When do you drybrush your guns?

[nismogrendel]

Quick question...

 

When I drybrush gunmetal over my weapons, sometimes I get a bit of gunmetal flicked over spots I already painted.

 

Do you guys drybrush your guns first or should I just be more careful/gentle with the drybrushing?

 

I'm working on a bunch of guardsmen, was going to batch airbrush their BDUs/uniforms.  Wondering if I should basecoat/drybrush all the weapons first, then hit them w the airbrush.

[Stercus]

I don't paint many guard, but when I do marines, I used to drybrush the metal parts with the same problems you mention. Nowadays I just paint a flat coat of leadbelcher/boltgun/whatever it's called this week and then hit it with a nuln oil wash. Gives a very comparable effect but is less messy.

[Ammonius]

When doing my guardsmen, I held them by their lasguns while I airbrushed them, which kept the guns mostly primer/ basecoat color. Then I was able to go back with a small brush and do the gunmetal. Being careful/ gentle with drybrushing small things is a must. a Properly saturated and brush only needs to be "patted" onto the raised surfaces to get the job done.

 

Also, I can see how you could do the guns first, and then hold them/ mask them while you airbrush the rest, and then go back and touch up the stocks, etc. I'd try a few both ways, and see which works for you the best.

[nismogrendel]

Thanks for the replies all, got some good tips to try tonight.

[Jacinda]

For something that should be a staple technique that many modelers lern when they first start, drybrushing can have different meanings depending on how it's done. When weathering vehicles you can use an old, bushy brush. Dap a little paint on the brush, mistreat it like an ugly step child rubbibng the paint off on apaper towel and then quickly "dust" the model all over being sure to really drag deep across the corners.

 

This does not work for infantry weapons. For this, use a flat brush, treat it nice and flip it back and forth across a paper towel a few time. Don't be rough and leave a little more paint on the brush than you do with the old school way above. Then hold the brush at an angle and gently drag just the tip across the weapon only. Go slow; don't over brush.

[nismogrendel]

For something that should be a staple technique that many modelers lern when they first start, drybrushing can have different meanings depending on how it's done. When weathering vehicles you can use an old, bushy brush. Dap a little paint on the brush, mistreat it like an ugly step child rubbibng the paint off on apaper towel and then quickly "dust" the model all over being sure to really drag deep across the corners.

 

This does not work for infantry weapons. For this, use a flat brush, treat it nice and flip it back and forth across a paper towel a few time. Don't be rough and leave a little more paint on the brush than you do with the old school way above. Then hold the brush at an angle and gently drag just the tip across the weapon only. Go slow; don't over brush.

 

The brush might be a big part of my problem.

 

For weapons, I've been using a 20/0 brush that is dead.  Once the point is gone and the bristles fan out I retire it to a tiny drybrush.

 

I have some flats lying around, I'll give that a shot.

[Daevyll]

Alternatively, you could forego using drybrushing on the guns altogether. Try just painting them with Boltgun metal then doing a few washes (I use agrax and nuln oil for a quick result). Edge highlighting to taste.

[Major_Gilbear]

Alternatively, you could forego using drybrushing on the guns altogether. Try just painting them with Boltgun metal then doing a few washes (I use agrax and nuln oil for a quick result). Edge highlighting to taste.

 

This.

 

Most weapons are tools of war, and the warriors who carry them need to rely on them - hence, even if worn, they should look maintained (even a Khorne beserker would want to keep his chainaxe working if he can - more skulls faster that way!).

 

To that end, painting and washing produces a much more refined result for the same amount of effort (and less tiding up afterwards).

 

If you want the weapons to look very worn though, you can always add a few little flicked scratches with a fine brush. It's quick and easy to do, and conveys a worn-but-servicable appearance rather well.

 

I found this image online to show you what I mean:

 

http://i.imgur.com/u8gB5b8.jpg

 

It looks a bit extreme because the scratching detail has been applied all over the model, but it shows how good it can look if you just layering on the detail!

[Kaedes Nex]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned simply going back to the spots that got flecks of drybrush on them by accident and cleaning it up.

 

This is what I do with washes. I am way too lazy to do pin washes in crevices so I just slather the whole model with wash and then re-layer over the surfaces that shouldn't have been washed afterwards. It probably takes longer overall, but it feels faster when I'm doing it compared to painstakingly only putting washes in the cracks and having to clean up anyway when it inevitably spills over in certain spots.

[deathspectersgt7]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned simply going back to the spots that got flecks of drybrush on them by accident and cleaning it up.

 

This is what I do with washes. I am way too lazy to do pin washes in crevices so I just slather the whole model with wash and then re-layer over the surfaces that shouldn't have been washed afterwards. It probably takes longer overall, but it feels faster when I'm doing it compared to painstakingly only putting washes in the cracks and having to clean up anyway when it inevitably spills over in certain spots.

This. +1

[Major_Gilbear]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned simply going back to the spots that got flecks of drybrush on them by accident and cleaning it up.

 

This is what I do with washes. I am way too lazy to do pin washes in crevices so I just slather the whole model with wash and then re-layer over the surfaces that shouldn't have been washed afterwards. It probably takes longer overall, but it feels faster when I'm doing it compared to painstakingly only putting washes in the cracks and having to clean up anyway when it inevitably spills over in certain spots.

 

Actually, the reason I think nobody mentioned it is because that seems to be exactly what the OP was asking about - i.e., was there an alternative method to avoid getting the metal where it shouldn't be? I (we?) assumed that he'd already figured out he could just re-paint over the unwanted metal effect! :P

 

Also, I don't think anybody is advocating pin washes in crevices either - although yes, they are faster than line highlighting, they are still time-consuming (unless they are very thin and you do several passes, which speeds things up by letting you be more sloppy with fewer negative side-effects...).

 

Simply basecoating in a shade of metal slightly lighter than you need, wash all over, touch up with a quick highlight and/or damage if you want. Fast, neat, looks good, can be done with an airbrush too if you want. Easy peasy. :)