{"id":5424,"date":"2016-12-22T00:20:08","date_gmt":"2016-12-22T05:20:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/?p=5424"},"modified":"2021-02-17T17:28:18","modified_gmt":"2021-02-17T22:28:18","slug":"spice-pirates-patrol-x-wing-repaint-tutorial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/2016\/12\/spice-pirates-patrol-x-wing-repaint-tutorial\/","title":{"rendered":"Spice Pirates Patrol: X-Wing Repaint Tutorial"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I&#8217;ve been playing <em>X-Wing<\/em> miniatures for\u00a0all but literally a year now, starting just before last year&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/2015\/12\/redcaps-x-mas-wing\/\">X-Mas Wing Tournament @ Redcap&#8217;s<\/a>. That whole time I&#8217;ve largely been employing a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/2016\/12\/x-wing-beginner-squad-building\/\">particular style of build<\/a> and practicing literally just a couple different squadrons that have turned out to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/2016\/08\/redcaps-august-x-wing-tournament\/\">work pretty well<\/a>.\u00a0To\u00a0mix things up, have a slightly less hard-hitting squad for more casual play, and to fly some more\u00a0off the wall stuff,\u00a0I put together a\u00a0new list and then painted up a whole squadron to match. Here I present\u00a0some glamour photos, but more importantly a tutorial walkthrough of the process in hopes it helps newcomers interested in giving repaints a try.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_5425\" style=\"width: 540px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/group-a.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5425\" class=\"wp-image-5425 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/group-a-1024x655.jpg\" width=\"530\" height=\"339\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/group-a-1024x655.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/group-a-300x192.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/group-a-768x492.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/group-a-60x38.jpg 60w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/group-a.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 530px) 100vw, 530px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-5425\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Spice Pirates Patrol squadron.<\/p><\/div>\n<h2>Spice Pirates Patrol<\/h2>\n<p>I present the <a href=\"http:\/\/xwing-builder.co.uk\/view\/608148\/spice-pirates-patrol\">Spice Pirates Patrol<\/a>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>HWK-290: <a href=\"http:\/\/xwing-miniatures.wikia.com\/wiki\/Torkil_Mux\">Torkhil Mux<\/a> w\/ <a href=\"http:\/\/xwing-miniatures.wikia.com\/wiki\/Blaster_Turret\">Blaster Turret<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/xwing-miniatures.wikia.com\/wiki\/Recon_Specialist\">Recon Specialist<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/xwing-miniatures.wikia.com\/wiki\/Moldy_Crow\">Moldy Crow<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/xwing-miniatures.wikia.com\/wiki\/Hull_Upgrade\">Hull Upgrade<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Y-Wing: <a href=\"http:\/\/xwing-miniatures.wikia.com\/wiki\/Kavil\">Kavil<\/a> w\/ <a href=\"http:\/\/xwing-miniatures.wikia.com\/wiki\/Twin_Laser_Turret\">Twin Laser Turret<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/xwing-miniatures.wikia.com\/wiki\/Unhinged_Astromech\">Unhinged Astromech<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/xwing-miniatures.wikia.com\/wiki\/Veteran_Instincts\">Veteran Instincts<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Z-95: <a href=\"http:\/\/xwing-miniatures.wikia.com\/wiki\/Binayre_Pirate\">Binayre Pirate<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Z-95: <a href=\"http:\/\/xwing-miniatures.wikia.com\/wiki\/Binayre_Pirate\">Binayre Pirate<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Z-95: <a href=\"http:\/\/xwing-miniatures.wikia.com\/wiki\/Binayre_Pirate\">Binayre Pirate<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Is this a great list? It&#8217;s ok, but not great or super competitive. I&#8217;m sure I&#8217;ll be tweaking it. Comparing to my <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/2016\/12\/x-wing-beginner-squad-building\/\">standard rubric<\/a>: Hull+shields is a bit low, average agility is a bit inferior, and\u00a0damage output once you factor in the turrets\u00a0is above average but not amazing.\u00a0The real weaknesses I&#8217;ve found so far though are\u00a0that the squadron isn&#8217;t very maneuverable, the Z-95s die easily, and they have to\u00a0prioritize blocking over jousting, which is a harder skill.\u00a0So I&#8217;m not planning to take it to any\u00a0tournaments, but after just a couple games it seems to be competent for casual play, fun to fly, and\u00a0probably not a setup\u00a0you&#8217;re likely to see another of on the local tables.<\/p>\n<p>All of that&#8217;s not really the point though. The design rationale for this squadron was:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>I&#8217;m hosting a beginners&#8217; night next week, what can I fly that&#8217;s fun and credible but not overly strong?<\/li>\n<li>In a year of playing I&#8217;ve never ever used this Z-95 I bought, can I flip it to Scum and use it there?<\/li>\n<li>The shop\u00a0is way overstocked on HWKs, they&#8217;re on sale, and I love them,\u00a0how can I justify another one?<\/li>\n<li>Most Wanted is also on sale,\u00a0what&#8217;s a neat list that will use all of that plus another HWK and my Z-95?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>And here we are. Obviously I couldn&#8217;t have a\u00a0Rebel Z-95 mixing with some Scum, or\u00a0two\u00a0<em>Moldy Crows<\/em>\u00a0in my fleet, so in a fit of late night and early morning inspiration I repainted them all to match. Later they got magnetized as well.\u00a0So far I&#8217;ve had a couple fun, close games with the squad, and am happy with the whole project.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_5426\" style=\"width: 540px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/z95-4.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5426\" class=\"size-large wp-image-5426\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/z95-4-1024x753.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"530\" height=\"390\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/z95-4-1024x753.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/z95-4-300x221.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/z95-4-768x565.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/z95-4-60x44.jpg 60w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/z95-4.jpg 1317w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 530px) 100vw, 530px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-5426\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Z-95 #4.