Finished Grey Knight Paladin Squad (Part 2 of 2)

Hey Everyone,

here are the rest of the Paladin squad. Hope you like them :)

Two Grey Knight Paladins with Force Swords

Grey Knight Paladin with Brotherhood Banner

Grey Knight Paladin with Force Falchions

Grey Knight Paladin with Warding Stave

Thanks for reading and I will post again soon

Sincerely,
J

Finished Grey Knight Paladin Squad (Part 1 of 2)

Hey Everyone,

here are some pictures of my first 5 finished Paladins for my Grey Knights Army. I think they turned our Pretty sweet.

Paladin Apothecary with Force Halberd

Two Grey Knight Paladins with Daemon Hammers

Two Grey Knight Paladins with Force Halberds

Well, Thanks for reading and I will post pictures of the other 5 shortly.


Sincerely,
J

Weekly Painting Goals/Challenges

Hey Everyone,

Once again, I am sorry for the lack of postings this week.  

I have been painting insanely the last couple of days trying to finish the first paladin squad.  It is down to just the banner and the bases for 8 bases. They should be done by tomorrow and I should have photos up showing the finished products. 


So, I have decided to give myself weekly goals for painting, in order to keep me on track. Each week, I will begin the week by stating my current goal, and then do follow ups throughout the week. I will definitely keep doing painting tips, tutorials and model reviews. In fact, I believe that my new goal orientation will act as a catalyst for these tutorials and reviews. 


However, I need you guys to keep me on schedule. So, feel free to also take up weekly goals. You do not need to set anything crazy, but even a few models a week will add up, and lead to a finished army in no time. So, feel free to leave in the comments section a goal that you would like to set for the week.  My goal for this week is to finish this first squad of paladins. Therefore, my goal next week will be to either finish the Hq for that army, or to finish the other squad of paladins.


Thanks for reading and talk to you soon.


Sincerely,
J




Army Painting Breakdown:
First squad of 10 Paladins - Almost Complete
Second squad of 10 Paladins - 5 Partially Painted, 5 Assembled
Hq 1 - Draigo - Unassembled
Hq 2 - Librarian - Unassembled
Elite - Vindicare Assassin - Unassembled

Warhammer 40k Painting Update

Hey Everyone,

sorry for the lack of posts this weekend.  

I was away visiting family for most of it. So, GREY KNIGHTS, GREY KNIGHTS, GREY KNIGHTS... That is all I can say. My Grey Knight Paladin Army is taking much longer than I expected, which typically happens when you are painting miniatures. Luckily, I still have 4 more weeks until the big tournament. It is always good to leave as much time as possible when painting armies, since you never know what will happen.

My Goal is to have 1 squad of 10 paladins completely painted and based within the next few days, then continue working on the second squad and he Hq's.  I will definitely post either pics or a quick video of the finished squad when I am done with them.  I have decided that I will put a painting breakdown at the end of all of my posts until they are complete. This should definitely keep me on track.


Thanks for reading and talk to you soon.


Sincerely,
J




Army Painting Breakdown:
First squad of 10 Paladins - Almost Complete
Second squad of 10 Paladins - 5 Partially Painted, 5 Unassembled
Hq 1 - Draigo - Unassembled
Hq 2 - Librarian - Unassembled
Elite - Vindicare Assassin - Unassembled

Steps to Being a Better Miniature Painter – Part 8

Colour Primers

Hey Everybody,
My post today is about Colour Primers.  I was asked yesterday by someone on my youtube channel when is it better to use a coloured primer (e.g. blue or green) as opposed to the standard white or black. 

I personally do not use colour primers, though I have nothing against them. In fact, I will probably use a blue primer when I start painting my Cygnar Faction for Warmachine.  So, I will begin with the pros of using coloured primers. First, they are EXCELLENT when you are painting models that are predominantly a single colour.  For example, if you are painting Ultramarines, or Cygnar warjacks, a blue primer will save you A LOT of time. I also know people who use green to base Orks, then use a simple wash and highlight to finish the skin. Once again, this will save you time, especially if you are painting a ton of Orks. 

A down side to using colour primers is you must ensure that they go on evenly when priming.  If not, the final product may not look amazing, or will require another base coat, removing the time advantage you get from priming with a colour primer. Secondly, colour primers can be Expensive. Therefore, I would not recommend purchasing them, unless you are sure you have enough guys to prime that you will get your monies worth (e.g. several squads of ork boyz or marines). Otherwise, they may go to waste.


When using colour primers, make sure you:


1) Lay down an even base coat with the primer
2) Give the model a wash, to give some shading and colour variation
3) Give the model at least one or two highlights with lighter colours. This will really make the details POP on the model. Plus, it will save you alot of time without anyone being able to tell. 


Thanks for reading and talk to you soon


Sincerely,
J

What is Taboo About Metallics?

