From this to THIS! A step-by-step Guide to Painting Lyrans By: Tony L. Thomas, Battlegroup Murfreesboro You ve seen the photos of the miniatures by Mike Raper, John Schneder, Will McCammon, and others. You ve seen the artwork by Ted Geibel and Adam Turner that graces the products. Everywhere you look, you see Lyran starships with those wonderfully intricate Cat-like patterns. How do they do that? You've asked yourself. Well today, I let the cat out of the bag and walk you through the process step-by-step. Together, as you read this article we ll go From this to THIS! In 7 simple steps.
Step #1 The preparation: In the photo at the end of this step, you will see all of the items necessary to paint tiger-stripes on your Lyran heavy cruiser (or other ship). Among these items are: A Lyran ship to paint. (A heavy cruiser in this instance) Blending Gel (I use Folk Art brand, but any type is suitable). This material is not a thinner but a thick gel that when blended with the paint, slows the drying time of your paint and allows you to slowly blend two adjacent colors together to achieve the smooth transitions from one shade to the next that occurs in nature. I get mine in the craft section at Wal-Mart, but this item should be available at any big box store or hobby shop. An adhesive of your choice (Superglue is show below). A primer of your choice. (I prefer a white primer as it seems (in my humble opinion) to lighten the colors and make them more vibrant.) A clear coat sealant. (I use Armory Matte Sealant. Several others I know use Gloss coat, some use dull coat, and many use both. The choice is up to you and your preferences.) An Exacto knife. A series of sanding sticks (of various grades / sizes) or sand paper. Paint brushes (I use a #4 flat brush for the actual blending and both a #1 and a #10 for everything else.) And lastly, paints. (The paints are not listed since brands and colors vary widely and each person should use what he is comfortable with.) Also not shown is a palette for blending and mixing of the various colors needed.
Step #2 Cleaning and prepping the miniature: As with any miniature, the first thing to do is to clean and prepare the miniature for painting. Remove any flash from the miniature, file away molding lines, and straighten any parts out. The miniature used in this example required little in the way of flash removal, but did need a few mold lines filed away. Once all the flash is removed, thoroughly wash the miniature in warm, soapy water (regular dish detergent works fine for this) to remove any mold release agents or oils from your fingers that may have adhered to the miniature. Allow to air dry and handle as little as possible from this point on (to avoid contaminating the surface with additional body oils). Alternately, some people prefer to use rubber gloves when handling the miniature. Step #3 Priming: In this step, the miniature should be primed. Primer is usually an oil-based product in an aerosol can (I get mine from Wal-Mart), but there are water-based acrylic primers, and solvent-based lacquer primers available. Whichever type you use, please be sure to follow the manufacturer s safety recommendations. And above all remember this, two thin coats of primer will work better than one thick coat that obscures vital details of your miniature! Once primed, allow the miniature to dry thoroughly before handling (usually two hours or so).
Step #4 - And away we go, base-coating the underside: My experiences with several variations of the cat-camouflage patterns have taught me that it s best to start on the underside of the miniature, so that s where this example will begin. Actually, you should begin with a bit of research. I ve found the internet to be a valuable reference for painting guides. Simply type tiger in the search box and you ll find a plethora of patterns and colors to use as a guideline. Once you ve settled on a pattern, you re ready to begin. Nearly all of the tiger photos I ve seen show the tigers with a patch of white fur running the length of their bellies. This then blends into the primary orange that makes up most of their coloring, although some appear to fade from white to yellow and then orange. I ve painted ships both ways and prefer the inclusion of the yellow. The first step is to paint a white stripe down the ventral centerline of the ship. Mix a bit of the blending gel with the white paint (unfortunately, I can t tell you how much to mix it s rather a trial and error process with each brand of paint but it doesn t take a lot) and paint the white area. Begin at the center and paint outwards in both directions. The blending gel will thin down the paint so you do not get a sharp edge where the white ends and the primer begins. Next, mix a bit of the yellow paint with the blending gel and starting at the outer edge of the ship, paint in towards the center. By varying the amount of paint on your brush and the pressure used on each stroke, you can change the point at which the yellow merges with the white. Note that you may have to touch up an area or two by taking additional white paint and paint from the center outwards. This touching-up should be performed while the paint/blending gel in still somewhat wet and easy to mix. The next step is to take a tiny bit of the orange (mixed with blending gel) and beginning at the extreme edge of the ship, blend inwards until you have a smooth bleed from white to yellow to orange. At this point, you are temporarily finished with the underside of the ship and can attach the base to the mini (if you prefer to paint them on the stand). Just a small drop of superglue will attach the stand, but also enable you to remove the stand when ready to detail the underside.
