OUTLAND GAMES
 

Here is a way to SPEED PAINT!

Paint up MOUNTAINS of miniatures in minutes!

 

Follow the instructions, and you can get a step by step method for painting quickly and yet have decent looking armies.

Here is the first step of my black primer method.
After cleaning all the flash off the figures, use white glue to glue them down on tongue depressors.  Note that the figures are roughly at the same angle, where one can reach in there between them with a brush.  Usually this means about 8 foot or 4-6 mounted for 15mm.
 

See how these 20mm horses get glued down.  All at the same angle, riderless at first.  Then, once dry, use super glue to paste down the riders.
 

Here I lay own the dried sticks.  This way I can get at them with a minimum of touching. 
 

 

Another view of the figures before spraying with flat black primer
The spray can with a close up of the figures.

 

 
This is how I hold the can.  Spray all the figures well, leave no silver at all, if you can help it.  Watch out: you can spray too much, and  cover all the details up…  Do not go crazy!

See how I have covered the figures?   Let them dry, do the other side, then stand up the sticks and spray from all angles.  You should be able to cover 95% of the figures.  If you miss some nooks and crannies, do not worry.  I have a fix for that. 
Here are the finished and dried figures.   Note that the flash made them shine.  I usually let them dry overnight before painting.   

I now take an older, soft brush and paint on some black paint to make sure all the figures are totally black.  THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT>>>> YOU DO NOT WANT THE FINISHED FIGURES TO SHOW ANY silver where it is not supposed to be!
 

Then, after the black is all dried, I start with the hands and faces.  I do all 120 figures at one time.
 
Then, after the flesh has dried, I wash on a thinned brown, mixed with a little matte water-soluble varnish.  This gives the figure a lot of character.  Also, the average customer will look at the details of the faces and straps right away…. So pay attention to those!  Note that I slopped over the edges of the hands and such.  No matter… we will be painting over that, so why waste time? 
 

Now I do up the basic uniform.  I deliberately choose a little lighter shade to make the color and the figures stand out.  Also, since black absorbs colors, especially reds and yellows, you will need to have fairly dense paints to do this. 
See.. You are about ½ way done with these 1870 Bavarian Infantry!
See how I deliberately leave a little black line between some folds (such as between the pleats of the tunic? ), this provides the illusion of depth.  Also, as we progress to completion, you will need to pay more attention to not slopping over lines. 
 

 

 

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Here is a step by step look.  I painted the brown backpacks and the musket stocks.
Then I did the grey of the great coat-rolls around the shoulder and the grey of the pants.

 

 

Then I did the “distinctions”, which are the cuffs, collars, and turnbacks.  See how I left the black in the seams of the tunics, which I high light with the unit color…in this case, yellow.
See the shoulder distinctions, too.

Then I do the white… the breadbag has some of the black show at the seams.  This adds depth without work.
Then the white canteen on the backpack, then the shoulder straps (although it is blurry, you can still see the straps and the musket strap, too)
 
Then I do the gun metal, the gold helmet plate, the bugle (in the case of the bugler).
You can see the highlighted flesh on the finished and based figures. 
 
 

I highlight the flesh by adding a minor dab on the high spots on the face and hands… the figures are done!
 

Now, you need to spray a cover coat of some sort...in this case I chose a matte Spray.  Then, after the lacquer dries, carefully twist the sticks and the figures pop right off.  Carefully glue them down and then flock the base.  In this case, with Bavarians of 1870, I am using them in a game where all the figures are on a 3 inch square base. 

What do you think? 
Trust me, do this once or twice and you will zipping through 100 figures in one day.  I recommend either our own 20mm Figures or Minifigs - both paint up fast and easy!

 

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