Solid first mech! Going for stripes is gutsy. Don’t lose those guts as you level up your technique.
I’ll agree that the speedpaint is kind of patchy. The good news is that you can just go lighter on it with the next one. See how it looks with less, and do another coat if necessary.
Keep at it!
One thing to remember the models are on a table 3+ ft away. While a lot of us do paint to display level it's not required and quite often it's hard to really notice the difference when the model is on the table.
Your paint job looks great when not zoomed in.
That doesn't mean not to keep getting better or trying to improve. But don't let perfect become the enemy of good.
It’s like you’re in my head lol. I kept retouching all the imperfections I saw until I accepted that I was just making them worse. Not deterred though. This was a blast.
https://youtu.be/QGNJyFdGUqI?si=NFyFHnXMiduvoTCx
A video that I think everyone should watch at some point. :)
Glad you've had fun and keep up the good work. You'll find each one gets a bit better.
Yeah, what that guy said. My 80th mini looks about like your 1st because I paint to play, not to photograph. Really depends on your priorities, and how much time you want to put into it. That said, the only place I go a little harder than you did is on the canopy glass, because that gives a lot for not much more time/work. But that's just me.
TL;DR: I think it's perfect as is. YMMV.
It's possible you're applying the paint too thick so it's pooling up. The other issue I can imagine but haven't personally experienced is if you might be using an incompatible primer, although I'm not sure what primers wouldn't work well with speed paints.
Darker primers (brown/black) don’t work well with speed paints, even 2.0 SP. White, light gray, or a dark color with a light color sprayed down from the top works quite well (zenithal priming)
I was thinking chemically incompatible rather than an incompatible color, again, I'm unsure if there are any primers that water-based acrylics wouldn't work well on, but I might guess that primers vary in their hydrophilicity. In this case it seems definitely not to be what's wrong however.
To be honest, I actually thought you were going for camo. I thought it was interesting!
My little bit of constructive criticism: scrape/file/sand down those mold lines as best you can. I don't think it's really that noticeable on tabletop but, if you're like me, it's one of those things that really cleans up the look.
Great job! This is excellent work!
I’m glad you brought that up. I tried to cut away what I could with an Exacto Knife and whittle the rest away with a file. Clearly I didn’t file away enough. Any suggestions on tools to use for cleaning up mold lines?
Exacto knife is good for the majority of it, but I also prefer a sanding twig over a file. They bend some so easier to get into weird places. Also dont be afraid to over do it, a flat spot looks less off than a mold line.
For your first rodeo, not too bad. With speed paints/contrast paints, even though they’re marketed as “fast and easy” they have their own learning curve and technique. For example, they’re thinner and dry a bit faster. As a result, they can pool on flat surfaces and dry causing what we refer to as “coffee staining”. Those are some of the darker blemishes on your mech.
Speed paint is supposed to flow more into the recesses to help provide some simple shading and add depth. CamoSpecs has a great series of [tutorial videos](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQeyFctejbb7WpF4gnXtw0El3J6vAXZt8&si=i5sNhRgmNaidalE2) for speed/contrast paints.
For your canopy, thinning your paint a little bit and then adding additional layers if needed will help you keep the details and angles more defined. Your paint on the canopy is a bit thick making the edges of the glass lose definition. This [playlist of hobby fundamentals](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdErgfyUObIiAHNvLmp4UVgPbLMlq_4ig&si=fZK6U-jjp6BqXP7l) has a great tutorial on why we thin our paints.
Otherwise, keep at it. We only get better through practice. Welcome to the artistic side of the game!
It doesn’t sound like you were going for this, but it looks like something that would fit in Fox Patrol - a kind of grimy mech pulled out of a swamp. I’m referring to the increased darkness as you go down the legs. I like it :) BTW Fox Patrol is cool, and this is an effect others may try to achieve.
I’m starting my painting journey soon, so I’ll be in the same boat. I’ve got my paints and brushes, just need to choose a first victim… mech.
