Re: favorite painting techniques?

>This list has been pretty barren lately (I noticed a tumbleweed
bouncing
>by), 

heh!

>thought maybe this would help things pick up.
>   I've been playing FT for about a year and other table top war games
for a
>few years now,but I'm just getting into the miniatures themselves. I've
>gotten a basic working knowledge of painting and preparing the minis
from
>various newsgroups,FAQs,and magazines. What I'd like to know are
specific
>techniques people prefer for the painting of their ships. What kind of
>primer do you use? What color patterns and details seem to work well
for
>you? Do you use decals? Do you kitbash or add other accessories to your
ships?
>   Any other tips for a newbie painter are welcome as well.

Well, I am by no means the best painter out there. I get by. I do a
satisfactory job, but, as the guys who attended the GZG-ECC a month or
so
can tell you, others do a far better job.  ;-)	(Rick Rutherford, for
one ;)

But here's my $0.02 worth...

I use gray Krylon primer for the base coat of my ships. The NAC and NSL,
and most of my Superior Ships then get a coating of Gunship Gray
(Testor's
Model Master spray enamel; #1923), the ESU and my Superior Entomolians
get
a coating of Burgandy Red Metallic (#2905), the Kra'Vak a coating of
Green
Metal Flake (#1630), the Sa'Vasku a coating of Black Metallic, and the
FSE
I paint a 'standard' Ral Partha Gray. My Hyperions and Battlestars also
get
the Ral Partha Gray treatment (my Omegas will once I get them put
together).
The Vorchans I coat with an Anthracite Grey (closest thing I can get to
bronze-ish at the shop I frequent), then coat the wings in a Ral Parth
Dragon
Purple. I have a handful of miscellaneous ships that I have painted in
gunship
gray, Ral Partha gray, and flat black. And for the most part I paint my
fighters the Ral Partha gray, then add various details.

I really haven't done much to highlight my ESU ships, except add yellow
funky
symbols to differentiate the ships from each other (I kinda borrow Narn
writing for it).  The Kra'Vak and Sa'Vasku I haven't added any
additional
details. My Entomolian ships I've added some Testors gloss dark blues,
reds,
golds, and silvers. The other Superior ships I touch up some details
with gold,
silver, dark blue, flat black, and gloss yellow. My NAC and NSL ships
pretty
much get similar treatments with various bits and pieces being touched
up with
Ral Partha grays, whites, dark greens, reds, orange, purple, blue, and
various
shades of yellow. And some ships I've even added Ral Partha
glow-in-the-dark
paint to some of the raised parts for fun.

As for decals and such, I haven't resorted to any. I either
differentiate
my ships with slightly different highlight schemes, or one some of the
larger ones (mainly the NSLs) I actually write names on the ships (yes,
okay, my hand isn't that steady, I know; they're not going to win any
contests  ;-)

As far as kitbashing...haven't done too much. I've made some minor
additions to the NSL superdreadnought and dreadnought, and the NAC CVL,
with some of the odd bits that are included in the packaging. Gave the
NAC CVLs some added superstructures, for example. But haven't gotten
around to doing any of the other fun stuff (yet).

Haven't gotten around to perfecting any drybrushing yet, so don't use
it much.

Well...there ya go. If it's any help.

Mk
------------------------------------------------------------------------
---
If the conquest of a great peak brings moments of exultation and bliss,
which in the monotonous, materialistic existence of modern times nothing
else can approach, it also presents great dangers.  It is not the goal
of
*grand alpinisme* to face peril, but it is one of the tests one must 
undergo to deserve the joy of rising for an instant above the state of 
crawling grubs.
				       -Lionel Terray, 1965