Hey Everyone,
Todays post is more of a rant than advice, though I will try to finish with some. I was recently on Ebay, looking at some miniatures, where I spotted a pro-painted miniature for sale. For one thing, the person wanted almost 100 dollars for a miniature which only costs 18 unpainted from GW... must have been an AMAZINGLY AWESOME paint job. Sorry, I digress.  In the description for the miniature, I noticed the phrase no metallic paint used, and thought that was a little weird. Why would someone mention that there is no metallic paint used? Does metallic paint weaken a paint job? Do pro's not use metallic paint?

I asked my good friend Andy, and his view was that some people feel that "real painters do not use metallics". This was really interesting to me, as I personally use and love metallics for two of my four armies (Orks and Grey Knights, refer to tutorials). In fact, I could not imagine not using metallics for these two armies.   I do know that some people prefer to build up shades of grey and yellow to represent silver and gold, but they do not look as realistic as using the real metallic paints. 

Another reason I was told recently is that some inexperienced painters merely paint a gun with 1 colour (e.g. boltgun metal), then stop there.  However, those that do not use metallics are forced to build up layers of colours, leading to more complex details and shading. Also, metallic paint tends to be easier to scratch. This I can kind of understand.  

Therefore, I feel that we should fight this taboo, and make AWESOME LOOKING MINIATURES WITH METALLIC PAINT.  That leads me to the question, "How can I paint like a pro and use metallics?". Well, my advice to you is: 
1) Use several colours. Do not just stop at a simple boltgun metal or burnished gold. Build up from darker shades to lighter shades, usually with a wash in between.

2) Use washes. Plain and simple. As you can see in my tutorials, I always give the metallics a wash after the foundation colour. Typically, the two best washes for metal are badab black or devlan Mud, or a combination of these two. Either 1 will provide much needed shading to the metal parts.  However, do not be afraid to use other wash colours, like blue or red. In my Grey knights tutorial, you can see how I use a blue wash to give my figure an overall bluish tinge, that really gives the armour an older look. You can use a red wash to give your metal a rusted appearance, though I recommend watering down the red wash just a little. Too much red may not be a good thing.  

3) ALWAYS HIGHLIGHT. After the wash has dried, build up the edges with at least 1 or 2 highlights of lighter shades. This step will really make the details POP!!!
If you follow these steps, the metal parts on your models will look excellent, and together, we can remove this Taboo of not using metallic paints. I will need your hope though.

If you know any other reasons why people tend to avoid metallic paints, feel free to leave comments below.


Thank you for reading and have fun painting.


Sincerely,
J

Grey Knights Paladin Painting Tutorial

Hey Everyone,

here is my Grey Knights Paladin Painting Tutorial. Sorry it took so long. Had problems with my camera. For my tutorial, I tried to only use GW paints, as most of my viewers are limited to this line of paints. Hope you enjoy :)






And here is a picture of the finished product

Painting Update

Hey Everyone,
let me begin by saying that I am completely floored by the shear amount of people who have checked out my blog in the last few days. Thank you to everyone who subscribed, and viewed my blog, videos, and reviews. I only hope that you liked what you saw, and continue to visit my blog. I promise that I will try to continue to make more tutorials and reviews as often as possible, with an increasing level of quality.


Next, a brief update. My Grey knights are coming along well and a painting tutorial for the finished product should be up in the next few days (hopefully, I have been having problems with my camera). Yesterday, my new airbrushes and compressor arrived, so I have been practicing the technique and I am beginning to paint my force weapons on the Grey Knights. I am also planning on posting some airbrush tutorials eventually, once I am confident in my abilities. I am already falling in love with airbrushing, and the final products they produce. For anybody who has one, you know what I am talking about.


Well, that is it for now. So, once again, I thank everyone for visiting my blog. You are AWESOME!!! I only ask that you continue to give my blog a chance and that I can continue to earn your viewings.


Sincerely,
J

Rocky Base Tutorial

Hey Everyone,
here is a tutorial for a quick and easy method for making rocky bases for your miniatures. Hope you like it.

And here is a picture of the finished product

Thanks for reading this and talk to you again soon.


Sincerely,
J

Steps to Being a Better Miniature Painter – Part 7

The Importance of Painting Outward
Hey Everyone,
So, I am currently working on my next basing and painting tutorials, and I decided to take a break and put up another post tonight.  So, todays topic; Painting Outwards.  Now, some of you are probably not familiar with the term.  What I mean by painting outwards is that, when painting a miniature, it is typically easiest and quickest to paint starting at the "innermost" layer.


