Love brush painting? Come see this classic hobby hack that’ll get your mini’s glazing hot!
Welcome back hobby Maniac’s! Today, for all you brush painters, I got some not so secret tech that you should be using on all your models from here on out.
Glazing, a lot of people have a hard time with it. But at the end of the day, they’re just thinned down washes of Acrylic Paint. For these white scars, I wanted to add a darker glaze to make the white pop out. By adding the glaze I’ll be darkening some of the flatter areas and introducing some contrast. Glaze is great because it’s like adding filter over certain area’s while creating nice looking transitions from minimal effort.
For this particular tutorial I’m using #106 badger fur, which I used for the base, and I’m taking that same of those paint to make a glaze.
Pro-tip: Save your water bottle tops to use as mini-pallets!
Then add a mix of ¾ water and ¼ Future Floor wax to the paint. There’s no real rhyme or reason to it, just mix it until it’s thinned down. When you pull the paint across the pallet and it’s mostly clear you’ll know it’s just right. It should look translucent (see through) and not just thin pain that drips down into the recess of your model but rather sit on top of a flat surface. (Alternatively, Glazes are available for purchase from various companies like GW and that takes the guesswork out of it, we like to give you options for your Hobby dollar here at the Long War)
Then you just apply liberally to the surfaces. After you apply you’ll want to go back and pull it so that it doesn’t pool up in certain spots or stay bubbly. Just go back over it with your brush until that’s all smoothed out.
I also like to make a slightly darker batch and get into the cracks with a thin brush. Really, you don’t even have to trace it in, just drop a dab and it’ll fill in for you.
I also like using Secret Weapon Mini’s Soft Body Black, it’s great for making darker glazes which I like to use on red.
Also great to use on eyes, all you need is a drop and it’ll fill in for you.
You’ll notice the head on the right isn’t as defined as the two on the left; the glaze will darken the areas the need to be darkened but leave the bright red bright while making a nice looking transition.
Alright hobby maniac’s who’s going back and glazing their old models?!
About the Author: Rob Baer
Rob Baer
Job Title: Founder, Publisher, & Managing Editor
Founded Spikey Bits In 2009
Socials: Rob Baer on Facebook and @catdaddymbg on X
Bio: Spikey Bits started with Rob trying to stay motivated to hobby on his backlog of projects and share his knowledge with others during the early blogging era. Virginia restless, miniature painter & cat dad. He blames LEGOs as there was something about those little-colored blocks that started it all.
Scale model hobbyist in the 80s, miniature wargamer, and trading card player ever since. He’s played every edition of Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy since 5th Edition, but Titans of all sizes will always be his favorite! It’s rumored that his hobby vault rivals the Solemnance Galleries, containing rulebooks filled with lore from editions long past, ancient packs of black-bordered Magic Cards, and minatures made of both pewter and resin.
