Weathering Space Marines - An Experiment
I've been struggling to work out how to use Weathering Powders lately. I want to learn how to use them to push forward my painting ability, so I thought the best way was to get in and experiment. And rather than paint something fresh and then weather it, I found an old squad of Rogue Trader Space Marines in my cabinet to dabble with.
Each of these guys represents a different approach. Dabbing dried powder into the recesses, making a thick paste to cover boots, blending different powders to get multi-hued dirt - but by far the best approach I found was watering the powder down into a thin wash and letting it dry. It doesn't overpower the paintjob, and when it dries it dries opaque in the recesses, making it look entirely different from an ink wash or dip.
Interestingly, you can use this washing approach with colours lighter than those the models are painted in.
Here's a comparison shot of a weathered Marine with an unweathered one.
These are done with the Forge World set weathering set. Their three-page quick guide is absolutely no use whatsoever. Unless of course, you find big blank spaces highly educational.
Anyone got any tips on how they do their weathering? I'm eager to learn.
Each of these guys represents a different approach. Dabbing dried powder into the recesses, making a thick paste to cover boots, blending different powders to get multi-hued dirt - but by far the best approach I found was watering the powder down into a thin wash and letting it dry. It doesn't overpower the paintjob, and when it dries it dries opaque in the recesses, making it look entirely different from an ink wash or dip.
Interestingly, you can use this washing approach with colours lighter than those the models are painted in.
Here's a comparison shot of a weathered Marine with an unweathered one.
These are done with the Forge World set weathering set. Their three-page quick guide is absolutely no use whatsoever. Unless of course, you find big blank spaces highly educational.
Anyone got any tips on how they do their weathering? I'm eager to learn.
Labels: forge world, rogue trader, space marines, weathering
Posted by Curis at 3:04 PM
9 Comments:
denatured alcohol works well for making your washes. it will evaporate faster than water, so mix it up, put it on, and it will be set in a shorter time.
Thanks AoM! I lick my brushes. Does this I'll get drunk painting? (Or go blind?)
These look real nice, I may have to invest in some next time I order from FW.
Rumour is they've got a second wave of colours coming out soon too.
Well the forge world way of using these things is in their painting book. In general they seal there model then they go back sprinkle the area with the right color, Then use "white spirit" to flow it over the are in question.
They also use inks with wax to do the grease.
The Master Class book? I was looking into getting that at Christmas, but I couldn't excuse it to myself as I'm not modelling and tanks or vehicles at the mo. Well, no 28mm tanks or vehicles. Wonder what it'd look like on Epic Warhounds.
Thanks!
A few weeks later, but in subscribing to your blog today and reading some of the older posts, I saw the above and it made me think of a similar post by Tinweasel on the same date. He gives a good explanation of his technique. You may have discovered a way that works for you by now, but maybe this will help.
http://tinweasel.blogspot.com/2010/02/hobby-tip-weathering-powders.html
Thanks Turuk. That's really useful the way he goes into the technical side behind it. I'll experiment on some more Space Marines shortly.
Following links and comments, I found my way here. I am by no means and expert in pigment powders, but I generally try and aim for a "realistic" appearance to my figures by and large and a set of MIG Pigments I bought over the summer are a very nice addition to my repertoire. The link Turuk posted above is my current "experience" with powders, more or less, but I plan on doing a few more hobby tips related to 'em - there's just so much to cover!
I'd also highly recommend the FW Modeling Masterclass book. I asked for it as a birthday present and while it's not as in-depth the further on you get in the book as I might've liked, the first few tutorials and general overview are great and if nothing else, the pictures are nice to look at and (by and large) fairly explanatory throughout. (I got the 3 Siege of Vraks books as a birthday present to myself and I'd recommend those, too, but Chaos Renegades 'n' Heretics are an acquired taste, but I like that the Lost and the Damned now have several viable lists - assuming the folks you game with don't quibble about Forge World army lists.)
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