Fighting the Gray Tide (Miniature Painting)

[MGibster]

I used to build model aircraft when I was a kid in the 1980's. I always wanted to use decals and never had any. I think they add so much to the model- definitely better than the hand painting I was trying to do. Yours really looks cool. For the fantasy minis I paint, I wonder if they make decals to put on shields for knights, or things like that.

The airplane models I had as a kid always came with decals. Since I always got fighters or the SR-71, these were typically United States Air Force or Navy decals. For fantasy/historical, they do make shield decals for Rome, Greek, medieval, etc., etc.

 

[CharlesWallace]

The airplane models I had as a kid always came with decals. Since I always got fighters or the SR-71, these were typically United States Air Force or Navy decals. For fantasy/historical, they do make shield decals for Rome, Greek, medieval, etc., etc.

You know I feel like maybe mine did too? I can't recall for sure. I guess what I remember is not being able to paint the models like the box covers, and I thought it was partly not having decals. Maybe that wasn't it. The curse of getting old- I don't know how much I trust my memory. It's very... flexible.

 

[Ryujin]

You know I feel like maybe mine did too? I can't recall for sure. I guess what I remember is not being able to paint the models like the box covers, and I thought it was partly not having decals. Maybe that wasn't it. The curse of getting old- I don't know how much I trust my memory. It's very... flexible.

Back when I was making aircraft models, back in the '70s, even the cheap Airfix(?) 1/72 scale fighters, in a blister pack, have decals. For reference those cost something like $1.99 IIRC.

 

[CharlesWallace]

Back when I was making aircraft models, back in the '70s, even the cheap Airfix(?) 1/72 scale fighters, in a blister pack, have decals. For reference those cost something like $1.99 IIRC.

Sounds like my memory is fallible. Which I knew... but I guess I forgot.

 

[Ryujin]

Sounds like my memory is fallible. Which I knew... but I guess I forgot.

My long term memory is excellent. My short term memory is..... What was I saying?

 

[MGibster]

The jacked up undercarriage of my ‘78 Chevy Blazer.

 

[MGibster]

Finally gave my brother -in-law the bust I painted. I added the plinth.

 

[MGibster]

There’s no good place to glue the side mirrors, and I don’t want to risk the paint job by smearing super glue all over the finish. So I’m done.

I’ve got mixed feelings. Painting this thing was fun, but assembly was a problem at times. It was a good learning experience though. I’ve got a Gundam model I’m going to tackle next.

 

[MGibster]

Let’s talk lacquer paint! On the left, we have Alclad II Lacquer paint in a Candy Red Enamel. On the right, a model I'm working on where I used a few lacquer paints and regular acrylic paint for the white section. (The white section is Pearly Gates from Turbo Dorks. It has a sheen you really can't see well in photos.)

Why lacquer? I'm glad you asked. They're great for airbrushes. This is the only paint I've ever used that didn't require any thinning and it came out of hte airbrush like butter. I used both my .5mm and .3mm brush and had no issues with clogging of any kind. The metallics are the best I've ever used, I'll show you the chrome later, and the colors are especially vibrant. It's fast drying and self leveling, so you're not prone to have any pooling issues, and it allows the details of the models to show through mutliple layers. It's also a very durable finish so you can sand and polish if necessary. (Model car enthusiast tend to sand their vehicles between coats to get an ultra-smooth finish.)

Are there any drawbacks? You bet. You see that red candy paint up there? That's 1 ounce of paint that set me back $9. To paint the red section up there, I laid down some regular Games Workshop white primer, then some Alclad glossy black base, then the silver candy base, a few coats of the red, and then I hightlighted using the silver candy base again. At approximately $9 a pop, that's adding up in price fairly quickly. The biggest problem is lacquer is far more volatile than the acrylics I'm used to. I can spray my acrylics in a little corner of the house without disturbing anyone (that anyone being my wife). But spraying this is like spraying from a rattle can of paint. You want the room to be extremely well ventilated, so I'm going to have to set this up in the garage or my back porch.

 

[abazaba]

Although I am in no position to recommend anything at all here, but: although I have no personal experience with an airbrush, I have heard 'Uncle Atom' from the 'Tabletop Minions' YouTube channel say good things about the Army Painters 'Warpaints Air' range (in the way they flow out of the airbrush, no thinning required, and the colors come in 'triads'). Not sure if the prices are reasonable. You might want to do some googling on that range, perhaps even finding reviews from sources you trust (instead of random strangers on the internet without any personal experience).