All posts filed under: Tutorials

Magnetising the Big Mek

Magnetizing the Big Mek in Mega Armor

Published by Joe B

Quick tutorial post on how I added magnets to the Ork Big Mek in Mega Armor. While I don’t generally add magnets to my minis, this guy seems like a good candidate to work on. This Big Mek is from the Meganobz box where you can build one of the Nobz into a Big Mek. The arm weapons don’t have options, so it is the backpack mount that I magnetized. This way I can either arm him with the Kustom Tellyporta Gun (which sounds fun) or provide a defense with the Kustom Force Field (probably more helpful). Drilling the Holes Once the main body and legs were built up, I left the top armor plate off. This is meant to be the weapon’s platform but works perfectly for adding the magnets. I set the piece in place and used a small drill bit to drill through it and the top of the body. To prevent the magnet from moving, I didn’t use a larger bit as the top plate so it would hold the magnet in …

How to Build Scenic Display Pieces

Creating Scenic Terrain for Bases and Dioramas with Andy

Published by Andy Schaffert

Greetings, this is my humble tutorial on how to build terrain, specifically a rocky outcrop with vegetation and trees. This is my way of making terrain pieces/diorama backdrops for miniatures; however, there are many fine ways to make great looking terrain/dioramas and bases, and I hope you do your research and experimenting to come up with amazing things! I would never be so bold as to say my method is the only way nor the best way. It is merely a way that works for me, and I have borrowed many techniques from other tutorials who need their just due. I want to welcome Andy to the Broken Paintbrush community with this awesome tutorial. I hope you enjoy the tutorial, and if you want to save it for later, fill in the form at the bottom and I will send you a copy. Namely Massive Voodoo Blogspot, 3-T Studios, Painting Buddha, countless others on Youtube and Coolminiornot. I apologize if I used some of your techniques and did not give you a reference; however, I …

Painting the Pox Walkers with Washes

Painting Pox Walkers with Washes Tutorial and Showcase

Published by Joe B

Yes, I jumped on the new 40k box set. I didn’t fully plan on doing so, but I broke down, and I am glad I did. These new models are incredibly detailed and full of character. The zombies were the first to get paint and here is the tutorial on painting pox walkers with washes. I decided to use washes on the Pox Walkers as I wanted to get all 20 of them finished quickly and experimented with the style. When done well, you can get a great looking unit with a few different glazes of color. Priming and Prep After assembling the miniatures, I took some of the duplicates and modified them as you will see below. On some, I removed horns and extra equipment. On others, I bent arms and hands to get a different look. Each model got a solid coverage of white primer using two light coats. For painting with washes, others have recommended using gray primer and give it a quick spray of white from the top. This can help …

How to Paint the Blood Bowl Troll

How to Paint the Blood Bowl Troll – A Broken Paintbrush Tutorial

Published by Joe B

I started painting the Blood Bowl Troll as a way to show different painting techniques but found it was going to work better as a general tutorial instead. Check out the tutorial below for tips on how to paint the Troll as well as some general tips on painting with washes and blending. Orc and Goblin teams can take the Troll for some extra muscle and even toss a (somewhat) willing volunteer across the field. As I build up each of my Blood Bowl teams, I want to add some of the special team players to add some fun to the games. I had fun painting him to a higher standard than the Orc players and testing a few techniques. Building and Prep This model was probably the craziest I have done regarding odd pieces for a single character model. This does create a pose that is detailed and dynamic but provides only a single pose. For those who like to leave pieces separate, the only one part that made sense was the shoulder pad. …

Object Source Lighting Tutorials

List of Helpful Object Source Lighting Tutorials

Published by Joe B

Whether it is a lamp, glowing lava, or a spotlight, adding the glow effect onto the model can look impressive. Many award-winning miniatures have multiple lights that appear to actually be glowing. I’ve gathered some articles with object source lighting tutorials so learn how to do this effect. The term object source lighting (OSL) is what painters use to describe the illusion of a light striking the model. The painted on lighting effect can be dramatic, and sometimes overdone. But it is also tricky to achieve. I have tried to do this effect on some of my miniatures with varying levels of success. But rather than try to create a tutorial on something I don’t fully get myself, I found articles by painters who have mastered the technique. Light the Fire I couldn’t find who the author was for this guest post on Chest of Colors, but not only is this a beautifully well-done miniature, but the tips offered are great. “C’mon baby, light my fire ” – OSL Tips | Chest of Colors Seven ‘commandments’ …