<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_5428\" style=\"width: 540px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/z95-24.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5428\" class=\"size-large wp-image-5428\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/z95-24-1024x818.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"530\" height=\"423\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/z95-24-1024x818.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/z95-24-300x240.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/z95-24-768x613.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/z95-24-60x48.jpg 60w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/z95-24.jpg 1300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 530px) 100vw, 530px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-5428\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Z-95 #24.<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_5427\" style=\"width: 540px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/z95-44.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5427\" class=\"size-large wp-image-5427\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/z95-44-1024x765.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"530\" height=\"396\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/z95-44-1024x765.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/z95-44-300x224.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/z95-44-768x573.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/z95-44-60x45.jpg 60w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/z95-44.jpg 1362w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 530px) 100vw, 530px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-5427\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Z-95 #44.<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_5430\" style=\"width: 540px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/y-wing.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5430\" class=\"wp-image-5430 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/y-wing-1024x768.jpg\" width=\"530\" height=\"398\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/y-wing-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/y-wing-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/y-wing-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/y-wing-60x45.jpg 60w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/y-wing.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 530px) 100vw, 530px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-5430\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kavil&#8217;s Y-Wing, engines spewing ions.<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_5429\" style=\"width: 540px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/hwk-290.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5429\" class=\"size-large wp-image-5429\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/hwk-290-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"530\" height=\"353\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/hwk-290-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/hwk-290-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/hwk-290-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/hwk-290-60x40.jpg 60w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/hwk-290.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 530px) 100vw, 530px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-5429\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Torkhil Mux&#8217;s HWK-290.<\/p><\/div>\n<h2>Repaint<\/h2>\n<p>I&#8217;m writing up this repaint because I think it came\u00a0out well and the local reception has been very positive, but it was really fast and easy. I&#8217;m an average miniatures painter in raw skills, but I get what I think are hopefully just-above-average results by being smart about the process\u00a0and using\u00a0some basic &#8220;tricks.&#8221; Anybody\u00a0can get\u00a0at least the same quality outcomes, and you should give it a try if you&#8217;re interested!<\/p>\n<h3>Bases<\/h3>\n<p>First up, black out your ship inserts, bases, and pegs. I&#8217;ve done this\u00a0for all my ships, all my tokens and templates, even my damage deck, and it really boosts the visual appeal of any squadron. All the cardboard bits you can do with just a standard Sharpie or similar small-point permanent marker. The bases and pegs I spray paint black. Hit\u00a0the bases diagonally from\u00a0one direction, let them\u00a0dry, rotate them 180 degrees, hit them again, and you&#8217;re done. I use <a href=\"http:\/\/amzn.to\/2htlmDi\">alligator clip sticks<\/a> to hold the pegs for spraying and drying so that the fine\u00a0paint doesn&#8217;t get\u00a0marred by handling them. I use these similarly for the ships as well, which you&#8217;ll see below.<\/p>\n<p>The real trick on the bases though is to spend a minute and paint the front of the peg holder in a color to match the arc on the ship insert\u00a0(red for Rebel, green for Imperial, yellow for Scum). This\u00a0makes the base really pop visually, and as a bonus eliminates the hassle of trying to figure out which way is forward (you of course won&#8217;t be able to see from above the arrow\u00a0included on the underside once you paint the base).<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_5433\" style=\"width: 540px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161130_225106.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5433\" class=\"size-large wp-image-5433\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161130_225106-1024x766.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"530\" height=\"396\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161130_225106-1024x766.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161130_225106-300x224.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161130_225106-768x574.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161130_225106-60x45.jpg 60w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161130_225106.jpg 1602w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 530px) 100vw, 530px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-5433\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sides of the cardboard pieces have all been blacked out with a Sharpie, while the bases &amp; pegs have been spray painted.<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_5434\" style=\"width: 540px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_085727.