Dip vs Tabletop Painting

I have been getting a few questions about the dipped minis and how they look compared to the minis I normally paint. The differences were not as much as I would have thought. Even before brightening up the new dipped ones were pretty close. Can you tell the difference?

At normal tabletop distances there isn't any. At 1 foot still none. At 3-6 inches there are little things, extra shadows and weaker highlights but nothing that would make them as bad. More like painting when tired or like the tenth fig in a row. Overall I am going to call my dipping test a success. This means I need to get those other troops assembled and with any luck the main force will be done in the next month or two. Now I need to find a way to speed up painting the white pieces of my army. I have 3 or 4 more Devilfish, 6 more piranha and a at least a dozen battlesuits. Looks like I am going to have to get to experimenting.  

Tools on the Cheap

If you are going to work on models you are going to need tools. The problem is if you are like most gamers you spend as little as possible on tools so you can buy more models. As such you are always on the look out for bargains. Here are a couple I found in a few recent trips to the hardware store.

First up is a $3 knife set. Now I know, but trust me on this one. The set includes the normal assortment of blades than are fairly soft so the won't hold an edge for long but that is not why I got it. Take a look at the handle and the calipers. The handle is a step above the normal plastic stuff. It has a rubber grip so it doesn't slide around in your hand and has a nice shape. It also has an all metal blade chuck. This is great if you have ever tried to tighten the plastic ones only to have the blade fall out or the threads strip. The caliper is another bonus due to its size and that you are not paying extra for it. The markings are rubbish but if you use it like most the measurements wont matter. I normally transfer mine to another ruler anyway, I like to work in tenth of an inch for easier scaling of projects.  Best of all it is disposable. Having bent or lost several expensive metal ones through the usual mishaps it is nice to have a cheap alternative.

 

Next up are sculpting tools. If you are going to be doing any work with green stuff or other modeling compounds you are going to need something to make it easier. This is another $3 find. It included a decent number of shapes. The tools are all metal and have a good feel in the hand. They are also rigid so no bending when you go to move things around or if you want to use them as sanding blocks in tight spaces.

You must stay on the path.

Pathfinders are one of the more cool and odd units in 40k. They are probly the most specilized thing in the game. They are scouts thats whole purpose is to make other units better. If you play Tau will will need several. So here are 3 new ones I am trying to finish up. These are done the same as the Kroot I did earlier. They are dipped only at this state. I will be adding the rest of the detail shortly. The extra pouches are from Forgeworld Elysian Equipment Pack. They turned out really well and I will likely be adding them to some of the other troops.

I also heard an interesting rumor that has me thinking back to one of my earlier post. Here is the rumor 

Assault Skimmer

Something between size of piranha and hammerhead, fast skimmer open topped, assault on disembark.

It's assault after a flat out move, and has the "drop troops along path" option similar to the storm raven"

This would be a sorely needed addition to the Tau and would be the perfect Pathfinder transport. Looks like I need to dig this project back out and start working on some new plans for this one. This is going to be a very good and long year for projects if this rumor pans out.

Birdmen are falling from the sky!

The Kroot have returned. I still need to finish basing them but that has to wait until I get some more flock. These have been hit with matte varnish and touched up so the details stand out a little better.

This is the Kroot Shaper that is waiting for the final touch ups and basing. I will reshoot him when things are all complete. This just gives you an idea of how they look comming out of the dip.

Pallets and Barrels

I am working on a group of terrain projects for a warehouse/storage yard. This is the first little piece for it. The pallet was originally going to be wooden but then I thought about it and realized that I need to make allot of these. Doing a traditional wooden pallet involved cutting a bunch of small pieces of wood plus assembly. I simplified the design and when with a metal pallet. This way I could do a simple one-piece mold and cast as many as I need.

The barrels are from a military kit that includes gas cans and pails. They are a little tall but with the compressed/stretched scale used in 40K this isn't that big of a deal. I may take a few and modify them to get a different look out of them.  

Birdmen hatching from the ooze

I held off for as long as I could but I have never been one to like painting troops. Tanks, drones, battle suits, terrain, single minis, no problem. More than 5 of the same thing and my hands shut down. It is just too boring to have to paint the same fig over and over and over again. Since I need at least 36 Firewarriors, 40 Kroot and 12 Kroot hounds, I needed some way to speed things up. It was time to try dipping minis.

First up in the bath for me are the Kroot. Kroot have a love/hate relationship in Tau circles. You love the fact that they can actually survive in close combat but hate the fact that they almost never get there. They are a speedbump on good days and a waste of point when the dice are cold. Either way you can't find out their worth in your army until you have some. The eggs have finally hatched. This is the first 6 of 12. The other 6 were still drying while the pictures were being taken. They will hit the booth eventually.

For this first set I when with the black stain/varnish dip. The mix is 2 parts stain to 3 parts mineral spirits. The base paint is Krylon Periwinke which is a dead on match for GW Shadow Grey. This is great because touchu ps require no color matching. This speeds things up heavily. The rest of the colors are about 1 or 2 shades lighter than I would normally use. This  worked out pretty well for me.

New Year and lots of projects

Well 2011 is here and I am already off an running. So far we have a dozen Kroot on their way to the photo booth, 3 more Pathfinders drying after the dip, primer drying on a barrel and pallet terrain piece and the first sketches of my Adepticon/Freebootaz purity seals. This is going to be one busy month and it is only going to continue. On tap for this year I have at least 4 new terrain projects (barrel stockpile, IG tent, Kroot encampment, Tau watchtower), full sized Tau sholder pad, full sized bolter, new airbrush paint booth and a shaker table for my mold making/casting needs. Oh yea, I almost forgot, the little matter of the Appleseed Landmate battlesuits. This is going to be a long, project filled year.