While I'm unlikely to use both 70mm infantry guns I painted both anyway: maybe useful in IABSM later, as I have a lot more figures to add for the "Fall of the Lion Gate" campaign.
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| Sniper, Observer team behind him, Type 92 HMG with five crew and Junior Leader. |
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CdlT
hope to see them soon on a table
ReplyDeleteWow, splendid work!
ReplyDeleteSuperb painting and basing. 28mm quality painting on 15mm figures and vehicles.
ReplyDeleteCheers gents: I'm slogging through jungle building at the moment. Joy.
ReplyDeleteCdlT
Did you use the dip on these? And what paint did you use for the uniform? Vallejo Middlestone?
ReplyDeleteYes, I used the Army Painter Dark Tone (in the tin), but applied by brush in a controlled manner, not "dipped" in the tin. Apply, leave to dry for minimum of 48hrs, then matte varnish.
DeleteThe Uniform is 882 Middlestone, but I altered the colour by adding about 15% medium green (any, i think I used Luftwaffe Green) and 10% white...this will make the colour a bit greener and lighter, compensating for the browning/darkening effect of the dip. The uniform was painted with this colour, then I added Pale Sand to the Middlestone colour and painted highlights on cloth folds, etc. After everything was painted and then highlighted, the dip was applied.
By painting a slightly lightened overall colour and then doing controlled highlights, you gain a far superior effect to just using the dip. Takes longer, but well worth it.
CdlT
Wow, I would never have guessed the addition of Luftwaffe Green and the White. Given the amount of highlight layers involved, was the dip necessary at all?
ReplyDeleteI think you misunderstand: the uniform colour is a new colour: Middlestone, with some green and white added, in a new bottle. The uniform is then three layers essentially:
Delete(1) Overall uniform colour painted with the new colour mixed above (i.e. a modified Middlestone)
(2) Highlight the edges by adding Pale Sand into the above colour.
(3) Apply the wash.
Two layers of paint, then wash. The green and white are not used separately, they were added to the Middlestone to change the colour slightly. Understand?
CdlT
Sorry to have been unclear again. I actually understood you the first time round and was just marveling at your sense of adventure as I would never have thought of mixing the colours on my own.
DeleteYou have also misunderstood my second question, which is this: even without the dip, the figures would probably have looked good given that you had already gone to the trouble of highlighting the base colours?
Thought I'd put in another disclaimer to preclude the possibility of yet another misunderstanding: that question regarding the dip was my indirect way of complimenting your talents as a painter, which to my mind does not require the aid of Army Painter, unlike us mere mortals.
DeleteThe addition of the green and white was to make the colour greener and a bit lighter to compensate for the dip and it's "browning" effect: the dip will work best over slightly lighter colours (which have had edge highlights applied and which are preferably well-sculpted/detailed), but it will also "brown" colours which is less problem on actual browns but can dull greens and similar. So, going a bit greener here helped keep the "greenness" after the browning effect.
Delete> "You have also misunderstood my second question, which is this: even without the dip, the figures would probably have looked good given that you had already gone to the trouble of highlighting the base colours?"
OK: and not really, the figures would have been painted with two colours only (base colour, edge highlight) and entirely lacking in shadows: the majority of what you see as "detail" on the figure is the shadows and highlights, since they provide the real definition on a figure, the contrast between colours and "objects" on the figure.
The use of the dip is not "optimal", I can paint better by painting properly, with a more controlled result. It's "wargame standard", not proper painting. There will be places on the figure where the dip will pool too much (or too little) and thus be too dark/light than is ideal: the better the sculpt, the less this is a problem. But when all put together and based these things are not really apparent. Control of the wash is also important, i.e. to move the wash from the top surfaces into the deeper areas, not allowing the wash to pool on flat surfaces, etc.
The idea with using the dip is speed: these figures probably take about half the time that painting one properly by 3-4 layers would take, so 50% of the painting time with say 80% of the detail overall. It's about painting to a decent standard for getting units done. 15mm is definitely subject to the "law of decreasing returns", i.e. there is a happy medium required as once you have a certain level of detail in 15mm you have a sufficiently detailed paint job. Spending more time can be done, but you spend more and more time on smaller details and refining small points which might add to what can be seen by those who pay close attention (or in a photograph), but adds fairly little overall. Most people won't even notice the "improvement". if that makes sense?
I'm more inclined to paint 15mm infantry in such a manner these days, as I have units to get done, and because pushing the detail levels up further really isn't worth it to me anymore for 15mm. Such extra refinement is more noticeable in 28mm or larger: the dip also doesn't work nearly as well for 28mm as there are larger surfaces, and flatter ones, which work against this (it will work OK in 28mm, just not as well). It's also more interesting/fun to do 28mm properly for me, it does not require as much concentration as tiny 15mm details. You could say I've got older: I just don't have the patience I used to have for painting small figures with such a time/concentration investment, and have sought a happy medium which balances time spent vs. detail painted.
CdlT