ImpendingDuff is here to help each of us with chipping miniatures! He shows us how to correctly and easily chip any of our miniature bases and then some!
ImpendingDuff may be new here, but he’s actually been doing this for a while now. He does great painting tutorials and is definitely worth checking out. This week he’s done a solid tutorial on how to get chipping done just right (and easily) on your bases.
ImpendingDuff: Chipping Miniatures on Easy Mode
With a solid black primed base, start by giving the old-worn metal bits a coat of Pro Acryl Mahogany. Jumping over to Pro Acryl Burnt Sienna paint the areas you want to give the rust or chipping effect. Using Pro Acryl Burnt Orange you can do the same thing, but just a tad tighter. Dump out the pot, don’t rinse it, and add some Pro Acryl Orange to the pot. Use this to make an even tighter highlight coat. Now with Pro Acryl Transparent Brown be sure to coat the base with it to tone down the bright orange color. Follow that up with Pro Acryl Yellow Ochre and you actually want to lightly sponge it on instead of airbrushing it.
Now take some AK Acrylic Chipping Fluid and apply a light coat over the areas you want to chip. You should do at least three or four layers. let it dry then base it with whatever colors you want it to be. After it is dried you can grab some tools such as toothbrushes, toothpicks, or metal sculpting tools and begin to try to scrape or chip the newly applied base coat.
You can also dip your tools in some water to help the chipping process but don’t use too much, once it’s chipped it’s gone!
Here you can also put one layer of Army Painter Dark Tone on it just to darken it a bit, but it’s up to you. Your base should be looking great now! The more chipping fluid you use the more drastic it will be. Also the longer you leave water on the model before chipping it, the bigger the chips will come off.
If you liked this feature, be sure to check out his channel for more great tutorials!
About the Author: Andrew Schrank
Andrew Schrank
Job Title: Miniatures & Warhammer Hobby Staff Writer
Socials: Facebook
About Andrew Schrank: Over the past 15 years, Andrew has played all the games, including tabletop and video games, and immersed himself in the associated lore. Andrew joined the Spikey Bits team in 2018 and covers the Warhammer hobby and tournament scene, along with the latest in tabletop miniatures, each week.
Aspiring diplomat, Lord of Fluff, and Master of Ice Hammer, He loves Star Wars, Chaos Undivided, and Gundam. During his free time, he hunts Platinum trophies on PS5 and reads international news. On weekends, Andrew plays commander and cEDH games, often with unique strategies that push the limits.
He believes each day presents a new opportunity to grow and be challenged.