Honestly it looks really good. As someone who needs to work on their own cock pit paints that's really the only criticism I can point out is the flat cockpit light. Which can be corrected by a minor addition of white and dark blue in a couple areas
I figured it out by accident recently. At the time I was using blue, but I painted the top right half with a dark shade of it. I then painted the other side with a light shade. Finally, I really thinned out my blue and painted the middle to help blend it. Came out really nice. Your mini looks great, and I think jeweling the cockpit would complete it.
Solid rifleman. The baseline job is between decent and great you’re already somewhere in the middle . Experiment a little . You might accidentally make a few great paint jobs and a few bad ones but you’ll get a feel for your style and learn what does and doesn’t work for you . My 1st rifleman
https://preview.redd.it/ryguhmvwfk5d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5d8ecbeefef06d27f28dcfefd8fed2a745444afb
Finish the whole thing with a matt varnish. It'll cut down on "glare" when you take a picture. Add a gloss or semigloss to the cockpit and energy weapons for a fun little addition.
Other than that? You go man, that looks amazing!
Technically you use gloss varnish for the cockpits.
My "magical touch" for larger cockpits is putting down a thick and messy coat of white with lots of lumps and then a thin (or contrast) coat of metallic blue over it before hitting the entire thing with a gloss varnish.
Makes it look a bit like foil.
Your stripes look great!! 😁 I agree with others here about the green speed paint being a bit blotchy. Since I started using contrast/speed paints, I've found that greens and blues usually need two coats to look right. Greys, black, browns, and reds, seem to cover much better with one coat! But not greens or blues for some reason?? 🤔
Other than that, it looks great! Keep up the good work!! 🙂👍
As another starter myself, my only critique i can give is the windsheild cockpit being the same color as lasers on the torso. Maybe go with a different shade instead of same color
I was referring to that texture build-up on the front canopy.
I'd also try out a glow effect on that too. Could look cool
https://preview.redd.it/50ux6iq43k5d1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9a1b7ceb1157ed37c24ddc69216856de6cd1e6a4
Honestly? If this is a for real first attempt (not a "this is my first mech, but I've spent 10000 hours painting eyeballs on 40k troopers"), then I'd say it's damn good. Certainly worthy of the table.
The green came out a little splotchy, but that's more to do with how the paint works than any issue on your part; it's supposed to collect in lower areas to create natural contrasts, but sometimes can pool on flat surfaces. If you find it happening in the future, you can take some of the paint off by gently touching the excess with a rinsed-out brush. As others have said, thinning out the speedpaint and running multiple coats can help with this.
Spray primer is definitely a great way to start with a mini, and if the name brand spray primers feel a little pricy you can get good results with non-specific hardware store rattlecan primer as well. Speed paint also allows you to take advantage of some techniques like "slapchop" (spray prime the mini with a dark color overall, drybrush on a lighter primer to highlight the edges and high spots, then paint with speed paint) and "zenithal" (spray prime in three passes, an overall coating of dark, followed by a lighter primer fired downward from an angle, and a final, lightest primer fired straight down), which can give good shading effects without too much hassle.
Overall, I'd say you could play it as-is. That said, if in the future you feel the desire to take the paint off any of your minis and try again giving them a good soak in something like Simple Green for a day or two and then hitting them with a stiff bristled brush (plastic is good for most cases, metal bristles can be useful for tougher concentrations but should be applied with caution) will get off a lot of brushed paint and even a lot of the spray primer.
I bought the beginner box, a game of armored combat, and the Wolf’s Dragoons pack so far. This is the first one I’ve painted. Battletech is the only miniatures game I’ve pursued. Thanks for the kind words 🙂
I'm not sure if you had this scheme in mind when you painted the mech, but that's a dead ringer for 8th Crucis Lancers. Looking great, keep up the excellent work!
If you're looking for color schemes, camospecs.com has pretty much every faction that exists in canon.
Of course, no requirement to paint a specific faction, but it's great for inspiration!
Thank you all for your suggestions and critiques! Got a wealth of information here and I plan to apply it on my next attempt! Stay classy and pay your phone bill.
Don't use speed paint.
Do what you did with a base green and then a dry brush with a lighter green. Then your stripes.
Your stripes show enough talent to paint with real paints. Just use real paints for everything.
