For the May issue of Tabletop Gaming magazine I was tasked with painting the Death Eater miniatures and a few of the other baddies…
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Tutorial
Harry Potter Miniature Game – TTG Painting Guide
This month’s issue of Tabletop Gaming is in stores now and within you can find my article on how to paint some of the forces of good, Harry, Ron & Hermoine alongside the Order of the Pheonix…
Get your copy here.
Necromunda – Underhive Base Painting Guide
I wanted to share how I achieved the bases for my Necromunda models. I wanted something a little distinct from the usual metal bases and what better way to do that than ancient rusted up bases. I also added a wee touch of spot colour, with the green ooze under the grates.
I started with a black undercoat to get things started, but here’s how I cheived the rest…
I began with a basecoat of Mournfang Brown.
This was followed by a heavy drybrush of Skrag Brown.
Then apply a lighter drybrush of Deathclaw Brown.
Apply an edge highlight to all the hard edges and stipple small amounts over the flat areas.
Make a mix of 1 part Moot Green to around 3 parts water and flood the grating up to the level of the higher lip.
Make a mix of 1 part Gauss Blaster Green and 3 parts water. This time use the mix to flood only each individual section.
Make a mix of 1 part Guass Blaster Green and 1 part Ceramite White. Apply carefully down the centre of each rectangle and along the edges.
Apply a light glaze of Waywatcher Green.
Apply a layer of Abaddon Black to the rims.
I used Kromlech’s Soot Black pigment to add a touch of weathering to finish off the bases.
You should now have some funky bases for your gangers. I’ll be back soon with some more ideas on how to base your gangs.
Necromunda – ‘Gellion’ Pattern Energy Shield Guide
My Van Saar have a unique bit of kit, which I’m gonna write into thier back story, and I’ve been asked how it was done. So here is a guide on building your own ‘Gellion’ pattern energy shield to put to good use against the enemies of Van Saar!
What you’ll need…
- ‘Hystrar’ pattern energy shield. The standard one from the Van Saar gang box is perfect.
- Servo skull. These are quite easy to come by on bits sites and ebay, and there’s quite a few variations out there.
- ‘Thrusters’ I used a Necron weapon part, but you could use anything that fits the theme
Step 1
Begin by removing the back of the skull and the house emblem from the shield front. Make sure to file these flat so they will sit flush.
Step 2
Glue the skull to the shield front, centered where the house emblem was. I chose to glue them to oriente the shield horizontally, to change things up you could affix it so the shield is vertical.
Step 4
On the back of the shield you’ll need to shave down the plug or it will not fit in place properly.
Step 5
Get your ‘thruster’ ready. I made sure the connection point was flat.
Step 6
Affix your thruster to the back off the energy shield. Before gluing anything dry fit the front and back to make sure everything is the orientation that you want it.
Step 7
Once all the glue is dry you should be able to stick the peices together giving you your energy shield.
I didn’t glue the peices together, as I want to be able to remove the acrylic shield section for painting.
I did however glue the skull part to one of my champions, and if you have not seen them already, take a look at a gallery of the other energy shields below…
A Month in Pictures – January 2019!
Into another year and onto painting even more cool models. I have to admit that I took a bit of a rest during January to recharge the old batteries a bit. But I still managed to get paint to brush to model and finished painting some cool models.
The main job I was working on was a painting guide for Modiphius’s Fallout: Wasteland Warfare game, which can be found in Tabletop Gaming Magazine. Take a look at the survivors I painted below…
Models Painted: 6
2019 Total: 6
Middle Earth SBG – Ancient Ruins Painting Guide
This guide is ideally suited for painting the bases I showed you how to make in this tutorial.
I’ve used the same basing technique for both my Azog’s Legion and my White Council, but with a few subtle changes to the painting in order to give them a different character. I’ll be going through the stages for both in full but there are only a few differences between them, but you’ll notice from the picture they end up looking fairly different.
