GHQ Models Forums

Wanting to get back into micro armor after an unfortunate hiatus (not forced but, poorly decided) I have decided to peruse some of the boards for a refresher. I [re-]looked over some great works out there by some really talented gamers. I would ask a small favor for myself and perhaps for others in the future, would you be so kind as write a short description of your techniques and then a post photo of what you feel is one of the best pieces you created with it? Not necessarily a step-by-step, in-depth, how to [unless you desire] but, rather a summary and a "ta-da!"

Obviously, others have posted how-to's before, but they tend to get lost in the myriad of posts. Maybe if this turns out well, GHQ admin could keep this as a sticky?

I would start off myself, but since I sold off my GHQ collection many years back and I have some purchases to make and ground to re-gain. I assure all, I will be back to post [after a few Frankenstein attempts] and bring to the table what I hope others will bring as well.

Dave

Yes, a sticky for tutorials and tips&trick would be very helpfull, but previous attempts didn't work (got lost). But hey, let's try again.
Most ideas are not mine, but here we go:

I use acrylics for my miniatures, although the final varnish is white spirit based.



First I clean the metal from casting lines and flash. I glue them onto nails or whatever to make them easier to handle and paint. Then I put them in a cup of ammonia mixed with water and leave them for a night (like 8 hours). I clean them with hot water and a brush and leave them to dry for at least a day. Then I spray prime them with a grey colour and leave the miniatures to dry for at least 2 days (preferably more than a week). Then they are ready to get painted.



First layer is the base colour. Yellow or grey for Germans, Khaki (usually mixed with a bit of olive drab) for the British. This base paint is much lighter than I want my final look, because washes will darken them quite a bit. I like greyish (not bright) colours, so I like a thin (add water) coat so that the grey colout of the primer shines through. This way I already get a very soft wash effect with the first layer. The miniatures need to dry at least a few hours.



For German camo, the next layers are a brownish red and green (olive drab) colours. After that I add details like tires, tools, guns, rusty exhausts and tracks etc. Then I add 2 or 3 washes (dark grey/ light brown and a rusty colour). I prefer to add light washes to have more control over how dark the model becomes. The last wash or washes are selective. Unually dirt or rust doesn't cover the whole model but only a couple of places.
After the washes are dry (at least a few hours) I do some drybrushing. Usually that is the base colour mixed with white.
The miniatures are then sealed with a gloss acrylic varnish. A gloss one seems stronger and leaves a better surface for decals. I use white glue mixed with water to add the decals to the model with a brush. When dry, I gently add some more mixed white glue on the decals. The second varnish is an acrylic matt one. Third and fourth varnish are the matt and white spirit based. You might think: "What? Four layers of varnish?! But for me two layers weren't enough (paint came off). Acrylic varnishes don't seem strong and matt enough to me. The white spirit one is, but when I put it onto the acrylics it sometimes slighty dissolves the colours.

First off Dave I live in Indiana also PM or on here and let me know where you live at. You are more than welcome to join me and my group in The South Bend area every Saturday for gaming. We game in all scales era's. We are starting a North African micro armor campiagn game on the 17th of September.

Also I do a lot of micro armor painting / terrian / micronauts. I actually live in Warsaw.

Hope to hear from you and maybe get you back into gaming with us if you wish to.

fullmetaljacket

First off Dave I live in Indiana also PM or on here and let me know where you live at. You are more than welcome to join me and my group in The South Bend area every Saturday for gaming. We game in all scales era's. We are starting a North African micro armor campiagn game on the 17th of September.

Also I do a lot of micro armor painting / terrian / micronauts. I actually live in Warsaw.

Hope to hear from you and maybe get you back into gaming with us if you wish to.

fullmetaljacket

I started using Troy Ritters style. They look GREAT. And I'm nowhere near as good as he is.

http://www3.telus.net/Ritterkrieg/paint.htm