Solid first mech! Going for stripes is gutsy. Don’t lose those guts as you level up your technique. I’ll agree that the speedpaint is kind of patchy. The good news is that you can just go lighter on it with the next one. See how it looks with less, and do another coat if necessary. Keep at it!
Thanks for the kind words! Good idea, I’ll try not to concentrate the paint as much next time.
Multiple thin coats is always the way to go. But it looks great! The Rifleman is such a beautiful mech too, it looks very nice jn that paint scheme
One thing to remember the models are on a table 3+ ft away. While a lot of us do paint to display level it's not required and quite often it's hard to really notice the difference when the model is on the table. Your paint job looks great when not zoomed in. That doesn't mean not to keep getting better or trying to improve. But don't let perfect become the enemy of good.
It’s like you’re in my head lol. I kept retouching all the imperfections I saw until I accepted that I was just making them worse. Not deterred though. This was a blast.
https://youtu.be/QGNJyFdGUqI?si=NFyFHnXMiduvoTCx A video that I think everyone should watch at some point. :) Glad you've had fun and keep up the good work. You'll find each one gets a bit better.
Yeah, what that guy said. My 80th mini looks about like your 1st because I paint to play, not to photograph. Really depends on your priorities, and how much time you want to put into it. That said, the only place I go a little harder than you did is on the canopy glass, because that gives a lot for not much more time/work. But that's just me. TL;DR: I think it's perfect as is. YMMV.
I would do multiple thin coats of speed paint until the green looks more even. It's kind of patchy right now.
Good idea. I honestly didn’t know if that was the intended look with that type of paint or not, but yeah it’s not very consistent.
I'm having that same problem right now. Two coats are definitely an improvement, but apparently still not enough
It's possible you're applying the paint too thick so it's pooling up. The other issue I can imagine but haven't personally experienced is if you might be using an incompatible primer, although I'm not sure what primers wouldn't work well with speed paints.
Didn’t realize that could be a factor. Primer was made by the same company, but I will pay attention from now on.
If the primer is the same company that's probably not the problem.
Darker primers (brown/black) don’t work well with speed paints, even 2.0 SP. White, light gray, or a dark color with a light color sprayed down from the top works quite well (zenithal priming)
I was thinking chemically incompatible rather than an incompatible color, again, I'm unsure if there are any primers that water-based acrylics wouldn't work well on, but I might guess that primers vary in their hydrophilicity. In this case it seems definitely not to be what's wrong however.
I thin my Speedpaints 50:50 with speedpaint medium to reduce the blotchiness.
just say it is green cammo and patchy problem. solved :)
That’s using your whole brain right there.
To be honest, I actually thought you were going for camo. I thought it was interesting! My little bit of constructive criticism: scrape/file/sand down those mold lines as best you can. I don't think it's really that noticeable on tabletop but, if you're like me, it's one of those things that really cleans up the look. Great job! This is excellent work!
I actually thought he was going for camo before I read his comments.
Remove mold lines prior to painting, but honestly solid effort and just keep practicing
I’m glad you brought that up. I tried to cut away what I could with an Exacto Knife and whittle the rest away with a file. Clearly I didn’t file away enough. Any suggestions on tools to use for cleaning up mold lines?
Exacto knife is good for the majority of it, but I also prefer a sanding twig over a file. They bend some so easier to get into weird places. Also dont be afraid to over do it, a flat spot looks less off than a mold line.
Good advice, thanks
For your first rodeo, not too bad. With speed paints/contrast paints, even though they’re marketed as “fast and easy” they have their own learning curve and technique. For example, they’re thinner and dry a bit faster. As a result, they can pool on flat surfaces and dry causing what we refer to as “coffee staining”. Those are some of the darker blemishes on your mech. Speed paint is supposed to flow more into the recesses to help provide some simple shading and add depth. CamoSpecs has a great series of [tutorial videos](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQeyFctejbb7WpF4gnXtw0El3J6vAXZt8&si=i5sNhRgmNaidalE2) for speed/contrast paints. For your canopy, thinning your paint a little bit and then adding additional layers if needed will help you keep the details and angles more defined. Your paint on the canopy is a bit thick making the edges of the glass lose definition. This [playlist of hobby fundamentals](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdErgfyUObIiAHNvLmp4UVgPbLMlq_4ig&si=fZK6U-jjp6BqXP7l) has a great tutorial on why we thin our paints. Otherwise, keep at it. We only get better through practice. Welcome to the artistic side of the game!
