the best $10 I have spent on painting supplies. For basecoating a model with a lot of areas with one color, it is _essential_.

Thanks, Michael! Yes, I used Astrogranite, Agrax Earhshade wash and Administratum Grey Drybrush over it for base, which is probably not a good combination. I'll try your suggestion. I used Agrellan Earth before but it never turned out like on the pictures. Although it is partly my own laziness, when I get to the base I'm already too tired of the whole thing and just want to wrap it up...

Mr. White, they both looks awesome! What do you use for wood? And now that we're on the topic, how do you do your basing? (If I could get the bases on your stuff look like yours, I'll be a happy man).

My all-time complaint with GW is the lack of women characters. And when they have women, it's like sisters - they're almost like a different race, they don't mix up with men (or actual aliens and fantastic creatures). I imagine GW's British management like a very prudish, Victorian-like gentlemen's club. They're rancid, but at least they don't objectify.

I'm the same way...I get to the base and I'm ready to be done.

Don't be afraid of contrast on the base texture. Drybrushing a really light color goes a long way to giving those rocks some stronger definition. Agrax kind of blends into the Astrogranite too much which is why I suggested Nuln Oil. But yeah, on top you can build up a couple of drybrush layers and you can even vary them so you get a more mottled look. I like Longbeard Grey, Ushtabi Bone, Screaming Skull, Karak Stone...that sort of warmer tone, pale grey/beige scale.

Vlad wrote: Mr. White, they both looks awesome! What do you use for wood? And now that we're on the topic, how do you do your basing? (If I could get the bases on your stuff look like yours, I'll be a happy man).

My all-time complaint with GW is the lack of women characters. And when they have women, it's like sisters - they're almost like a different race, they don't mix up with men (or actual aliens and fantastic creatures). I imagine GW's British management like a very prudish, Victorian-like gentlemen's club. They're rancid, but at least they don't objectify.

Nice observation on GW and women. I agree...when they do produce female modes, they're very well done and not as objectified as most nerd companies...if at all. However, they rarely produce female figures.

About my Branchwych here... I painted the darker part of the wood Graveyard Earth (not sure that's the name now) and the lighter part (face, chest, bottom of scyth) with Desert Yellow. I washed the whole model in Devlin Mud then went back over some bits with Graveyard Earth and Desert Yellow.

On my bases...I'm still old school. elmer's glue and sand. It's a very easy process for me though and when I get to the base, I'm charged and not worn out. I glue the sand to the base after assembling and gluing the mini to the base. Then I prime the whole thing with Painter's Touch grey...mini, sand, and base. Paint the mini, then at the end wash the base with Nuln Oil. Two quick sorta dry, maybe 'damp', brushes...Shadow Grey, then Space Wolves Grey (again maybe older name), seal the model, then glue on the static grass. It's really simple and looks good.

I continue with sand and flock because, IMO, the effect is the model's base has a bit more weight visually. The GW Astrongranite stuff is great for smaller models, like Dark Future's 20mm figs. At the smaller scale the sand and flock method doesn't look right to me. Too thick. The gravel too large for the figs. That's when I prefer the thinner Astrogranite/Agrellian earth type stuff.

EDIT: I'm painting dome models now featuring yellow, and like gold, I've _never_ been able to get good results from this color. It's like the pigment is too watered down and the yellow ends up more of wash. I have to do a lot of layers. Too many. Not sure how the results are going to pan out. I'm sure GW/Citadel has a new yellow they've put out in the past few years that is the bees knees...but I'm going with what I've already got...

Mr. White wrote: EDIT: I'm painting dome models now featuring yellow, and like gold, I've _never_ been able to get good results from this color. It's like the pigment is too watered down and the yellow ends up more of wash. I have to do a lot of layers. Too many. Not sure how the results are going to pan out. I'm sure GW/Citadel has a new yellow they've put out in the past few years that is the bees knees...but I'm going with what I've already got...

GW's Lamenters Yellow glaze might help you out a bit with getting a bright yellow. You can apply it over the top of whatever other yellow highlighting you do as it is very thin.

Citadel yellows are by far the best I've ever seen. No wateriness, no splotchiness. Part of it is because of the layer system, but Averland Sunset (the base) is just awesome. It's a little darker/mustard yellow, but if you put Yriel Yellow and/or Flash Gitz Yellow on it, the color turns out smooth and rich. I'll never touch another yellow paint again.

But I'm also 100% a Citadel man. Yeah, the other guys are cheaper...but the quality of Citadel paints is just so much higher. When I stopped using other ranges, my skill level actually increased because the paint was simply easier to work with and more consistent.

Yeah, I'm working with Citadel colors...I'm also 100% citadel. Sunburst Yellow and Golden Yellow.

Again, I think these are the older names, and perhaps developed under an older formula.

Michael Barnes wrote: But I'm also 100% a Citadel man. Yeah, the other guys are cheaper...but the quality of Citadel paints is just so much higher. When I stopped using other ranges, my skill level actually increased because the paint was simply easier to work with and more consistent.

That. I feel way more incompetent using Vallejo than Citadel, maybe because I just don't get their painting guides. Another thing that's awesome about Citadel is that if you follow their guides, the models kinda-look-sorta-similar to what they advertise (I have a lingering suspicion that GW actually retouches their minis with photoshop). I have yet to paint something with Vallejo that looks remotely like it is supposed to.

Mr. White wrote: On my bases...I'm still old school. elmer's glue and sand. It's a very easy process for me though and when I get to the base, I'm charged and not worn out. I glue the sand to the base after assembling and gluing the mini to the base. Then I prime the whole thing with Painter's Touch grey...mini, sand, and base. Paint the mini, then at the end wash the base with Nuln Oil. Two quick sorta dry, maybe 'damp', brushes...Shadow Grey, then Space Wolves Grey (again maybe older name), seal the model, then glue on the static grass. It's really simple and looks good.

Thanks! I've realized I'm an idiot (and a lazy one), because I always do the prepping on my bases (gluing and stuff) AFTER I have painted the miniature... while I should be obviously doing that before gluing the miniature to the base.