Dipping vs washes

[Guest]

Hi, first time poster here so be gentle!

I've recently bought my first Roman Legionary minis and am itching to paint them. Before I do though, is there much of a difference between using the dip method and using a wash? I'm planning using Devlan Mud pretty liberally to shade them, but would I be better off investing in a tin of Army Painter and dipping them instead?

Much obliged, chaps.

[canadasteve]

Wash or dip I think is much the same IMHO. I use the Army Painter system and I brush it on, having experimented with dipping and found that it goes on too thick and pools in places.

I would paint a figure and try the wash to see if you like it first.

[paulsmodellingworkshop]

Devlan Mud works well if your main colours are dark, with white/linen tunics I have found that Ogryn(?) Flesh works better. If you look at the wooden roman watchtower I built in the special offers section of the webstore, the figure at the base I used a Devlan Mud wash over a linen tunic - looks a bit 'dirty' for want of a better word.

[shadegate]

Another medium worth considering is Windsor and Newton Peat Brown ink. As far as inks go it's excellent. May finish a little shiny for some people's taste (much like the dip) so a good satin or matt varnish over the top finishes it off nicely.

[Guest]

Thanks for the replies.

Paulsmodellingworkshop - what was the base coat for the linen tunic? Would Gryphonne Sepia be a better shading tone for lighter cloth colours?

Shadegate and Canadasteve - thanks both for the advice. I'll keep my eye open for the W&N inks.

[paulsmodellingworkshop]

I used a base coat of GW bleached bone and then washed with GW devlan mud and as it came out quite dark I used bleached bone mixed with white for the highlight - it looks a little messy. Yes either ogryn flesh or gryphonne sepia would work - I've just finished some arab warriors with a base coat of bleached bone with gryphonne sepia wash and it looks good - if you're looking for that 'clean' linen look.

[Suetonius Paullinus]

I, too, am converted to the use of Citadel/ GW washes. Main reason being the incredible save of time with the Armypainter's need of drying for quite a while.

And you got more choice in terms of colour, it is thinner and no details are being lost.

Cheers

S.P.

[Guest]

Ok, I painted up my first 10 legionaries today, using Gryphonne Sepia to wash over Tallarn Flesh for the skintone, Badab Black over Chainmail on the armour and a very dirty wash of Devlan Mud over the shield, overpainted with layers of scab red and a 2:1 scab red/red ink wash.

They look…alright. GS works well on the skin tone, leaving it a dirty, tanned kind of colour. The dev mud over the shield looked pretty messy, hence the subsequent layers. I'll try and post pics, once I've finished the rest of the unit and based them.

[vikingwarrior]

I find using elf flesh then GS wash for flesh areas, i use mecharite red for tunics and scutum then a devilan mud wash over the whole mini, finishing by hilighting the flesh areas with elf flesh and red areas with blood red i find it a very quick and efective way of painting large numbers (if you like them to look dark and dirty arfter long campaigns our glorious british weather)

i Was wondering if i would get the same efect with army painter dip?

[Titus Pullup]

vikingwarrior said:

I find using elf flesh then GS wash for flesh areas, i use mecharite red for tunics and scutum then a devilan mud wash over the whole mini, finishing by hilighting the flesh areas with elf flesh and red areas with blood red i find it a very quick and efective way of painting large numbers (if you like them to look dark and dirty arfter long campaigns our glorious british weather)

i Was wondering if i would get the same efect with army painter dip?

---

The effect is different. Dipping does leave flat surfaces (like the side of a horse) looking quite dirty, epspecially with light colours. The trick is to get the right base coat. I base coat my horses with the Army Painter leather brown spray, which gives quite a nice result, one that's quite muted. Adding some vibrant colours to the riders can really give the whole thing some zing.