Eerie Ruins
What you will need:
- Citadel Rhinox Hide
- Citadel Eshin Grey
- Citadel Dawnstone
- Citadel Ionach Skin
- Citadel Pallid Wych Flesh
- Vallejo Chocolate Brown
- Citadel Death World Forest
- Citadel Karak Stone
- Army Painter Steppe Grass
- Army Painter Mountain Tufts
- Dark Green Leaves
Begin by basecoating the base with Sotek Green, then apply a heavy drybrush of Eshin Grey
Apply a medium drybrush of Dawnstone
Apply a light drybrush of Ionach Skin
Apply an edge highlight to the tiles with Pallid Wych Flesh
Make a mix of 1 part Chocolate Brown and 5 parts water and apply over the sanded areas
Make a similar mix with Death World Forest and apply over select areas of the sand
Apply a light drybrush of Karak Stone I’ve the sand and edges of the cork
Apply a very light drybrush of Pallid Wych Flesh to the sand
Apply some of the mountain tufts to the base
Use PVA to apply the grass around the tufts and across the sandy areas
Finally use PVA glue to affix some leaves to the base. This can be a little fiddly so I would recommend some tweazers
Dark Ruins
What you will need:
- Citadel Rhinox Hide
- Citadel Eshin Grey
- Citadel Dawnstone
- Citadel Ionach Skin
- Citadel Pallid Wych Flesh
- Vallejo Chocolate Brown
- Citadel Karak Stone
- Army Painter Steppe Grass
- Army Painter Mountain Tufts
- Autumn Leaves
- Alclad II ‘mud’ weathering pigment
Apply a basecoat of Rhinox Hide to the base and once dry apply a medium drybrush of Eshin Grey across the base
Apply a light drybrush of Dawnstone, focussing on the edges of the tiles
Apply a very light drybrush of Ionach Skin to the edges of the tiles
Apply an edge highlight of Pallid Wych Flesh to the tiles
Use the same Chocolate Brown mix found in the Eerie Ruins guide and apply to the sand areas and exposed cork
Apply a light drybrush of Karak Stone to the sand and exposed cork
Apply a very light Pallid Wych Flesh drybrush to the sand and exposed cork
Apply the mountain tufts to the base
Apply a light dusting of weathering powder to the top and edges
Use PVA to affix some autumn leaves to the base to finish
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Middle Earth SBG – Ancient Ruins Basing Tutorial
I absolutely love going to town on the basing of my miniatures. It’s just another excuse to add some character, variety and unification to your armies. It’s all about adding that story that really brings your miniatures to life.
The most recent basing I have been doing is for my Azog’s Legion force and today I’m going to show you what you need and how to go about making them.
I’ll be doing a series of tutorials on basing, both the modelling and the painting, so look out for future articles.
What you will need:
- Cork Roll. I use a 2.5mm thickness, like this. This is readily available from most hobby stores, so if you do have a model train store nearby pop in and take a look. Just one of these rolls will easily last you the whole army.
- Plasticard. I have so far been using a fairly thin, 1mm, variety. This does make it a bit easier to cut and model, but doesn’t look quite as good as a thocker variety.
- Sand. I used Fine Sand from Basecrafts.
- Mixed cork. Used for detailing. Can be found here, or like the cork roll can be found in hhobby stores.
- PVA
- Super Glue
- Clippers
- Modelling Knife
Building the Bases
Begin by breaking the cork roll down into smaller, circular sections. I used the base as a template and broke the cork off around the edge. Always make more than required as these can be used for extra levels and details.
Glue one of the circles to the top of the base with superglue.
Once dry this will give you your first layer.
Due to some of the drying times involved I’ll always build a few bases at a time, usually enough for a warband.
Cut the plasticard down into small rectangular and square shapes. They don’t need to be uniform as the ruins are quite, well…ruined.
Using super glue attach each segment at a time to build up the paving on top of the cork.
Clip off the excess plasticard around the edge of the base. The aim is to keep to the circle but still retain an angular look.
That’s the second layer done. Normally I would attach figures at this point. It can limit your ability to paint the base but does ensure the mini will be a good fit.
Next up is weathering the plasticard. Using the modelling knife make scratches across the surface. The more you add the more beaten up the ruins will look.
