The DBA Gamer

The “Dip”

Ok, as most of you know, my painting has come to a stand-still since I came to grad-school.  In an effort to get some stuff painted I decided to try the dip.  I’m not happy with the results.  I don’t seem to have the hang of it and any advice is welcome.  I used Minwax Bombay Mahogany, as that appeared to be the deepest shade other than black that I could find.  I cut it with some thinner, but everything just looks brown.  Below are some pics.  Comments are welcome and encouraged.

dip fail 001

Some Mage-Knight figs based for Hordes of the Things post-dip.

dip fail 002

Dipped fig (on left) compared to the factory paint job (right). Definitely an improvement.

dip fail 010

Here is where I was ultimately disappointed.  This is 15mm Bosporan dude who looks like crap. I used extremely bright colors and everything looks drabby brown.

dip fail 011

Rear angle.  Again, craptastic look!  The cape looks ok, but the flesh is wretched.  Anyone try the Army Painter products on 15mm?

3 responses to “The “Dip””

  1. milton Avatar
    milton

    Try to use the MinWax Tudor. It’s probably the best shade for general colors. If you have a very brown looking color scheme you can try antique walnut or dark walnut if you really want it dark.

    I have used it on my 15mm FoW stuff and they look fine. Another very important tip is that after you dip, you HAVE to spray some matt finish which lightens the figure up quite a bit.

    Milton

    Reply
  2. MrF Avatar
    MrF

    We use a very light shade, for us, it works much better than the dark shades. Also we paint the stuff on, then you know how much you need. We’ve never ‘dipped it’ – far too much mess. Jack would spill it everywhere… Plus I agree, spray on some Matt Varnish when it drys.

    All the Best
    MrF

    Reply
  3. bevan Avatar
    bevan

    I find the antique walnut gives a “sepia” old photograph look. I used it for my Greeks and Persians (15mm) and they came out fantastic, BUT, I realised after a test figure, that dipping is NOT an inactive process. You need to “guide” the stain as it settles in: I use a brush, papertowel (for wicking) and also careful blowing and shaking – whatever works. If the figure is covered in stain, it’ll finish that way. Also, don’t brush/blow/dab too much, or you’ll lose the highlighting.

    I don’t thin the stain. Instead I guide it as described. I find once it’s about a minute old, it gets a little more tacky, but that’s a good thing for guiding/controlling since it’s harder to smear. It still absorbs into papertowel till about the 4 minute mark or so.

    Also, I dip them in initially, and let them hang in mid-air for about 30 seconds, then I actually fold them up briefly in the papertowel, and sometimes, if I’m lucky, that’s enough. Mostly I have to actively manage the seeping/drying process.

    To dry the dip, place the figures in front of a fan (in winter, ours isn’t being used much, so my wife lets me use it. But don’t place the figures on anything that could become airborne!!! The fan-dry process is about 1-2 hours.

    Also note that you CAN paint over the dip after it’s dry, so try highlighting the overly-dark figures in some spots. They brighten up immediately!

    Reply

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