Merry Christmas!

Hey all,

I wish you and your families a very happy Christmas. I hope you'll have a nice few days :-). With the family part over day after tomorrow, I might even get some painting done - especially to try the new magnifying goggles my brother got me :-).

Best wishes,


IK-Painter

Tools of the Trade: Different fixers for Weathering Powders

Hey you guys,

a few weeks back I posted my thoughts on the uses of Weathering Powders. Since then I had the chance to experiment further with them and I found three different fixers for applying them wet and the pros and cons of using them.



1. Water as a fixer

Rust pigments with water

From Zero to Hero XI: The Lancer - Cygnar Light Warjack

Hey Guys!

Today, I want to walk you through the process of painting a Lancer Light Warjack. My models up to this point where always very new and clean looking - and since I wanted to experiment with weathering anyway, this model was the perfect opportunity to start.

Preview of the finished model

Progress Report II: November 2011

Hey guys,

my Masters Thesis is keeping me busy, plus there were some health issues, so I didn't get too much done last month.

But I still finished two figs and assembled a third. So there you go, the progress for my Warmachine forces for November 2011:

Purchased

• Ol' Rowdy - Cygnar Character Heavy Warjack
• Sword Knights - Unit Box
• Lieutenant Allister Caine - Cygnar Warcaster

Assembled

• Major Markus "Siege" Brisbane - Cygnar Warcaster

Work in Progress

• Thunderhead - Cygnar Character Heavy Warjack

Finished Miniatures

• Commander Coleman Stryker - Cygnar Warcaster
• The Black 13th Gun Mage Strike Team - Cygnar Character Unit
• Stormguard - Cygnar Unit
• Hunter - Cygnar Light Warjack
• Journeyman - Cygnar Solo
• Charger - Cygnar Light Warjack
• Cyclone - Cygnar Heavy Warjack
• Defender / Triumph - Cygnar Heavy / Character Warjack
• Squire - Cygnar Solo
• Reinholdt Gobber Speculator - Mercenaries Solo
• Lancer - Cygnar Light Warjack

From Zero to Hero X: Reinholdt, Gobber Speculator - Mercenary Solo

Hey guys!

For my first non Cygnar mini, I chose Reinholdt because he is so very different from the Warmachine models I painted before.

From Zero to Hero IX: Stormguard - Cygnar Unit Box

Hey all,

I recently finished my first Warmachine Unit, the Cygnar Stormguard, and wanted to share how I did it.

First off, I painted two test-minis with two different approaches. The rest of the Unit was then done as a batch painting, as soon as I figured out the best way to go about it. This tutorial will cover both approaches, as well as the steps needed for the whole squad.

Progress Report I: October 2011

It's always nice to see what you have accomplished so far. So here goes, the progress for my Warmachine forces for October 2011:

Purchased

• Ol' Rowdy - Cygnar Character Heavy Warjack
• Sword Knights - Unit Box
• Major Markus "Siege" Brisbane - Cygnar Warcaster
• Lieutenant Allister Caine - Cygnar Warcaster
• Lancer - Cygnar Light Warjack

Assembled


Work in Progress

• Thunderhead - Cygnar Character Heavy Warjack
• Reinholdt Gobber Speculator - Mercenaries Solo

Finished Miniatures

• Commander Coleman Stryker - Cygnar Warcaster
• The Black 13th Gun Mage Strike Team - Cygnar Character Unit
• Stormguard - Cygnar Unit
• Hunter - Cygnar Light Warjack
• Journeyman - Cygnar Solo
• Charger - Cygnar Light Warjack
• Cyclone - Cygnar Heavy Warjack
• Defender / Triumph - Cygnar Heavy / Character Warjack
• Squire - Cygnar Solo

From Zero to Hero VIII: Defender / Triumph - Cygnar Heavy / Character Warjack

Hey all,

in this tutorial, I will take you through how I painted my magnetized Defender / Triumph Warjack.  Special techniques I used where pre-shading, OSL and weathering.

I started priming the model with my airbrush with Vallejos Polyurethane Acrylic Grey Primer. After this was dry, I started pre-shading the whole model, using black in all the recesses and white on all the high spots. After the mini was shaded, I applied thin and even layers of my main color, Hawk Turquoise, making sure that the shadows and highlights would still be visible. The end result was a nice and even basecoat with clearly defined but soft shadows and highlights.

You have to be careful after applying your color with an airbrush, as the coat is very thin and delicate. For protection, I sprayed the whole mini with gloss varnish.

I then added Ivory on some armor plates of the mini, to tie it in with the rest of my Cygnar forces.

