My attempt at the dipping technique

[Wulf Ratbane]

Thanks for the answers, Doug.

I picked up two pots of stain over lunch: one water based, and one poly-based (although I could not find #360, I had to settle for a darker shade, I think #380).

I'm going to give them both a try, including adding a bit of Future floor wax (which I mistakenly called detergent earlier) to the water-based mix.

 

[GlassJaw]

This thread is awesome - great stuff Kris. I consider myself a good slow painter but a horrible speed painter. I'm too much of a perfectionist. I really want to try the techniques in this thread though.

Slightly OT: Kris, what is your photography setup and method - really great pics.

 

[Kris]

...I consider myself a good slow painter but a horrible speed painter. I'm too much of a perfectionist. I really want to try the techniques in this thread though.

I know how you feel, I'm usually painfully slow when painting normally - but it is kinda satisfying to get a bunch of figures done quickly this way (even if they look kinda cruddy compared to something you might spend hours on)

Slightly OT: Kris, what is your photography setup and method - really great pics.

I'm using a Fuji FinePix A202 camera (2 mega pixels) - which I guess is a little pathetic by today's standards - but it still works, so I'm not intending on upgrading any time soon

When I'm taking the pictures I simply have the mini on a sheet of white paper and two standard desk lamps (with 60W bulbs) shining on the mini (i.e. not using the camera's flash).

I'll admit that I'll usually take around half a dozen pic's of the mini at various distances and then choose the best one

 

[Kris]

And all this talk about the technique has got me at it again... so here's a couple I've painted tonight that I'm going to use when attempting to brush the stain on.

An old Citadel skeleton (or some other undead):

An Armalion orc (yeah I seem to have a 101 different styles of orcs):

 

[GlassJaw]

I'm using a Fuji FinePix A202 camera (2 mega pixels) - which I guess is a little pathetic by today's standards - but it still works, so I'm not intending on upgrading any time soon

When I'm taking the pictures I simply have the mini on a sheet of white paper and two standard desk lamps (with 60W bulbs) shining on the mini (i.e. not using the camera's flash).

Do you take the pics in macro mode? Do you use a tripod?

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

Found a can of Tudor stain for 8 bucks! Woot!

I also went back and did some touch up on my orcs. Since I put too much stain on I went back and redid the weapons so they were not so dark.

 

[Kris]

Do you take the pics in macro mode? Do you use a tripod?

I do have the macro feature turned on, but the camera itself I just rest on the table and tilt it a little (by hand) so that the miniature appears in the centre of the display. Not very hi-tec I'm afraid

Anyway… here's the results I got by brushing the woodstain (walnut colour) on the above miniatures rather than actually dipping them. Well 'brushing' is not too accurate a description as I just loaded a large brush with the stain and dabbed it on the figure and then used a clean brush to soak up any stain that was gathering too heavily in any one area.

Here's the armoured skeleton:

And the orc (probably a bit too dark):

All in all I think it's just as good (or bad ) but it's also a lot less messy

I did however have to lie the skeleton on his back after he had dried, and add a little more stain to the area beneath his chin and where the shield meets the body - as the original stain had either evaporated or run further down the mini (leaving those areas without much shading). But lying the figure on it's back and letting little drops of stain pool in those areas did the trick

 

[Pbartender]

I'm wondering just how deep you dip the figures... base and all?

How do you dry them without the stain drying such that it glues the base to whatever it's resting on?

 

[Redrobes]

I do have the macro feature turned on, but the camera itself I just rest on the table and tilt it a little (by hand) so that the miniature appears in the centre of the display. Not very hi-tec I'm afraid

This is a great thread Kris. I haven't painted miniatures for years and I want to have a go now !! I am stunned at how good they come out given the basic paint job before hand. Anyway, on the camera topic, have you or anyone else tried to take photos top down to use in the digital aids ? I know using digital maps kinda defeats the object of using real minis but you could play with your own minis as photo tokens online too, or swap tokens of classically great paint jobs.

 

[Kris]

How do you dry them without the stain drying such that it glues the base to whatever it's resting on?

I generally stick the miniature to a bit of 'blu tack' ('fun tack' in the US?) while it dries ...like I did on this mini - though this was one I was painting rather than dipping:
http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l159/csp_kris/mmgoblin1.jpg

...have you or anyone else tried to take photos top down to use in the digital aids ?

Never tried that to be honest, but it sounds as though it might work.