Painting & Modelling, Pike & Shotte, Stage-by-Stage Guides

Painting: ECW Armies The Army Painter Way!

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As part of the big English Civil Wars army Jonas painted up for Salute 2010 using all the different Colour Primers, one regiment was done up with the new Colour Primer: Crystal Blue. Look out for the pages of Wargames Illustrated for the full run down of the entire army project, but for now Jonas talks your through painting a Warlord Games plastic musketeer with the Army Painter technique. Over to you, Jonas…

Crystal Blue Painting Step Tutorial

Stage 1

Once assembled I sprayed the models with Colour Primer: Crystal Blue. Army Painter Colour Primers are very different to other sprays you might use on your miniatures and as a result need to be used slightly differently – make sure you follow the instructions carefully:

* Shake it! Shake the can hard for a minimum of 1½ minutes.

* Distance: The maximum distance you should use a Colour Primer from is about 20 centimeters.

* Even bursts: Using long, even burst where you constantly move the can across the model will give a perfect result.

Crystal Blue Painting Step Tutorial

Stage 2

Paint in the base coats in flat colours only. No highlights or fancy painting techniques – give them a basic paint job and then move onto the next miniature. For these models I used Flesh, Brown/Yellow mix and metal. Very simple and fast, just 3 colours!

Crystal Blue Painting Step Tutorial

Stage 3

Once I had basecoated the whole regiment I stepped outside with my trusted can of Quickshade Dip (for this regiment I used Quickshade Strong Tone) and a pair of pliers. One-by-one I dipped the models in the Quickshade flicking the models 5-6 times to remove the excess drops. All-in-all this takes about 10 minutes to complete dipping a regiment.

Crystal Blue Painting Step Tutorial

Stage 4

Leave the Quickshade to dry for a good 24-48 hours. Quickshade is specially designed pigmented varnish and hardens slowly. Leave it for a few days and your models has a strong protective varnish as well as some superb shading.

Crystal Blue Painting Step Tutorial

Stage 5

To remove the gloss effect of the Quickshade simply spray your models with Army Painter Anti-Shine matt varnish – this, in conjunction with the Quickshade, is the magic ingredient that will make your models look superb so don’t miss this stage out! Again follow the instructions on the can carefully:

* Shake the can vigorously for 1 minute before spraying and occasionally while in use.

* Always test on 1 model first to avoid any mishaps.

* Underlying paint layers (for instance Quickshade) needs to be fully dry before you apply the varnish.

* Apply 2-3 very thin coats at a distance of 20-30 centimeters.

* Do not spray at very low or high temperatures or if humidity is excessive.

Crystal Blue Painting Step Tutorial

Stage 6

I finished off the bases with Battlefields Flock, Static Grass and Swamp Tufts.

Crystal Blue Painting Step Tutorial

Stage 7

The Shotte part of the regiment in all its glory!