Q&A: painting Deathwing, miniature brushes

From time to time I get questions from readers. I have decided to put these online so I can share the answers with all of you instead of putting the time in an answer which is sent to one person while it could be helpful to other as well.

For this first Q&A post I have two questions. If you have questions of your own do not hesitate to contact me through a comment on this blog or by sending me an email.

The first question has been asked by Chris:

"Just stumbled across your site while looking for Deathwing Tutorials. Loved the paint scheme on your termies. I see you use a lot of Vallejo colours so was just wondering what colours you used to paint them? Looks like a white basecoat but what steps came next, washes etc. Big ask I know but they are exactly how I imagine Deathwing, gritty and weathered!! I know it was a year ago you posted it but hope you can remember how you did it."

Yes it's a year ago (here's the original post), but I write most paint recipes down in a small notebook. I have painted this using Vallejo paints entirely. Here's what I have written down about the armour in particular:

• primer: white
• basecoat: Vallejo Extra Opaque Heavy Brown
• first wash: 4 parts Vallejo Wash Umber Shade, 1 part Black Shade, 2 parts Black Shade
• second wash: 1 part Vallejo Wash Umber Shade, 2 parts Black Shade, 1 part water
• clean up everything with a mix of 1 part Vallejo Extra Opaque Heavy Brown and 1 part Vallejo Model Color Iraqui Sand
• first highlight: Vallejo Model Color Iraqui Sand
• second highlight: 2 parts Iraqui Sand, 1 part Vallejo Model Color Ivory
• third highlight: 1 part Iraqui Sand, 2 parts Ivory
• last highlight (edges only): Ivory

To achieve the gritty, striped effect you should paint using the striping technique. This means using the tip of the brush to paint small stripes next to each other, starting from the bottom, going to the top. Each highlight is applied using the same technique, each layer covering about 75% of the previous surface. I hope this was helpful!

The next question is asked by Michael from oldguyrpg.blogspot.com.

"Hello! I found your site through a search looking for the differences between Winsor Newton's standard Series 7 and the miniature. I'm a D&D gamer and I also paint minis for fun and play. I've been doing some painting and blogging and looking for ways to improve. "

"With regards to the difference between the two, I was hoping you could help? As far as I can tell, it's the diameter of the brush, but I was curious if the standard #1 and miniature #1 made a difference and which was more like the brushes I've been using (Loew & Cornells mainly). Have you used the miniature brush?"

Michael, you have come to the right man with this question, since I'm a huge Winsor & Newton Series 7 fan! I even own a couple of Miniature variants. The difference does not lie in the diameter (although the miniature may indeed be a bit smaller) but in the length of the brush. The Miniature simply has a much shorter tip, about 60% in length when compared to the regular. This allows the painter to have much more control. The point is about as sharp as a regular brush, but it appears a bit stiffer because the hairs are shorter.

Therefore I rarely use the miniature brush, only for painting eyes and things like freehand designs. A regular brush has a much larger "body"meaning it can soak up more paint, ideal for painting normal surfaces.

Here's a picture of a regular #1 next to a Miniature #1:

So this concludes this first Q&A, I hope it was helpful!