Darkening a model?

[Darkn3ssF4lls]

http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/325182-guardians-of-the-covenant-wip-darkn3ss-tale/?p=4484987

 

So in this thread I've been working on a tactical Marine. I agree with Brother Lucifer armor could be a bit darker. Is the easiest way to just go back with a darker shade mixed of the paint used and a little black? Or could you use some kind of technique to make the areas darker leaving say the original in parts as highlights?

[Major_Gilbear]

You could use a wash like Nuln oil, brushing it into the recesses - this is also easier than putting wash all over the model and having to "reclaim" the main areas again with the original colour.

[Darkn3ssF4lls]

Ok, is it better to buy one say a gray one in this case ? The kit I got came with about 5 years only one that's close is Strong Ink which is black or use the brown which I saw on a video is being used to make models look old / warn ?

[Major_Gilbear]

I know the cool thing is to recommend an off-the-shelf GW Wash or such, but I am going to make a different suggestion: make your own.

 

It sounds like it would be difficult, inconvenient, or expensive, but it really isn't. The best thing about making your own is that you can make any paint or ink into a wash. Here's how:

 

1) Buy some Matte Medium and some Glaze Medium. Vallejo sells these, but so do good artist's stores. The Vallejo ones are quite expensive for what you get, but cheaper if you only need a bit (Vallejo sells £2 for a 17ml bottle vs £5.50 for 117ml bottle of Liquitex Matte Medium for example). If you start with the Vallejo and like them, you can always go for a different brand next time.

 

2) A strong wash can be made by putting one drop of paint on your palette, and adding three drops of matte medium, one drop of glaze medium, and one/two drops of clean water to suit.

 

3) A soft wash can be made by putting one drop of paint on your palette, and adding five drops of matte medium, two drops of glaze medium, and one drop of clean water.

 

4) Using ink instead of paint makes the wash much more translucent.

 

5) You can use a Gloss Medium instead of a Matte Medium for a gloss instead of matte finish.

 

I also add a small amount of retarder to my washes - this means they take longer to dry but because of this I also get no incidence of so-called "tide marks". Vallejo again sell Drying Retarder, and I would recommend just buying a bottle of theirs (it will last you a silly-long time anyway).

 

However, do not use it neat! Instead, get a clean dropper bottle and mix 1 part Vallejo Retarder with 3 parts of clean (distilled if you can get it) water. You will need to shake this mix vigorously for a good while until it is an even consistency (should be like liquid dish soap when you're done).

 

Because of this dilution (Retarder is otherwise nearly useless as sold for miniatures purposes), you basically get four bottles of the stuff for each one you buy - and as you only use a drop here and there, four bottles will probably last you the rest of your natural life!

 

To use this in your wash mix, I add one drop of the diluted retarder to either soft or strong washes. Doing this will mean you probably need to leave the model to dry overnight, so I tend to apply it to a batch of figures at a time. If it's a longer painting session, I try and do this as the last step.

 

For small areas, touch-ups, etc, I just use the same wash without the retarder, and this dries rather faster. This way, you just have to be more careful that the wash doesn't pool too much though, to avoid drying/tide marks.

 

So there you go - three bottles of acrylic mediums plus a spare dropper bottle (two spare dropper bottles if you want to pre-mix the wash additives so that you just add it straight to paint). Total cost is around £7 for an almost endless variation of washes!

[Darkn3ssF4lls]

Thanks for the advice as always Major. Do you know how paints are treated in shipments from place to place ?

 

What I mean is I move countries about once every two-three years. I know paints used to be made with like plant extracts etc. Plants don't generally get through customs

 

Summary I would hate to buy lots of paint supplies this year, move this fall and have the movers refuse to pack them because of their opened / organic nature.

[Major_Gilbear]

It's fine, honestly. There is nothing in acrylic paint that would be any cause for concern to Customs in terms of moving between countries with it.

 

// Edit: most acrylic miniatures paints don't use plant-based extracts anyway; they are more like house paints in they they are synthetic/mineral. If you look, P3 paints are made in the UK, and Vallejo paints are made in Spain. The previous generation of GW paints (i.e., the range that existed before this one) were made at first in France and then China. So most model paints have already crossed international borders anyway! //

[Darkn3ssF4lls]

It's fine, honestly. There is nothing in acrylic paint that would be any cause for concern to Customs in terms of moving between countries with it.

 

// Edit: most acrylic miniatures paints don't use plant-based extracts anyway; they are more like house paints in they they are synthetic/mineral. If you look, P3 paints are made in the UK, and Vallejo paints are made in Spain. The previous generation of GW paints (i.e., the range that existed before this one) were made at first in France and then China. So most model paints have already crossed international borders anyway! //

Yea I'll try it this time, moving customs is sometimes finicky compared to shipping.

[White Wolf]

When I used to work offshore I took acrylic paints and models overseas from the UK in hold baggage - sealed into a plastic box (a biscuit box as it happens ).

I never had a problem traversing customs - or even getting onto helicopters to re-join my vessel offshore as long as the paints were sealed in a box. I used to tape it with gaffa tape as an extra security precaution.

I would think if you follow this kind of philosophy you should be ok.

All the best

White Wolf

[Darkn3ssF4lls]

When I used to work offshore I took acrylic paints and models overseas from the UK in hold baggage - sealed into a plastic box (a biscuit box as it happens ).

I never had a problem traversing customs - or even getting onto helicopters to re-join my vessel offshore as long as the paints were sealed in a box. I used to tape it with gaffa tape as an extra security precaution.

I would think if you follow this kind of philosophy you should be ok.

All the best

White Wolf

Thanks, i'll give it a try in the air freight and then might be forced to have a sealed carry on such as this.