New style White Dwarf

So I walked into my local newsagents, and saw the new copy of White Dwarf sitting there, in a plastic outer bag with the words New! splashed across the top. I had vowed not to but another copy after the disappointing decline the magazine has taken over the past few years, but I picked it up and it felt, well, quality. So I purchased it, and eagerly rushed home.

The covers are of a fantastic quality, the pictures embossed on the cover. The magazine now has weight, probably due to the extra 32 pages now packed in. The magazine now has a brand new team, and it shows.

There is a in-depth look/showcase of chaos space marines, and this theme rubs through the magazine. A decent battle report, which shows off the new Chaos codex, and painting guides. Not as in depth as they used to be, but still useful for beginners to learn new techniques and advanced painters to better themselfs.

A new article, called kit bash, looks great. Focussing on the Ork Dakkajet kit, it shows some ideas on how to convert this model into some stunning pieces.

Also in this, which is quite unheard of, is a detailed look at the new Forge World Horus Heresy books, along with the models that Forge World are producing. I never though I would see the day when Forge World would get even mentioned in White Dwarf, let alone have a article about their new miniatures!

The photography has also gone up a lot. There are some really nice, well planned photographs all the way through out. Gone are the boring shots of old, the new photography really brings out the new models, and the mood set by the theme aswell.

There's loads more in this magazine that's new, and whilst being predominantly about Warhammer 40000, I suspect that it will switch between fantasy and sci fi on a monthly basis just like it used to.
It also looks like the 'Eavy Metal team are back on form, the paintjobs in this issue are definatly miles better than the rubbish that has been seen recently.

For the extra £1, this issue is defiantly worth it. If the new team can still keep up this level of quality every month, I may even re-subscribe to the magazine. Yes, it is still a glorified catalogue, but this time it appears to have some substance, with useful articles that you want to read, and fantastic photography. Keep it up guys, and you may have rescued what used to be a fine magazine.

Miniature Painting: Which Primer?

More to the point, what colour? Black, grey or white?

There are many people who swear by using a certain colour for their primer, and just as many who probably have never given any thought into it. In my (ahem..) quest for painting perfection, I have used all three, and settled on grey as my colour of choice, but I also know when to use the other colours.

Black will generally produce a much darker, grittier feel to a finished model, with colours on top being muted and not as bright. Black also creates a “auto shade” effect, where the recesses will be darkest on the model, usually enough to make you only push the highlights.

Grey produces the most realistic (in my opionion) colours. It still creates a little amount of auto shading, but also pushed highlights a little as well. It takes longer to work with, due to you having to go back and finish the shadows as well as the highlights when the base coats have been completed.

White will create the brightest finished model, and has a “auto highlight” effect. There will be very little shading on the model, so you will have to do and do these yourself, but the highlights will be very prominent from the start.

All three have their followers. Black I use when I am batch painting or speed painting, as it leave things like guns and parts you don’t paint black, and takes to a nice dry brush easily. Grey I use for one off models, such as character models. The paint takes well to the grey, and helps the model stand out a bit better when all the other models are on the table, due to you starting on a lighter base colour. (However, I am finding myself using grey a lot more for everything recently). White I very rarely, if ever use. I just don’t like how bright it makes the model, which to me is very unrealistic. I would only use white one something such as Eldar in WH40k, as these are very bright models when finished.

Here is a little example (excuse the extreme blur on the second photo... but it is only the colour we are looking at so I didn’t retake it.)

The first picture is just the base undercoats. The second is the models painted with a base coat of Mordian Blue foundation, mixed 1:1 with some game colour thinner. You can see the difference, black on the left, which is much darker with much more prominent shadows, and white on the left which, to me, the blue looks way to happy. The middle grey, is perfect to my eye, looks very close to what the paint in the pot looks like.

So there you have it. Use black for quick jobs, grey for everything else and white on special occasions. OK that just my opinion, but next time you reach for that can of spray primer, as yourself, are you using the right colour for the job?