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5434\" class=\"wp-image-5434 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_085727-1024x766.jpg\" width=\"530\" height=\"396\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_085727-1024x766.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_085727-300x224.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_085727-768x574.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_085727-60x45.jpg 60w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_085727.jpg 1602w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 530px) 100vw, 530px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-5434\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Great small touch: Paint the peg holders to match the arcs on the ship cards.<\/p><\/div>\n<h3>Primer<\/h3>\n<p>Next up is priming the ships. It&#8217;s not worth trying to strip off the existing paint jobs. The paint and plastic used makes it very hard to remove, the pieces are delicate and not prone to scrubbing, and it&#8217;s all a very thin coat anyway. It&#8217;s just not worth it. In many cases you may not even\u00a0want to prime the ship if you&#8217;re just reworking\u00a0some areas.<\/p>\n<p>However, these ships all had a variety of stock\u00a0paint jobs. I wanted to be sure the repaint started from a consistent base so they all wound up matching, so they had to get primed.\u00a0For models with such fine details you\u00a0want to be very wary of putting on too many coats of paint, so rather than the black or white I use for most miniatures and then painting on colors,\u00a0I spray primed these directly in the grey base I wanted.<\/p>\n<p>A wide variety of fancy primers are available specifically for miniatures. The big appeal of\u00a0these is that they adhere well to models, but are very thin, preserving the detail.\u00a0The big downside is they&#8217;re expensive, and the cans don&#8217;t last very long. I just use cheap, everyday\u00a0matte spray paints found in the hardware store around the corner. I don&#8217;t always use paints specifically marked as primers, though in this case I did.<\/p>\n<p>In using standard spray paints, the big thing to\u00a0keep in mind is\u00a0the necessity of keeping the paint\u00a0thin. Spray at\u00a0a good distance from the model (maybe 12&#8211;16&#8243; or so), and in quick but steady passes and just\u00a0one or two at a time. If you need to hit another angle or need another layer, wait until everything dries and then rotate the model and do another quick, thin pass. I used\u00a0the <a href=\"http:\/\/amzn.to\/2htlmDi\">alligator clip sticks<\/a> mentioned above to hold the models for this so I could rotate\u00a0them while spraying and prime all angles\u00a0in one go.<\/p>\n<p>If you&#8217;re\u00a0new to all this, or using a new paint, start with the model you care about least. In this case I started with a Z-95 to make sure the paint wouldn&#8217;t be too thick, because in event of catastrophe that would be less of a loss than if the Y-Wing or HWK got messed up. In actuality here the first couple shots out of the can did fuzz up a bit on the underside of the model, but not enough to be visible in play\u00a0even if it were on top.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_5436\" style=\"width: 540px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161130_225323.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5436\" class=\"size-large wp-image-5436\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161130_225323-1024x497.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"530\" height=\"257\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161130_225323-1024x497.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161130_225323-300x146.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161130_225323-768x372.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161130_225323-60x29.jpg 60w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161130_225323.jpg 1602w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 530px) 100vw, 530px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-5436\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Spray primed models.<\/p><\/div>\n<h3>Base Colors<\/h3>\n<p>An important &#8220;trick&#8221; in getting nice, classy miniatures without a ton of work is just to keep it simple and obvious. Use\u00a0just two high contrast colors as the base,\u00a0pick out some other\u00a0details, and call it a day. It&#8217;ll look great. Multicolor schemes, complex patterns, etc., should all be saved until you&#8217;re sure you know\u00a0how to make it work.<\/p>\n<p>Here I went with orange as a second color to contrast well with the grey base. Orange is also my favorite color,\u00a0seems reasonably associated with &#8220;spice,&#8221; and isn&#8217;t strongly\u00a0associated with either Rebels or Imperials.\u00a0I basically just went around each ship more or less arbitrarily picking out section of hull, panels, and some details in orange. On the Zees I made a conscious decision to have them be consistent and similar to each other but not precisely matching.<\/p>\n<p>Just like\u00a0with the spray primer, it&#8217;s important with such fine details to keep the paint thin. You generally really need to start with miniatures-specific paint, and even then often need to additionally thin it a little bit with water. I use an eyedropper and an old brush to carefully put in and mix just a few drops of\u00a0water into the pot. Try your paints on a piece of paper or other scrap material\u00a0first.\u00a0If you feel like the paint\u00a0might be thick and globbing on, then it is and needs to be thinned.\u00a0Depending on the color it&#8217;ll take multiple coats to get it solid but not overwhelm the details. Here the orange bits were generally two coats and three on the larger sections.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_5439\" style=\"width: 540px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161201_092106.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5439\" class=\"size-large wp-image-5439\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161201_092106-1024x766.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"530\" height=\"396\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161201_092106-1024x766.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161201_092106-300x224.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161201_092106-768x574.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161201_092106-60x45.jpg 60w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161201_092106.jpg 1602w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 530px) 100vw, 530px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-5439\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sections of hull, plating, and some details painted orange.