46 replies to this topic

[JB-Sounder]

Hello All,

First time posting after keeping an eye out for the wonderful tips, tricks, and inspiration.  I started collecting way back in the early 90's and my 10 year-old painting skills were low.  After taking many decades off, I decided to strip and repaint my dwarf army.  Still haven't played a game in a very long time but getting a lot of joy and serenity out of painting the little guys.

 

So I think it's time to join the community and get some Longbeard (Shortbeard too since we all have some dwarf love here) feedback and direct inspiration.  Rather than dump a bunch of pics, I think I'll go unit by unit and add to the tread if it seems to be worth everyone's time.  So I think I'll start with the first unit since returning, hammerers (and the most step by step I have).

 

 

Here's the rest of the army awaiting some coats:

 

Thanks to all of you for unwittingly helping as I leered from the shadows.

JB

[Thane Wrok Bearslayer]

Maybe a dumb question, but how do you actually strip your models? I'd like to give some of my models another chance!

[JB-Sounder]

I tried a bunch of the recommendations from the internets:

Nail Polish remover (both with and without acetone) with little success)

Paint Thinner (meh, expected more)

Kitchen degreaser (don't remember the brand but some folks swear by Simple Green especially for plastic)

 

All of those were soaked for several hours or overnight.  Then scrub with a stiff brush and tweezers for the hard to reach or extra hard glue areas.  Rinse, Repeat.  It took a week with one hour of scrubbing a day for my full army.

 

I only did metal so not sure if these would ruin plastic.

[Nord]

Tried all those myself, none are particularly good and some pretty harmful to your health. 

 

Biostrip is what I use now. It works like a dream on metal, and pretty well on plastics too. It's non-toxic so you can safely dispose of it down the plughole. It doesn't smell too much. You can even use it without wearing gloves - though if you have a long session it might affect your skin. 

 

Just coat your figure (I just dump it in the pot then pull it out and put it to one side), leave for about an hour, run it under warm water and most of the paint just falls off. Stubborn paint can be brushed off with an old toothbrush. 

 

I am in the UK and buy it from ebay, not sure if it's available elsewhere.

[Glyfi Ironbeard]

If you are state side, I swear by simple green. I've used it to strip dwarfs, brets, and dark elves. So far, I've never had any figured damaged by soaking or scrubbing. That includes both the plastics and the metals, though I do tend to handle plastics a little more carefully during the scrubbing, just in case. I've even stripped the same plastic figure multiple times with no loss of detail.

Back to the nice shots of units, I love the classic blue/white color scheme. Well executed so I look forward to seeing the other figures come to life.

[JB-Sounder]

Here is a sneaky group of Thunderer Snipers.  Converted with milliput and this being my first attempt sculpting shows. That being said I think it's a fun group but would have to split up to be playable (other thunderers and my bolt thrower).  Wanted to share these because I tried to do a little sculpting today (goblin intestines thanks to some slayers).  Would love some advice for either Green Stuff or Milliput though I imagine practice makes perfect.

 

 

[Thane Wrok Bearslayer]

Thanks for all the help. I'll see what I can get my hands on. I've got plastics and metals, so i'll try a "gentle" solution first.

[Thunderförge]

If it's acrylic paint, soak them in neat Dettol, it shouldn't damage the plastic (do a test model first of course!)
The paint should come off easily with a little help from a toothbrush.

[JB-Sounder]

This is what I've been working on now.  Would love some advice on any next steps.  For example, thinking about blood really dripping from the weapons or more goblin parts.  not really sure about the black/white and how to shade.  What about really crisp/straight lights (is painters tape something people use?). They are not glued to the base so I can make many adjustments...  

 

 

-JB

 

PS big thank you to the folks at Mox Cafe and Mox Boarding House in the Seattle area for letting me paint with people... much more pleasant surrounded by painters.

 

 

[Aberrant]

fantastic looking army.

lucky you are for owning all those lovely dwarfs from the 90s

 

[JB-Sounder]

I always felt like the original Thunderers looked like Santa Claus so...

 

 

 

[JB-Sounder]

Been painting a lot recently (Clansmen, Iron Breakers, Long Beards) but getting a little stuck on how to base them. I was thinking of creating a dock style for one set, but I'm running out of fun ideas for different terrain.  In the mean time, I'm also thinking about unit fillers since I don't have a lot of standards or musicians.  So I stuck a pole through a greenskin for my slayer unit.

 

 

For musician fillers, I'd like to do a small upright piano and a 3 horned gramophone.  Any other ideas for fun instruments?

 

Here's a unit of the imperial dwarfs

 

 

[dwarfsarethebestaround]

Some really lovely models done justice with a nice paint job. I'm jealous of your opponents who will have a good view!

[JB-Sounder]

First pass at carving a musical unit filler.  Here's a Slayer Gramophone WIP:

 

[JB-Sounder]

The journey continues!  WIP for Flame Throwers - they started all the same (red/yellow/copper) but after I started on the cannon flame with a bright blue (wanted to get that super hot metal look) to white then the red/yellow, it was not looking right.  I decided to redo the colors with the idea that maybe they had different mixtures in the cannon.  Still need to do a bit more on the flames as well as a few more highlight layers and base... I'm thinking of getting so Scibor dwarf head rock bases.  Any reviews on those?

 

 

 

In other news, just did my first silicon mold and cast... Opened it early and ruined the main model (gyrocopter pilot) and threw the whole thing away.  Decided to pull it out of the trash bin 5 hours later and the 2 other pieces (gyrocopter tail and bottom) were in great shape.  Maybe I'll have an fleet of these things.

[JB-Sounder]

Casting my gyro... still getting too many bubble so any advice is appreciated.

 

Still wanted to share some pics with the Green Stuff to fill in the gaps.

 

 

Looking forward to painting.  I have been painting pieces before assembly but it seems like most do the opposite.  Anyone with a strong opinion?

[dazza36]

I always painted the gyro after gluing apart from the blades and pilot and trust me I've had plenty of practice !

[JB-Sounder]

Those are fantastic.  Are the joystick tops pool balls?

[dazza36]

Those are fantastic. Are the joystick tops pool balls?

Yes they are, I was eventually hoping to have a complete set but it took years & alot of money to get those 8 so only managed the dots no stripes sadly

[karak-ulo]

I love this Gyro unit!