Tutorial on How to Paint Yellow with layers, wash, and one coat paints

How to Paint Yellow – Three Techniques on Three Different Models

Published by Joe B

Yellow is one of those ‘hard’ colors. So, much like painting black, I stepped up to the challenge and created a tutorial on how to paint yellow. But not just one way, but three different methods to paint yellow. Mostly this tutorial was spawned by painting my Dwarven Blood Bowl Team with yellow padding. Since I wanted to try a couple of other techniques for painting yellow, I built a Bretonnian Knight and a Death Watch Space Marine. Both of these other kits provides great opportunity to paint other colors. Well, at least if you don’t keep to the ‘standard’ Death Watch scheme. So if you need some help or inspiration on how to paint yellow, check out the three tutorials below. [convertkit form=5009797] Using Layers to Paint Yellow on a Knight I picked up a box of Brettonian Knights years ago to practice painting different colors and freehand.  And so far, I have painted only two of them! But Sir Sunshine here has provided the canvas for my first tutorial on how to paint …

How to Improve Your Hobby Skills Through Showcasing

How to Improve Your Hobby Skills Through Showcasing

Published by Joe B

Want a quick tip to improve your miniature painting skills? Post pictures of it for the world to see. No joke, this has been one of the best drivers for me how I improved my hobby skills: through showcasing. This is part three of my series on improving your hobby skills. You can download all three parts into a single eBook by filling in the the form below. [convertkit form=5003522] Improve Your Hobby Skills Through Showcasing You may think it’s odd that I would add a suggestion for showcasing your model as a way of developing your hobby skills. But it comes down to this: community feedback and incentive to improve. With very rare exceptions, we have a very warm and encouraging community of hobbyists, and if you post your progress and ask for help, more than likely some of us will find you and encourage you to keep it up. I know because that is how I pushed myself to improve and keep at it. This final post in my series focusing on improving …

Tips to improve your painting skills

How to Improve Your Hobby Painting Skills

Published by Joe B

In part two of Improve Your Hobby Skills series, I want to share some ways to improve your hobby painting skills. I’ve broken this huge topic down into eight areas that can improve the way you paint. As painting is a huge aspect of our hobby, this is going to be a rather long article, but don’t forget you can download the article as a PDF, including part 1: building skills. [convertkit form=5003522] Painting ability is where a lot of us focus when we think of what we need to improve. Understandable since there are so many aspects of painting to learn, so many incredible artists out there, and we spend so much time on it compared to the build. But just as with the build suggestions, I recommend you focus on one idea at a time so you don’t get overwhelmed. Also, let your painting style build upon itself, don’t pressure yourself to be the next Blanche, ‘Eavy Metal, or name-your-favorite-artist. Get comfortable with what you can do already, and progress from there. 1. …

How to Paint White - AdMech Style

Painting AdMech Part 2 – The White Sections

Published by Ben Dake

Hey, everyone! Ben here again from Moosehead Studios with the second and final part of my painting AdMech articles (for now, at least). In this article, I am going to cover the second-largest section of my Skitarii Vanguard and Rangers: the white sections. If you missed the first article it is where I painted the blue sections. White is one of the most difficult colors to paint, right up there with yellow and black. What I have discovered works best for me is to build up layers on whatever it is that I am painting and trick the eye into believing that what it is seeing on the model is pure white cleverly applied instead of several layers of different colors built on top of each other. And I can’t stress this enough when painting white: it is always better to apply several thinned layers of paint instead of one thick. I mean, this is the cardinal rule of painting as spoken by the one and only Duncan Rhodes (@WHTV_Dunc on Twitter). When you are …

How to improve your hobby build skills

How to Improve Your Hobby Building Skills

Published by Joe B

In a rush of excitement, you rip open your brand new model kit. While thrown back at first by the sheer number of tiny pieces, you smash it all together with glue, slap paint everywhere you can, and plunk it on the table top. But at some point, you realize that you are unhappy with how it looks, especially compared to your buddies models. If you are new getting into the hobby, or a long timer gamer wanting to improve the look of your army, then you understand the frustration of trying to figure out what to work on. Or comprehend all these terms thrown about by veteran hobbyists. This is why I put together this list of ways to improve your hobby skills. I’ve created the series From Beginner to Happy to get you to the point of being happy with your hobby skills. While this won’t be an exhaustive guide to all the hobby basics, I made an overview of topics you can work on to bring your models from 3-color minimum, so something you are happy to …