Army Painter Quickshade - Soft Tone

[Kiff_Stevenson]

Hi there,

I'm planning to do a lance or so of Lyran Guards, and my research has led to me purchase a tin of Army Painter Quickshade (Soft Tone). I figure this is probably the best product to use on bright white and vibrant blue.

Thoughts?

[ShadowRaven]

it's a good product but I fear your bright white will not be very bright afterwards. soft tone shouldn't dull it too badly, but it will tint the white more towards a buttermilk/ cream colour

[abou]

As ShadowRaven said, I would avoid using Quickshade on your whites. It just doesn't work well -- even the soft tone.

[Kiff_Stevenson]

Hmmm. I figured this might be the case. I think I'll try it out on a model I care less about first. That said, perhaps I could 'bring the white back up' after the dip has dried with another thin coat of white over the raised panels?

[cavingjan]

You could do that. You could also paint the dip on the other surfaces instead like a traditional wash. Keep it light.

[Kiff_Stevenson]

So I've been watching a few more video reviews of the dip process. I think I can live with the 'buttery' effect that will take hold of my whites (I'm glad I bought soft tone), but I have another question for you folks:

Decals: apply before or after the quickshade? I've got some white number decals that I want to use on the blue sections of my 'mechs, and I want them to match the shade of the white on the (post-dip) painted side, so I figure I might put them on first. OTOH, I don't want to rule out the possibility of needing to add white later (and it could be hard to apply white paint over shaded decals). Thoughts on this issue?

Thanks so much guys! I really appreciate your opinions!    O0

(edit: I suppose I do have a pot of GW Sepia wash around here somewhere. I could use that on decals applied after the dip if I want . . .)

[ShadowRaven]

I would apply the decals after the dip because the dip will leave a smooth glossy surface for the decal to stick to. However, if you want to decal before, if you have a gloss sealer, put a bit of that where you want the decal, then do the decal, and lastly dip. I actually like the dip method, and use it on fantasy mooks quite a bit, and when i am doing large batches of forces that i don't need in a parade scheme

[Kiff_Stevenson]

I really wish I could have found a nice, light gray dip/wash. But the FLGS in my area doesn't have any. I think that would probably be better than my new tin of quickshade for this scheme. I still think this is going to work, though.

[ShadowRaven]

I think it will work fine, and I look forward to seeing the end result

[Kiff_Stevenson]

I'm waiting on a Fighting Pirannah order at the moment. I'll post pics of my minis when they're here and I'm done.

Thanks for your thoughts!

 :)

[SteelWarrior]

Many guys will dip and then dry brush the white back on.  Could also try dipping it and using a wet Q-tip right afterwards to quickly clean the white panels.

[NeonKnight]

Have you thought of trying traditions woodstains/laquers? I've tried them on Warhammer minis in the past, and it worked quite well. Might be something along those lines that would work.

Afterall, DIPs were at first the wood stains. ;)

[worktroll]

You'll need some laquer thinner to thin them a little; I found them too strong straight out of the tin. From memory, AP soft tone is diluted teak, strong tone is diluted walnut

[Kiff_Stevenson]

Many guys will dip and then dry brush the white back on.  Could also try dipping it and using a wet Q-tip right afterwards to quickly clean the white panels.

Well, I'm not ready for pics yet (still waiting on my decals), but I have dipped a couple of minis. The Soft Tone didn't distort the white on my Lyrans too badly. It really is simply a matter of style - the 'mechs don't look factory fresh, but rather like they're war machines that have been in the field for a while.

I  like it. The result is a dirty heraldic parade scheme worn down by the weather. Very 3rd War-ish!

 :)

Regarding pooling: This is a bit of a problem. It's been ages since I worked with oil-based paints. (The last time I 'worked with them' I was 8 and helping my dad put together a starship Enterprise!) Because the dip is so thick it's really difficult to remove the pools that don't come off by shaking the model. Worse, if you do try to remove them with a brush/swab/toothpick you tend to create a smear that ruins the effect of the dip. Fortunately, there has been little pooling so far (I really shook my minis!). If the existing pools continue to bug me - and they may not - I might cover them with a second layer of base coat after the anti-shine and decals are applied.

Pics ASAP!

 O0

[Kiff_Stevenson]

Have you thought of trying traditions woodstains/laquers? I've tried them on Warhammer minis in the past, and it worked quite well. Might be something along those lines that would work.

Afterall, DIPs were at first the wood stains. ;)

I was originally looking for a dip product in something other than an earth/wood tone. In the beginning, I really wanted a gray dip for my Lyrans. Does such a product exist?

[NeonKnight]

I'm not sure. I know I have some small tins of Water Based Wood Stains/laquers kicking around, and hardware/paints stores would have them and in small tins too.

But I did find this with a Google search for GREY WOOD STAIN:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Varathane-1-Qt-Weathered-Gray-Wood-Stain-267124/203332272

[Jarron]

Vallejo makes a gray wash. 

[SteelWarrior]

Vallejo washes are great, i would add a bit of water to them and be aware that they tend to dry glossy.

[Kiff_Stevenson]

Unfortunately none of the stores in my area stock Vallejo products.

I keep hearing good things though . . .  :'(

[BrokenMnemonic]

I don't know if this helps, but I have a thread bookmarked on BoardGameGeek that talks at some length about dipping, and various methods of removing pooled varnish. It matches what I read on AdvancedTauTactica when I was playing 40K, but I'm not sure that it'll read across completely, because one of the most popular methods for removing puddled drip on plastic miniatures is to glue the base of the mini to a nail with a large, flat head, and then use the nail as a drill bit, and use the drill to spin the excess varnish off. I have a feeling that minis made out of multiple metal parts might shake apart if they aren't pinned, and might be too heavy for the fail to stay on securely, but I've not seen anyone talking about it. Some people recommend doing the spinning over a lawn or something similar, but the recommendation on ATT was to spin the mini inside a sealed cardboard box with a hole just large enough to fit the mini through, so that the flying varnish ends up reasonably well-contained.

[NeonKnight]

Or, one could simply just 'paint' the dip on.

[worktroll]

I tried the "dip and shake" once with a Rakshasa.

After I couldn't find one of the arm pieces, I decided to rebuild it as a 2A, and to paint the dip on thereafter. I keep two brushes - one for covering, and one (frequently wiped) for removing pooling.