Tactical Command
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Painting advice or tutorials
http://www.tacticalwargames.net/taccmd/viewtopic.php?f=125&t=32927		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  godismycopilot [ Mon Jan 15, 2018 3:28 pm ]
Post subject:  Painting advice or tutorials
I have just bought a lot of vangard 3mm stuff and have been blown away by some of the paint jobs on here and elsewhere on the net. I want to paint my figures as something like ultra marines e.g. not particularly camouflaged. Please can you point me in the direction of any online resources as to how to paint them. Any advice would be welcome. I have painted 6mm fantasy for years so I have a knowledge of basic techniques but I don't have a lot of experience in painting vehicles. Thanks in advance.
Author:  Mr. Average [ Tue Jan 16, 2018 5:00 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Painting advice or tutorials
My advice is a #1 brush, and three colors: a dark navy blue for a base color, a bright or "true" blue for the middle tones, and then a light "sky" blue for the highlights. The Vanguard minis have enough detail that they're pretty forgiving, but I don't recommend drybrushing or a lot of inks at this scale. Start with a thinned base coat. I use Reaper paints, so my base is usually a dark color thinned at 5:1, paint:flow improver. This gives a good basic shade color. Then I brush on the main color with the #1 brush, just picking out the surfaces and leaving the edges and the depressions clear. The main coat I would thin slightly with just a little bit of water - you don't want it goopy, just smooth. Then just touch the edges with a highlight color and you're there.

Ultramarines, if you use Reapers as well, work well with a base coat of Sapphire Blue, a main coat of True Blue, and a highlight of Sky Blue. There is also some slightly greyer "ultramarine" and "prussian" blues but I prefer the brighter colors.

For the Gold highlighting the same applies - a darker yellow-brown with a golden yellow highlight. Also, whites look best with a light blue-grey base color and an off-white highlight, instead of just a plain single-coat white.

My main advice is to go slowly, picking out the detail with a good sharp brush. Don't drybrush - it just looks dusty at this scale. Thin your paints slightly for best coverage and do several thin coats instead of one thick one, to avoid obscuring all the wonderful detail on these models. And always pick your colors in twos and threes: a shade, a main color, and a highlight or edge color.

Aside from that, just practice! The beauty of 3mm scale is that it doesn't take a National Defense budget to build an army, so learning as you go is not a big deal. Just practice and you'll find yourself with a nice army before you know it!
Author:  godismycopilot [ Tue Jan 16, 2018 10:19 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Painting advice or tutorials
Many thanks for your advice particularly with regard to drybrushing. When I have a bit of time off work will give minus a go as per your suggestions.
Author:  General_Mayhem [ Wed Jan 17, 2018 9:22 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Painting advice or tutorials
Hi

Different technique used by me, similar to my 6mm painting but the main advise as pointed out by Mr average is use thin coats, so water down your paints to the point that they are almost runny.

I do drybrush and I do use washes. Firstly I use a grey primer never black at this scale. Then a thinned down base coat or for my whites just leave as primer, I then cover in a liberal coat of dark tone wash. Wants dry I dry brush, this will bring out the detail and lift the miniature, but do over do it two to three shades above the base coat is needed. For whites I generally build up levels of thinned grey/blue, then do one light coat of dry brush.

After dry brushing I usually use a small brush with dark tone again to pick out any detail obscured by the dry brushing. Then a final touch up with a small brush on detail particularly for the white. Base add decals, light dry brush to add dirt etc and varnish.

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Author:  Mr. Average [ Wed Jan 17, 2018 2:20 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Painting advice or tutorials
There you have it! Clear as mud, huh? Suffice it to say there is no "right" way. GM and I are getting fine results using different techniques (I'm a HUGE fan of his minis, by the way!), so you really need to just dive in and start trying things!
Author:  General_Mayhem [ Wed Jan 17, 2018 6:43 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Painting advice or tutorials
Mr. Average wrote:
There you have it! Clear as mud, huh? Suffice it to say there is no "right" way. GM and I are getting fine results using different techniques (I'm a HUGE fan of his minis, by the way!), so you really need to just dive in and start trying things!


Ah thanks Mr Average, who's painting skills are far from average :spin
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