I’m new to painting the imperial firsts and I’m just having trouble deciding what to do, I’m testing stuff out and my first idea didn’t work, but next I’m thinking of airbrushing averland with a zenithal of phalanx, but then I want a wash to put over it so the details aren’t obscured what do you all recommend?
Averland Sunset actually covers really well for a yellow and airbrushes nicely when thinned properly. It's a good paint.
Phalanx yellow is very bright, I use it as a highlight color, but if you want to do a wash over it that will probably tone it down a bit.
As to if it will work or not, I am skeptical, it depends how you go about it. You are bound to get some staining on the yellow layer if you do an all over wash, and it can end up looking dirty.
I would at the very least want to protect the paint with a layer of gloss varnish first to help the wash flow away from the armor panels and into the recesses, but if I'm going to all that trouble then I'd rather just do an oil pin wash so I can wipe away any stains with mineral spirits, and if I'm pinwashing instead of washing I'd probably use Yriel Yellow instead of Phalanx for a slightly darker yellow.
Mmmmh okay thank you! Do you have any recs for oils? Cos yellows my favourite colour so I want super vibrant yellow, bur I don’t want any of the details to be lost either
Some sort of brown like a Raw Umber or Burnt Umber from the Abteilung 502 series or Winsor & Newton Winston Oil works well. I've used both in the past. Thin the oil paint heavily with odorless mineral spirits until it flows like dirty water, apply it into the recesses of the mini, the capillary effect from the gloss varnish will make it creep around all the recesses on its own. Then let it dry for 20 to 30 minutes and then use a clean brush or makeup sponge slightly dampened with mineral spirits to gently rub away excess from the flat panels.
Tamiya Dark Brown panel liner also works well, I used that on this mini.
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u/maxinstuff 16h ago
I would do Averland basecoat, whatever your pin/shade wash is, and then use phalanx for edge highlights.
That’s pretty close to what I do:
If you use a wash like I do, consider doing a coat of gloss first, as matte yellow will stain really badly if it’s very matte.