To dip or not to dip

[Deadite]

Just looking to determine how the general populace of CMON feels about \"dipped\" mini\'s.

In case you didn\'t know, to \"dip\" a mini, you simply paint it in the basic colors you want, then \"dip\" it into a colored wood stain or polish to give you your shadows and then touch up the mini once it\'s dry.

You may have seen some examples of \"dipped\" mini\'s on here or at US Gamesdays and did not even realize it. (though they typically look very brownish and somewhat glossy)

I\'m of the opinion that this technique, although probably not widely used or acknowledged by dedicate painters, is a decent technique for gamers who are in a hurry, or don\'t feel as though they have any talent whatsoever, to produce decent, tabletop quality minis.

I find that the technique restricts your color palette to those colors that would compliment the stain you are using (usually reds, browns, greens, earthy tones) and can wash out some colors altogether (making the mini look \"dirty\" or just a brown blob).

But what do you think?

 

[supervike]

gamers....

If someones goal is to finish up a bunch of minis in a hurry, then more power to them, I guess....

I personally would like to see some painted examples of it. I think they would look blobby and very dirty. Some voters here may not even consider that tabletop quality.

I should have voted \"WTF is dipping\" but your post filled me in!

 

[Deadite]

I\'ll see if I can dig up some pics or links.
More to come.

 

[U4-Welcome]

I\'ve seen a couple examples on the Warmachine forums some time ago, and they looked really REALLY good for something that took 30 seconds to \"paint\" apiece.

Edit : linkage.

Edit 2 : more linkage goodness.

 

[airhead]

Those took much longer than 30 seconds each. Notice that a lot of \"detail\" has already been painted before the \"dip\" is applied.

Even the skin & weapons on the lizards have been done first.

 

[Deadite]

another link
http://www.angelfire.com/mn2/plasticwars/dipping.html

But as you can see from the links thus far... they\'re a bit brown...

 

[supervike]

tune, changing...

Damn! I have to admit those are very cool. Especially on the Tyranid.

How do they look in real life, I wonder....

 

[Deadite]

I\'ve seen the nids Vike (and if you\'re ever in Nebraska at some tournies, you might spot them from time to time).

Individually, they\'re ok. Not bad I guess. Gives the illusion of a smooth blend.
On the table as an army, they\'re all kinds of alright (even won some best painted awards) Very cohesive... but... brown....

 

[supervike]

yes, very brown...

Well, now that I have seen them, it still wouldn\'t be my preference to paint, but they would make a good tabletop quality army!

I may still try it, just for fun....

 

[Sand Rat]

Actually from an army painting stand point its not a bad idea. And you can get other colors of stain besides brown I believe

Edit - colors available in water based stains -
http://www.minwax.com/products/woodstain/waterbased-color.cfm

 

[supervike]

who knew?

Blue stain? Red and Green Stain?

Has there been a renaissance in stain technology lately?

This certainly opens up the dipping idea quite a bit.

I wonder how it would look with zombies or skeletons.....I am very becoming very intrigue...

Is it too late to change my vote?lol

 

[Sand Rat]

Yup, there has been.

 

[dauber22]

Oops! I thought this was a poll about using smokoeless tobaccy

 

[t_haye2]

well, staining or dipping is a technique that is very much usable for higher than gaming standard too. for instance, the nids for the studio army were painted like this: spray them bubonic brown, then apply a watered down mix of Yellow and Fleshwash ink, mixed together with an acrylic wvarnish that you can dilute with water(or gel medium), highlight with bleached bone. The carapace was then blacked out and painted as normal. This cut down painting time considerably, to about 2 hours a gaunt, which is not bad for the end result.

 

[frenchkid]

Well didn\'t have a clue of what was dipping bfor reading the thread so there goes my vote. and I have to say that after reading this thread the idea looks interesting. And the mini exemples showed are quit nice, and definetly above tabletop I\'d say.

 

[KatieG]

I have used something similiar to this, though instead of dipping I just painted on brown ink over the whole mini, then touched it up a bit. An example is here:

http://www.coolminiornot.com/pics/pics4/img3eb41eaf0eb49.jpg

Works best on models with lots of texture I think... in some ways its very similiar to basecoat - ink - highlight, except here I just inked with one color...
--Katie G.

 

[Corvus]

Never heard of the technique before. The results look a bit like minis washed with inks, only smoother...

 

[finn17]

Interesting....

It\'s new to me as well.

Definitely worth a try. Not with good stuff, but I have a ton of minis that I am never going to sweat over and, better painted than not painted. Could also get a few bob for them on eBay instead of virtually giving them away

Nice idea, and great for a quick finish. :flip:

 

[lahatiel]

Originally posted by steelcult
Actually from an army painting stand point its not a bad idea. And you can get other colors of stain besides brown I believe

Edit - colors available in water based stains -
http://www.minwax.com/products/woodstain/waterbased-color.cfm

And there are other colors of the oil-based stains available as well. But as I, too, had never heard of or considered this technique, does anyone know if this would work as well with the water-based stains that were linked by Steelcult? If so, it seems that would make things much easier, cleanup-wise.

 

[Sand Rat]

Dont know if it would work with waterbased stains 100% but from my experience working with waterbased stain it should be no problem - if I had time I would experiment with it but things are a little tight now timewise, but might do it later when I\'ve arrived overseas.