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Next I painted some of the other plating, window frames,\u00a0piping, and other details in brass. The rationale for this choice was that brass would contrast well with the grey base, but complement the orange sections. From a distance the\u00a0orange and brass blend together, so the ship just looks grey and orange with some subtle texture to the latter. On closer inspection though, the mechanical details pop out in brass.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_5438\" style=\"width: 540px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_061322.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5438\" class=\"size-large wp-image-5438\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_061322-1024x766.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"530\" height=\"396\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_061322-1024x766.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_061322-300x224.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_061322-768x574.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_061322-60x45.jpg 60w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_061322.jpg 1602w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 530px) 100vw, 530px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-5438\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Details picked out in brass.<\/p><\/div>\n<h3>Wash<\/h3>\n<p>The next big step is just to wash everything.\u00a0A lot of people default to almost always using a black wash. I encourage you to\u00a0step back and think about that for a moment though before plunging in. Often a brown or a green will work better. For example, some DX-9 Stormtrooper Transports I also painted up recently for an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/2016\/12\/first-playthrough-the-molokh-gambit-x-wing-narrative\/\">narrative event<\/a>\u00a0came out fantastic\u00a0after picking out some panels and details and then just doing a heavy brown wash. It gave exactly the worn, battle weary look I wanted, whereas the couple I did in a black wash for variety&#8217;s sake are\u00a0also well\u00a0shaded but don&#8217;t\u00a0have the same kind of immediate natural, intuitive interpretation.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_5441\" style=\"width: 540px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/img_20161209_131018_31556691666_o.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5441\" class=\"size-large wp-image-5441\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/img_20161209_131018_31556691666_o-1022x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"530\" height=\"531\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/img_20161209_131018_31556691666_o-1022x1024.jpg 1022w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/img_20161209_131018_31556691666_o-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/img_20161209_131018_31556691666_o-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/img_20161209_131018_31556691666_o-768x769.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/img_20161209_131018_31556691666_o-60x60.jpg 60w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/img_20161209_131018_31556691666_o.jpg 1045w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 530px) 100vw, 530px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-5441\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Note the brown wash on this DX-9 Stormtrooper Transport.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>For\u00a0the Spice\u00a0Pirates though I went with a black wash. The ships and consequently their surfaces and panels are small so I was mostly going for simple shading rather than wear,\u00a0corrosion, or some other natural interpretation. I knew the black would look good on the orange and brass but I wasn&#8217;t sure a\u00a0brown would. I also wanted to bring the overall tone\u00a0down and really\u00a0darken the\u00a0grey, which a brown wash wouldn&#8217;t do as much. The HWK in particular I wanted to\u00a0be darker, with a feeling of being a black shadow supporting the squadron.\u00a0After this photo it got several additional\u00a0washes to visibly darken it\u00a0more than the others but not lose the grey\/orange scheme.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_5442\" style=\"width: 540px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_061335.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5442\" class=\"size-large wp-image-5442\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_061335-1024x766.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"530\" height=\"396\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_061335-1024x766.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_061335-300x224.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_061335-768x574.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_061335-60x45.jpg 60w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_061335.jpg 1602w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 530px) 100vw, 530px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-5442\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">First black wash on the HWK.<\/p><\/div>\n<h3>Windows<\/h3>\n<p>At this point the ships already look good and are very flyable. But I did just a couple more details, starting with the windows. Here I added just a\u00a0hint of another color by choosing\u00a0purple. I\u00a0thought that would work well because it contrasts with the orange and brass, and is\u00a0dark enough to fit in with the grey and not create \u00a0a jumble of colors.<\/p>\n<p>These I did quickly in three steps. First is a dark purple base.\u00a0Then I lightened just a couple brushfuls of that by\u00a0mixing in a white, and painted half the windows. You&#8217;re trying to create some vague notion of light on the surface, so apply this lighter color all in a consistent pattern on the different panels as though it were from light hitting\u00a0from a\u00a0particular angle. Then I lightened up that paint again with some more white and applied some purple-pinkish highlights in the corners. All of the window panels\u00a0were then carefully covered\u00a0with\u00a0a dark purple wash to bring the colors back down and\u00a0blend the three layers\u00a0just a bit (not pictured).<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_5445\" style=\"width: 540px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_075247.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5445\" class=\"size-large wp-image-5445\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_075247-1024x766.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"530\" height=\"396\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_075247-1024x766.