Legging it

After some base-coating and painting, it was time for real-conditions test for the varnish stamp technique. Here are the early results. I had not assembled the minis themselves, as to apply the stamp, you really want to have as much room to maneuver around your piece as you can; even so, you can't always reach all of it. I have not yet decided what to do with the spaces the stamp won't reach. Freehand them? Leave them be? After all, the holo-field on a harlequin's suit doesn't have to cover every inch, does it?

So, when it works (like the thighs of the bottom-left and middle legs), it *really* works. In a couple of seconds you get a beautiful, neat, geometric pattern. When it doesn't (everywhere else), it looks miserable and you might as well repaint the whole area. 

In this first batch I had to repaint most of the lower legs and sometimes all of the legs. Overall, about 2 out of 6 legs were good on the first go, which is not bad for a first "real" attempt.

At this point, I'm thinking I just need to practice and try again until it looks good. Stamping is a particular knack. It has to be done quickly and smoothly, with no corrections mid-stroke (although you can correct a little afterwards with a thin brush and paint or varnish, depending on the area). I figure once I get it down, it will make things considerably easier, quicker and neater. At least that's the hope.

Choix des armes: harlequins

So, a little about me. When we were all young and stupid and playing 40k because miniatures were less complicated than girls, I was by far the worst painter of our little bunch. I mean, I was not a good player by any stretch either, but that was far outpaced by my atrocious painting. Manu was always good, and Dimitri progressed fast, but I was the one who basically slathered my minis in thick coats of shiny stuff and it had to do.

Now it's twenty years later. I haven't played 40k for decades. I haven't painted a mini since I did a small lizardman Blood Bowl team five years ago. And as I said, I was never that good to begin with.

So what do I go for? Of course when the bug bit me again I would go for THE hardest to paint army in the whole game: Eldar Harlequins.

This was basically suicide. But then my partner, Agnès, came up with an idea. Now Agnès can do anything. I mean, anything. She has mastered sewing, tatting, crochet, papier mâché, nail art, felt-making, and above all, polymer clay (check her out here  and here ). She excels at taking a technique developed for a medium and applying it to another.

So when I told her about the harlequins' notorious freehand patterning, after she took a pitying look at me, she said: "you know nail art people do this all the time, right?".

And indeed, there is a method called stamping which seems like it would work. Of course, it's designed for flatter surfaces than your basic harlequin, but it looks very promising. So you'll see me try to apply it on this blog.

To tide you over, here are a few (low-quality) pictures:

Some tests for the patterns. I ended up choosing the Briar Wood polish, from a-england, along with a triangular/square pattern.

Jim-Bob, my first test subject. An old pewter mini, stripped and repainted as a test before I move on to the plastic Death Masque set.

Jim-Bob's legs demonstrating early tests of stamp applications.

See you soon for the next step - I just bought my Tamiya base-coat spray.