Trollbloods Gargantuans in Progress

I am prepping a few small kits and some Privateer Press Warmahordes miniatures for painting for my new Youtube channel this coming weekend. 

I primed and painted this with my Harder & Steenbeck Silverline airbrush with Vallejo polyurethane primers and Vallejo Game Airs a couple of years ago. HERE is the priming blog post and HERE is the painting blog post. I have yet to do hand painting on these. The painting was all airbrushed ( thus the oversprays ).

Yes, a couple of years ago, as I have been really busy with commissioned illustration projects ( including this Trollbloods Poster I sold as art prints ). 

I also gave both a nice Vallejo gloss polyurethane varnish before putting them in a plastic box. 

Fast forward to today. I will be recording on video the rest of the painting process of this Trollbloods Gargantuans. I will exclusively paint these with Vallejo Mecha Colors tho ( and some Vallejo texture and effects paints for the base ). As much as I love my complete set of Vallejo Game Airs, my new Mecha Color set ( unboxing video at Youtube ) needs some love. 

Looking forward to sharing to you here and my Youtube channel the rest of the painting process of these two beautiful beasts! 

Stay tuned guys! Thanks a ton as always for dropping by! Cheers! 

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Khador Unit Kayazy Eliminators

I felt I needed to practice before I paint the Gunpla pilots in front of the camera for my new Youtube channel. So I decided to finish this unit of Khador Kayazy Eliminators. Nothing to write home about, just table top level painting for these two.

I had fun painting the... errr... torso.

Made sure the chest parts pop out well. I might have overdone it a bit, but I like how the upper torso looks on the table. I made the details pop out a bit more with Mecha Color Pure White, mixed with Game Air Bone White. The red parts I highlighted with Model Color Orange Rust and Mecha Color Yellow.

I definitely need better set of brushes. I only have a no.1 workable brush atm. A 00 or even a 000 sable brush would help me highlight the finer details like the hair next time. Decided this is done tho. Will try to do better with better brushes next time. Besides, it could be that I am rusty, as it has been a while since I painted minis.

Lastly, due to my experience in illustrations, I rarely use blacks or dark greys in shading shadows. I usually use purple inks ( specially on my trollbloods ). Purple shadows looks good imho, even when a bit overdone. Much like in illustrations, deep purple shadows in model kits and minis, enhances the base color. Purple ( inks ) shadows even on the ground work looks better for me.

This was also a quick photography test. I need a third light source at the back. I thought 2 strong lights will do. Alas I need 3! Hee hee

Thats's it! I hope you like my tiny little Kayazy Eliminators.

Until next update guys! Just enjoy the hobby!

Cheers!

Shout Outs

I only paint my Gunpla, Miniatures and Action Figures with Vallejo Colors 

I only use Harder & Steenbeck airbrush

I get my tools only from HobbyMate Singapore 

I get my Vallejos and Miniatures only at Neutral Grounds 

Thanks! 

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Eiffel Extravaganza at Kickstarter

Do check out the Eiffel Extravaganza at Kickstarter at the link below...

Eiffel Extravaganza at Kickstarter

Eiffel Extravaganza, 1896 starts with a collection of fine lasercut scenery sets for tabletop miniature games. Sets are in 30 mm scale so they suit perfectly with the major skirmish and wargames in stores now like Malifaux, Mordheim, Deadzone, Warmachine, Wild West Exodus, Guild Ball, Infinity, Confrontation and again: In Wolsung, Twisted, Empire of the Deadso on.

With your support, Eiffel Extravaganza will become a campaign pack with dedicated miniatures, background and missions. Scenery and Models will have general statistics such as movement, switches, and particular events etc. which can be adapted to the ruleset of your preference.  In future, it could even evolve into board-games, card games and other lasercut scenery sets! 

I will be producing the ARTWORKS for this project. It will all be in Pen and Ink rendition that would perfectly match the 1896 theme of the pieces. The artworks will look like etchings of sorts. We hope for your support with this project! I will be sharing my sketches for this project my @donsuratos accounts Twitter and Instagram, and at my Facebook page @DonSuratosArtist .

Thanks as always for dropping by! Please help us share the word! CIAO! 

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Painting Base Colors in Batches

As I've said in my last post, I love priming miniatures in batches! I think it saves me time and paint. Painting miniatures in batches is more efficient as you get to setup your airbrush and mix paints in one sitting. I just feel It is more efficient than painting in smaller batches or individually.

I base color small and big models with my Harden & Steenbeck airbrush. I always prime and paint with Vallejos! A drop of Vallejo Paint Retarder before shooting a well thinned Vallejo is all it takes, to make sure you airbrush with ease. I shoot as low as 10psi when shading and 15 to 20psi when shooting the base colors.

Thinning Vallejos depends on the color. Light colors like Yellows, Oranges and Light Greens need very little thinning. Thick colors like Blues, some Reds, Browns and Grays need more thinning. I am not a ratio person, I lick and taste the paint to know that my mix is perfect for airbrushing. Kidding aside, a nice skim milk consistency ( as cliche as it may sound ) is usually perfect.

Overly thinned paint will splatter all over the model. Thick poorly thinned paint might clog your airbrush or give you a sandy texture. Too much Vallejo Retarder will be wet forever, and NO retarders might dry in mid air ( depending on color ) and also give you a sandy texture. Practice and Experience is KEY.

These models are ready for detailing! I had so much fun airbrushing them. I gave them a nice coat of Vallejo Premium Gloss Coat! Vallejo Premium paints are paints used for motorcycle helmets, RC cars and Guitars. Needless to say, a fully cured ( 3 days ) layer of Vallejo Premium Gloss Coat, would be very strong enough for play and handling.

I will need to shoot a nice thin coat of Vallejo matte varnish, once I decide to hand paint the details. The matte varnish will give the models teeth for the hand painting to cling on. Until then, will play with these glossy models with my son.

I hope you found this post informative. Thanks as always for dropping by! Until next post guys! CIAO!

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Priming Miniatures in Batches!

I did this a while back, but figured I'd share all these photos here at my blog.

I love working on miniatures in batches. Makes it more time efficient, and I think it saves a bit on paint mixing and paint wastage too. I got all these beautiful PrivateerPress Warmahordes models, for a batch of drawings I did for an online shop way back.

I cleaned all the models before painting as usual. Filled the gaps with green stuff and cleaned / sanded off some mold lines. After hours of cleaning and preparing the models...It was time for the fun part! Priming and painting! Make sure to wash all models with soap and clean water, then let dry before painting. Cleaning them would remove excess residues during the molding process and unwanted dusts.

I used my beautiful Harden & Steenbeck airbrush for both priming and painting. In my honest opinion, Harden and Steenbecks are the BEST in the market!

I prime my models with Vallejos as usual. I do NOT thin my primers, much more add retarders and such. Vallejo Primers will be stronger once cured if shot un-thinned. Make sure to set the air pressure to at least 20 psi and use a .5 needle. The high air pressure and the thick needle would be suffice to shoot the Vallejo Primers with ease.

Clean the airbrush immediately after every paint batch. I gurgle the airbrush in a bucket of water, and shoot with a few drops of thinner, then a few drops of airbrush cleaner every time I have to reload paint or primer.

I always prime with black Vallejo Primer, then give it a bit of shading with Vallejo White Primer after. Shooting White Primer 90 degrees from the top of the model should easily give you a nice primed model with natural shading.

Next post would be the painting session of these models! Stay tuned guys! Thanks as always for dropping by! Until next post! CIAO!

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