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I received in a trade a block of 10 Bretonnian knights of the realm. Already painted, by the guy who swapped em to me.. and HE said they were a first attempt at painting.. so.. imagine a block of knights painted in Bright Primary Colors, with no standardization in the unit. 4th ed WHFB style..

A riot of Blue, Red, Yellow and While, with the occasional black and chainmail colors.

For what they are, they are darn decent tabletop figs, and are going into my demo army for conventions.

However, I want to enhance them a bit, since there is some bleed-over from sections, and the lines are wavery.. so, I figured I would try a wash or a dip, maybe.

I had a test figure (not a knight, a spare plastic wizard guy), so I painted him in the same color palette a (and was thrilled that I had matching colors to the knights).. and then I used Minwax floor stain (water based, vermont maple for lightness).. shook him off and left him alone for a day.. and came back to find that the brown settled in the yellow and white areas and did NOT look too good.

So, either I used the wrong color/type of stain.. or white and yellow are colors that should NOT be dipped or washed in a brown.

Any suggestions?

I have been able to redo a lot of the older paint and poor lines as I have been repairing them, and can post pictures pretty easily.

One other thing that has been sitting in the back of my mind is transfers for the shields or horse barding.. I have little experience with those, and am concerned that it will look tacky. Are the current Bretonnian knightly transfers pretty decent?

-P

I wash blue and white and yellows with GW washes all the time. Rather than the heavy minwax (which I have never used).

I think Agrax Earthshade in the one I am using.

Yeah. I wouldn't dip them with yellows and whites.
There are a number of really good GW washes, though.

As for the transfers, I find that they can look fine. You can buy a chemical (micro-sol, IIRC) that will basically liquify them slightly, so they can meld with the curves of the model better. It virtually removes the edges from being visible.
Failing that, here's what I do:
Cut out and apply the transfer, leaving a little clear edge around the transfer.
Wait for it to dry FULLY.
Once dry, I paint the clear EDGES of the transfer with whatever color it was applied to, including any shadows or highlights, as necessary, to give it a more blended look.
After that, I apply my sealants as normal.
That's what I did with the DE transfer on this model:


Eric

Yeah, the old Devlan Mud was perfect for washing ANYTHING. Agrax Earthshadw just isn't quite the same. I hear tell that another company put out a wash that's all but identical to Devlan Mud. Now if I could just remember which company and what they called it. . .

I would take that info if you find it. the Agrax is about the same color, but goes on quite a bit 'thicker'.

According to Ye Olde Google, it's Army Painter Strong Tone Ink. The color is slightly off, but some reviews have the finish as smoother than good ol' Miracle Mud.

an ink? I have never used Inks before.. are they the same process as a wash, or does the ink require something different?

I used minwax thinned as a wash for TK. It was yellow ink, water and minwax. I thin at least 50% on all washes. If it's too thin, I just wash it off under running water and apply again.
I also always seal the model with a flat spray then add on if i'm not sure and don't want the colors to run or mix.

Jim, they're called "inks" but apparently they're more akin to the GW washes.

GW used to produce inks, I still have a few brown and blue inks that I use ever so often. They dry shinier than the washes they have now and they go on beautifully.

I too have those ancient relics of GW's past. I felt those always needed to be mixed with floorwax to break the surface tension so they would flow to the cracks or they would REALLY darken your paintjob.

reegsk wrote:I too have those ancient relics of GW's past. I felt those always needed to be mixed with floorwax to break the surface tension so they would flow to the cracks or they would REALLY darken your paintjob.

I have always used liquitex matte medium in my washes/inks, even though they already have mediums in them, I find that watering them down a tad and applying a drop or two of matte medium really helps them flow into the recesses better. I also use it when I want to blend colours, as the medium really helps with layering with normal paints. However it's like 15 bucks from Michaels here in Polar-bearland so it is pretty expensive.

If this were ten years ago, I'd make a Canadian currency joke, but sadly those days are past.

porkuslime wrote:an ink? I have never used Inks before.. are they the same process as a wash, or does the ink require something different?

Well, GW's wash line is pretty much the same substance as their old Ink line, just pre-thinned. It helps people get paint on the mini straight out of the bottle, but made me personally feel a little cheated (I felt like they were giving me less pigment for the same price).

Treat it like a thick wash- you'll need to thin it down with some water until it is at the consistency that you like. Then apply like a wash (you can use it to do controlled glazes to alter colors, or large areas for shading).

You can get inks from several different places. I'd actually recommend getting some Higgins inks from your local hobby/craft store- you get a lot for the price. If you'd rather go with a gaming brand, P3 does some good ones.