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_075247-300x224.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_075247-768x574.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_075247-60x45.jpg 60w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_075247.jpg 1602w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 530px) 100vw, 530px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-5445\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dark purple window base.<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_5444\" style=\"width: 540px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_080944.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5444\" class=\"size-large wp-image-5444\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_080944-1024x766.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"530\" height=\"396\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_080944-1024x766.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_080944-300x224.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_080944-768x574.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_080944-60x45.jpg 60w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_080944.jpg 1602w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 530px) 100vw, 530px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-5444\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lighter shade of purple.<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_5443\" style=\"width: 540px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_082847.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5443\" class=\"size-large wp-image-5443\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_082847-1024x766.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"530\" height=\"396\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_082847-1024x766.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_082847-300x224.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_082847-768x574.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_082847-60x45.jpg 60w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_082847.jpg 1602w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 530px) 100vw, 530px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-5443\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Brighter purple window highlights.<\/p><\/div>\n<h3>Engine Glow<\/h3>\n<p>The next big detail is\u00a0engine glow.\u00a0Even a half competent job at this can bring a lot to the look of a ship, particularly in photographs. I start with a solid deep\u00a0blue base over which I sloppily\u00a0drybrush\u00a0a brighter blue. I then\u00a0brighten up a couple drops of that blue with some white and drybrush that in the centers. Finally the engines\u00a0get washed in a blue to\u00a0bring the colors back down a bit and re-emphasize any texture depth. You may not want to do that\u00a0step if you want your engines to\u00a0burn very brightly.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_5449\" style=\"width: 540px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_080956.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5449\" class=\"size-large wp-image-5449\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_080956-1024x766.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"530\" height=\"396\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_080956-1024x766.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_080956-300x224.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_080956-768x574.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_080956-60x45.jpg 60w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_080956.jpg 1602w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 530px) 100vw, 530px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-5449\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Starting the engines with a solid blue.<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_5448\" style=\"width: 540px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_083133.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5448\" class=\"size-large wp-image-5448\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_083133-1024x766.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"530\" height=\"396\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_083133-1024x766.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_083133-300x224.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_083133-768x574.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_083133-60x45.jpg 60w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_083133.jpg 1602w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 530px) 100vw, 530px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-5448\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Drybrushing a bright blue.<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_5447\" style=\"width: 540px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_085202.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5447\" class=\"size-large wp-image-5447\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_085202-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"530\" height=\"398\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_085202-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_085202-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_085202-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_085202-60x45.jpg 60w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_085202.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 530px) 100vw, 530px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-5447\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Adding white-blue highlights.<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_5446\" style=\"width: 540px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_085637.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5446\" class=\"size-large wp-image-5446\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_085637-1024x767.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"530\" height=\"397\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_085637-1024x767.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_085637-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_085637-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_085637-60x45.jpg 60w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_085637.jpg 1604w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 530px) 100vw, 530px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-5446\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Washing the engines with a dark blue.