Friday Quick Tip: Glass Bead Rivets

I've never gotten too deep into scratch building or kit bashing in all of my years of wargaming.  But the need has arisen as of late to get serious about both and with that comes new ideas, tips and techniques.  Today I am sharing a method I've known about for some time, but never gave a try, Glass Bead Rivets.

Friday Quick Tip: Tabletop Tank Tracks

Tank tracks are one of the easiest things you can weather on a vehicle.  The method breaks down to painting the metal, giving them a heavy wash, drybrushing metallic and a final dusting.

I can't just give that little info though now can I?  In this I'll run you through the basics of painting and at the same time weathering tank tracks to a great tabletop standard.  Again, it's all from my latest Sons of Medusa Razorback!  That APC has been a well of great tips!

I always start off with a black base color for my tracks.  Paint the tracks, the road wheels, sides and inside of your tracks, you really want to be thorough with this step, it's the cover up that will keep things from looking off should you miss a few spots with the later steps, in this case, I would have a bright green showing through on my track if I wasn't sure to hit all facets of the track links.  By the time your finished the first spot you painted should be about dry, unless you use really watered down paint that is.  Watered down paint helps when painting tracks, but you need to wait longer and do a few coats to get even opacity.

Boltgun Metal is applied loosely and heavily.  Slightly watered to give me a bit more speed of coverage in those hard to reach spots.  For nearly all of the painting you can use a larger brush that will hold a larger volume of paint.  It's as simple as 'Larger area, larger brush'.

To give that rusty look, I use a VERY heavy wash of Bestial Brown watered down to a milk consistency.  I slop it on the tracks and allow it to pool all around and in the cracks.  A second wash might be necessary if you watered your brown down too much.  See the above for the final result you're looking for with the wash. 

Once your wash is dry, which will take a while, break out your Boltgun Metal again and give your tracks a heavy drybrush to the raised surfaces.  This is to show the wear to the track by the vehicles operation.  The contact points will be worn away and bare metal showing through.

To finish the tracks off, I use a quick dusting of Bleached Bone.  To 'dust' with paint you simply need to set your brush and paint as if you were going to drybrush, but continue to wipe paint off the brush until almost nothing is coming off.  When painting, start with light pressure and work harder until you get a slight sheen of the color.

In the end you should have a nicely weathered looking tread with little effort.  The longest part of this method is the drying time wait.  I've used this method on a few different models in my Sons of Medusa army, each time it's enhanced the gritty hard fought look I've been going for.

You've seen how, now it's time for you to try it yourself!  Give it a go and see what you think.  Weathering can be a scary proposition for many, but you can't break that fear without trying it out!  I'm hard pressed to think of a better place to start your weathering journey than the treads of a tank! 

Friday Quick Tip: Painting Battle Damage

It's been a while since I've really dug in with weathering and this time around I've taken the time to get a good amount of photos along the way.  Many of you already know, I fully believe in the beauty of weathering, grit and damage on models and have been advocating their use for years now!  With this tutorial I'll walk you through my simple and effective method of paint chips/battle damage all done using just a few simple tools and a bit of good color choice!

When starting off with my latest Sons of Medusa Razorback, I knew I wanted to approach it much the same as past things but try and speed it up a bit by adding depth in later stages.  So to start off, just getting your model to base color with a light highlight along armor lines and joins.  Get your colors blocked out, clean and smooth.  I highly suggest an airbrush to get your main color on and use a brush to block in the rest, in this case that's what I've done with the black.

Here you can see the tools of the trade.  I make consistent use of foam from a blister I bought way back when, chipping off a little bit of the crusted up foam each time and creating a new random edge to use.  In this same photo you see a big, gnarly messed up brush.  If you don't have one of these, you need one.  Go do a few terrain projects and trust me, you'll get one quick enough!  The brush is a bit less random but with a good eye for the pattern it's giving you, you can make it just as random as the foam but this comes with a handle!  When you're using the foam, you can do a few different things to help in the application, rolling it, scrunching it, whatever.  Just find something that works for you, is easy to work with, and gives the kind of pattern you're looking for.

I make use of a paper towel as my palette when working on chipping.  It's a bit easier for me to guarantee I won't blob the paint on and get just enough to the tips of the bristles or edges of the foam.

When you're using this technique/method, it's REALLY important to know what sort of pattern you're getting with what sort of pressure you're pressing with.  Check on a piece of paper, your palette, hand, whatever.  Don't just go blob the paint onto your model without first checking that you're getting the right look for what you're going for.  Make adjustments with paint amount, pressure, angle, and applicator before you go to the model with the paint.

