- contact@scarhandpainting.com
Here are some Color Recipes for the Combined Army. Please take note that this is a simple color scheme, not covering multiple overlapping layers and blends in between, that lead to the final product. It is supposed to be used as guideline not a step-by-step.
BLACK/GREY armour & weapons:
Black Undercoat,
Panzer Dark Grey (Val),*
Fenrisian Grey (GW), l&p
Pallid Wych Flesh (GW), l&p
Dark Tone Ink (AP),
Pallid Wych Flesh (GW), l&p
ORANGE fibers:
Mix: Hot Orange (Val) 1:1 Heavy Orange (Val)
Heavy Orange (Val), flbr, l&p
Mix: Strong+Soft 6:3:1 Bloodletter (GW), Medium, wash
Skin Tone (val), l
Hot Orange (val a), bl
Skin Tone (val), p
BROWN:
Satchel Brown (AP), bl
Khaki (AP), l&p
PURPLE blades:
Warlord Purple (Val a), bl
Squid Pink (Val), l&p
Warlord Purple (Val a), bl
Off White (Val), l&p
SKIN:
Tan (Val),
Anthea Skin (Val), flbr
Skin Tone (Val), l&p
Mix Purple Tone Ink (AP) 2:1:1 Strong Tone Ink (AP), Medium, wash
Skin Tone (Val), l&p
BASES:
Bloody Land (AK Interactive), texture
Heavy Orange (Val), drbr
Alien Fire Tufts (Gamers Grass),
l&p – lines and points,
p – points,
bl – blend,
gl – glaze,
drbr – drybrush,
flbr – flatbrush,
stpl – stippling,
*Airbrushed (with multiple layers and mixes)
I hope you find this tutorial interesting. Be sure to let me know your thoughts in the comments below, or at Facebook or Instagram. I would also appreciate it if you considered sharing this content with your friends, who might find it useful. Finally if you are looking for a professional miniatures painting service, be sure to contact me with this contact form. I always reply within 24 hours, after which please check out your spam folder.
Welcome to Ballsy Bases tutorial. Here I will take you on a Step-by-step trip through the process of creating Ballsy Bases that, although might not seem like it, were always canon, since the first of the Ten Thousand…
Before we start, some notes:
For this tutorial I will be using:
Step one: Landscape
I started by applying Super Glue onto a base then adding a small ball of Hey-Clay on top. I then used my fingers to gently caress the ball and shape it into a sack-like lump. Next I used a steel brush and applied pressure to add additional texture. I let it dry for approximately six hours, then went back and used a long, hard brush to smear the thick white PVA glue all over the base and seal it.
Step two: Fleshy Colors
I applied a matt black undercoat then painted the entirety of the base with a thick layer of Vallejo 72.107 Anthea Skin. Next, I grabbed a thick brush right in the middle, then drybrushed the whole thing with Vallejo 72.100 Rosy Flesh hard, then again with Vallejo 72.099 Skin Tone.
Step three: Curly Hair
There are multiple sources of natural and synthetic curled hair. For this tutorial I used the inside of a kitchen knife stand, but I recommend experimenting a bit with brushes or whatever you might come across during brave hobby exploration. I pulled a few single plastic rods out of the knife stand and wrapped them over a brush handle. I then cut them into, about 4cm long, small springs. These I have gently pushed into the ‘meat’ of the sack, followed by a small droplet of Super Glue to seal the deal.
Step four: Shag
Finally I glued a few Gamers Grass Alien Void tufts on top in seemingly random places. After repainting the edge black, the job was done. ‘perfection’
Thanks to Wargamingowy Shitposting for indirectly sponsoring this material.
I hope you find this tutorial interesting. Be sure to let me know your thoughts in the comments below, or at Facebook or Instagram. I would also appreciate it if you considered sharing this content with your friends, who might find it useful. Finally if you are looking for a professional miniatures painting service, be sure to contact me with this contact form. I always reply within 24 hours, after which please check out your spam folder.
