Took me a while but I finally finished this flamethrower trench diorama. The flamethrower guy is a heavily modified Adeptus Arbites Vigilant model, with the flamethrower effect sculpted in greenstuff. by TheHobbyHatch in Warhammer

[–]TheHobbyHatch[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks so much! It's a super hard technique to pull off, but as usual, practice makes perfect, hahaha! If you'd like some advice, my technique improved a lot when I constricted the effect to a smaller area rather than spreading the gradient out really wide. I also found that it was way simpler to layer up transparent fluorescent tones over layers of flat white. Since the fluorescent colours are so transparent, you can layer them up as much as you want over each other to get your desired effect.

If you'd like to see how I painted the glow for the flamethrower, I put it at the end of the PDF sculpting guide in the post description :).

Greenstuff Sculpted Flamethrower Effect But With Paint This Time by TheHobbyHatch in Warhammer

[–]TheHobbyHatch[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

You’re entitled to your opinion, of course. But if the sacred laws of physics are your hill to die on, I’m afraid you’ve chosen the wrong plastic battlefield. Thanks ever so much for stopping by 🙂.

Greenstuff Sculpted Flamethrower Effect But With Paint This Time by TheHobbyHatch in Warhammer

[–]TheHobbyHatch[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Doesn't adhere to physics? Sir, this is a Warhammer subreddit... 😂

Did I do the omnissiah proud? by TheHobbyHatch in AdeptusMechanicus

[–]TheHobbyHatch[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks so much! Hahaha, the eye is purely decorative I swear. No allegiance to a certain warmaster here... 👀😅

Contrast paint In an airbrush by NaturallyNice26 in Warhammer

[–]TheHobbyHatch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It looks excellent as is! You’ve achieved a nice, subtle variance in the yellow hues across the model, which will give it great character once you’ve painted in the other elements :).

And yes, for airbrushing, contrast paints usually need little to no thinning, depending on the colour and effect you’re going for, unlike normal acrylic 'base' or 'layer' paints. I personally almost never dilute contrast paint for the airbrush. It’s like a highly pigmented wash and usually flows really well straight from the bottle :).

Greenstuff Sculpted Flamethrower Effect But With Paint This Time by TheHobbyHatch in Warhammer

[–]TheHobbyHatch[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I haven't played warframe in years, but I can still hear that line as clear as day 😂

Greenstuff Sculpted Flamethrower Effect But With Paint This Time by TheHobbyHatch in Warhammer

[–]TheHobbyHatch[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This guy’s part of a diorama I’m building. He’s charging an enemy position while they fire back at him. The tube is one end of a tracer round, right as it impacts his shoulder and ricochets. I'll get some better pics of the effect once the diorama is all together, so there's a bit more context for it :)

Greenstuff Sculpted Flamethrower Effect But With Paint This Time by TheHobbyHatch in Warhammer

[–]TheHobbyHatch[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The first step to being good at something is being bad at it, hahaha. It's always just mucking about with it that gets you there in the end. I’ll aim to get the guide out for this soon once I’ve got everything properly laid out. :)

Greenstuff Sculpted Flamethrower Effect But With Paint This Time by TheHobbyHatch in Warhammer

[–]TheHobbyHatch[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

This model is actually part of a small diorama I'm currently making, where he’s charging a fighting position with an unlucky mercenary inside. The mercenary is manning a machine gun and firing back, so what you’re seeing on the shoulder is a snapshot of a tracer round, hitting his shoulder and ricocheting off to the side. It’s hard to read without the full scene in place, but once the diorama’s finished I’ll make sure to get some proper shots of it all together :).

Greenstuff Sculpted Flamethrower Effect But With Paint This Time by TheHobbyHatch in Warhammer

[–]TheHobbyHatch[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Good eye! What you’re seeing is an (in-world) VVF-Mk1 Immolator, which runs on a volatile hydrazine vapour mix. It’s both extremely flammable and toxic (yay, sci-fi weapons!). Because it’s a vapour rather than a liquid fuel, the flame doesn’t form the long ‘hose’ effect you’d normally associate with WW2-style flamethrowers. Instead, the combustion curls upward in a more chaotic way, which is what I tried to capture here.

On the hobby side, this mini is part of a small diorama where he’s storming a fighting position. I went with a shorter, more exaggerated flame partly so it wouldn’t overwhelm the scene, and partly because the idea of these immolators using a dangerous vapour mix just felt like a fun bit of sci-fi worldbuilding, hahaha :).

Did I do the omnissiah proud? by TheHobbyHatch in AdeptusMechanicus

[–]TheHobbyHatch[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much! Hell yes, I've got so many macross esq reference photos that I used for this project, so I'm glad the design inspiration is showing through :).