For example, if you have seen my Ork painting tutorial, the skin is typically the innermost layer, as clothing is on top of the skin. That is why I begin by painting the ork skin, followed by the pants and shirt.  I would not paint the straps before these two layers, as straps and belts are the most outer layers. You may be asking, "what is the advantage to painting outwards?".  Well, the main advantage is not having to go back and re-touch up your miniatures after every colour.  When painting outwards, you do not need to be concerned if you accidentally paint over parts that go over that layer, just as long as you do not paint over parts from more inner layers. The end result is typically a faster, smoother paint job.


Another example is, as most of you have probably already noticed, on many marines painting tutorials, the person paints a general basecoat on the innermost layer, then highlights the other colours over the basecoat layer. If you were to paint the miniature using the opposite strategy, painting the outermost layers first, you would have to be Extremely Careful not to paint over the already painted parts. Therefore, this would results in a slower paint job.


Well, that is it for the day. I will try to have my new tutorials up within the next few days.


Thanks for reading and talk to you again soon.


Sincerely,
J

Steps to Being a Better Miniature Painter – Part 6

Is it better to Paint Your Miniatures Assembled or Parts Separately?


Hey Everyone,
I know I have not posted any tips for the last few posts, so today I would like to answer an age-old question that I get all the time, "Should I assemble my minis prior to or after painting?".  My answer is "Whatever you want". Look, I know my answer is a cop-out, but I will now address pros and cons to each painting strategy:


1) Painting before assembling


Pros: The first benefit to painting prior to assembling is that it is easier to paint every small detail of the miniature.  You can literally paint every inch of the mini with ease, as there are no awkward angles to paint through.  Therefore, I typically recommend this strategy to anyone who wants to paint above and beyond the tabletop standard.  This strategy is also better if you start painting before you have completely decided which wargear (e.g. weapons), the mini will have or the exact pose you want the mini to have.


Cons: There are definite cons to painting prior to assembling.  First, though you will know that each section is painted, many parts will be hidden from view when assembled.  Therefore, this technique can be considered to be a bit redundant. Another con is that you typically cannot play with the mini prior to it being painted, which for many wargamers, will be a problem.  If you are anything like me, you want to play test miniatures before deciding which weapon, or wargear options are truly optimal. Lastly, when painting individual parts separately, it can be easy to lose sight of the overall picture you want to paint. Therefore, it can be very hard to incorporate shading or highlighting onto the model if you do not have a lot of experience painting miniatures.


2) Painting after assembling
This strategy, therefore, has the opposite pros and cons from the first strategy.  If you have watched any of my painting tutorials, I typically assemble my miniatures prior to painting if I am painting to a tabletop standard (e.g. Ork Deff Skull Tutorial).

Pros: Typically faster, easier to paint. This strategy is better if you are painting to a tabletop standard.  Plus, you can play with a whole bunch of unpainted miniatures!!!! I also recommend this strategy for anyone using green stuff, for obvious reasons. It is also easier to incorporate shading and highlighting on the model.


Cons: It will be very hard to paint the entire miniature, especially the hidden parts.  Therefore, some may say that this style is not as great as the other one.




So, that is, in my opinion, the pros and cons to painting prior to and after assembling your miniatures.


Thanks for reading and talk to you again soon.
Sincerely,
J

Citadel Finecast Review

So, I recently purchased some of the new Citadel Finecast Models. I was curious about the quality of this new line of miniatures, and a little nervous after hearing about all of these miscasts.  They arrived yesterday afternoon, and I was very anxious to see these new miniatures that I just purchased, without being able to see if they had any casting problems ahead of time.  Well, my nerves were definitely put at ease when I opened the packages and examined the contents.  Here is a video review that I made about these new Citadel Finecast Models:

And here is an picture of the awesome detail on the miniatures:

 Hope you like it.

Sincerely,

J

Grey Knight Paladins (Work in Progress) Part 2

Hey Everyone,
here are some pictures of my second Grey Knight Paladins Squad that I am currently working on.

Heavy Weapons Paladin with Halberd

Paladin with two-handed halberd

Heavy Weapons Paladin with Force Sword. The arm is magnetized for quick changing of gun

Paladin with Demon Hammer

Paladin with Force Sword

As previously mentioned, I will hopefully be putting up a tutorial as to how to paint Grey Knights when I am done these guys. Hope you enjoy and thanks for reading.


Sincerely,
J

Grey Knight Paladins (Work in Progress)

Hey Everyone,

One of my current painting projects is an 1850 Grey Knight Paladin Army. Here are some pictures of the first squad of 5 that I am working on. I will be posting a painting tutorial, showing how I painted these guys in the upcoming week or so. Hope you like them.


      

Almost finished Grey Knight Paladin with Demon Hammer

Paladin with Warding Stave

Basic Paladin with two-handed Force Halberd

Paladin Apothecary

Paladin with Banner and Demon Head

So, as you can see, I have painted the silver armour, golds, reds and most of the scrolls/purity seals. I hope to have these guys done soon (just waiting for my new airbrush to come in to finish up the force weapons).  I will post pics of the finished squad when they are done. I will post my second squad work in progress tomorrow.


