The Battle Barn

1. Am I suppose to see my brush stokes when I dry brush? ( then again I was using a white primer)

2. Is there a better way to put models together cause. . My fingers are getting angry at me for gluing them together with super glue for the 200th time. lol
Plus some times the super glue I have doesn't like sticking the pieces together.

3. Which is better Airbrushing or hand painting it?

4. Which brushes I should be using? I just got a few from Arney's art store. and a cheap combo pack from meijers. (bad mistake on me part mesa think )

5. What other cheaper alternative paints can I use?

6. Can I prime it with a none primer? If so whats the difference.

I think that's it. . for now. lol


Thanks for your time.

Let's see if I can answer some of these for you.


Are you referring to the dusty look? If you're seeing actual brush strokes, are you removing most of the paint from the brush before applying it to the model? Most often, you will get a dust effect on a model, as not all of the paint will go perfectly where you want it. For this reason, many people apply some sort of a wash over top a drybrush to help cover the dusted areas.


Get some type of glue that has an applicator tip on it. That way the glue only goes in the exact spot you want it to go. You're going to get glue on your fingers sometimes, it just happens. Perhaps you're using too much glue? You don't need a lot.

As to glue type, I prefer super glue over plastic glue. Plastic glue joins plastic models together by melting the two pieces of plastic and thus they mold together. I however prefer super glue, as the glue itself forms a bond between the two pieces. It is a slightly less sturdy hold, but it allows you to break the model apart later on if you so choose.


It depends on what you are doing. Airbrushing is great for basecoats, as you get a consistent smooth coat over the whole model. This can sometimes be difficult to do with a brush. Hand painting comes into play when you want to do details and highlights. Unless you are incredibly skilled with an airbrush, I can't see how you'd be able to put the paint exactly where you want it, considering how small the models we work with are.

Well the cream of the crop from what I hear people use are Winsor & Newton Series 7 brushes. You'd probably have to buy these online though, and they would run about $15-$30 per brush depending on the size.

For cheap, yet good brushes, check out a local art supply & hobby store. A Hobby Lobby or Michaels would work great. They have a decent amount of brush size and shapes to choose from. It's hard to tell you specific types, as each brush has different uses. Only thing I can recommend is getting one or two of a size that looks comfortable and see how well they work.


There aren't many. You can try Vallejo paints, but you're buying them online, and really they aren't a whole lot cheaper than GW paints. You could try making a paint sample of a GW paint and then taking it to a Lowes or Home Depot and have them try to match the color. They can mix you a sample jar of acrylic paint that will be fairly close in color to the GW paint, although it usually has less pigment than GW's, and thus will require more coats.


A 'real' primer will create a chemical bond between the model, and the paint that you put over top of it. This means that the paint is harder to rub off as you handle it. Regular spray paints don't do this, and thus will more easily rub/peel/flake off the more you handle the model. I would recommend always priming a model with real primer (check out Dupli-Color Black Sandable Primer. You can get it at most auto part stores, and Meijer I think.) If you want to spray on a different color then, at least you already have the model primed, and thus the spray paint will adhere better.



Hope this all helped a bit.

Wait. Is Brian giving someone tips on painting or am I having a stroke?

Both.

When I used a mixture of skull white and red gore so I could put a normal shade of red gore but I could see the white primer bleeding right through. Which kind a bothered me a bit. lol



Right now I'm using Gorilla glue super glue.



Thank you for info, I was thinking of getting the one from the GW but there was also a different model that looked like it from a different company that specializes in airbrushes and for cheaper too! lol




I was thinking of getting a set of Hog bristle brush set for miniwargaming or another site. so I wanted to get a little bit more info on brushes and such. =)



Well, crap. I might give it a try anyways. lol
I'm running out of chaos black and blood red to fast. . which dissappperd some time ago. . still looking for it. . maybe one of my little sisters took it. . annywayys. . rambling. . .



Coolness, I always wanted to know the difference
I used a different auto-motive black primer spray can ( it was the only black primer I could find) since the GW one is abit overpriced imo.
But it came out all bumpy and not smooth.
So, I might give the one you mentioned a try.



Yep, yep yep. Sure did! thank you for all the info.

I was going to ask another question but I forgot while trying to figure out how to quote. . . . . . .

If you're seeing brush strokes then you probably have too much paint on the brush, although it's also possible that your brush just sucks. Some combinations of primer color and top color, any time there is a large enough difference between them, will require multiple coats. And it's generally better to do several thin coats rather than trying to get it thick enough in one. The usual theory for painting mini's is to use a black primer so the crevices in the model stay dark and it looks more three dimensional, but I've heard of a technique that starts with white and then does everything with inks or washes.

Games Workshop generally makes good stuff, but I am not a fan of their paints. I use Testors enamels, which are based on petroleum distillates rather than water. Clean up is a pain since you need to use mineral spirits rather than water, but you get a much more rugged finish, they're a lot cheaper per ounce than GW's stuff, and they're available in many more colors at many more stores. Since Hobby Lobby and Michaels carry them you're not restricted to specialty stores like Riders and Cobblestone. Also, they stick so well that you almost don't need to prime the models first. The only real problem with the enamels is that they dry fast so you can't easily use a wet palette to blend the colors, but a multi-well paint tray works just as well.

I actually have a few Testors paint bu I've never liked them cause they pretty much ruined my good brush, when I cleaned it with water. lol ><
But I'll try the mineral trick.

Thanks