I've gone with Catachan Green as my vehicles 'primer/undercolor'.  This deeper green helps to push the color back behind the bright Scorpion Green base color.  Cooler/Darker colors will work great for this, but test a few things out on a few different test pieces.  See what works best for your color scheme and go through the full method for each to be sure of your color choices.  The level of weathering is up to you, a little, a lot, in between, whatever you like!  Pay special attention to high traffic areas like the hatches, edges and track sections.  Give your piece a bit of narrative with a few long scratches from some unknown alien race!  Have fun, and if you go a bit overboard, you can always paint the base color back in. 

Above you can see the Bleached Bone highlighting that is applied to the lower edge of all chips.  This is what really drives home the depth of the chipping.  I simply use the same color that I highlight everything else with.  Take your time with your chips to be sure you're hitting the right edges and the results will be nice and convincing.  Also don't be shy, those little chips need love too, get in there and go to town!

A lot of folks like to add freehand detailing to their vehicles.  After a few goes at it on various other projects, I've found that the best time to do so is after your chipping is finished.  You don't waste time with unnecessary details that end up getting smothered in chipping by an unsteady hand this way.  You know what sections you have to work with this way and save time by not having to paint some areas of your freehand details thanks to a convenient paint chip!  Just paint around the paint chips with your freehand and pay attention so you're not going over them.

Once the freehand is down, here is when you get to play a bit more and be free to make a bit of a mess.  Using my grime streaking, I go in with Gryphonne Sepia and from the edges, corners, bolts and a few of the larger paint chips, I streak down along the model a bit.  I don't like to go all the way down the model, just far enough to make it noticeable.  The above look took two layers of wash and a bit of heavy attention to the crevices with a big drop of wash painted in to add the depth we skipped out on earlier!   With regard to the top of the tank, I don't streak, but pool around areas like rivets and other details that stick out.  Just a quick pool around these details and a wipe off of the raised surface works wonders!

Once the wash is down, you can move on to a plethora of other techniques that all add something extra to the story of your freshly busted up ride!  I mentioned a few of these other details in this models Reinforcements article which you can check out here.

There you have it folks, at long last a fully realized chipping tutorial on a real model from very own Sons of Medusa.  I hope this opened a few eyes to how simple this really is, and maybe explained a few of the things many have issues with when they've tried the technique from the past article.  I'd love to hear some feedback and see peoples results from those who've given this a go!  

Reinforcements: Sons of Medusa Razorback

It hasn't been too long since my last Sons of Medusa addition, but school and life found a way to get in the way of painting anything new for them, not to mention other projects that have come along as well.  Spring Break found me at just the right time with just enough freedom to allow some SoM love.

I've had this Razorback for some time now, it was the subject of my magnetic post a long time back, and sat around primed and sprayed green for the many months between then and now.  I dreaded working on vehicles thanks to my incessant need to have a smooth base color, and the time consuming number of layers it takes to do that by hand.  As fate would have it, I now find myself in possession of an airbrush, and the time saved when working with a color like Scorpion Green is worth its weight in gold!

The piece started in Tamiya PS-8 Bright Green.  As some might know, I found this color to be just off from the final hue I was hoping for, and end up painting much of the model over again with Scorpion Green leaving a bit of the later showing along with a wash of Thraka Green for some additional depth.  For vehicles, I've found that I can leave out a step or two from this formula, and get much the same finish.  I went straight to work with my airbrush mixing my Scorpion Green 50/50 or so with Windex.  I gave the entire model a few passes until the color was nice and even.  I can't tell you how much I love my new metal paint cup.  Since it's arrived I haven't used a siphon pot since.  If you have a siphon pot set up, look into getting a metal side mount paint cup, it's a small change that you won't turn back from when doing mini painting.

Once the base layer dried, I painted in the black sections by hand.  I then went to work adding a Bleached Bone highlight to panel lines, armor plates, joins, etc.  I went with a single pass for much of the detailing, I just wanted to accent them, not make them stand out against the base color. 

The highlights completed, I broke out my trusty gnarled brush and sponge for some battle damage and paint chipping effect.  For mine I use Catachan Green with a lower edge highlight of Bleached Bone, even on the black surfaces.  I don't go further than this with my chipping, though some will add additional shading to each section to give more of a dented/scratched out look.  This works great for smaller pieces/show models but for a table top model, the two step approach more than does the trick.