Watching the miniatures hobby industry from within for over two decades can definitely yield a few observations, such as what trends dominate the current period. If I was to pick one it would definitely be “all-in-one”, starting with portable painting stations, transportation cases and hobby tools. Nowadays I am more of a sedentary type of a hobbyist, but I used to work in a hobby store and travel quite a lot, carrying my hobby around. All that to say that regardless of my current situation I can appreciate easy to transport, modular hobby solutions. One of which, the All-In-One Modular Art Box by KRYDRUFI, I would like to present to you in this article.
Long story short, I was recently contacted by KRYDRUFI asking if I would like to test out the All-In-One Modular Art Box, to which I agreed. The item arrived in good condition a few days later, all the way from China. I’m a sucker for the high aesthetic value of packaging both overall and of each individual piece and the first impression was great.
The All-In-One Modular Art Box comes with a variety of functionality. It usually consists of
* Large two-chambers Water Bucket,
* Two separate Water Tanks equipped with Silicone Brush Cleaning Inserts,
* A total of four Brush Holders,
* Two Airtight Paint Storages,
* Two Wet Palettes with a 5mm Sponge and Disposable Palette Paper supply,
Important note: My Item arrived in Ultra – Wet Palette Only Kit variant with two Paint Storages replaced by additional Wet Palettes. I would love to test the full functionality of the box, especially because four Wet Palettes seems like an overkill, and am now looking for an excuse to purchase additional Paint Storages.
After taking the All-In-One Modular Art Box outside and painting miniatures in the garden, I can genuinely say that I am impressed by the plethora of functionality squeezed into this single, relatively small product.
As someone used to working long painting sessions, I am especially fond of a large Water Bucket. Thanks to the separation through the middle, the Water Bucket, combined with two Water Tanks, results in less time spent on replacing dirty water and more time spent on actual painting.
Probably the most ingenious of the entire set are the Brush Holders, especially the two with small containers at the bottom. No need to worry about messing up the table in a hotel with a dripping wet brush – these puppies have you covered!
Two Brush Cleaning Inserts are a cherry on top. Not everyone will appreciate them, but I’m one of those painters for whom this is a perfect brush cleaning solution.
Finally, all these things fit into the Water Bucket to get carried as a whole, or just save space on the workbench between projects – what’s not to love about it?
Apart from the obvious, being able to adjust the number of lower modules and then stack them via special side clamps to carry the whole thing around is just brilliant. I can easily imagine combining two sets into one giant stack, while leaving one fully equipped upper part on the in-house workbench. As for the clamps, they are pretty hard to unlock and I am not sure as to how they would perform in the long run. Plastic seems somewhere between brittle and solid, only time will show if it loosens up or breaks.
For those of us pre-planning the paint job, the Airtight Paint Storage seems* like a perfect solution to save space on travel via pouring a bit of each required paint into an individual slot, instead of carrying each bottle separately.
*Seems, because I was not able to properly test these myself.
Last but not least, I don’t know about you, but me personally – I love to keep particular tools in one place. I would imagine the stackable Wet Palettes will suit multiple painting projects perfectly and save space on the working bench. Not to mention spare paper clipped on top and in between the Palettes, rather than kept separately.
The set comes equipped with a Highly Moisturizing Sponge for each Wet Palette and a stack of Disposable Palette Paper. The quality of both seem on par with items from other suppliers I worked on previously. They seem to be pretty durable, but can also be resupplied from the KRYDRUFI online store if needed.
In my opinion the KRYDRUFI All-In-One Modular Art Box embodies the All-In-One aspect completely, offering a variety of functionality and modularity. Most importantly it comes in a very compact, space saving form, which for many might be the deal breaker. The price varies between different $20 USD for the entire upper module (KRYDRUFI Cleaning* Brush Holder Module) to about $46 USD for the full set (KRYDRUFI All-In-One Modular Art Box Ultra). Personally I’m happy with my ‘box of goodness’ and plan on expanding it. Pricing seems fair for what it offers imho.
The item is available directly from KRYDRUFI online store and you can get a 10% discount by using my link and the code KRYDRUFI-SCARHANDPAINTING on checkout. More so, if you do, I will get a 10% commission thus not only will you save but also support my little hobby endeavor. Seems like a win-win.