Also use the knife to shave down the edges and add some bigger cuts.
Use super glue to add a few peices of the mixed cork across the bases.
Use PVA to add some of the fine sand onto small areas of the bases. I focussed on any cork visible on the top, around the mixed corks and in the cracks.
Once the pva was dry I added a layer to seal in the sand. This was acheived with a mix of 1 part PVA to 6 parts water. I add this to all my bases that include sand as it really secures everything and cuts down on wear and tear.
The beauty of the cork is it’s quite an easy material to cut and craft into unique features.
A simple slice like this and both parts can be used to make a staircase.
Glued one on top of the other they add that extra dimension and retain the circle shape.
You can utilise this to make some pretty funky and diverse ruins. Just remember to test fit your miniatures so you know they will fit and loook good.
you will need to cut the plasticard to fit the middle step, but the bottom and top can overhang to be cut down.
From there it’s just finishing them up just like the others by adding mixed cork, sand and a seal.
And there you have it. This is how I built and will continue to build all the bases for my Azog’s Legion force. I hope you all find it usual and I would love to see some of the bases you make using it, pop me an email at deathwatchstudios@gmail.com, find me on Facebook or Instagram.
Join me soon to find out just how I painted them as well.
All of my guides will continue to be free and open for use by anyone, but if you did find this guide helpful please support me with a donation, so I can continue to make great tutorials like this one!
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Tabletop Gaming Magazine – Star Saga Painting Guide!
Let’s take a peek at the latest article we have completed for issue 14 of Tabletop Gaming Magazine.
This month’s guide covers the villains from Mantic Games Star Saga, a sci-fi dungeon crawler set within the Warpath universe. Covering each of the 5 ‘bosses’ of the story set out within the Eidas Contract, the first mission book of what we hope will be many more. Here’s a look at the 5 big bads:
That’s only 5 out of 35 miniatures for the game, so keep an eye out for future guides for the rest of the miniatures!
How to Paint Inquisitor Lorr
I was recently asked for some hints and tips on painting, specifically the Inquisitor Lorr model I painted over a year ago, on my Facebook page. So I thought I would gather my thoughts a bit, try and remember the colours and techniques I used and share with everybody how I achieved the paint job on this guy…
So without further ado let’s take a look at the first section, the reds…
I started these off with a straight up basecoat of Khorne Red, giving a couple of coats to ensure I had a nice flat base to work from.
This was followed by a wash of Agrax Earthshade. This wash more than anything was to show where the grooves and folds in the cloth were in order to better guide the following highlights.
The first of these highlights was with Mephiston Red, slightly watered down and applied over a couple of coats to get a nice bold colour. Make sure you leave only the recesses, shown by the previous wash, the original Khorne Red.
This was followed up with a highlight of Evil Sun Scarlet, making sure to keep some of the Mephiston Red highlight showing.
I then mixed a wee touch of White Scar into the Evil Sun Scarlet and applied a Highlight only to the very edges of the raised areas and following this just a few dabs of almost pure white.
The whole lot was then given a thin glaze of Bloodletter to help blend the colours together.
The black was started off, surprisingly, with a base of Abaddon Black.
The best way I’ve found to keep blacks looking nice and dark is to keep this basecoat as the most prominent colour, meaning any highlights applied are only on the folds and ridges. Even then only on the most prominent and keeping them to the very edges.
The first highlight was applied Mechanicus Standard Grey over a couple of watered down coats. Keep only a little of the watery paint on the brush and apply only a little to the edges at a time, and make sure the previous coat is dry before applying the next. Each successive coat should be kept a little closer to the edge than the last.
Do the same as above but this time with Dawnstone and then Celestra grey, just make sure to always keep a little of the previous colour showing through. The final highlight is a very light of touch of white, only on the very tips and points.
To finish it off give it a light wash of Nuln Oil, like the reds to blend the colours together.
