A Prize Paint Job Painting Guide
A short step by step of a prize-winning kit.
For this step by step I'm using the Industrial Warehouse Sci-Fi kit S009. It's a large gaming platform measuring 21cm x 30cm, with
a large open interior. This was painted for a winner of a Sarissa Prize draw. The brief was 'weathered metal and Graffiti' - pretty open.
Gary Faulkner is head of the design department at Sarissa Precision and both he and the design team work hard to turn ideas and concepts into reality.
He is also responsible for all the painted kits you see on the Sarissa Precision website.
He recently wrote a series of award-winning articles on working with MDF for Wargames Illustrated, so he knows what he’s talking about. This guide has been created to give you the quickest results with minimal effort whilst using easy to source supplies.
We have also made this tutorial available as a FREE download click here to get your copy
 |
 |
 |
Many of our kits can be built and painted in simple chunks. This is one of them. The walls and roof can be built separately and the base doesn't need to be fitted till later.
1st thing is to keep all the interesting scraps that come from your kits. These are really useful for adding details, real or not.
Use a variety of scraps to add 'vents' and add other materials, plastic tubes and rods to add further detail and relief.
Base Spray Painting
|
 |
I gave the whole thing a once over with a base paint. It unifies the build so you can decide to add any more detail or need to clean up any cutting and glue burrs.
Then spray the interior with a good coat of a base colour (white).
The final aim is weathered metal (steel) so I use a base colour coat of copper, followed by a really patchy thin coat of steel wheel car paint. I think it gives a good weathered steel effect to work onto.
Mask up areas to protect from overspray
|
 |
Base Details. Masking Up
|
 |
I decided to give the base some detail, ground markings.
After giving the base a full coat of grey, roughly paint the areas where markings are to go. Weather this to the final finish.
Using a lining tape, this is 6mm wide, mask the details. Text can be added by using paper stencils fixed with spray glue.
The whole base was sprayed with a domestic stone effect paint. These come in a variety of texture grades. You can still see the yellow coming through. It's OK as its getting an overcoat.
|
 |
 |
 |
I spray over the texture paint to give a base ground for dry brush weathering. Then peel off the masking. It's quite satisfying seeing the results. Use your fingernail to press down any rough edges and then give it a matt spray coat.
Weathering
|
 |
Weathering is a personal thing. It's up to you how much and where you weather your kits. I'm a bit of a heavy weather-er. 1st I use a soot-black weathering liquid to the corners and joints.
Rust
|
 |
I use weathering liquid to get my rust, however weathering powders and thinned acrylic paint can have as effective a result. Its where you put it and how you let it run that counts. Take a look at rusty things before painting up.
Rust washes down from metal onto walls, pools on surfaces. There's wet and dry rust. There is light and dark rust too.
Layering your chosen method helps get a 'real' level of detail. Rust powders can give a really effective result.
Interior Washes
|
 |
As this kit has such a large game space inside, the interior needs weathering to. I've taken a simpler route here and used ink washes to patch the walls. I've added oil finishes to the mock door pulley gear and some rust to dive some purpose to what is basically MDF and card scrap.
The base was glued on.
To make the 2 work together I ink washed the joint with a seraphim sepia wash. Feather onto the base. Depending on the terrain uses I sometimes add a dry brush of bone - off white.
The final details to the control panels and lights finish the build and paint.
Graffiti
EQUIPMENT AND MATERIALS USED
|
SPRAY PAINT Montana Gold - Copper M2000 Montana Gold - Marble 7010 Autotek Professional - Steel Wheel Paint Humbrol Acrylic Spray - Grey 64
SUNDRIES Super Glue Gel (Sarissa- Precision Ltd) Matt Spray - Belton (Molotow Artist) Matt 400ml |
INK WASHES Dirty Down - Rust (www.dirtydown.co.uk)
|
Established in 2010, Sarissa Precision Ltd. has evolved into the industry’s leading manufacturer of (reasonably) awesome MDF model kits. Our range of expertly designed kits includes buildings and accessories for many periods and settings as diverse as the Dark Ages, WWII, SciFi and more. Working with leading companies - Warlord Games, Oathsworn Miniatures, Mantic Games and Footsore Miniatures & Games, Sarissa Precision also produce a number of bespoke lines for bestselling games such as Gates of Antares, Burrows and Badgers, The Walking Dead: All Out War and Gangs of Rome.
