Riptide build part 9: Still Painting

I'm running into some issues with finding a good matte finish.... I have the new-ish Badger Minitaire "Flat Coat" which in my experience IS NOT FLAT AT ALL!!!

I've had some issues with some paint rubbing off in some places (little nicks etc here and there) while I'm handling the model. I had sprayed it with what I thought was a good coat of Army Painters "Anti-Shine" and then another coat only to find out later (through some online research) that it's not actually meant to provide a protective layer, only to dull down a previous shiny coat. 

Lesson learned. Now to nail down a good clear protective coat.... any suggestions are appreciated.

Anyway, I tidied up some of the Ocher (yellow) on the body, arms, legs and weapons. Not done the Ocher yet but close. I'm still not sure about the feet though. I may go with black on the feet and on all the "white" circles you see including the circle in the Empire logo on the shield and chest. The head lens will get a color (still undecided) and an attempt at some OSL (wish me luck).

Off to research some protective coatings. As always, CC is welcome and appreciated. Thanks for looking!

The following two pictures (Marine Heresy Legs) are an example of the Badger Minitaire "Flat Coat" that I've found is NOT FLAT AT ALL! I've read mixed reviews online where some people get a Flat finish and others (like myself) get a very Shiny finish. Anyone use is and want to chime in, please do.

Riptide build part 8.1: Base Update

I picked up a Secret Weapon Miniatures (SWM) Masterclass Scenics: Mud and Water kit about a year ago as well as a collection of SWM's weathering pigments. 

Until now I had not used any of them. 

Pro Tip - If you follow the instructions and you mix some of the realistic water with some of the pigments and or the sand or plaster..... mix just a little bit and set it aside for about 4-5 minutes to allow the pigments/sand/plaster to soak up the realistic water. 

I just mixed some up, thought it looked great, started applying it to the base and suddenly (4-5 minutes in) I had a rather solid and hard to do anything with clump of brown (see 4th pic). I then thought..."Gee, I'll just add more realistic water to thin it back up." That sort of worked but by the time I got it thinned out again so I could apply it to the base...I'd used 70% or so of my realistic water and had WAY more brown mud than I could possibly use on this base.

So take your time mixing it up so that you won't wind up wasting a lot like I did.

All that said, I think it's great, works really well and is easy as heck to use even with little or no experience. Like I said, I'd not used any of it before so this was my first go at it and I think the final image in this post shows how well it looks even when done by a novice like myself. Granted there's still more I want to do to the base but I could just leave it as it is.

Note that there's several days between a lot of these pics as it takes about 24 hours for the realistic water to dry. Because you should only apply it in very thin layers, it can take multiple applications (days) to get the depth that you want. I believe if you pour it too thick it will dry and be foggy looking. I wanted a clear look so I've been taking my time.

I did mix in 2 or 3 different sizes of model train gravel/ballast. I have some Army Painter stick on bushes/weeds etc as well as some other foliage items that I may use on it. I'm sort of liking the minimalist look that it has currently with just the two tiny weeds/bushes.

You'll see in some of the pics where the recessed/lower areas or puddles got darker...that's just where i airbrushed on some of the Army Painter dark tone.

As always, CC is welcome and appreciated!

Thanks for looking!

Riptide build part 8: Don't Look at the Feet!

Little more paint on the Riptide but in my quest for a non green color I fudged up the feet. I forget what combo of paint I used but it was far too yellow for me and my attempt to go over it with Vallejo Ocher didn't work out either. I finally settled on just straight Vallejo model air Ocher which I was turned onto by Jawaballs in a recent blog/video where he explains the paints he's using on his Tau army.

You can see my use of the Ocher on the gun, the head and on the shield so far. I'll use it on some more places but It's getting late so it'll have to wait till tomorrow.

As always, CC is welcome and appreciated! (and ignore the feet!)

Thanks for looking!

Riptide build part 7: Paint thus far

Got a little paint on the Riptide last night and tonight. I won't bore you with details and let the images speak for where things stand thus far. Still a lot to do but a migraine has me calling it a night early.

The pictures of the body are from yesterday as I forgot to take any pics after working on it today. The rest are all from today.

 Just ignore the unfinished Mark 2 and 3 armor in the background. ;-)

As always, CC is welcome and appreciated!

 Thanks for looking!

Riptide build part 6: Pre Shading. Oh the humanity!

Not a big update but I managed (over the last several evenings) to get the Riptide pre-shaded. My airbrush has been acting up and frustrating me to no end so I had to stop and clean it several times. I also had to stop and walk away from frustration several times.

I did find a great use for a boat load of little screwdrivers I had laying around. You know, the promotional kind you often see vendors handing out. Because they have a magnet on the end, I found they worked really well for holding the magnetized Riptide pieces while I painted them.

Going back with the white to clean up some of my thick black lines and over spray.

Handy screwdrivers with magnets on their ends. Good for holding my magnetized pieces.

As always, CC are welcome and appreciated.

Thanks for looking!

Riptide build part 5: Ok, I lied. I still had/have some magnetization to do.

Just a quick update as I'm about to fall asleep. It was a busy day (non hobby related) but I managed to get some of the smaller weapon systems magnetized so they fit nicely on the arms and on the jump pack engine nacells. I'm hoping to finish things up so that I can at least base coat and pre-shade it tomorrow...assuming the weather permits.

Thanks for looking and as always, CC is welcome and appreciated!

Riptide build part 4: Close Combat ideas and Final magnetization.

Ok, you may need to use your imagination a tad on some of these pics because I've used blue-tac to slap a DreadKnight sword onto one of the Riptide's arms. I think it looks pretty damn cool but I would have to mod the sword a bit to make it look more Tau and less GK.

Close Combat Riptide!

Big Gun options!

Pins in the base go into the feet to help support the model and help avoid any breaking off from the base.

Scraping away at the base a bit. Making some spots for the feet to appear to smush down into the ground in an effort to indicate/show weight to the model in relation to the base (once it's done).  Also added some low spots for puddles/water effects.

Shoulder joint magnet + a pin and holes so I can magnetize it on but lock it into a particular pose of my choice because the guns are a tad too heavy for the magnet alone to hold up the whole arm/gun. I've done this to both shoulders. The pins aren't glued in so they can always be removed if I want.

And lastly the elbow joint for more posing options.

Thanks for looking!