Adventures in Priming

A little more time has passed since my last entry then I would have liked.  But that's life.  I was sidetracked on some computer issues reinstalling software and enjoying some PC gaming.  Today I have two things to share.  First and foremost I want to talk about my experiences with P3 primer.  I have heard many good things about the P3 line of paints.  In particular people seem to like their primer.  I used the P3 black primer to prime up my 500/750 pt Ork list I mentioned in my last entry.

I paint my Orks in a Bad Moon's color scheme.  However unlike many people who prime them white I still prefer to prime black.  I simply don't like the high pitched yellow some people favor.  They're Orks they are dirty so there is no way yellow would stay clean with them it would be dingy and dirty and that's the color scheme I go for.  As I work up my exact recipe for painting this batch of Orks I will share that with you all.  Also for this project I have purchased the dips produced by army painter.  I won't be using all the shades I will probably experiment to see what works best but I thought the dips might add a nice overall wash to the Orks.  In particular I think it will be great on the vehicles.  Note I have no plans to fully dip these miniatures.  That method in my mind wastes a lot of the fluid and is just too imprecise for me.  I plan to use a crappy brush to put it on and remove excess and see what works.

What I want to highlight today is the priming.  I used P3 and had some interesting results.  The primer when I sprayed it came out in an odd sort of flat cone burst.  It was narrow and wide.  That threw me off as I'm used to a more circular cone like spray.  The product actually went on pretty well however given how many things I was spraying which was around 50 miniatures from figures to terrain to vehicles I had to move the can a lot to get the coverage I wanted.  The coverage on vehicles was great.  On the actual minis I didn't always get the coverage I was looking for.  If I just sprayed the minis themselves I probably would have gotten what I needed.  I had no instances of a fuzziness, I'm not talking about a warm feeling but the primer build up that happens on a mini when you spray too much primer.  This primer goes on very smooth in a sense it has a sort of liquid feel to it.  I got some residue on the floor I hadn't seen before and that's how I would describe it like a light liquid.  I am looking forward to experimenting a bit more with this primer.  However I will say the GW Black primer has always been good so I don't really have need t replace it.  What I really need to see is the P3 White primer.  It is almost a scientific law at this point that the GW White primer is horrible.  I will post additional results as I see them.

Now to address an issue I highlighted earlier.  I did not get the coverage on my Ork minis I was looking for.  When I start on a miniature I like to have a solid primed coat to start on.  I like a uniform black coat as my base.  Usually when you spray primer you always end up with some patches of gray or metal underneath.  Primer doesn't typical cover that thoroughly.  If you try to be that thorough you end up with too much primer.  What I used to do was take my minis on the side and hit them with a sloppy coat of thin black before I started painting my primary colors.  However what I do these days is airbrush on a black coat.  What that does is give me a very smooth coat to work on.  The airbrush gives me excellent control over the paint so I get a coat that covers without obscuring the details.  An airbrush is capable of much more but this is definitely one of the simpler uses.  The GW spray gun would do the same however that tool is very limited beyond that application.  I choose to invest in an airbrush because I wanted the tool to grow with me as I experimented.  In a future entry I'll do a crash course on the airbrush and what it can do.  Below you can see the results in the case of the statues the right one is airbrushed the left is only the primed coat.

To work out my Bad Moon recipe I am painting the battle wagon first.  I will post updates so you can see the project move forward.  To lay a base for the yellow coat I used Vallejo Heavy Goldbrown the equivalent of GW foundation Iyanden Darksun.  I could mix this up for the airbrush but I prefer to brush it on.  It gives me time to work with the model and I still find it relaxing to brush.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT
When you work with a color like Heavy Goldbrown make sure you clean your hands well after your done.  I ran out after a mid day painting session just splashing my hands.  While I was out I went to the bathroom came back and looked down at my hand.  Some of that goldbrown got on one of my nails.  At the moment I saw that I didn't realize it was paint I thought it was something else.  It made for an awkward social moment.  With that till next time.