The glow from the plasma pistol was by far the trickiest part to achieve, but don’t be daunted to give it a try. All it takes is a little patience. One of the most important things to keep in mind when doing this is how the light travels to try and get a realistic looking effect. It’s tricky to get right and I find the best way to get a good look at how it would work on your model is to shine a torch or small light from roughly the same area as whats going to be your light source. Keep a mental note of where the light touches and where is shadowed.
This was applied once the rest of the areas around the light source were fully painted. I started it off by applying a very watered down coat of 2:1 Sotek Green and White Scar. You want about 4 parts water added in and only a light amount of the mix on your brush. Be gentle and apply the paint sparsely, building it up over several layers, getting the colour bolder towards the centre of the light source.
The next stage was to use the same technique as above but this time using only Lothern Blue and water. As before ensure you always leave a little of the last coat showing through. From here keep adding a little White Scar to the mix, and adding a coat of each mix, until it’s pretty much pure white being applied only to the very edges.
And there you have it. That’s how I did the main colours on my Gideon Lorr mini. If you have any other questions on how I painted this or any other figures you have seen on the site just give me a holler 🙂
Deadzone – Plague Painting Guide!
With the main bulk of my Plague force fully painted and ready to rip some faces off, I thought I would share the methods I used to get them looking how I did these guys…
Flesh: Basecoat of Pallid Wych Flesh
Wash of 3:1 Druchii Violet and Lahmian Medium
Wait for the previous wash to dry and add a light wash of 3:1 Drakenhof Nightshade and Lahmian Medium
Once dry add a fine highlight of Pallid Wych Flesh
Blue trousers: Basecoat Kantor Blue
Highlight of Altdorf Guard Blue
Highlight 1:1 Altdorf Guard Blue and White
Fine Highlight of 2:1 White and Altdorf Guard Blue
Orangey Brown Sectons: Basecoat Tau Light Ochre
Wash of Agrax Earthshade
Highlight of Tau Light Ochre
Fine highlight of 1:1 Tau Light Ochre and Pallid Wych Flesh
Guns, Blades & Metals: Basecoat of Doombull Brown
Stipple on Trollslayer Orange then Fire Dragon Bright
Lightly drybrush Leadbelcher to the edges
Wash of Agrax Earthshade
Fine highlight of Leadbelcher to some of the edges and stippled onto larger areas
Green Spines & Armour Plates: Basecoat of Caliban Green
Highlight of Snot Green
Highlight of Moot Green
Fine Highlight of 2:1 White and Moot Green
Glowy Green Faces: Add a coat of watered down Moot Green on and around the eyes and mouth. This should be about 5 parts water to 1 part paint.
Allow to dry and then add a coat of 3:1:1 Water, Moot Green and White, leaving the outer most parts the original colour
To finish off add a dab of 3:1 White and Moot Green to the centre
Jackets, Straps and Pouches: Basecoat in Black
Add a highlight of Mechanicus Standard Grey
Highlight with Codex Grey
Fine Highlight of Celestra Grey
Wash with Badab Black
Belt Buckles: Basecoat XV88
Highlight with 2:1 XV88 and Yriel Yellow
Highlight Yriel Yellow
Fine Highlight 1:1 Yriel Yellow and White
Bases: The first step for my bases was done before any undercoating and was as simple as adding a coat of the GW texture paint Astrogranite. This gives it the texture, but with enough spacing between them to feel like a concrete surface. It also has the added bonus of filling and hiding the seam around the circular section around the feet and the slot in the base.
Once the rest of the figure was painted I then moved onto the base as the last step.
First was a basecoat of Mechanicus Standard Grey
Then a drybrush of Codex Grey
Another drybrush this time with Clestial Grey
And a final drybrush of Terminatus Stone
To make it feel a bit more natural I then added a coat of watered down Dryad Bark to most of the base. I reccomend a very thin coat, at least 5:1 Water and Dryad Bark
I then added small patches of a 5:1 mix of Water and Doombull brown to add further variation.
Finally I painted the rims of the bases black to tidy them up a bit.
And there you have it, nice and simple but good looking none the less, even if I do say so myself 😀
If I happened to miss anything that you want to know about, just leave me a comment 🙂
