Malifaux – Over the weekend I received another commission for a Rasputina crew (Oddly enough this is the first 'tina set I've painted). My client had no preference on the color scheme so I decided to go the traditional white and blue route.
With the painted Ice Pillars I make, I've perfected my preferred method of painting ice. I use a bright baby blue as a base and shade it with a dark blue wash. From there I drybrush the baby blue, followed by a dove gray and finally white. The same method works well on the Ice Golem and Gamin, however it does require going in and painting highlights and smoothing out the shading. I used a similar method to basecoat Rasputina, and them worked out the details to bring her up to the appropriate painting standard.
I decided to used the Clear Ice Bases to base the crew. Rather than attaching the models prior to painting I prepared them on a separate base and attached them after they were finished. Clear resin can be tricky as tiny imperfections in the mold give it a slightly cloudy appearance. I've found coating the base with a gloss varnish clears up the cloudiness and gives it a wet look the feels like ice. After that's done I paint the edge of the base with a gloss black which seems to adhere better to the clear resin than a flat finish.
After pinning and glueing the models into place, it's time to add the snow effect. I mix one part snow flock, one part tacky glue and one part white paint to create a paste. Carefully apply it to the base where you want snow. I then bury the whole base in snow flock and let it dry over night. Once it's dry I gently brush off the snow flock and seal the model with a matte sealant. If the ice loses it's sheen simply reapply the gloss varnish where needed.