I hope you find this review interesting. Be sure to let me know your thoughts in the comments below, or at Facebook or Instagram. I would also appreciate it if you considered sharing this content with your friends, who might find it useful. Finally if you are looking for a professional miniatures painting service, be sure to contact me with this contact form. I always reply within 24 hours, after which please check out your spam folder.
Welcome to Painting Warhammer 40,000 Crimson Fists tutorial. Here I will present to you a Step-by-step of an easy and fast painting process for Games Workshop Crimson Fists Primaris Marines metal as can be seen in Gallery: Crimson Fists.
Before we start, some notes:
Previous steps: Blue Armor
Although metal elements can be painted separately I strongly recommend following part one of the article before moving to this color. Visit Tutorial: Painting Warhammer 40,000 Crimson Fists part one Blue Armor for more information.
Step one: Base Color
The initial layer was painted manually (no airbrush) with Vallejo Game Color – Tinny Tin (72.060). The color is relatively thin making it easy to move into any recesses, but also maintains a strong coverage, which is good because covering the entire surface is imperative for this particular layer.
Step two: Highlight
Next I manually applied a large area (flatbrush) highlight of Vallejo Game Color – Chainmail (72.053). A much brighter steel color with strong pigmentation to cover most of the surface, except recesses.
Step three: Highlight
I then applied a more contained highlight of Vallejo Game Color – Silver (72.052), switching between edge highlight and flatbrush.
Step four: Wash
Lastly I applied a lot of The Army Painter – Strong Tone Wash. I like to go hard on washes, applying lots and lots of them to allow for pigmentation to do its thing.
Extra Step: Final Highlight
Depending on the level of paint job I sometimes apply a final, soft highlight of Vallejo Game Color – Silver (72.052). This might work especially good for tiny detail such as chains, Imperial Aquila and similar, making steel look crisp and sharp. Unfortunately I skipped this part for the Eradicators so you’d have to take my word for how it works, or see other Crimson Fists miniatures for reference.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this article. Be sure to let me know your thoughts in the comments below or via Facebook or Instagram. I would also appreciate it if you considered sharing this content with your friends, who might find it interesting. Finally if you are looking for a professional miniatures painting service, be sure to contact me with this contact form. I always reply within 24 hours, after which please check out your spam folder.
Welcome to Painting Warhammer 40,000 Crimson Fists tutorial. Here I will present to you a Step-by-step of an easy and fast painting process for Games Workshop Crimson Fists Primaris Marines red as can be seen in Gallery: Crimson Fists.
Before we start, some notes:
Previous steps: Blue Armor
Although red elements can be painted separately I strongly recommend following part one of the article before moving to this color. Visit Tutorial: Painting Warhammer 40,000 Crimson Fists part one Blue Armor for more information.
Step one: Base Color
The initial layer was painted manually (no airbrush) with Vallejo Model – Hull Red (70.985). The color is thick resulting in strong coverage. I deliberately avoided going back to places where the undercoat might be visible, not to build too much paint in the area. Other layers will take care of that.
Step two: Highlight
Next I manually applied a large area highlight of Vallejo Burnt Red (70.814). A bit brighter and slightly pastele, the color has a relatively good coverage. I focused on covering all edges and exposed areas, less on recesses and inner folds.
Step three: Texture Highlight
I then applied a mix-method layer of Vallejo Flat Red (70.957)*, switching between edge highlight and stippling. This added much needed texture and vibrancy.
* Warning: I am convinced my Vallejo Flat Red is bugged. I have purchased a number of bottles and the one used for my Crimson Fists is clearly mixed up. There sadly is no comparable color in the entire Vallejo range that I am aware of (and I got each Red they make to test it). I recommend choosing any strong, vibrant, well pigmented red for this step instead.
Step four: Final Highlight
In the last step I added a limited highlight of Citadel Lugganath Orange. The paint is thick and I used it without thinning. Just a few lines on the edges, a few irregular dots in certain areas. Not to much, not to change the expression of the overall color.
That wraps up red. Four layers of paint to imitate eye catching, vibrant tone. Two most important colors out of the way, the rest is a topic for another day. Stay tuned for part three of the tutorial.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this article. Be sure to let me know your thoughts in the comments below or via Facebook or Instagram. I would also appreciate it if you considered sharing this content with your friends, who might find it interesting. Finally if you are looking for a professional miniatures painting service, be sure to contact me with this contact form. I always reply within 24 hours, after which please check out your spam folder.
Magnetic transportation is probably the best way to carry miniatures safely. Its main pros are ease of use and speed with which the miniatures get packed/unpacked. Although pure comfort, this way of transporting miniatures is not without issues, amongst which is how very heavy pieces can slide and rub on one another, damaging the paint job in the process. Today I will present to you an easy way of dealing with this issue once and for all!
I have been using magnetic transportation for the last few years. Before that I was all about foam bags and stuff, but since I got my first A-Case I’ve abandoned all other ways of carrying minis and never looked back. Now I am happily carrying my lovingly crafted armies, including scenery, in magnetic transportation cases exclusively. Although I will never trust in any one way of carrying minis completely, with only the positive experience, I grew to trust magnetic transportation *almost* all the way. By “almost” I mean there are, like with all methods, some things worth being aware of. For starters I will never, under any circumstances put my case sideways. Do not get me wrong – my miniatures are professionally magnetized, but why tempt fate? More importantly some miniatures are really, and I mean REALLY, heavy and may slide around regardless of how many magnets you put into their underside.
Just recently I have completed a large Solar Auxilia commission, including ten resin Dracosan tanks, over 400 grams each! The customer asked me to magnetize them and I got to it right away, but not without some thorough testing, to ensure the solution will work properly for these bad boys. Of course the miniatures moved around. I went through magnetized 3d printed holders, more magnets, stronger (over 20kg attraction power) magnets, magnets with rubber bands stretched between them, anti-slide stickers, foam trays to protect the miniatures and more. Neither solution satisfied the goal of providing safe transportation for my customers’ collection. Finally after multiple trials and errors I found an easy, cheap solution that gets the job done and is very user friendly.
Final word before we start:
The solution is very simple: Due to heavy weight the miniatures, if well magnetized, will stay on top of the metal shelf without issue. In order to prevent them from sliding around I simply needed to create a socket to block any extensive sideways movements.
For this I used 3mm thick self-adhesive felt sheets and pads. Yes, that is correct – the solution was much simpler than anticipated. I used the actual Dracosan tanks spread across an A-Case shelf and stuck a few felt pads, prepared in advance, around them. I left some loose space between the sheets and the tanks to make it easier for the customer to fit each tank in each slot, regardless of eventual small differences in size of resin elements. Assuming the tanks will not take off, they are allowed to slide just barely, as long as the only thing they hit would be a relatively soft pad…
The Final Test was successful!
I hope you’ve enjoyed this article. Be sure to let me know your thoughts in the comments below or via Facebook or Instagram. I would also appreciate it if you considered sharing this content with your friends, who might find it interesting. Finally if you are looking for a professional miniatures painting service, be sure to contact me with this contact form. I always reply within 24 hours, after which please check out your spam folder.
What if I told you it is possible to turn almost any old, damaged, badly painted Space Marine model into an Obliterator using trash and a bit of modeling magic? Sounds good? How about I just show you!
Before we start, some notes:
I have been playing Warhammer for over two decades now. Throughout that time I had multiple armies that I built, then painted, then sold out to get dough for another dose of ‘plastic crack’. At times I had to get rid of some really badly painted, out of date sculpts. Easy to say, I came up with a variety of ideas on how to make such miniatures more desirable in the eyes of potential buyers, one of which was turning old minis into Chaos Obliterators and Spawns. The key was to use an old miniature and as little extra bitz as possible to up the value on the gaming board. Nowadays Obliterators come in plastic and look cool, but I believe there is still value in recycling old minis, especially if you’re short on cash and would like to play CSM proper by spamming these bad boys all over the place. The method shown below can be used for anything, including turning Marines/Vehicles Death Guard, making Possessed or Mutants and more. I deliberately chose to make an Obliterator, but stay open minded and let me know in the comments if you would like to see some kind of dedicated Nurge’esque magic in the future.
Now buckle up and let’s jump straight into it!
Step One: Preparing the Miniature
Using Hobby Cutters and a Hobby Knife I removed front parts of the miniature’s arms to make space for the upcoming weapon extensions. I also removed any Imperium related symbols.
Step Two: Weapon Barrels
Next I cut an old lollipop stick and a few toothpicks into short pieces, then glued them onto the shoulder guards and arms of the miniature with Super Glue. I used remaining sharp toothpick ends to form spikes on one leg and the back of the miniature.
Step Three: Veins and Cables
I then added another thematic detail by cutting paper clips into small pieces, then bending them to form swathes of cabling. I also twisted a few to form double cabling/veins then glued all of them onto the miniature. Again with Super Glue.
Step Four: Glue Goo Magic
I followed up with the favorite trick amongst my arsenal – a mix of PVA glue and Super Glue. First I applied some PVA onto the miniature, then right after, I applied Super Glue on top. I then started ‘dragging’ the goo around with a tip of a toothpick to form veins and some sort of meat chunks. The curing Super Glue twisted and hardened the PVA glue underneath – MAGIC!
Step Five: Additional Detail
Here’s where I would usually add some leftover bitz. For this particular miniature I glued three skulls here and there to better represent the theme of ‘big bad Chaos thing’, but I invite you to experiment with stuff. I just wanted to keep things simple.
Job done – seriously. I know the miniature above looks like crap, but just take a look at this undercoated, drybrushed Chaos Obliterator below. It took me less than ten minutes to make and cost as much as an old mini that hadn’t seen action in a decade!
I hope you’ve enjoyed this article. Be sure to let me know your thoughts in the comments below or via Facebook or Instagram. I would also appreciate it if you considered sharing this content with your friends, who might find it interesting. Finally if you are looking for a professional miniatures painting service, be sure to contact me with this contact form. I always reply within 24 hours, after which please check out your spam folder.
Who wouldn’t like to play games on a highly detailed, great looking scenery? Fortunately for us – hobbyists, we’re living in times of abundance. Not only is the market saturated with ready to buy awesome scenery elements, but there are many ways to make our own scenery from scratch. Today I’m here to share with you the latter – my method of scratch building well textured, interesting looking trees, of any size and shape!
Before we start, some notes:
Just recently I decided to finally let my 10mm scale itch loose and commit to a new scenery related project. I chose a dark, fantasy theme for it, so alongside crumbling ruins, rocky hills peppered with tombstones I needed some twisted, creeping trees to better tell a story of the glory times long gone. Making scenery from scratch allows us to tell a different short story with each individual piece. This can only be enhanced with self made trees of any size and shape, thus I decided to go this route. The resulting Ghasthollows Cemetery set speaks for itself.
Without further ado here’s how I went about it…
Step One: Trunks
I have started by butchering an old Ethernet cable, removing the rubber cover and pulling out small rubber protected ones. I deliberately chose this type of cable because of the rubber shielding the wires inside. I have observed paint sticking onto it much better than to smooth metal surfaces.
Next I have cut a few pieces of similar size and bundled them together, twisting them in the middle to form tree trunks and leaving top and bottom parts separated.
Step Two: Roots and Branches
Next I based the tree, first forming roots from the lower wires with a set of solid tweezers and then sealing them alongside the trunk with Super Glue. Once dry I then formed upper branches and sealed them with Super Glue using the same method.
Step Three: Texture
To add texture and increase durability I covered the entire tree with PVA glue, immediately applied Super Glue on top and sealed it with Super Glue Activator. This way I ended up with solid, sturdy trees covered with a mix of twisted veins / rough bark-like texture.
…Painting
This one I leave up to you. Everyone have their own painting preferences, depending on scale and the effect they’re aiming for. My set was painted with grey pre-shades on black undercoat, then covered in brown contrast like paint to finally get a drybrush od bright sandy-brown. Nothing special, but on a 10mm scale it really does the job.
Step Four: Foliage
As a final touch I applied just a bit of Super Glue on top of each branch then, using a set of tweezers, glued a small canopy made of Green Stuff World Tall Shrubbery on top. I then sealed it with Vallejo Polyurethane Matt Varnish airbrushed all over, to keep small specks from falling off.
