-A Painting Tutorial and Resource for A&A Global-

@jwo1984:

I like your color scheme for the American carriers too.  Question do you use like a ink wash or something to get out details in the hands and face of the men?  Ive seen a few of these impressive details from a few guys on here, just curious what guys do…… look so much better than just the flesh colored blob of a head that my guys have lol

Hey jwo1984 - sorry that I’m just now seeing this! I somehow let it slip.

I do use an ink wash for my soldiers skin (brown). In fact, I use a wash on the whole piece. Depending on the uniform color, I will choose either brown (most uniforms; green, beige or khaki esp.) or black (mostly for blacks or greys, i.e. Germans.) The skin is always brown. I only began this recently, but I find that like you say, it brings out the details. It’s the same method as any other ink wash. However, make sure you don’t let the initial ‘skin’ coat of paint blob out the details. By this I mean don’t apply the skin color too thickly so that the face turns into a featureless blob. If you lose the nose, eye sockets, helmet rim, etc, then the ink wash won’t have any crevices to get into and shadow for that realistic look.

If you are coming to this thread by way of the A&A.org homepage, welcome! I’m so glad you found it. I hope that the article, and the information contained in it helps current or aspiring painters. Please feel free to ask questions about anything and everything, request tutorials, or comment on how you customize.

@Proud:

Spitfire38,

Stumbled onto this tutorial as I just joined the site.  Wow- Really impressive- not just the painting and techniques but also the descriptions, tips, and interaction.
Thanks for sharing your work with us.

Thank you! I’m glad that you’ve enjoyed the work.

@Wizl007:

Yup Spitfire 38 those are awesome
I have a question about what you call “nationalist troops” that insignia you made at the bottom…those soviet troops …
How did you do it? Any special  trick up hour sleeve od it is just patience and steady hand?
Cheers

The hammer and sickle design on the base doesn’t have any real trick to it. I paint the base red and then the boots black. When that is finished, I move on to the yellow hammer and sickle. As you said, it takes patience and a steady hand, and it will probably require you to make some minor adjustments using red or yellow. For example, if I paint the handle of the hammer too wide, I can make it thinner by going back over part of the handle with red, which is the same color as the base of the piece.

@CWO:

@Spitfire38:

When that is finished, I move on to the yellow hammer and sickle. As you said, it takes patience and a steady hand

To paraphrase a flyer I once saw advertisting a Friday-night alcohol-fuelled “Communist party” being held by some university students: it’s hard to paint a tiny hammer and sickle when you’re hammered and pickled.   :-D

Ha, that’s good :D

@majikforce:

Hi Spitfire, Fantastic work!  I have a bunch of pieces I painted for my global game (maybe I will get around to posting pictures sometime).  I had a question about the clear coat process you use.  I have always used some Krylon spray on matte clear coat.  Maybe 2-3 coats  I also store my pieces in a box altogether.  But it seems that over time I get alot of paint chipping of the models.  Now I do use them at least once a month to play so there is some wear.  Any suggestions on getting a better more robust clear coat?

It sounds like you have a thorough process for keeping your pieces protected. I don’t have any suggestions, just a question or two. Did you use a primer on your pieces when you painted them, or are they just paint on OOB plastic? Do you play with people who rough up the pieces and hold them in their hands a lot?

@majikforce:

I do use a primer. After reading some other posts on painting I realized I may not have properly washed the pieces before priming. I have also learned that different plastics react to the paint in different ways. Which makes sense since all my infantry pieces are custom sets I bought. I don’t seem to have trouble with any of the OOB vehicles I painted. Nobody seems to handle them roughly or too much but at least one person spills a box of pieces every game night. My turn was last month. Haha that’s good.

Yeah, it is probably the plastic bonding with the paint. A soapy wash and scrub beforehand and a primer is your best bet.

@IdaRed:

For those of you who apply primer before painting your miniatures, are you using cans of spray paint like Krylon or the brush on kind like those sold by Vallejo and others?  If you’ve used both what is your preference or pros and cons of each?

I use spray paint. My last can or two has been Rust-Oleum Painter’s Touch 2x Ultra Cover Flat Gray Primer. Now isn’t that a mouthful…

I would go with the thinnest primer you can find (less than 2x Ultra Cover preferred). But the cans I’ve been using have been working just fine.

@siredblood:

Gotta give props to members who paint country markers, rather then use decals, man, that’s crazy…. I’m a decal guy, I have patience, but not that much lol.

Thanks for the pics.

Happy to provide pics!

I hear you about decals vs. hand painting. I really like the look of handpainted insignia, but it takes so long I only do it on a few elite units. I’m impressed you have the patience for decals on things like aircraft! That can end up being 4-6 decals per plane if you do them on the fuselage as well. Those are the most frustrating parts for me of the whole process.

@coedewa said in -A Painting Tutorial and Resource for A&A Global-:

So I am just getting ready to start my painting journey, will be my first attempt at painting mini’s. I have a question that I haven’t seen answered yet. What is peoples opinion on the best (easiest) units to start with and faction. I’m thinking maybe planes seem like they could possibly be the easiest.

Thanks

Hi Coedewa - congratulations on starting with miniatures painting! It’s been a hobby that’s given me much satisfaction, many hours of solitude, and a community with other hobby painters. While I haven’t been online for a while there’s a good group of customizers that will be a huge help to you as you begin painting.

I would say the easiest type of unit to begin with is aircraft, followed by ships. They have the most flat surfaces, don’t require a lot of different colors, and allow you to get the basic techniques of brush strokes, paint viscosity (how thick or thin do you want it?) and priming under your belt. Infantry and ground forces can be straightforward, but they are expected to look a little bit more worn and dirty, which takes practice.

Even more important than unit type in determining the difficulty level is the scheme that you decide to go with. A camouflaged fighter plane is much more difficult than a steel gray Panzer V. When choosing a faction, I would recommend beginning with a set of units you know will be straightforward. Tanks, for example, can be pretty basic for all factions. German armor had a nice steel gray, or the OOB Shermans can be a nice army green. Aircraft can also be simple. American fighter planes could be olive drab or a deep naval blue, while the Japanese Zeros are just a white! Once you feel good about the basics, branch out into ships with a two-tone camo scheme, or try a Japanese jungle camo. It’s trial by error. If you hate what you did, soak the pieces in mineral spirits to get the paint off and start over, or buy more pieces from Historical Board Gaming. Or, just move on to a new faction and by the time you finish painting the whole set, you may just find that those first pieces are ready for a makeover. That’s the situation I’m in, and I haven’t even finished my whole set.

I hope this helps!