BattleTech - The Board Game of Armored Combat
BattleTech Miniatures and Terrain => Hobby Tips and Tricks => Topic started by: pixelgeek on 08 December 2019, 11:05:01
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Does anyone have any tips for panting straight lines on mechs? The areas I am dealing with are too irregular to mask off.
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Pencil a line in first, follow the line with the first color then fix the edges with the other color.
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Use acrylic inks if you have on in the color, if you don't have those, don't worry.
The thinner the line you want, the thinner your paint needs to be.
Start with one thin line, then slowly widen it. Go touch up with your line with the bordering color.
Hold the mini at arm's length after you paint. Keep in mind most "straight lines" you see on minis aren't truly straight. It's just straight enough that your eyes simplify it for you.
rinse and repeat. if you think it looks good enough, use your phon to take a picture that is as far back as you plan to play with the mini and look at it and make sure it still looks good (this is a trick to get a fresh view)
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Then there's the traditional
* Paint wide line around where you want it to go
* Correct with base colour
* Correct with line colour
* Correct with base colour
* Correct with line colour
* Correct with base colour
* Correct with line colour
* Correct with base colour
* Correct with line colour
...
* Correct with base colour
* Correct with line colour
* Call it near enough.
One thing - if you're using inks or washes, these tend to obscure minor faults.
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I enjoy watching Counting Cars on the history channel and quite a few years ago there was a show with the 1973 Buick Riviera on it. (Google it to see the paint detailing insanity) In the show (and multiple times after that), when Ryan needed to paint long thin pinstripes and such, I noticed that he used a very long, thin bristled brush to paint those pinstripes. Intrigued by his brush selection, I went to Blick art and bought this one. Then I used it for doing stripes and yep, the brush is awesome and my striping was done in one try (yes, you MUST have a steady hand)
I suggest getting this brush and use it for striping in one go.
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Interesting. I'll have a look for one
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Does anyone have any tips for panting straight lines on mechs? The areas I am dealing with are too irregular to mask off.
Have you ever heard of 1mm tape? It is as wide as the silver stripe on this Lancelot, and can obviously handle irregular surfaces.
(https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-gVscm2v/0/f63b26d6/L/i-gVscm2v-L.jpg)
Admittedly, the stuff has its limits... Because of how thin it is, it doesn't really "grab" the surface, so be careful handling it. Also, paint will pool along the edge of the tape, which once dry will create a mold line like blemish that will need to be taken care of. And there is still the need for Worktroll's method... But it is a great help with getting that initial line down.
If you can handle a little thicker on your project, it comes in 2mm, 3mm, and so on... A quick search on Amazon shows it'll cost around $5-$6 USD per roll, so no too terribly expensive.
Caz
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Is that another name for chart pack tape? ???
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Is that another name for chart pack tape? ???
I had to look chart pack tape up... No it isn't a form of it, but it could be used in a pinch I'm sure... Chart pack tape looks almost like a very thin spool of electrical tape, where 1mm masking tape is just that, masking tape that is 1mm wide... While you could use the Chart Pack tape, I bet the adhesive may be stronger and leave residue, where masking tape is meant to come off. Subtle difference, but might be important to your end product.
Caz
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Earlier this year I painted a lance in "line dazzle" camo (a term I'm making up) using Tamiya model masking tape (http://"https://www.tamiyausa.com/shop/finishing/masking-tape-for-curves-3mm/")
It worked reasonably well, but like Cazaril mentioned it has limitations. It's very good on large flat surfaces with little detail, but starts to get fiddly on edges, corners, and uneven surfaces. I'll second Caz's mention that it makes for a good starting place, to block out your lines for eventual refinement and cleanup.
(Fair to say these pics aren't the best color balanced, but it gives the idea you want I think.)
(https://i.imgur.com/YWPs7Uth.jpg)
Link to imgur album for more. (http://"http://imgur.com/gallery/aRYHw6P")
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Charts aren't cheap, so chart pack tape can come up, if not easily. Thanks for the answer, though... I had no idea they made masking tape like that...
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I am going to have to freehand it because in this case the lines are all along the thin edge of the arms and legs and in most places there isn't any space to lay down tape.
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I had to freehand all the triangles on my take on splinter camo:
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/LjhpWqCzcX7NEEch0hpKeyMegPGCXcVGbsrAkcmaiExr-sYABFUbA22Yk2i028N6mDSQZ9m5bVBSsl7_lt6c18gry2ar0pJazEJ5Pc1A1IkJuGEkXn_mp_RGnXUSMjqwfeXnSMBTvQsmu_EuQP6cq0QJpMmpZKqrunfgXJ4kp9mYzLfsQxmJ_ElYEAVKjat4ClBt_78UAgQxdhsVTDveXUSFiEp60gzztNVwutZWOsH7emKunOh7NFQAEfKJ6Dft6xjL2c6ElsksMjELVU1onlxCyMo5JuPFx8H7B9Zy_MdRSCtZewfXdTXQWaH_CJjJwthiE4rMSdK193XbQrSHa9CjPCWg0GtQCFpb9QMhZ_P8F1wgCiFZsQdAlpY0kRl0BCLAgnSAVahzdVaT3vpX6Gz9QQJWogsv_smLHABiYxY76smu_73nAQU194vjk9Mssws3fPRrbImaOKw7zn3civjyXzv29NiqSzT9ZvaU6xkexLurLHj7KXdnFbhHQFujKwIdfRHWNMnVFwhhLXskbBTdfXJP8j7KHqTezW3m2swvNhGOcGnYurii7j1fOl2miHkJhk9e1Am2xmAOg7sghbz9vCNKvPFxKqqretDQBdvol3WcHiz5oy1yJFoHHTUiUs2zXDrZxECC3FS6t-kRQMxuSkKd0bbmdPvZZqg8sqOVawslw8Z1T-4BA6E79d6u8jpkYao5fB0XUfx7M3MZeBMI3SCfGZx3l1JIEtQ936do_-F2=w1136-h385-no)
That was reeeeeallly annoying. Light blue, dark blue, dark grey all over light grey, in haphazard sequence so they'd overlap. Needed the ink wash to pull it all together.