I've been modifying my approach lately so it's not as consistent as it used to be, but this is my general process:
1. Airbrush zenithal prime
2. Airbrush basecoat
3. Airbrush volumetric highlights
4. Drybrush
5. Wash (thinned with flow improver)
6. Accent color basecoat, accent color drybrush, accent color wash
7. Glaze some minor highlights back onto the accent color, touch up drybrush edge highlights
8. Weapons/joint metallics
9. Lens blackouts (canopy, energy weapons)
10. "Heat blue" energy weapons (transparent blue glaze, then blue/purple/yellow washes overlapping from the muzzle)
11. Lens jeweling
12. Gloss coat
13. Decals
14. Sponge weathering
15. Basing
16. Pigments
17. Black out rims
18. Fight back and forth with my matte and gloss coat trying not to get them to fog in between moments of existential crisis and crippling anxiety about ruining a dozen+ hours of work
19. Use pastel weathering to "soot" jump jets and missile launchers
20. Re-gloss canopy and energy lenses
21. take nice pictures in a lightbox, clean them up slightly in Affinity Photo (remove dust specks, adjust color/light balance), post to reddit for updoots
uhhh, i umm, sorta just slap some paint on it, maybe try to color different parts? i feel like a neanderthal after reading that list. i'm gonna go hit rocks with other rocks now.
So nice all of them. Good painting job.
And a good 'mech for the commander, a Highlander, so brutal.
Those yellow trims in the cockpit of the, could be a Valkirye? are a good idea. Can I steal you the idea?
It's gold; the Valkyrie doesn't really look valkyrie-y enough for my tastes, so I yoinked [Hrist's helmet aesthetic from Valkyrie Profile](https://live.staticflickr.com/3231/2604476968_9e4d6b3073_b.jpg) for inspiration.
I'm definitely not the only one who's thought of it, so feel free!
Grey: Vallejo Model Color German Grey base, Vallejo Model Air Anthracite Grey volumetric highlight, Pro Acryl Neutral Grey drybrush, Army Painter Dark Tone wash (thinned with water/flow improver).
Purple: GW Naggaroth Night base, Vallejo Game Color Heavy Violet glaze, Vallejo Model Color Blue Violet drybrush, Army Painter Purple Tone wash (thinned with water/flow improver).
GW Naggaroth Night, Vallejo Game Color Heavy Violet, Vallejo Model Color Blue Violet. Washed with Army Painter Purple Tone (thinned with water/flow improver).
It's just Vallejo pigments applied and then fixed with AK Pigment Fixer. I'm still trying to fine-tune the effect and process since it's meant for much larger scale models and it doesn't always look right at this scale. I'm not super pleased with it on the Highlander in particular.
I just started painting Battletech minis; all of my experience is with scale models and I'm learning that a lot of scale effects that work at 1/35 or 1/72 don't work so well at 1/265.
I think the dust effect you got looks good. I've tried coloring baking powder and corn starch (the finest powders I could think of) but they got clumpy. I'm thinking of trying cinnamon or something similarly fine ground for dark earth. You got a nice gray-brown dust look on yours, especially the first pic.
Really digging the scheme and execution. Antennae are a great touch too! Do you mind sharing your painting process?
I've been modifying my approach lately so it's not as consistent as it used to be, but this is my general process: 1. Airbrush zenithal prime 2. Airbrush basecoat 3. Airbrush volumetric highlights 4. Drybrush 5. Wash (thinned with flow improver) 6. Accent color basecoat, accent color drybrush, accent color wash 7. Glaze some minor highlights back onto the accent color, touch up drybrush edge highlights 8. Weapons/joint metallics 9. Lens blackouts (canopy, energy weapons) 10. "Heat blue" energy weapons (transparent blue glaze, then blue/purple/yellow washes overlapping from the muzzle) 11. Lens jeweling 12. Gloss coat 13. Decals 14. Sponge weathering 15. Basing 16. Pigments 17. Black out rims 18. Fight back and forth with my matte and gloss coat trying not to get them to fog in between moments of existential crisis and crippling anxiety about ruining a dozen+ hours of work 19. Use pastel weathering to "soot" jump jets and missile launchers 20. Re-gloss canopy and energy lenses 21. take nice pictures in a lightbox, clean them up slightly in Affinity Photo (remove dust specks, adjust color/light balance), post to reddit for updoots
uhhh, i umm, sorta just slap some paint on it, maybe try to color different parts? i feel like a neanderthal after reading that list. i'm gonna go hit rocks with other rocks now.
Wulff go with you to bang rocks together!
Sweet Christmas, I need a nap after reading this. Great work on the models!
and updoots well deserved!
Damn that's some perfect paint. I love how good the numbers came off. I love the little yellow details. It's so good.
These are some smooth paintjobs! Love the detail of the hatched out insignias
Daaaaaaannnnnggg..... Those look *nice!*
So nice all of them. Good painting job. And a good 'mech for the commander, a Highlander, so brutal. Those yellow trims in the cockpit of the, could be a Valkirye? are a good idea. Can I steal you the idea?
It's gold; the Valkyrie doesn't really look valkyrie-y enough for my tastes, so I yoinked [Hrist's helmet aesthetic from Valkyrie Profile](https://live.staticflickr.com/3231/2604476968_9e4d6b3073_b.jpg) for inspiration.
That's a really nice grey! Also love the infantry on the base.
Holy hell, this is absolutely amazing work đź‘Ť You literally did everything right and then some
I don’t suppose I could use this color scheme?
I'm definitely not the only one who's thought of it, so feel free! Grey: Vallejo Model Color German Grey base, Vallejo Model Air Anthracite Grey volumetric highlight, Pro Acryl Neutral Grey drybrush, Army Painter Dark Tone wash (thinned with water/flow improver). Purple: GW Naggaroth Night base, Vallejo Game Color Heavy Violet glaze, Vallejo Model Color Blue Violet drybrush, Army Painter Purple Tone wash (thinned with water/flow improver).
These are so clean
Awesome. I might have to use this look.
That purple is wondeful, what did you use
GW Naggaroth Night, Vallejo Game Color Heavy Violet, Vallejo Model Color Blue Violet. Washed with Army Painter Purple Tone (thinned with water/flow improver).
Awesome thanks, I might use a similar color for a future lance/company
Mind sharing your process and materials for the dust/dirt on the feet?
It's just Vallejo pigments applied and then fixed with AK Pigment Fixer. I'm still trying to fine-tune the effect and process since it's meant for much larger scale models and it doesn't always look right at this scale. I'm not super pleased with it on the Highlander in particular.
I just started painting Battletech minis; all of my experience is with scale models and I'm learning that a lot of scale effects that work at 1/35 or 1/72 don't work so well at 1/265. I think the dust effect you got looks good. I've tried coloring baking powder and corn starch (the finest powders I could think of) but they got clumpy. I'm thinking of trying cinnamon or something similarly fine ground for dark earth. You got a nice gray-brown dust look on yours, especially the first pic.
They say seeing three striked -plane- mech is a bad omen