That’s all – a set of awesome looking trees for miniatures is now within your reach. As a final word I recommend staying open minded – there’s plenty of different materials you can use to make your own trees, not just the ones I presented. It is worth experimenting. Be sure to share your result with me.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this article. Be sure to let me know your thoughts in the comments below or via Facebook or Instagram. I would also appreciate it if you considered sharing this content with your friends, who might find it interesting. Finally if you are looking for a professional miniatures painting service, be sure to contact me with this contact form. I always reply within 24 hours, after which please check out your spam folder.
Armies On Parade – a yearly contest held by Games Workshop, pitting lovingly crafted Warhammer armies from across the globe against each other. I always admired all the stunningly painted pieces of art presented in the content with a mix of awe and jealousy. Deep down I felt (and still feel) the ceiling is just too high for me to reach. Then again the entire theme of this competition seems to be fun and participation, sharing our hobby joy, rather than trying to win against the very pinnacle of talented people out there. This year, seven days before the very deadline, I have decided to unleash my Crimson Fists and join the challenge!
Like all of my hobby projects, the Crimson Fists collection started out of nowhere. I was ‘divorced’ with Warhammer 40,000 for about ten years, after abandoning a huge Space Marines army back at the down of the sixth edition. The new Primaris Marines grew on me and for a long time I felt like it’ll be fun to start a new army. One day something broke and I went for it, getting just enough carefully selected boxes to build a solid 2000 points list. I had many ideas on where to take my miniatures, including multiple made up Chapters and color schemes. In the end, remembering the wrathful charge of the Crimson Fists from the “Crimson Tears” Soul Drinkers novel, I decided to follow up on a youthful dream of a Crimson Fists collection. Contrary to my usual practices of fast bulk painting to play, I focused on small numbers, cherishing the process and pouring my heart and soul into each and every miniature. I steadily grew the collection, adding a few units at a time, prioritizing unit diversity rather than chasing the meta. As it happens, expanding a collection by adding one or two units every month, allows for some awesome hobby experience – but also expands the available toolset to breathe fresh air into the gaming experience. With a lively, positive local community around the corner, I’m having the time of my life with miniatures games right now and am speaking from over 25 years of wargaming experience behind my belt.
Easy to say that having a main, living project – a growing collection to add to and have fun with, might have saved me as a hobbyist. I love my Crimson Fists army and it is for this reason that I chose to honor it by preparing a special diorama.
Once I’ve committed I had a really bad time sleeping – multiple ideas ferociously fighting with one another inside my head. I spent almost four hours laying in bed, trying to fall asleep, grinding thoughts on how to better present the army. In the end I chose to focus on a two level base with a part of an exposed ground level and a large vantage point. I have been building advanced Crimson Fists themed scenery for the last year and figured a relatively simple base would allow me to use everything I have to build an interesting background and add detail.
To spice things up I have added a decrepit bunker complex entry tunnel and taken it a little bit further with a set of small lights spread across its length. Because there was an entire vantage level coming in on top – I had to finish painting the tunnel before starting to work on the exterior area.
It took me about four hours from laying a wooden worktop on the ground to sealing the vantage floor on top of the finished tunnel. What was left was the exterior and this part was rather easy in comparison. It took less than two hours of the actual work (and a lot of AK Interactive’s Dark Ground texture paint apart from other hobby materials) to see the thing completed.
Once the painting process was finished, I was left with the tedious and challenging process of setting up the background, planning the scene and breathing some life into it. I always admired cinematic shots from White Dwarf magazines – never would I ever dared to imagine I would be taking one myself 🙂
It took a lot of time and hard decision making on which units to include and which ones had to be cut, but in the end I finally had my epic, cinematic shot. Or at least a test shot to be precise.
Now all is in the hands of Games Workshop’s team. Let’s see if I can get as much as a shout out from them. Keep your fingers crossed for me mates!
I hope you’ve enjoyed this article. Be sure to let me know your thoughts in the comments below or via Facebook or Instagram. I would also appreciate it if you considered sharing this content with your friends, who might find it interesting. Finally if you are looking for a professional warhammer 40k miniatures painting service, be sure to contact me with this contact form. I always reply within 24 hours, after which please check out your spam folder.
