One of the problems I've always had when painting with metallic colored
paints, whether vehicle figs or fantasy RPG swords et al, is that the result,
rather than looking like metal, looks like, well, metal paint.
The other day on a home improvement show, I saw them using this stuff called
silver buff. when rubbed onto the surface of the objects being decorated, it
made them look like metal. I was wondering if anyone had tried it for figures,
and what the results were.
> On Thursday, November 1, 2001, at 08:12 AM, Brian Bilderback wrote:
> One of the problems I've always had when painting with metallic
There are a few different ways to get "metal" effects. (I'm sure that there's
many more than I present here, but I've actually used these.)
(1) Metal paint, which doesn't really look good, as it's not scaled well. (2)
Testors Metalizer paints. You spray these on with an airbrush and then buff
them out. You end up getting a really good effect for scales
of about 1/50 to 1/150.
(3) Bare Metal adhesive foil. Designed for model cars and planes, this stuff
looks like metal because it is metal. Apply, rub down, and presto.
It takes a little practice to get right, but it looks great. I wouldn't
advise it for scales less then 1/100.
(4) Non-metal paint for metal effects. Also known as "scale" painting,
because when you look at metal from a long way away, I doesn't look like
metal (much like looking at a small scale miniature "close up"). Rackham
does this to excellent effect on their figures, and some GW staff painters
also do this very well. The smaller the scale, the more appropriate this
technique is.
I have found metals to be fairly easily painted on small figures using an
acrylic metal paint drybrush over black and then applying a liberal
application of matt acrylic varnish overall. Check my ancients page for
effects on armour..
http://rt000rhc.eresmas.net/seleucid.htm
> Sean Bayan Schoonmaker wrote:
> There are a few different ways to get "metal" effects. (I'm sure that
Agreed
> (2) Testors Metalizer paints. You spray these on with an airbrush and
Considering that these days, 1 figure or a couple bottles of paint or a gaming
book are huge outlays for my meager budget, buying an airbrush is
prohibitive for the time being.
> (3) Bare Metal adhesive foil. Designed for model cars and planes, this
Might work for my D&D 3 Barbarian a la Scottish highlander's claymore, but for
my DSII stuff and (Possibly in the future) getting into FT, doesn't sound like
the option.
> (4) Non-metal paint for metal effects. Also known as "scale" painting,
Rackham
> does this to excellent effect on their figures, and some GW staff
Considering my skills as a painter, It looks like I'm up the proverbial
riverine tributary sans navigational/locomotive implement.
> Sean Bayan Schoonmaker wrote:
One I often use for metal (as opposed to plastic) figures/models is not
to paint the figures, but to leave the metal as it is. It can be enhanced in
two diffrerent ways:
A dark wash of thinned steel grey or black. Depending on how intense you make
the wash, you can just enhance the edges or make it dark steel, good for
e.g.mail armour OR Polish the metal to a sheen. Good for swords and plate
armour.
Cover with glossy varnish for large scale figures, with satin or matt for
smaller minis. Uncovered washes may rub off, polished metal may dull over
time.
Greetings Karl Heinz
> On Thursday, November 1, 2001, at 11:28 AM, Brian Bilderback wrote:
> (2) Testors Metalizer paints. You spray these on with an airbrush and
OK, after some thought, I think this might be an acceptable alternative:
Just get a bottle of the Testors or Humbrol special metal paints and apply
with a brush (instead of an airbrush). Buff it out normally, and then use a
flat sealer when you're done with the fig.
I've never actually tried this, but it should work.
Hi folks,
Ok, I've been offline for a day, and have several digests ahead of me so I'm
not exactly sure where this thread has gone, but while I'm thinking of it,
I'll jump in now.
I was at a hobby show a couple of years back and was admiring some plastic
airplanes done by a group who had figured out a *really* great metal effect.
These planes looked pretty much exactly how you would want them to, as "bare
aluminum" (were WWII planes).
Their technique went something like this. Get some fine aluminum powder
(you can get this at well-stocked hobby stores - I've seen it in the
kinds of places that cater to the RC crowd). Paint the model with a thin coat
of (varnish? shellac? laquer?) and let it ALMOST completely dry. When this
layer is just a little bit "tacky", buff on the aluminum powder. Then you
could top coat it however you normally would.
This isn't something appropriate for infantry figures, unless you have an
inhuman level of patience. But it would sure work for tanks in 25mm or 15mm.
There are a number of different types of fine metal powders available. I've
seen aluminum, pewter, brass, "gold" (not really, but close", and other
reddish and brownish metals. Copper I think. Anyway, one could get a couple of
different colours and experiment with mixing them to get the desired effect (a
dull silvery metal, or something akin to that).
The effect on those airplane kits (just regular plastic models) was excellent.
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Adrian said:
> Their technique went something like this. Get some fine aluminum
As I recall, powdered aluminum and iron oxide also make a good incendiary.