Undercoating

[Africanus]

I have just always undercoated everything in black.

Straight to the point, why would you undercoat in any other colour than Black?
If you do, why, and how do you know which colour to undercoat in?:???

[kontos]

I have just always undercoated everything in black.

Straight to the point, why would you undercoat in any other colour than Black?
If you do, why, and how do you know which colour to undercoat in?:???

I do black as well but I know white undercoating makes colors "pop" better according to those that use it.

[DaveB]

I undercoat with white when I am going to use washes or inks instead of paints. For example, if I am paiting horses that I intend to wash with chestnut or brown.

I had a red armour Japanese army that I did this way; it was nice sorry I do not have them or a pic of them.

[Tony Aguilar]

Once I went with black, I haven't gone back.

[Khshayarsha]

I've started using Army Painter sprays to undercoat en masse. So far I've used red, green and brown for EIR, persians and Visigoths respectively. I'm no great shakes with a brush so the simplicity of Army Painter suits me well.

[Jeff]

Once I went with black, I haven't gone back.

Yeah and what other similar choices have you made. ;)

[Tony Aguilar]

Yeah and what other similar choices have you made. ;)

You are reading much more into this, trust me. :D

[Redwilde]

I primarily prime with flat white for brighter colours, and do outlining as a final step with a .005 micron art pen.

I use other flat colours if there will be a real strong predominance in the final figure. French Napoleonic infantry = blue, WW2 infantry = field drab or grey, loincloth types = skin tones, horses = horsey colours. If I have a bunch of horses to prime at once, I 'll split them into different groups and use a variety of shades. I only use black when it's specific to the figures: Brunswickers, dark African skin tones, dark furred critters and black horses.

[david kuijt]

I prime white for Teutonic Order and any brightly colored troops (Javanese in batik prints, Skythians, Aztec, etc.) and some horse colors (like, errr..., white)

I prime black for other horse colors (black horses, dark browns)

I prime grey for everything else.

Except metal armor (mail or plate), which I don't prime at all.

Not that I've painted this year. Employment sucks. And getting old (and starting to have difficulty with close-range vision) sucks too. I got my first pair of progressives (transition bifocals) in March, but I haven't got to try them in painting yet.

[geekmeter11]

Leather red for Mongols.
Light almond for Sea Peaples.
gray/gunmetal for vehicles.
Black followed by a gray dry brush for everything else.

[timurilank]

I prefer to use white as I like inks and wash a lot.
Grey is fine for horses and SYW white uniforms.
Biege is great for half naked types.

[Spencer]

I use a flat black spray as my primer coat. Let dry 24 hours then follow with a heavy dry brush of white. I use a larger 3/8 soft, square brush so I can hit about 50 figs in under a half hour easy. This gives the best of both worlds for me....black in the valleys White on the high spots so good as a base for brighter colors. Another benefit is the figure details are really easy to see with the white on black (I still use a magnifier though).

Cheers,
Spencer

[Gregorius]

I undercoat all foot figures in black. However, because I tend to use oils for horses I undercoat in white. I apply the oil colour after 24 hours and then wait about an hour and use a cottonbud to remove the paint from the high spots. I also mix the oil colours with Linquin, this speads up to drying time to about 24 hours rather than 24 days :cool.

Cheers,

[DaveB]

When I prime in black and want a bright color I use codex gray or some similar grey on top of the black primer.

[Africanus]

Another query......
When painting cavalry, do you paint the riders mounted or unmounted?

I have always painted them separately.

If separately, how do you mount them for painting?

[peleset]

I've always found it less fiddly to paint them together. I think you also get a better bond if you glue metal to metal and then paint.

As for undercoating, it depends.
In the case of the 100Years Wars dismounted Knights on my desk at the moment, they'll get a black undercoat. But once the armours done, as mentioned by previous posters, they will then get a white undercoat for the surcoats and shields for the colours.

[Redwilde]

I usually glue my figures onto nails for painting, a drop of superglue on each foot and balancing it while it sets will hold a rider on.

[DaveB]

i glue together then undercoat. When I remember, I will pAINT around the area to be glued in black.

[ferrency]

When painting cavalry, do you paint the riders mounted or unmounted?

I have always painted them separately.

If separately, how do you mount them for painting?

I do it differently depending on the mood, and somewhat depending on how much area I won't be able to reach with the brush if they're assembled. Assembling first is faster and sturdier; assembling after gives better access between the horse and rider.

To mount riders for painting, I drill pinholes in their seat and stick them on pins. The hole also slightly increases the surface area for gluing once they are on the horse.

Once a long time ago I pinned riders to their horses when assembling. I don't know what I was thinking, but I haven't done it in a long time.

Alan

[DaveB]

I am impressed that you would drill and pin like that.... I will buy your horses anyday !

[Africanus]

Alan, What type of drill do you use for that?

[david kuijt]

Alan, What type of drill do you use for that?

Anal-retentive drills, I'd bet. :rotfl

[Africanus]

Anal-retentive drills, I'd bet. :rotfl


Boom Boom!:silly

[Redwilde]

Here's some progress pix. .005 Micron art pens make detail work very quick and easy. Detailing mounted figures is both easier and more thoroughly accomplished if they are done separately. The infantry and riders here were primed white. The horses were primed in horsie colours.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-QyFolKRBmic/T42abubMoKI/AAAAAAAAA1Q/Fzt3bBvVVA4/s640/HorsesNails.JPG

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Z8OKwTn5xhA/T42ahFtHehI/AAAAAAAAA1Y/-auzaPxJWKY/s640/RidersNails.JPG

[timurilank]

Nice photo, but it reminds me of an Albrecht Durer etching of victims impaled or placed on the "wheel".

[ferrency]

Alan, What type of drill do you use for that?

Oops, I missed this.

I use a pin vise, with a very small drill bit; usually around #71 (depending on which one I have on hand that I haven't broken yet).

This is like the one I have:
http://shop.hobbylobby.com/products/swivel-head-pin-vise-618991/

It's not powered. My Dremel tool is too fast to drill tiny holes like this without breaking bits.

Alan