After the battle damage is highlighted, I went in with freehand detailing.  I like to have at the freehand at this point because I don't want take a lot of time on some freehand details only to have it completely covered by the chipping.  Placement is key here and try to not overdo it.  Sticking to the palette of your force will help these details fit in as well.  I use Skull White for all of the freehand details on my vehicles to help tie them back to the troops.  Multiple thinned layers with a steady hand will do wonders.  I don't go with the usual white formulas here as I want that nice flat look, it's meant to look painted or stenciled, I'm not trying to get a three dimensional look.

With the freehand in place, Gryphonne Sepia is applied in streaks and into crevices all around the vehicle.  I use a few paint chips as starting points here and there, while trying to stick to mostly rivets, armor joins and corners.  For the top, I only pool the wash around the details instead of dragging it in any direction.  Angled surfaces get the streaks though. 

Rivets are done after the streaks using a black base followed by Chainmail.  I don't bother to wash them down, they're too small for it to really matter and I like the way they stand out.

Headlights are done using Golden Yellow highlighted with Skull white to the center of the sections, as seen in my headlights tip from this very vehicle!

The black armor lines are highlighted with Codex Grey followed by a very light Fortress Grey final highlight. 

Smokestacks were painted Chainmail and washed down twice with Gryphonne Sepia.  The soot is done using my Tamiya Weathering Compact.

The tracks were painted Chainmail to start, washed heavily with Bestial Brown, dry brushed Chainmail and finally dusted with Bleached Bone.  Expect a tip with full photos in the future for this.

Gems and Lenses were painted in either red or blue using the following forumlas:  Red Gore, Blood Red, Fiery Orange, White or Shadow Grey, Space Wolves Grey, White.

Metals that were not already mentioned I went with a very simple Chainmail washed heavily with Badab Black.

With a full dusting of the entire piece of Bleached Bone, I sealed the model with Purity Seal and called it finished!  A good bit of feedback from my friend migsula will have me going back with Bleached Bone to add a bit more dusting to the skirts and rear of the vehicle.  I normally don't bother to go back on a vehicle to change things, but with the amount of time saved by the airbrush I wasn't burnt out on this one as I've been in the past.

I hope this look into my methods helps some of you and gives a new idea to consider for others.  Expect more tips from this project as I get the write ups done with a bit more depth to what I've explained here.  Until next project!

Ask the Corps: Treadhead planning

For some time now, I've been mulling an idea over and over as I waited out the release of more of the new GW Imperial Guard tank kits.  The newer details and plastic had me intrigued with the latest Leman Russ model, and I've always had a thing for the Guard.  With an endless number of variations on the theme, I've decided I would take my inspiration from the forces of the African front during WW2.  Hard fighting western style with a touch of 'local' custom.

I don't want to go with typical GW tread sets, but I've had little success finding suitable suspension and tracks/wheels to create the image in my head.  So today's Ask the Corps comes from me directly.

How would you go about creating the WW2 tracked vehicle look using GW kits?  Have you seen a project of late that has altered the vehicles in such a way?  Have photos?  Kits that would work?  I'm all ears folks.

Got a question of your own you'd like to see featured here?  Send it along to ThePaintingCorps@gmail.com with the subject 'Ask the Corps'! 

Field Report: Wreck Diorama

Searching long and deep into jungle terrain, I happened by the BoLS website and came across this diorama by Bigred made from a broken Devilfish. If you can't repair your old models, the next best thing is to make them into a nice piece of terrain. I like the faded paint technique used-- it is simple, and easy to apply across a lot of terrain-- and effective.

Have you posted an article to your own site recently? Read something amazing you think others should check out? Have an old link in your Bookmarks that you've been saving for a rainy day? We want to see em! Send your suggestions to ThePaintingCorps@gmail.com and we'll get the word out!

Friday Quick Tip: Liquid Masking Tank WhiteWash

One of my favorite finishes for armor has to be the World War 2 style white wash. It's always had a special spot in my tread head heart since the first photos I'd seen looking through library books when I was a kid. It just holds so much story for the vehicle, the crew, and the environment. When I made my first steps into wargaming, I always knew I'd love to do a tank in that manner, and luckily it's a cinch to achieve the effect!


To get started, you'll want to paint your base color. This is your vehicle's typical summer pattern. You could start with any color, though usually you'll get a more visually pleasing look with a bit darker color choice. I went with VMC Brown Violet for my base, painted on using an airbrush.


