Dipping the Wild West

This weekend I went back and did the Dip and Spray to all my Wild West miniatures.  Below are some samples

First, some mounted men,  I actually did dip these in the paint can, since there's so much area to cover with the horse and all.

Next, here are some Indians,  the Indians took to the dip procedure best of all the Wild West crew, you can really see it with the muscles on the guy to the right:

Next, some of the cowboys:

Next some of the Frontiersmen, including my ace Hatchet-swinging guy from Bushwhack Canyon:

And finally,  the Rojo Brothers and Pedro the Space Mexican

Pictures, after dip and spray

These are some of the best examples, but the shading effects and detail look even better in person.

First, 3 of the American Soldier Types

Light is a little bright, but you can see the shading on the middle guy pretty well.

Second:  the famous guys

Some of the best:  Bogart's coat looks even better in person, so does Teddy Roosevelt's face.   You can really see the details on Doc Savage even in the picture

Third:  some trouble makers:

The Nazi scum on the left is cut off, but you can see some of the shading effect.  The brawler in the middle is really good, and the mercenary with the dynamite on the right, really has his details and shading pop out.

The Sprayening

After I dipped the entire pulp collection, I let it dry over night.   Then through the day on Sunday, I sprayed them all with a matt finish to cut the high shine of the Minwax.   I was really frightened by this, because of the internet.   I just wanted to find out how long it takes for the matt varnish to dry (which I was completely unable to find out anywhere, even from the manufacturer),  but I read these guys complaining that the stuff left a milky, cloudy effect behind, with other people yelling at them and telling them they were crazy or doing it wrong.   There are temperature and humidity issues, apparently, but Sunday afternoon was 50 degrees outside, so it shouldn't be an issue.


Eventually, I just quit looking and tried it.   It was no problem, the spray dries quickly (much more quickly than the dip) and I had no issues with white residue or cloudiness.   The spray totally removes the bright shininess of the dip.


All told, after the whole dip and spray process,  I'd say that it really makes details pop, gets rid of the chalkiness that the acrylic paint seems to have improved the look of the miniatures a great deal.


My Japanese and American infantry all really look much better.   The pulp heroes who were wearing Beige or Green look absolutely fantastic (apart from a brown smudge here and there).   Those wearing grey or black were mixed:  the details pop, but they have some noticeable brown smudges on their grey clothes.   Those in yellow turned out surprisingly well.   The ones in white suffered a bit, but there weren't that many of them.   I know now not to use white if I'm going to dip.


I may end up giving some of the bases another coat of Grey, since many of them have brown pools on them.


I'll post some pictures after work today.