Step #5 Base-coating the top of the miniature: After the underside, the top will seem easy. The first step is to paint the entire miniature with your selected shade of orange. This can be done either with or without the addition of the blending gel. The blending gel helps prevent brush marks and allows for a thinner coat of paint, but as before, it s a matter of personal preference. (Try it both ways, if you haven t already.) If you base-coat with straight orange paint, you will still need to mix a bit of orange with the blending gel to facilitate the final shading. Referring back to your reference photos, you ll see that some tigers have a darker patch of fur along their spinal areas. In some this is merely a darker orange, in some it s a light tan, and in some it appears to be almost dark brown. By varying the shade of brown used and by varying the extent this darker patch covers, you can have an almost endless variety among your Lyran fleet and still maintain an overall continuity. Start by mixing some brown paint with the blending gel. This is then painted onto the miniature, starting at the center and working outwards until you re happy with the result. Note that a bit of the previously mixed orange paint and blending gel may be required to touch up any areas where the brown extends too far into the orange. Once you are satisfied with the base coat, set the miniature aside and allow it to dry thoroughly (at least two hours). Once dry, apply a light coat of a clear matte or gloss sealant to protect the blended paint job as the details are added. Step #6 Details, details, details: Once the sealant is dry, it s time to paint the details. I ve discussed this with several painters and there are two schools of thought: 1) paint the details first and the stripes second and, 2) paint the stripes first and the details second. I prefer to detail the mini first, so that s the order we ll discuss. The fine details get painted at this point, such as ESG generators, warp radiators, phaser mounts, disruptor ports, shuttle hatches, etc. The specific colors and locations of these items vary from ship class to ship class and from Lyran county to Lyran county. Many of these variations are detailed in the appropriate painting guides (located at http://www.starfleetgames.com/miniatures.shtml#guide) so I will not reiterate them here. Suffice it to say, take your time on the details. While single-color base coats can be touched up if a bit of smudging occurs during the detail stage, it s very difficult to repair a blended paint scheme in the case of an overrun. The typical detail techniques of washing and dry-brushing are difficult to use with a blended paint scheme also, although some areas (the warp radiators and the ESG generators) are large enough and flat enough that they can be washed and/or dry-brushed. Once you have completed the details, the miniature starship should look similar to the images at right and on the next page.
Step #7 Stripes! Now it s time for the moment we ve all been looking forward to. It s time to paint the stripes. Before you pick up your brush, take a moment to look at your reference photos again and pay close attention to the stripes. Several people paint simple stripes that are basically wedges of black that begin at the edge of the hull and taper to a point towards the center of the ship, ala Tony the Tiger from the Frosted Flakes box. That s not to say that there is anything wrong with this technique I have painted several of them this way myself. It s quick, it s easy, and you don t feel distraught if the guy across the table from you drops your miniature on the floor (and yes, that does happen). For a more realistic pattern though, you have to be more free flowing and organic. The tigers in your reference photos probably have stripes of varying widths that start at different parts of their pelts. Some of the stripes will branch, some are short, some are long, some are relatively straight, and some seem to meander back and forth. The most noticeable thing about their pattern is there is no pattern! They aren t even necessarily the same color. Some tigers will have black stripes, some will have brown, and some will even have grey or white stripes but those are a special case we ll discuss later. Start on the underside of the miniature. Thin your black paint until it s the consistency of milk and then grab a fine brush. Lightly dip the brush in the paint and paint a wavy stripe that starts near the edge of the hull and extends to the center of the yellow patch. Very few tigers have stripes in the middle of their belly. (If you re nervous or unsure at this point, practice painting a few stripes on a piece of paper until you like the way they look.) The underside of the mini is rarely seen, so if you make a couple of mistakes, it s not the end of the world. After you are comfortable with your striping abilities and feel that there are enough stripes on the underside, flip the starship over and start on the top. Use the same technique on the top as you did on the underside, vary the width, the length, and the shape of the stripes. The stripes should be denser near the edge of the hull and thin out as you approach the center of the starship. Once you are happy with the number of stripes, apply any decals desired, seal the miniature and go blow up the bad guys!
Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My! Advanced techniques: The method of painting I have explained can be used for more than just tiger stripes. By utilizing the reference capabilities of the internet and slightly modifying these techniques, the possibilities for detailing starships are endless. A white base-coat blended into a light-gray and then a slightly darker-grey combined with grey or offwhite strips gives you an albino white tiger. Use grey rosettes instead of stripes and you have a snow leopard. A series of blended browns combined with brown rosettes yields a leopard. Blend the oranges into brown and apply small black spots. Presto, you have a cheetah. And so on, ad infinitum as shown below.