Sincerely,
J

Deff Skull Ork Painting Tutorial

Hey Everyone,
Here's the video that I mentioned, where I go over how I paint my Deff Skull Ork Army
.

Steps to Being a Better Miniature Painter – Part 5

How to Strip... Your Miniatures

So, I know that this post is a little out of the ordinary for me, and it does not seem to flow with the previous posts. I agree. The reason for this topic is that I was recently asked the question "how to I remove paint from my old/not well painted models safely and effectively?".  Therefore, I decided that this would be a great topic for todays blog.  Let me begin by telling you guys a little word that you may hear alot in your miniature painting life; "STRIPPING". Stripping is the process of removing paint from miniatures which are either not well painted, or chipped to the point of no return.  Stripping models is actually a really simple process, which requires only a few ingredients: 1) A jar, 2) Stripping Fluid, 3) A toothbrush and lastly, 4) A model.  There are many people out there who use some pretty serious chemicals to strip their models, such as battery fluid. I personally would recommend against using these chemicals, as they can be EXTREMELY HARSH to the model, your skin and your lungs.

Personally, I use a product called Simple Green. This concentrated cleaning solution can be found at any hardware store, or grocery store, it is safe on models, it is cheap, and IT WORKS!!! All you do is fill a jar with the concentrated cleaning solution, put in the models and wait a day. Then, remove the model, and (under warm running water) brush the model with the toothbrush. This should remove the paint from the model. If some paint refuses to come off, put the model back in the jar and wait a little longer (e.g. half a day or more). Here are a few rules though when stripping models:

1)   Use precautions:  Work in a well ventilated space, wear protective gloves, and wash hands thoroughly afterwards. DO NOT DRINK THE FLUID!!!!

2)   DO NOT USE SISTERS OR WIFE’S TOOTHBRUSH….. THEY WILL RESENT YOU FOR IT (trust me, I know…)

3)   Waiting times may vary. It will typically take longer to remove paint that has been ‘ard coated or varnished.

4)   If you leave metal models in the jar for too long, it will typically remove their metallic shininess, and leave them dull. This doesn’t really matter in the long run, but still. Something to take into consideration.

5)   Remember to rinse the model off thoroughly after stripping. If not, primer and paint will not stick to well to your model.

Well, that is all for me for the day. I will be posting a HOW TO PAINT A DEFF SKULL NOB tutorial in the near future. Hope you like it.

Sincerely,

J

Steps to Being a Better Miniature Painter – Part 4

Section 2) Painting/Choosing Foundation Colours For Your Miniatures

Ok, so let me begin by defining “Foundation Colours”. When I use this term, I am referring to the first colour that you are painting for each section of your miniature.  However, GW has made a terrific (and I mean absolutely AMAZING) line of paints, coincidentally with the title The Foundation Series.  Please allow me to digress for a moment.  In the last few years, GW has released two types of paint which I recommend for every single miniature painter to use: The Foundation Series and The Washes.  Both of these products are amazing, and I highly recommend using both when painting miniatures.  So, rule number 1) USE FOUNDATION PAINTS, especially if you are using black primer.  For those of you who have never used these paints, you would not believe how easy they are to use. Literally a single coat of foundation paint will go over solid black, and will not need a second coat. However, it is up to you.  You can use any type of paint to begin with your paint job.  Even the normal range of paints are great for covering up the primer, though you may require a couple of coats to get the shade that you like.

Remember, when choosing a foundation colour, first determine what colour you would like the finished model to be.  Then, choose a foundation colour darker then that final colour.  That way, you can work up layers of lighter colours, finishing with highlights of the colour you wanted to finish with.  I know this sounds weird, but let me use an example.  Let’s say that you wanted a section of your miniature to be white, but you used black primer (as most of the model is dark colours; refer to my previous post on primers).  The most straightforward approach is to layer up coats of white, upon white, upon white, until the desired brightness. However, this may take many, many coats and take up a lot of your precious painting time.  Therefore, a better approach would be to use a foundation colour such as Grey, then do a couple quick coats of white (building up highlights).  The end result will also be a white section of the miniature, in a fraction of the time.  Plus, the grey will provide much needed shading in any of the crevices and grooves in the model.   For those who paint orks, GW even makes a colour titled Ork Hide Shade.  Can it be any easier to choose a colour.  In fact, they offer several AWESOME shades of green that you can use with washes to produce a plethora of skin tones for your Orks.  Please note that I will be putting up my first painting tutorial up soon, showing how I paint a deff skulls Ork Nob. You will see how easily and quickly the model is painted using foundation paints. 

So, to summarize, use Foundation paints and build up layers of colour, working from the darkest to the lightest.  That is my blog post for the day. Hope you enjoyed it and I will post another one soon.

Sincerely,

J