The star of the show for today's tip is Liquid Mask. You can typically find this at any arts and crafts shop and it won't run you too deep in the pocket. My applicator is a simple piece of blister foam, with the edges ripped up a bit for a nice random effect.


Apply the mask as heavy or as light as you want, paying special attention to high wear spots like hatches, flat surfaces, lower quarters along the side armor. If you think the crew would be around an area often they would likely wear away the whitewash around it.


Here you can see the dried mask. This make goes on white and dries clear, but I've seen other mask that goes on different colors or stays a color. Be a bit delicate when in this stage, as you don't want to prematurely rub the mask off. It's rather easy to remove!


When it comes to liquid mask, I've found that it comes to painting over it for removal later, thinner is better. You don't need an airbrush to get thin paint for this step. So if you're without one, take your time, water your paints down, and do it in layers. If you have thick paint on top of the mask when it comes time for removal you're going to be pulling up big chunks of paint around the mask that you didn't mean to!

For my whitewash I've used VMC Off White painted on lightly using an airbrush.


When it comes to removing your masking you can use a few different tools. I have used a hard eraser before to good effect for this. For this tank, I've gone with a ball of sticky tack that worked like a dream. To start removal, just rub your finger along the surfaces to pull up the big spots. Remove as much of the mask as you can this way, and when you get to working in the small details break out the sticky tack. Be sure to loosen the tack up by ripping it apart a few times and mushing it back together. Don't push into the model too hard though, as you'll end up removing more than just the mask!


You can also use a light scratch with a fingernail to add some streaks of pulled up paint along the sides or rough up other areas a bit more. Again, just be careful not to push too hard or you'll end up pulling your base color up as well.

The effect is extremely easy to achieve and relatively quick. A bit of detail work as well as some additional weathering, and the tank will be ready to deal its death to those who oppose it!

There are a few other methods for whitewashing vehicles that I hope to cover someday in the future, but I'll leave it up to you, the readers, to figure out what works best for your vehicles!

Friday Quick Tip: Colored Pencil Hard Lining

Some of you might remember a little tip I did a while ago for pencil weathering. Well soon after, LBursley came out with this little gem, going even further into a painting alternative. It's brilliant if you ask me, and something just about anyone can do! Pencils are much more natural for everyone to use, and take a lot less time from what we see here. Check out the vid:



Now, the question everyone out there is going to ask: "Won't this just rub off when I handle the model?!" Short answer: Yes! Long Answer: No! You need to seal this stuff to the model in some fashion!

I would definitely recommend that you try this technique on a test piece and try various methods of varnishing to keep it all in place. My immediate reaction would be to use a spray varnish of some sort to keep from streaking the pencil lining with a brush. But if you don't like the spray finish, you can always just spray varnish first, and go back with your brush on!

The doors are pretty much wide open for these types of tips. If you've got an off the wall idea, or something you've used that you would like to share, let's hear it!

Why should you weather your tanks?

Because real tanks get dirty!



I know this video has been around for a while now, but I really think those of you out there trying to take your tanks to the next level really need to take a closer look. Watch the video on HD and full screen and you really get a sense of how dirty vehicles can get in just a single outing! Let alone a full campaign!

Different theaters have different effects on tanks and vehicles, and this is just one of a thousand examples out there, so always look for some sort of reference when you move forward with tank weathering! Soldiers are more than happy to take photos and post photos online of their babies in theater. Do a quick search on google and I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for.

We continue to press the weathering agenda through our various articles, and this really drives the point home. Expect more weathering articles and tips in the future, and those of you who have been at it be sure to share your latest endeavors!

Friday Quick Tip: Salt & Hairspray Weathering

Back to weathering we go with today's tip! And this one is probably one of my new favorites. It just involves a little bit of planning and the right project.

The method I've used is a VERY simplified version of the technique. With my lack of an airbrush, and using only what I had on hand, this is merely an introduction. I hope to get a much more elaborate tutorial up in the future, but for now, revel in the simplicity of this amazing technique and I hope to see you apply it on your future projects!

