Painting Cryx Slayer Helljack W.I.P.

Here are a few pictures of what I have done so far painting my Cryx Slayer Helljack...

I took the model outside, hoping the added light would make the pictures lighter but they are still too dark.  I will post better pictures when I get the issues with my camera sorted out.  But hopefully these will give an idea of what has been done so far.

This is the first Miniature game piece I have ever assembled and painted...I am learning as I go, and I am progressing very slowly so I don't have to go back and fix mistakes.

Some parts have not been painted, and only have the gray primer on them so far. I put blue painter's tape around the rim of the base when I sprayed the primer, as I wanted to keep the rim black...that's why part of the base has gray primer on it. Once I'm done with the model's feet and legs I plan to cover the base with a sandy/rocky texture, but have not made up my mind yet as to how exactly I want it to look.  My initial plan is to make the bases for all the pieces in this kit (Cryx Battlegroup kit) look the same/similar.

I am using acrylic paint bought at Wal-Mart -- the brand name is "Folk Art", it was in the arts/crafts department.  For a 2 ounce bottle the price ranges from 50 cents to $1.97 per bottle.  That is not a misprint -- and there are approx. 75 different colors and shades...metallics, gloss, satin finish, flats, and even Neon colors...some of the metallics and neons are in the $1.97 category, but the majority of these paints are less than a dollar a bottle!

I see no reason to pay high prices for acrylic paint from a Hobby Store, especially for beginner jobs like this.  Perhaps if I were to become an expert painter of these toys I might appreciate the differences in the quality of the paints from various sources, but in my opinion I do not think buying high-priced paint will make the quality of the paint job any better.  As my skill develops that opinion may change, but I really don't think so, as I believe that as the skill increases it will be easier to get better quality projects with the lower-cost paint/supplies.  But enough of all that, as I don't want to get started on my opinion regarding the mark-ups on a lot of the items sold in this hobby.

One down-side to using paints such as these Folk Art brand paints is that a person cannot match the colors of the pictures of the models on the pkging with straight out of the bottle colors...for instance Privateer Press makes a line of paints specifically for these models, and even has pkgs. of paint with the basic colors needed to paint the factions.  So if someone wanted to duplicate a color scheme they can start with those colors and not need to try to mix other colors/paints to get a "match".  I am not very skilled at looking at a color and knowing which colors/tones to mix to recreate that color...I'm learning, and will get better at it as time goes by, but right now it is a little frustrating.  I've decided that my models do not need to look exactly like anyone else's, nor like the models on the packages they came in.

I am also using a lot of water to thin down these Folk Art paints.  I am most likely using much more than necessary, because I thin them to the point that they are going on almost like a wash -- but for me it works because I can build up layers of color little by little, without having the paint build up to the point where it begins to cover details.  I'm sure that after I get a little more experience painting these models I will use less water and the models will be finished a bit quicker.

On this particular model, the Cryx Slayer Helljack, I think that there are some areas and parts of the model that could have been painted before assembling it to make it a little easier.  But this is the first time I've done this, so I may well be wrong -- as pre-painting might have led to issues with the glue-up.

Anyway, I am learning as I go, and will show more later, when there's more to show.