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>It&#8217;s worth noting that I went way overboard, perhaps nonsensically so, with the engine glow on the Y-Wing. My\u00a0conception, going along with not just\u00a0Scum in general but the <a href=\"http:\/\/xwing-miniatures.wikia.com\/wiki\/Unhinged_Astromech\">Unhinged Astromech<\/a> in particular, is that this is a beat up old ship that&#8217;s been hot rodded. I assume they&#8217;ve got the engines\u00a0chopped and tuned to get those green 3 maneuvers, prioritizing raw max power over efficiency and safety. So its\u00a0engines are\u00a0just\u00a0spewing ions and magical Star Wars go-juice in a cloud behind the outlets.<\/p>\n<h3>Final Details<\/h3>\n<p>Wrapping up the painting are just a couple details.\u00a0As I go through the steps of painting base colors, washing, etc., I make a line of paints\u00a0on my work area as a to-do list of the different\u00a0bits to be done and colors to use. For this project I started that while\u00a0doing the black washes, as I was looking at the whole of each ship, so I wound up with a line of purple for the windows, blues for the engines, and then a few odds and ends. Some of those here are red for the missile heads on the Z-95 wings (I assume that&#8217;s what they are), green for the Y-Wing&#8217;s astromech, and black for the peg holders.<\/p>\n<p>So far I have not blacked out the magnets. Mostly\u00a0I just haven&#8217;t gotten to it yet, but I also think the paint will grind off very quickly. For the heavier or larger ships&#8212;the HWK in this squadron&#8212;a layer of\u00a0paint might also be just enough to impair\u00a0the attraction sufficiently\u00a0to make them fall\u00a0off the stand a bit more easily.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_5450\" style=\"width: 540px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_072807.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5450\" class=\"size-large wp-image-5450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_072807-1024x766.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"530\" height=\"396\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_072807-1024x766.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_072807-300x224.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_072807-768x574.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_072807-60x45.jpg 60w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_072807.jpg 1602w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 530px) 100vw, 530px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-5450\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Paint line to-do list.<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_5451\" style=\"width: 540px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_090039.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5451\" class=\"size-large wp-image-5451\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_090039-1024x766.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"530\" height=\"396\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_090039-1024x766.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_090039-300x224.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_090039-768x574.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_090039-60x45.jpg 60w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161202_090039.jpg 1602w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 530px) 100vw, 530px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-5451\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Everything drying after some additional washes and final touches.<\/p><\/div>\n<h3>Sealing<\/h3>\n<p>Last but not least, I seal everything with a matte spray dull coat. On a plastic miniature there&#8217;s not normally a great danger of paint being rubbed off, but in X-Wing the miniatures arguably get more\u00a0handling than normal so it&#8217;s maybe more of a risk. Either way,\u00a0the dull coat reduces\u00a0the shinyness\u00a0that washes in particular tend to create.<\/p>\n<p>However, I\u00a0also wanted the windows and engine glow to keep more of a sheen. So\u00a0after the dull coat I used a brush-on gloss coat to make the windows\u00a0shimmer just a little bit as the light plays across them, and the engines to pop a bit in photographs.<\/p>\n<h3>Color List<\/h3>\n<p>UPDATE: There was a request for the color list for this repaint, so here goes:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Bases &amp; Pegs: Rust-Oleum 2x UltraCover Flat Black Primer (spray)<\/li>\n<li>Ship Primer\/Base: Rust-Oleum 2x UltraCover Flat Gray Primer (spray)<\/li>\n<li>Hulls&#8212;\n<ul>\n<li>Panels: GW\/Citadel Macharius Solar Orange<\/li>\n<li>Mechanical Details: GW\/Citadel Brass Scorpion<\/li>\n<li>Wash: Secret Weapon Soft Body Black Wash<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Windows&#8212;\n<ul>\n<li>Base: GW\/Citadel Liche Purple<\/li>\n<li>Mid-Layer: Base\u00a0mixed with GW\/Citadel Ceramite White<\/li>\n<li>Highlight: Mid-Layer mixed with GW\/Citadel Ceramite White<\/li>\n<li>Wash: GW\/Citadel Leviathan Purple<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Engines&#8212;\n<ul>\n<li>Base: GW\/Citadel Enchanted Blue<\/li>\n<li>Mid-Layer: Vallejo\u00a0Game Air Electric Blue (drybrushed on, despite being airbrush paint)<\/li>\n<li>Highlight: Mid-Layer mixed with GW\/Citadel Ceramite White<\/li>\n<li>Wash: GW\/Citadel Drakenhoff Nightshade<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Details&#8212;\n<ul>\n<li>Missile Seekers: GW\/Citadel Mephiston Red washed with GW\/Citadel Baal Red<\/li>\n<li>Astromech: P3 Ordic Olive washed with GW\/Citadel Athonian Camoshade<\/li>\n<li>Peg Inserts: GW\/Citadel Abaddon Black<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Sealant&#8212;\n<ul>\n<li>Dull Coat: Krylon Matte Finish<\/li>\n<li>Gloss Coat (windows+engines): Some unbranded brush-on stuff from a model kit that&#8217;s been kicking around in my paints box for over a decade now&#8212;hallelujah it didn&#8217;t ruin the models!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A lot of those are older paints; my\u00a0Liche Purple and Enchanted Blue pots are over 10 years old. So some of\u00a0the specific names may not be available anymore. But these are all basic colors, easily found. I also stress that you could easily get by with many many fewer\u00a0colors. Do the mechanical details in orange instead of brass, do both windows and engines in blue or purple and just mix the engine colors with more white, etc.. You could get\u00a0great looking ships with just primer, base color, engines, wash.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_5497\" style=\"width: 540px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/colors.