New Ogre Miniatures Speed Painting Tutorial

[tbeard1999]

27 models; 5.5 minutes each. I could've done them in under 5 minutes each, but my airbrush was acting cranky.

The tutorial is here: http://texaswargamer.com/techniques/...gre-miniatures

Pictures of the models are here: http://texaswargamer.com/6mm-sci-fi/6mm-ogregev

[CON_Troll]

You achieved THAT level of painting at an average of five and a half minutes per mini!?!

"Holy micro-nukes, Batman!"

I've got a decent dual-action airbrush and I'm lucky to get just the base coat done in 3 to 4 minutes. Completing the miniature takes me about 20 to 30 minutes depending on it's size/complexity. So I am VERY grateful for your speed painting article. Between you and Ben, I just might learn enough to get half my Set 1s done before 11,000 more minis bury me in May...

[tbeard1999]

Originally Posted by CON_Troll

You achieved THAT level of painting at an average of five and a half minutes per mini!?!

"Holy micro-nukes, Batman!"

I've got a decent dual-action airbrush and I'm lucky to get just the base coat done in 3 to 4 minutes. Completing the miniature takes me about 20 to 30 minutes depending on it's size/complexity. So I am VERY grateful for your speed painting article. Between you and Ben, I just might learn enough to get half my Set 1s done before 11,000 more minis bury me in May...

Thanks so much for the kind words. It may be just coincidence, but the Grex airbrush really did seem to improve my results. The trigger design seemed to work better for me. Iwata has a comparable airbrush - the Neo TRN1. I think Hobby Lobby carries those airbrushes, which means the weekly 40% off coupon would be applicable.

[CON_Troll]

Yep. I've got the Iwata Neo myself, but it's the CN variant. I've got a nice compressor with a good regulator powering it. Learning how to use the dual-action correctly is tricky for me (my previous airbrush was a Testors single-action airbrush that siphoned from a paint bottle) but I'm getting the hang of it.

I'm wandering if the clogging issue you had was paint related (paint too thick or simply not separated enough) or atmosphere related. I've noted that if the air is really cold AND dry in my room, the paint builds up more rapidly in the nozzle.

[tbeard1999]

Originally Posted by CON_Troll

Yep. I've got the Iwata Neo myself, but it's the CN variant. I've got a nice compressor with a good regulator powering it. Learning how to use the dual-action correctly is tricky for me (my previous airbrush was a Testors single-action airbrush that siphoned from a paint bottle) but I'm getting the hang of it.

I'm wandering if the clogging issue you had was paint related (paint too thick or simply not separated enough) or atmosphere related. I've noted that if the air is really cold AND dry in my room, the paint builds up more rapidly in the nozzle.

Yeah, as I’m sure you know, airbrushes can be difficult. I’ve always likened airbrushes to a beautiful but very high maintenance woman...difficult, but when it’s good, it’s real good.

I never figured out what the problem was. But after a full breakdown and deep clean it’s working fine now. That said, it was very dry and cold, so that could be it.

I’ve always encouraged gamers to take the plunge and get an airbrush; what do you think?

[Mack_JB]

Using acrylic paints in an airbrush will almost always clog them faster, since acrylics dry 'hard' so much faster. Older enamels dried, but they dried 'soft' first.

I've got a double-action Paasche VL that's going on 35 years old, it replaced a V2 that was ten years old and literally worn out from heavy use. The present VL is actually a "French woodsman's axe" sort of thing, I think everything but the barrel has been replaced over the years. I may I still have a back-up VL new-in-box someplace as well.

For art use, I gave my daughter the Badger one I had, as more suited to her needs (an ex co-worker was one of Badger's color consultants for the model railroad colors, so he got me that one free).

[tbeard1999]

Originally Posted by Mack_JB

Using acrylic paints in an airbrush will almost always clog them faster, since acrylics dry 'hard' so much faster. Older enamels dried, but they dried 'soft' first.

I have to say that airbrushing was a lot less challenging for me with enamels. You could get much finer lines and cleaning was a lot easier. Unfortunately acrylics are sooo much more convenient. And less threatening to one’s long term health for the most part.

I've got a double-action Paasche VL that's going on 35 years old, it replaced a V2 that was ten years old and literally worn out from heavy use. The present VL is actually a "French woodsman's axe" sort of thing, I think everything but the barrel has been replaced over the years. I may I still have a back-up VL new-in-box someplace as well.

Yeah, I have Badger Renegade Velocity that was well on its way to being completely replaced one part at a time. I then got the Grex and it’s my go-to airbrush now.

Oh, I have a new homemade cleaner that works well - 50% isopropyl alchohol, 50% Windex (non-ammonia if you’re concerned about corrosion) and a few drops of glycerine. Much cheaper than dedicated airbrush cleaner and just as good, as far as I can tell.

I recommend that anyone who buys an airbrush ask around and find out which parts are easiest to lose or damage. Then go ahead and order spares when you buy your airbrush. Because I can guarantee that you’ll lose or damage a part in the middle of a project. Needles are my scourge...I keep a complete set of spares for the Grex. The Renegade has a nightmarishly tiny and easy to lose tip. If you drop it, it falls into some parallel dimension. I kept a spare of that at all times as well.

On the positive side, I repurposed a ruined airbrush needle to make a tool to open clogged dropper bottles. I cut a 4-5” segment of a 1” wooden dowel rod. I drilled a hole in the center. I then epoxied an old airbrush needle into the hole, leaving maybe 2” of the needle exposed. This works infinitely better than a paper clip or somesuch. You can see it on the far left side of this image, below the water glasses. http://texaswargamer.com/wp-content/...8/01/Setup.jpg

[ColBosch]

Sadly, my nervous shake has gotten to the point that I don't trust myself with an airbrush. I can just about handle a spraypaint can - for primer only - if I'm careful, but otherwise I try to keep to physical brushes because if I have a sudden jerk it won't do too much damage to the paint job.

This is why I'm so gung-ho about speed painting techniques now. I just don't have much time left before I simply can't paint miniatures anymore.

[tbeard1999]

Originally Posted by ColBosch

Sadly, my nervous shake has gotten to the point that I don't trust myself with an airbrush. I can just about handle a spraypaint can - for primer only - if I'm careful, but otherwise I try to keep to physical brushes because if I have a sudden jerk it won't do too much damage to the paint job.

This is why I'm so gung-ho about speed painting techniques now. I just don't have much time left before I simply can't paint miniatures anymore.

Man, I’m sorry to hear that. My issue has always been time - and the fact that I’m much more of a gamer than a modeler. Hence the borderline obsession with speed painting techniques.

I’ve got another couple of boxes of Ogre miniatures coming next week. I have a brush painting technique that’s super fast and can still turn out nice looking miniatures. It works well on GHQ models; I’ll try it out on a set of Ogre miniatures and post the results. I’ll bet it will cut the amount of time in half and produce attractive models. That would mean a box of Ogre miniatures in an hour or so (!)

[ColBosch]

If you check the link in my sig, you'll see I've adopted a modified version of your technique. Instead of mounting my minis on dowels, I'm using large "popsicle sticks" to hold three to five at a time. I've only gotten to the ink wash stage of painting as of this morning, but once I'm a bit more awake I think it'll really speed up my drybrushing and detailing.