Preshading all done

Tools of the Trade VI: Weathering Powders and how to use them

Hey you guys,

I recently have gotten some weathering powders for my minis and wanted to share how I use them. They can add a lot to your mini and you don't need much to try them out. There are many different brands of pigments on the market, but they all can be used the same way. All you need are the pigments and something to fix them with.

From Zero to Hero VII: The Hunter - Cygnar Light Warjack

Hey guys,

I finally came around to paint my Hunter Light Warjack - which build I detailed in one of my earlier posts. I started as usual, priming the model grey with my airbrush. and Vallejos Polyurethane Acrylic Grey Primer.

Primed

Tools of the Trade V: Vallejos Liquid Gold

Hey you guys,

in one of my recent orders I got some of the Liquid Gold colors by Vallejo and I wanted to share my impressions of them with you.

Liquid Gold :-)

From Zero to Hero VI: The Black 13th Gun Mage Strike Team - Cygnar Character Unit

Hey guys,

this time, I will cover painting the three minis from the Black 13th Gun Mage Strike Team. The build of these guys - or their captain to be exact, as the others are both one-piece casts - is very fiddly. Probably the most delicate figure I put together yet. Especially the gun wielding arm was a nightmare. Only with a bit of green stuff did I get the right hold.

The figures themselves have a lot of detail which is both a good and a bad thing. Each figure is fun to paint, but the details do stack up over time. To avoid the dreaded painters burn-out, I always did one of them, then another project, then another of these guys.

From Zero to Hero V: Charger - Cygnar Light Warjack

Hey guys!

Today, I want to talk you through painting the Cygnar Battle Box Charger Light Warjack. For this one, I first cleaned, washed and assembled the model.

As I wanted to experiment with my airbrush a bit, I wanted to try something new with this jack: pre-shading.

I first saw this technique on a tank tutorial over on BuyPainteds youtube channel and wanted to adapt the technique for my jack.

I primed the model grey and uses my airbrush to spray black into all the recesses. When this was done, I used white to set my highlights on all the raised areas, watching out not to lighten the already finished shadows.

From Zero to Hero IV: Commander Coleman Stryker - Cygnar Warcaster

Hey All,

it took a while, but I've finished my first ever Warcaster a few days back - Commander Coleman Stryker from the Cygnar plastic Battle Box. I took my time with this one to do him justice, and also tried out some things with him. First off, I primed and painted before assembly, as the figure has some nooks and crannies that are awfully hard to get to when assembled. I must apologize for the lack of pictures in this one, as my camera had a slight snafu and ate some of my WIP shots.

Prep before Painting III: Pinning a Thunderhead Character Heavy Warjack

Hey guys,

today I want to walk you through how to pin a Thunderhead Character Heavy Warjack. I would highly recommend this method, if you're planning to play this piece. Every sort of heavy use will take its toll on the model if you're not careful during assembly - the model itself clocks in at about 185 grams of weight - don't underestimate it, it's a real beast. On the upside, I think this is one of the, if not the, most awesome figure I ever put together. The detail is stunning and the pose is really dynamic and looks great.

Christmas came early II: My order from www.fantasyladen.de

Hey all,

after some major uncertainty of where my order is and what really happened, it finally arrived yesterday.

Prep before Painting II: Magnetizing a Defender / Triumph Heavy Warjack

Hey guys,

I've had the Triumph upgrade set for a while now, and didn't know if I wanted to build a Defender or a Triumph with the parts - but then I figured, why not magnetize the model, so I can play with both options?

First, I removed all the mold lines and overcast from the parts and then scrubbed them all in soapy water to wash off all the mold release powder - which was really heavy on this model.

All the necessary parts

Christmas came early I: Big order from Wayland Games

Hey you guys,

in this series of articles I'd like to show off all the shiny new toys I'm ordering for my hobby. I recently received all the necessary credit points for starting my master thesis and as a reward for myself I placed a few orders with a few different online stores - which wasn't without hiccups, if you remember my post from a few days ago. I'm still waiting for one of the orders, but the one from Wayland Games arrived two days ago.

And it was big :-)

From Zero to Hero III: The Cyclone Heavy Warjack

Hey guys,

today I want to walk you through my painting process of the Cygnar Cyclone Heavy Warjack. I started off cleaning and assembling the figure. Because it is plastic and not metal, I didn't pin the model. Instead I used the superglue and green stuff method detailed here.

As my first ever Warjack, I wanted the pose of the mini to have a lot of character. The direction I was going in was an unstoppable juggernaut on the battlefield, mowing everything in front of him down in a hail of bullets, while slowly advancing.