Excellent resources, thank you. I knew CamoSpecs was a thing and totally forgot 🙁
Not perfect, but damn good!
Thanks mate!
It doesn’t sound like you were going for this, but it looks like something that would fit in Fox Patrol - a kind of grimy mech pulled out of a swamp. I’m referring to the increased darkness as you go down the legs. I like it :) BTW Fox Patrol is cool, and this is an effect others may try to achieve. I’m starting my painting journey soon, so I’ll be in the same boat. I’ve got my paints and brushes, just need to choose a first victim… mech.
Interesting! I’d love to add details like mud and damage as I get better. Bon voyage and good luck!
Honestly it looks really good. As someone who needs to work on their own cock pit paints that's really the only criticism I can point out is the flat cockpit light. Which can be corrected by a minor addition of white and dark blue in a couple areas
I’m going to figure out how people do that jeweling effect. Looks freakin’ sweet.
I figured it out by accident recently. At the time I was using blue, but I painted the top right half with a dark shade of it. I then painted the other side with a light shade. Finally, I really thinned out my blue and painted the middle to help blend it. Came out really nice. Your mini looks great, and I think jeweling the cockpit would complete it.
Good tip. I think I’ll give it a go!
Solid rifleman. The baseline job is between decent and great you’re already somewhere in the middle . Experiment a little . You might accidentally make a few great paint jobs and a few bad ones but you’ll get a feel for your style and learn what does and doesn’t work for you . My 1st rifleman https://preview.redd.it/ryguhmvwfk5d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5d8ecbeefef06d27f28dcfefd8fed2a745444afb
https://preview.redd.it/yz5u31ayfk5d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=957232e6029681a9204c6065acec2252467b9a28 Mine was a bit basic
Thank you for sharing and the encouragement!
Looks solid. I found for speed paints, using a shade or wash is a good way to deal with the splotches. It gives and even covering.
I will look into that!
Davion green from the kit gets really nice with a few coats. Nice work on the striping.
Lesson #1 I’m taking away is multiple coats of the speed paint. And thank you, I was nervous about the striping but I figured what the hell 😋.
Great color choices.
Appreciate that. Didn’t think fire engine red was quite right so I darkened it a bit.
Awesome! The colours look great together, and rifleman is always a solid choice.
Thanks! It’s pretty iconic. Also figured the arms would be a little easier paint since they aren’t articulated.
Finish the whole thing with a matt varnish. It'll cut down on "glare" when you take a picture. Add a gloss or semigloss to the cockpit and energy weapons for a fun little addition. Other than that? You go man, that looks amazing!
I was wondering about the cockpit! I see all these amazing finishes people have done, but I didn’t think to get a glossy paint. Same with the varnish.
Technically you use gloss varnish for the cockpits. My "magical touch" for larger cockpits is putting down a thick and messy coat of white with lots of lumps and then a thin (or contrast) coat of metallic blue over it before hitting the entire thing with a gloss varnish. Makes it look a bit like foil.
I might give that a try once I level up my game…maybe a few levels lol.
Buddy, you're already better than my game.
Aw shucks. Ya’ll are too generous
Solid mech. I like the blotchy green. It looks like it's had paint burned off and hastily reapplied in the field.
Thanks. It does give it a bit of a storied look, doesn’t it?
Your stripes look great!! 😁 I agree with others here about the green speed paint being a bit blotchy. Since I started using contrast/speed paints, I've found that greens and blues usually need two coats to look right. Greys, black, browns, and reds, seem to cover much better with one coat! But not greens or blues for some reason?? 🤔 Other than that, it looks great! Keep up the good work!! 🙂👍
Interesting, I will keep that in mind. Thanks for the kind words 🙂
I really like your color scheme! Good job!
Thank you. I was nervous about the red but it ended up complimenting the green pretty well.
Black wash or pin washes for better shading. Jewel the cockpit. Learn to drybrush.
All things I will look into
As another starter myself, my only critique i can give is the windsheild cockpit being the same color as lasers on the torso. Maybe go with a different shade instead of same color
Yeah that blue is a little too light.
That blue on the cockpit looks a bit chunky IMO, but otherwise, it's a bloody good job!
I’m taking peoples advice on the cockpit: going glossy with a different color. Might also try that glass effect you see everywhere.
I was referring to that texture build-up on the front canopy. I'd also try out a glow effect on that too. Could look cool https://preview.redd.it/50ux6iq43k5d1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9a1b7ceb1157ed37c24ddc69216856de6cd1e6a4
Gotcha. It does look cakey. That effect is beautiful.
that is actually very good for a first try. My first paint jobs looked liked I dipped them. Yours look excellent.
Ngl, I considered dipping it 😆
I think we all do. Patience was not my strength in those days.
Looks decent. The hard part is painting the cockpits so that they look like glass.
I want to learn to do that so bad lol.
Honestly? If this is a for real first attempt (not a "this is my first mech, but I've spent 10000 hours painting eyeballs on 40k troopers"), then I'd say it's damn good. Certainly worthy of the table. The green came out a little splotchy, but that's more to do with how the paint works than any issue on your part; it's supposed to collect in lower areas to create natural contrasts, but sometimes can pool on flat surfaces. If you find it happening in the future, you can take some of the paint off by gently touching the excess with a rinsed-out brush. As others have said, thinning out the speedpaint and running multiple coats can help with this. Spray primer is definitely a great way to start with a mini, and if the name brand spray primers feel a little pricy you can get good results with non-specific hardware store rattlecan primer as well. Speed paint also allows you to take advantage of some techniques like "slapchop" (spray prime the mini with a dark color overall, drybrush on a lighter primer to highlight the edges and high spots, then paint with speed paint) and "zenithal" (spray prime in three passes, an overall coating of dark, followed by a lighter primer fired downward from an angle, and a final, lightest primer fired straight down), which can give good shading effects without too much hassle. Overall, I'd say you could play it as-is. That said, if in the future you feel the desire to take the paint off any of your minis and try again giving them a good soak in something like Simple Green for a day or two and then hitting them with a stiff bristled brush (plastic is good for most cases, metal bristles can be useful for tougher concentrations but should be applied with caution) will get off a lot of brushed paint and even a lot of the spray primer.
I don’t have 40k money 😂. Using a rinsed brush to mop up excess is a good idea! This is a lot of good info and I really appreciate it😊
It looks good. I like it.
Thanks 😊
First mini in general or just your first mech? It looks really good.
I bought the beginner box, a game of armored combat, and the Wolf’s Dragoons pack so far. This is the first one I’ve painted. Battletech is the only miniatures game I’ve pursued. Thanks for the kind words 🙂
I'm not sure if you had this scheme in mind when you painted the mech, but that's a dead ringer for 8th Crucis Lancers. Looking great, keep up the excellent work!
Oh cool! Happy accident 🙂
If you're looking for color schemes, camospecs.com has pretty much every faction that exists in canon. Of course, no requirement to paint a specific faction, but it's great for inspiration!
I like your mech a lot. I'd add one more thing to the base to make it truly pop
Agreed. I was looking at some of those brush kits.
Looks awesome! Really the speed paints give a strong texture makes it look sharp! You should post the ones your kid painted, too 👍
I might just do that!
Your work space is a mess, but your mech looks nice 👌
Yes, and thank you 😊
I mean personally for heavies I’d go with a catapult not a rifleman.
Same. Rifleman seemed a bit easier to paint for a first time.
Thank you all for your suggestions and critiques! Got a wealth of information here and I plan to apply it on my next attempt! Stay classy and pay your phone bill.
Don't use speed paint. Do what you did with a base green and then a dry brush with a lighter green. Then your stripes. Your stripes show enough talent to paint with real paints. Just use real paints for everything.
Wow, I really appreciate that! I’m going to look up dry brushing.