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5497\" class=\"wp-image-5497 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/colors-1024x766.jpg\" width=\"530\" height=\"396\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/colors-1024x766.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/colors-300x224.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/colors-768x574.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/colors-60x45.jpg 60w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/colors.jpg 1602w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 530px) 100vw, 530px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-5497\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">All of the paint &amp; sealants used in this repaint, many more than are really necessary!<\/p><\/div>\n<h2>Action<\/h2>\n<p>That&#8217;s it! It might\u00a0seem like a bunch of steps, but they&#8217;re all small and quick. I\u00a0did the blacking and priming late one night and then did everything else in the morning before anybody else got up, so it&#8217;s not a very time consuming process. Wrapping up, these are a few action shots from a game with my buddy <a href=\"https:\/\/sarcophagi.blogspot.com\/\">Matt<\/a> to\u00a0show how they look on the tabletop. I hope you enjoy the look, and got something out of this tutorial!<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161221_181806.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-5453\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161221_181806-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"530\" height=\"398\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161221_181806-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161221_181806-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161221_181806-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161221_181806-60x45.jpg 60w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161221_181806.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 530px) 100vw, 530px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161221_181654.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-5454\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161221_181654-1024x766.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"530\" height=\"396\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161221_181654-1024x766.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161221_181654-300x224.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161221_181654-768x574.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161221_181654-60x45.jpg 60w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161221_181654.jpg 1602w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 530px) 100vw, 530px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161221_175717.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-5456\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161221_175717-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"530\" height=\"398\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161221_175717-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161221_175717-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161221_175717-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161221_175717-60x45.jpg 60w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161221_175717.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 530px) 100vw, 530px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161221_175618.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-5457\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161221_175618-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"530\" height=\"398\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161221_175618-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161221_175618-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161221_175618-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161221_175618-60x45.jpg 60w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161221_175618.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 530px) 100vw, 530px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161221_180048.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-5455\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161221_180048-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"530\" height=\"398\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161221_180048-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161221_180048-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161221_180048-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161221_180048-60x45.jpg 60w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161221_180048.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 530px) 100vw, 530px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161221_182733.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-5452\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161221_182733-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"530\" height=\"398\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161221_182733-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161221_182733-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161221_182733-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161221_182733-60x45.jpg 60w, https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_20161221_182733.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 530px) 100vw, 530px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I&#8217;ve been playing X-Wing miniatures for\u00a0all but literally a year now, starting just before last year&#8217;s X-Mas Wing Tournament @ Redcap&#8217;s. That whole time I&#8217;ve largely been employing a particular style of build and practicing literally just a couple different squadrons that have turned out to work pretty well.\u00a0To\u00a0mix things up, have a slightly less &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/2016\/12\/spice-pirates-patrol-x-wing-repaint-tutorial\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5426,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[408],"tags":[257,15,307],"class_list":["post-5424","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-workshop","tag-featured","tag-painting","tag-x-wing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5424","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5424"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5424\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5498,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5424\/revisions\/5498"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5426"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5424"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5424"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5424"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}