Quick & Simple Painting Guide Pre-Painting MDF
PRE-PAINTED MDF - SARISSA 15mm PRE-PAINTED MAISON FORT KIT
Well, Sort Of.
This is a short 'how to' paint article to show how quick it can be to get an unpainted MDF kit onto the games table. OK I will admit I will take a little time to add a little extra effects, but they are simple and don't involve spray paints, three colour layers of paint, ink wash and dry brushing 'til your elbows hurt.
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
WHERE TO START?
As usual look at your instructions and the kit layout. The one thing about an unpainted kit is that the parts can be efficiently laid out, nested together to save materials and time to cut it. So taking a look at what lies where means you can get colour down fast and only where you need it.
You can see in the picture, I'm only going to use five paints. The brushes are clean and non-dry brush scrag ended. You'll also see a number of water based brush pens, more of them later.
SHAKE YOUR POTS OFF!
As the title says, this is a pre-painted kit. Paint your kit on the sheets. I use my paint fairly thick, using only a little water on the brush to get it to flow. Only paint the sides and parts you want painted. Paint them whatever colour you want too. I use more than one brush, so I can have one cleaning or drying while painting another colour.
Paint both sides. Thicker paint means that it doesn't bleed into the cut edges so much.
After opening the kit and reading the instructions through, the painting only took 30mins. This is a multi-layered kit, so simple, single skin kits will take far less time.
BUILD IT THEY SAID, BUILD IT!
So I did
Take the parts off the sheet, sand any little tag marks as you would with a plastic model kit. I admit I did clean off some paint that went over the sides.
45mins to build it, including the sanding. I use superglue gel only. No elastic bands or clothes pegs were harmed in the making of this kit.
The result is much like any other pre-painted MDF kit, just in the colours I chose.
OH NO YOU CAN'T STOP THERE, YOU NEVER JUST PAINT A KIT. TELL US MORE, YOU CRY!
Using your own paints allows you to ‘touch up’ all the burnt edges and have a perfect colour match - (10 mins). This is a simple, fast way to get your building onto the table and into action.
That said, let’s take the kit to a simple weathered level. This would normally involve ink washes from various companies, a lot of water and waiting time. Before moving on leave the kit to dry fully. Game with it for a day before weathering it.
Before moving on, leave the kit to dry fully. Game with it for a day before weathering it.
WEATHERING WITH WATER BASED BRUSH PENS
MAN THAT'S ROUGH! That man is losing his touch!
The thing with 'water-based brush pens' is they are water-based. Unlike ink washes and weathering liquids they are made to wash off. They wash off after they are dry, they wash off with water. Don't use standard type markers.
The other good thing is they can be used like a pen and can be used to detail areas too. Perfect for painting timber frame buildings. Draw the lines in. Just use a light base.
I used two different tones of pen and will add some colours as I go. Draw it where you want it. As long as you don't leave it too long to etch into the paint you can wash off anything you don't want. That said, you can wash off excess hours after you put it on.
The darker and stronger the pen colour is the more it will stain the base paint over time. You’re warned.
The next step is really simple. Using a clean brush (I use round 1, 2, 3 and 4) wet or damp wash the pen over.
Using a damp brush (wet it then take the excess off with tissue) brush over the edges of the pen areas. Use less or more water as you would inks. The picture shows the effect mid process.
10 mins to apply the pen and 30 mins to wash it and add to some areas.
I finish with a clear matt spray paint.
START TO FINISH - TOTAL TIME
Total time: 2 hours and 25 minutes to get the colour and the weathering you want for your table.
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EQUIPMENT AND MATERIALS USED
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ACRYLIC PAINT Ravell (Matt) (361-85) Braun - Brown Ravell (Matt) (361-89) Beige - Beige Ravell (Matt) (361-39) Dunkelgrun - Dark Green Ravell (Matt) (361-76) Hellgrau - Light Grey Ravell (Matt) (361-05) Weis - White
SUNDRIES Super Glue High Viscosity (Sarissa Precision Ltd) Matt Spray -Belton (Molotow Artist) Matt 400ml |
BRUSHES Daler Rowney - System 3 Brushes (Short Flat) Daler Rowney - Graduate Brushes (Flat Wash) Daler Rowney - Graduate Brushes (Round) Windsor and Newton - Cotman series 111 (Round)
BRUSH PAINT PENS Ecoline Brush Pen (704) Grey Ecoline Brush Pen (718) Warm Grey Ecoline Brush Pen (533) Indigo (On the Doors) |
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.