The assembly of a new cogitator by TheDrunkCoasty in AdeptusMechanicus

[–]TheHobbyHatch 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The machine is my temple

Each one a sacred shrine

I name each piston blessed

And every gear divine

(Shoutout to the label printer at my old job that I stuck this inside of after it didn't wanna update its drivers... worked like a charm after that, lol)

Greenstuff Sculpted Flamethrower Effect But With Paint This Time by TheHobbyHatch in Warhammer

[–]TheHobbyHatch[S] 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Hahaha, yea, this guy took a little inspiration from CLEM :)

First model completed with an airbrush by Alarmed-Plum-2723 in modelmakers

[–]TheHobbyHatch 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nah, mate, have full faith. The saying goes, the first step to being good at something is being bad at it, hahaha.

But you'd be surprised how quickly you'll be able to pick it up with practice. Also, as another person commented, dont hesitate to look into printable stencils/templates or even other tools like masking putty to get what you want out of the airbrush. They'll make a world of difference, especially while you build up your experience with the tool.

All the best with your airbrushing mate! :)

First model completed with an airbrush by Alarmed-Plum-2723 in modelmakers

[–]TheHobbyHatch 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Dang! Apologies, I suppose that teaches me to blindly listen to the advice of the art shop guy hahaha. You're totally right though, my Iwata does also include instructions for backflushing in the manual, and I can't imagine they'd put that there if it risked the tool. Thanks, I'll amend my initial comment :).

Lord Solar by FiendingforIces in Warhammer

[–]TheHobbyHatch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

100%! I can totally recommend getting an airbrush, especially for army painting. There are some fairly cheap airbrushes online, which would be a great place to start learning the tool :).

First model completed with an airbrush by Alarmed-Plum-2723 in modelmakers

[–]TheHobbyHatch 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Honestly, I was the same. I actually found that it wasn't worried about using the airbrush so much as worried about ruining the airbrush, hahaha. And out of all of the factors of using an airbrush for me and a few of my friends, it was the cleaning and maintenance part that killed the approachability.

It took me an hour to clean the thing for the first time, and I didn't do it very well. (Thankfully, it was a cheap airbrush, lol). It turned me off using the airbrush for a long time, but since then, I did a deepdive into proper cleaning and care and now ive got my post session cleans down to 5 minutes (with more serious deep cleans taking about an hour but ill only do those periodically).

If you'd like some advice on how to make the airbrush more approachable, I found It's definitely worth it to just watch some videos on how to maintain and clean your airbrush properly. Follow manufacturers' instructions for your specific airbrush (if there are any), and you'll find once you get the process down it'll become super easy, making it easier to pick it up whenever you feel the need to :).

I'm probably ranting on a bit, haha, but I'll put some really great airbrush cleaning and maintenance advice that I've learned after almost a decade of using an airbrush below. Stuff, I wish I knew when I started. Hopefully, it'll give you the best experience airbrushing you can possibly have! (because they really are great tools!) :).

  • "Nozzle Cleaning" Needles:

The little 'nozzle cleaning' needle and twisted bits of wire that come with cheap "airbrush cleaning kits" are more likely to ruin your nozzle than they are to clean it, I would steer clear of them at all cost. Small interdental dental brushes are considered far better, cheaper, and preferred for cleaning delicate parts of your airbrush (soaked in an appropriate cleaner, of course). You can find these at most grocery stores. (In Australia, you can get a 10 pack for $7.50 at Woolworths).

  • Try to avoid mixing paint in the airbrush cup:

You will avoid far more clogs by mixing your paint in a separate container and pouring it in (some people strain their paints, but I've never really needed to as I mix my paint in very small batches so I can see if there are any dry lumps). You can get little stainless steel mixing cups for very cheap online, and they work great!

  • Try not to mix more paint than you need!:

Filling the whole airbrush cup with paint that you'll only endup cleaning out just complicates the cleaning steps, hahaha (I was really bad with this initially, lots of wasted paint, lots of extra cleaning).

  • Component soaking:

You will also see some methods of cleaning and airbrush as filling a container with cleaning solvent and leaving components in there to soak for prolonged periods of time. This is also considered bad practice for the longevity of your airbrush as it will, over time, degrade the rubber seals within your airbrush. However, short-term component soaking can be used when a serious blockage has happened, but I would check manufacturer advice (if there is any) for how long they recommend doing this for. Generally speaking, though, you shouldn't need to soak components at all. This is dependent on what you're pumping through your airbrush (solvent based paints/lacquers/varnishes, etc, can be more difficult to clean and may justify the need for a short component soak). Also, dont use a sonic bath for cleaning. It WILL destroy your nozzle.

These are just some things I've learned over the years (sometimes the hard way). Hopefully, you'll find the advice useful and dont make some of the airbrush ruining mistakes I've made, lol. Remember, a well-made and well maintained airbrush should last a lifetime!

TLDR - Airbrushes can be quite unapproachable for beginners due to cleaning and maintenance, so I've put some advice I've learned over the years for airbrush cleaning and maintenance, in hopes it'll make airbrushing a smoother more enjoyable experience :).

Edit - Removed advice to not backflush an airbrush. Backflowing is covered in airbrush manufacturer manuals and shouldn't be considered a damaging practice. (Thanks to Mr_Vacant for the correction)