Paint Log 1 - Otherworld Miniatures Giant Rats

I had a great meeting with Richard Scott of Otherworld Miniatures a couple of weeks ago.  As a result, not least because of the review samples I came away with, my interest in miniatures is renewed.

It's been about 20 years since I last painted miniatures on a regular basis, so I'm a bit rusty.  Issue 7 of Oubliette will have an interview with Richard and a feature on miniatures.  In the meantime, I plan to paint the selection of figures he kindly gave me, and post a paint log for each of them.  I'll include brief details of the paints and materials used, the basic techniques, and step-by-step photos.  I'm not claiming to be an authority on miniature painting, or to have a great talent for it, but beginners might pick up a few tips on how to paint miniatures to a reasonable gaming standard.  I'll also find the painting logs useful in case I need to paint more of the same type of figures and need them look the same as ones painted previously.

Paint Log 1 - Otherworld Miniatures Giant Rats DV3a

1. Matt black undercoat (Humbrol Matt Black enamel).  If you have a matt black spray it will save time.  Sometimes I use a white undercoat, but  as the rats are going to be quite dark, black gives a better base.  The undercoat allows water based paints to be applied more easily and produces a stronger, more even finish.
2. Dark brown basecoat (Miniature Paints Umber).  Gives a solid dark brown shade.  Thanks to the black undercoat only a thin coat is required.
3. Medium brown drybrush (Vallejo Flat Earth).  The whole miniature is drybrushed quite heavily so it looks much lighter.
4. Light brown drybrush (Vallejo Light Brown).  Again over the whole miniature but with a much lighter touch.  Then heavier drybrushing on the nose, paws and tail.
5. Light flesh drybrush (Citadel Elf Flesh).  Only on the nose, paws and tail.
6. Dark brown wash (Miniature Paints Umber).  Only applied to small areas as required to tidy up imperfections left by stray drybrushing.
7. White (Citadel White).  Paint the teeth and also use as a base colour to help the eyes stand out.
8. Red (Citadel Blood Red). Paint the over the white laid down on the eyes.
9. The rats come with thin metal flagstone effect base and 25mm round plastic bases.  For me these are a little large so I made my own bases using pennies and cork discs.  I'll make use of the flagstone ones with some other figures though.
10. Glue rats to bases.
11. Black wash (Humbrol Matt Black enamel). Thin coat applied to cork base.
12. Varnish (Quickshade Stron Tone).  This varnishes and shades the figure in one go.  It softens the effect of drybrushing to give a neater finish.
13. Matt Varnish Spray (Army Painter Matt Anti-shine Spray).  This is optional and gives the flat matt finish that most painters prefer.

Here's the step-by-step photos: