[pentathus]

Ok what the hell is dipping? I think it's called dipping. I remember reading a post on one forum about it, and I can also remember that it's a thin paint that you can paint ontp a lot of models quikly. I now have an army that should have a dirty look and so I wan't to use a brown washy thing on them. So basicaly can people tell me a bit more about this stuff?

 

[Walex]

Dipping sounds like a really bad way to undercoat quickly, going for a dirty look should be all about the later stages of painting.

 

[Canew]

I've never done it, but I understand the theory. Basically, you take a varnish/lacquer of some kind, and, well, dip the already-basecoated model in it, usually dangling it upside down.

Then, if I remember right, you "spin" it, usually by a pin attached to its foot and put in the chuck of a drill or dremel or... something, to get the excess off.

The result is an overall shading of a base coat, and a shiny, glossy finish. Experienced painters with time and patience tend to pooh-pooh this as a sloppy, way-too-easy way to do it, that compromises detail for laziniess, using household lacquer that was never meant to be put on miniatures. Advocates argue it's a good way to put a not-too-shabby finish on large hordes of models.

I've never seen a dipped model in person, only in pictures. They look fine to me, I guess, but I'll stick with painting the "hard" way. If you really want to learn more, do a search of the forums or check the stickied tutorial links, and you'll find more in-depth discussions.

 

[wntrrvn]

I vaguely remember someone doing this with 'nids. Base coated tehm Bleached bone and dipped them in wood varnish. Not sure how well it would work with paint. But then again there is always Simple Green if you don't like the way it turns out.

 

[Legionnaire]

Dysartes has probably the best thread on the subject, which includes a very good tutorial and many peoples outcomes.

Dysartes.com :: View topic - Dipping for best effect.

Although this should be satisfactory, i recommend checking out other LO Dipping threads using the Search tool, as there have been plenty (i myself checked them out again recently).

Cheers!

~Legionnaire

 

[frozencore]

I help my friend dip her skeletons. They came out alright, but they were rather shiny and overly brown so they needed to be dabbed off. It is pretty fast to dip them, but considering you have to paint the base color first it wouldn't take that much more time to slap on a quick ink wash.

 

[pentathus]

On the thread I saw this guy had like a watered down paint and I think he used a paintbrush. But he called it dipping although they were'nt shiny so unless he matt varnished them then they probably were'nt varnished.

 

[GMMStudios]

Dipping is actually a good option if you need to paint many *ORGANIC* (big emphasis here) things quickly. The secret is to use Polyshades wood finish in a color darker than you would instinctively pick out (it doesn't look as dark in the thin layers on minis. To get the actual color indicated you have to put it on wood in several coats.) Another secret is to use matte varnish from Krylon a few times to kill the shine.

I did it once a few years ago to try it out, but I didn't like it. It takes a lot longer than you would think and I can paint an army twice as good in half the time. I was doing a 300 model count zombie army and decided Id try it.

Best of luck with it.

Brandon

 

[frozencore]

On the thread I saw this guy had like a watered down paint and I think he used a paintbrush. But he called it dipping although they were'nt shiny so unless he matt varnished them then they probably were'nt varnished.

What he was doing isn't dipping.

 

[Zezza]

If you are interested in dipping an army and want to find out what it would look like, go to

http://www.librarium-online.com/for...pletely-dipped-army-project-orcs-goblins.html

I dipped my whole orc army (its much larger now) about a year ago and was very impressed with the results, as well as the speed in which an army can be painted. Obviously the pics dont do them quite the justice they deserve, they are not as shiny in realy life, but hopefully itll be some help to you.

Cheers
Zezza

 

[pentathus]

What he was doing isn't dipping.

Yeah I think if I remember rightly that he was'nt using paint but I thought he was becuase he used the army painter but thats a varnish isnt it?

 

[aeroplane]

This thread on tyranids has a step-by-step dipping guide in it. Everything you need is in this post.

http://www.librarium-online.com/forums/projects/99313-godzilla-tyranid-army.html

These marines were dipped

http://www.librarium-online.com/forums/painting/98136-fallen-ultramarines.html

The best part about dipping is the "bang for the buck" -- you take a very simple paintjob and then dip, it makes it look very good with minimum effort. Also, the poly is very protective, you won't wear it off by touching your minis.

 

[TomNewDelhi]

Just a quickie, what do you use to dip? wood stain?

 

[The Fifth Horseman]

Just as the posts above say.

 

[Mezegis]

Minwax Polyshade Ancient Walnut looks ok I hear, I haven't done anything organic yet, so I haven't had a chance to do it. A friend painted his lizardmen that way and they came out pretty good for minimal effort.

He actually hurt himself for a bit with all the shaking to get the dip off, too many in a row and his wrist was killing him.

 

[catbarf]

I wrote a simple five-step tutorial for my method of dipping Tyranids:

http://www.librarium-online.com/forums/painting/107265-how-paint-tyranids-5-easy-steps-tutorial.html

You can substitute any color you like for the base, and then another color for the ink- I got good results priming blue, using a black dip, and then a purple ink wash on the carapace.

The general principle behind dipping relies on the wood stain's two primary properties- viscosity and transparency. The viscosity means that while it builds up in the recesses and barely touches the edges, it does affect the more middle areas of the model. The transparency means that while the middle areas are somewhat tinted, the edges are almost as light as the basecoat, and the recesses are very dark.

The overall effect is a model that appears to have been highlighted and shaded.