4th Tau Ceti

[Kiff_Stevenson]

Happy weekend all,

I recently acquired an old lead Jenner, and I've resolved to paint it up in the colors of the 4th Tau Ceti Rangers. Now, I've painted a few 'mechs over the last few years, but it's only recently that I've begun to regularly thin my paints before working with them. And I must say that I've been very happy with the results!

Here's my issue: I've never used a thinned metallic paint as a base-coat before.

I've got a pot of Citadel 'Warplock Bronze', and I really like the color, but I'm worried that thinning it will cause clumping in the metal flakes. Should I be? Is there a good way to make sure the finish is even and sharp without having to use the paint full strength? (I always use distilled water, by the way)

Thanks in advance folks!

[abou]

No, you'll want to thin it with matte medium and water and maybe flow aid.  You'll want to do a base coat in black or a dark brown though.

Matte medium is basically paint without the pigment so you shouldn't get clumping.  This will help with control and allow you to go thinner than you would have thought than with just water alone.

[Kiff_Stevenson]

Hmmm.

Never used Matte Medium before. Might pick up a bottle for the collection.

As a rule, I prime with white. It seems to make the colors 'pop' much better than the grey I've used in the past. Maybe the brown will prevent 'show through' in any lighter spots of the bronze?

What about washing? Although I hate the effect I get with dry-brushing, I do love my washes. Do you folks think I should wash over the bronze? If so, with what.

Thanks again!

[abou]

The thing is, your bronze will appear better with a dark base coat.  Metallics just do that.  Silver and steel get a black base; gold and brass and bronze get brown.

As a wash, there are lots of things you could use.  A black wash or a very dark brown might serve.  You could go looking for some GW stuff as well -- possibly Devlan Mud, but it depends on how dark your bronze is.  You can even use the Dark tone Army Painter.  If you use a wash, you'll probably want to do a bit of touching up.  Highlighting may be tricky, but you can generally get by with mixing your bronze with a darker gold metallic for your highlight.

[Kiff_Stevenson]

Interesting stuff. Maybe I'll go with a brown spray-primer. (The fewer the layers, the sharper the details, right?)

Never done that before either!  :o

The wash is going to be the tricky bit, I think. The bronze I have is very rich, and very dark. I'm afraid that a black wash would wash away the 'warmth' of the bronze, making it look too steel-ish. This will probably be a good excuse to get a couple of different shades of gold too . . . .   ::)

[Ratboy]

Interesting stuff. Maybe I'll go with a brown spray-primer. (The fewer the layers, the sharper the details, right?)

Never done that before either!  :o

The wash is going to be the tricky bit, I think. The bronze I have is very rich, and very dark. I'm afraid that a black wash would wash away the 'warmth' of the bronze, making it look too steel-ish. This will probably be a good excuse to get a couple of different shades of gold too . . . .   ::)

I've just been painting up some 4th tau ceti. I started with a black base coat, then a copper/bronze, then a black wash, then drybrush with the same copper/bronze, then highlight spots with gold. Also, a green or blue for the canopies/cockpit is a good contrast the the reds & browns of the bronze/copper.