Dark Angels Terminators - Low Hanging Fruit - Thanks to Minwax!

Well, I've already managed to knock one (1) goal off my New Year's resolution list.  Sure, it was low hanging fruit - a handful of the ubiquitous Dark Angel terminators from the Dark Vengeance box set.  But, hey, celebrate the small victories, am I right?  Am I right??

Ahem.

Well, anyway, I didn't even think to put these guys in a light box, so the pictures are . . . weak.  But, here they are, to celebrate my first goal achieved:

As of New Year's Day.  Primed with tan Krylon and dry brushed with white.

All the colors blocked out as of January 2nd . . . 

Post Minwax dip on the 4th!  And a few hours of highlighting, today.  

I've had a lot of recent success with mixing ink, distilled water and matte medium.  Frankly, that's what I ought to be using.  But, I had bought a can of Minwax Polyshades Tudor Satin and the stuff works just too well not to use on quick and dirty projects like this.  Check this out:

Pre-stain blurry pic . . . 

The Magic of Minwax.  It even makes your pictures less blurry!  Seriously though, for bits like the studs, it really brings out the details.

If you do want to try out the Minwax dip method, don't use the black color, it's too black.  The Tudor shade is plenty dark enough:

Tudor color swatch - from the Minwax website.

Also, the Minwax leaves a great protective shield for the paint job, BUT it's very glossy (even the "Satin" finish).  So, I lathered on a coat (or two) of matte medium thinned with water to bring down the shine, once the dip had dried overnight.  

Here's a few more pictures:

Pre-dip and highlight.

Post-dip and highlight.  The Minwax has a smoothing effect that helps cover up a chalky (and half-fast) dry brush job.

I love the way the dip fills in the details on the back of a terminator's upper armour and the back of their leg armour.

Thanks for stopping by.  On to the next 2015 resolution project!