Primed and ready for painting

Advanced Tools IV: Paasche Talon Airbrush Impressions

Hey,

I just rescued my new Paasche Talon 3G airbrush from the cold and dark German customs place and wanted to give you my first impressions on it. The brush comes in a nice set, including 3 different sizes of nozzles and needles and aircaps, an air hose, a flat spray aircap and an airbrush holder, which can be installed onto your desk.

Three problems with three orders from three retailers...

Hey guys,

just wanted to vent for a bit. I recently ordered hobby supplies from three different retailers. My FLGS, Wayland Games and an ebay shop. And the thing is - not one of these is going according to plan...

Advanced Tools III: Rich RB-2 Airbrush Impressions

Hey all!

Airbrushing is becoming more important to our hobby. If you check the channels on Youtube, or the forums at DakkaDakka, you will soon realize, that the community is embracing this tool with open arms. For me personally, Les' Awesomepaintjob Videos on Youtube have been an eye-opener and convinced me to get a brush in the first place. After I had the chance to get comfortable with it, I just wanted to give you my impressions on the Rich RB-2 Airbrush.

My first Airbrush

Prep before Painting I: Assembling a metal Warjack

Hey guys,

in this post, I will be covering how to assemble a metal Cygnar Hunter Light Warjack. Because of the build of the model, it lends itself to an assembly approach, where you don't need pinning for an effective bond. Instead, I will be using just superglue and a bit of green stuff to put the mini together.

Advanced Tools II: Airbrush Paints, thinning and mixing

Hey you guys,

in this ongoing series about airbrushing I wanted to talk a little about what paints to use when airbrushing and how to best thin and mix these paints.

Hobby Basics IV: Varnish

Hey all,

varnishing your models or not, seems to be a question wargamers often ask themselves. If you do varnish, you can protect your precious paintjob from the wear and tear of your grueling gaming regime. On the other hand, if you botch the varnishing process, you could ruin your mini afer all the hard work you put into it.

To varnish or not to varnish...

Advanced Tools I: Airbrush and Compressor

Hey Guys,
today I wanted to give you some advice about one of the hot topics in wargaming: Selecting and using an Airbrush. This will be the first part in a series of articles concerning all things airbrushing.

This article will cover:

• The Airbrush itself

• Compressor

 These are the two most basic things you'll need. Following entries will cover things like:

• Paints and the proper thinning

• Masking Substance

• Airbrush cleaning

• Airbrushing Techniques 

From Zero to Hero II: The Journeyman Warcaster

Hey everyone,

today I will be covering the painting of the Cygnar Journeyman Warcaster. It´s a very nice model, although in my opinion with one or two flaws. For one thing, the sword looks more like a club as there is no real edge to it. And secondly, the posture made it very difficult to paint the left side of the face, as it was almost obscured by the armor.

But lets see, what we can make of this model.

From Zero to Hero I: The Squire

Hey Everyone,

in this section I will be covering the process of painting a figure from start to finish. I will be talking about prepping, painting and basing your mini, so you can have a comprehensive picture, of what you need to do. I will also point out the mistakes I made, so you´ll know, what to look out for.

Hobby Basics III: Primer

There are a myriad of different options for priming miniatures - but why should you take this step?

Priming is the foundation for any paintjob you want to apply to your model. It acts as the canvass for the beautiful work of art you want to create. As the primer is the basis of your mini, the color makes a huge difference in the tone of the figure.

Hobby Basics II: Tools

Although the selection of available tools is much smaller than the selection of paints, for a beginner the choice can be quite hard.

This article should cover the basic tools you would need to assemble a warmachine miniature. 

Hobby Basics I: Paint

A few years back the choice of paint for use in miniature painting was pretty limited. Most people used the GW colours, because that was, what they could get their hands on.

Today almost every gamer or painter has a FLGS or a website from which he orders his minis and hobby supplies. And because of that, the choice has exploded in the last few years. Now companys like Vallejo, Reaper and Privateer Press have started to gain on GW´s lead, and boy are they gaining.

Welcome All!

Hey Everyone,

welcome to my new blog, concerning all things related miniature painting. I´ve started the hobby in December 2009 and have been painting ever since. The guys from BeastsofWar, Miniwargaming.com, Bluetablepainting, AG Productions and especially Les from Awesomepaintjob have been a constant source of inspiration for me and so I´ve decided to try to give something back to the painting community. Maybe learning from my mistakes will help some of you not to make the same blunders :-).

My first minis where GW Models, primarily Space Marines. But after the recent GW price increase (again!) and the switch to the Finecast Range I decided it was time for something new - and so I purchased my first Warmachine models a couple of weeks ago.

I hope I will find the time in the next few weeks to make some progress in my new army project.

As always, enjoy and have fun,

IK-Painter