What You Will Need:

Salt, Undercoat Color, Basecoat Color, Hairspray, Toothbrush

For the purposes of this tutorial I've used spraypaints that I had on hand around the house. You'll want an undercoat color that will be able to easily represent rust. I've used a dark brown I've had for about 6 years and somehow it hasn't dried up on me! For my basecoat color I've used a Dark Grey, again something I've had for many years. You'll want your basecoat color to be the base color of your army/tanks. I have also commendered my wifes Hairspray! The salt is just normal table salt from the pantry. Snag an old gnarly toothbrush as well, you know you have one hidden away somewhere!


To get you started, spray the entirety of the model in your Rust Brown. Let it dry thoroughly before moving on. I harp on this a lot because people tend to get impatient with sprays before they are ready for handling. I even had trouble keeping to my own rules during this process! The paint should not be tacky to the touch, if it is, leave it be a little longer and consult your spray can for drying times. As usual, all spray painting should be done in a well ventilated area!


Once your undercoat has dried, it's time to use your hairspray. Coat the model in a layer of hairspray and have your salt on hand to move quickly to the next step.


Scatter your salt by hand over the model, paying closer attention to getting the salt over the areas that would normally catch more wear and tear (corners, hatches, etc.). You want to do this quickly so that the hairspray catches hold of the salt and dries it in place. Once again, let this dry before moving on.


Spray the model in your basecoat color and let it dry. Once it's dry, it's time to break out the toothbrush and start brushing off the salt. Start off lightly and gradually work up the amount of pressure. Once all off the salt has been brushed away, you can pay a little more attention to rubbing away some of the basecoat color along the edges or particular damage spots you want more wear on than others.


In the end you should have results similar to the above in no time flat! A little bit of detail work from here (highlights and such) and you're finished! While this tutorial uses spray paints, with use of an airbrush the results look even more fantastic. The thinner layer of base color will look far better in the end. But a little nozzle control can go a long way with spray paints, so give it a go and really expand your bag of weathering tricks!

So, does anyone have a current project in need of some good weathering? We would love to see them! Post your latest weathering attempts and let us all in on your latest tip!

Magnetic Predator Turret

Well, in continuing with the magnetic theme from last Friday, I thought I would share some additional thoughts on a different section of the Predator tank, the turret!

When I got the word that realgenius wanted to do a magnetic Predator quick tip last week, I was really excited, because just the week before, I had started gathering materials for just that myself! And this being my first foray into magnets in minis, I was really looking forward to his insight into the subject. I was most definitely not let down either!

I decided I would start with the turret on mine. I know that I'm really not going to use the autocannon all that often considering the foes I'll most likely face ( most of them being marines ), but just having the option open to me, makes the Predator worth just that much more.

To start off with, I installed magnets in the turret weapon mounts themselves. I did this with the turret still open, and let both sides dry completely before moving on to gluing the turret together ( with yet another layer of super glue at the top of the magnets ).


From this view you can see both the placement of my weapon mount magnets and my vertical alignment magnet. I used the magnet at the top of the turret in addition to a magnet installed into the back of the weapon.


You can see the placement of both the balancing magnet, as well as the weapon mount magnets in the sides. For the weapon mount magnets I cut clean the normal studs and drilled out a hole to embed the magnets.

In this photo you can also see the ammo box magnets, these were simply glued into the slots on the boxes. The back of the turret was drilled and magnets placed in the corresponding spots.


All said and done, it was well worth the little bit of extra assembly and will really add value to every kit I purchase from now on. Magnets save you money, plain and simple.

Friday Quick Tip: Magnetic Predator/Rhino

One of the great things about the STC is that, in hobby terms, there's not much difference between a Rhino, Predator, Razorback, Whirlwind or any of the other Rhino-based models. In fact, you should almost never buy a Rhino model because these other models all include the necessary parts to make a Rhino; plus whatever special add-ons come with the box you bought.







My box is a Predator, and as you can see it is just as easy to become a Rhino with a few well-placed magnets.

I do plan on painting the interior of the model, and the round magnet will have a painted door seam with my Chapter logo to help it blend in better.

If you are like me and use big magnets and have chunky fingers, you might have trouble getting your Rhino doors detached. Just use the sponson from that side to help pull it off. The magnet on the back of the sponsor will be closer than the magnet attached to the Rhino's interior making it an easy job.




Magnetizing the guns on the sponsons was a little more difficult. I wanted to avoid having to create any pieces and still wanted the tilt and pan of the weapon mount. So I decided to magnetize the interior of the gun halves. They go together surpisingly well, although I might need a small pair of magnets at the tip of the lascannon barrels.





What vehicles have you magnetized? And is there an easier way to change out the Predator sponson guns?