Chainmail.

[centurion]

Hi everyone,

Not very good at painting realistic chainmail on a figurine. I have got a Norman knight (White's 90mm Norman XII Cent.) clad from top to bottom in chainmail armour. I use Andera's acrylic paints for painting along with Game workshop paints (UK). The figurine in question has been undercoated in white and is ready for painting. Can anyone provide a step by step approach to painting chainmail? Any help would be very much appreciated.

Figurine in question: http://www.historexagents.com/shop/...scKey=&SearchData=norman&ComingSoon=&PageNo=4

Kindest regards.

 

[Jim Patrick]

This is what I found works for me. Or at least I like it. One thing I noticed is the chainmail (in photographs of both original and re-enactors) is noticably darker than the plate armor. I mix Vallejo Black-Grey (862) with Gunze Steel. You can mix it with other Vallejo if you like, just pick a dark matalic color. I highlight the CM with greys, no metalic colors. Shadows start with 862 then add black finishing with straight black. There is very little sheen to this. While it may lok like it, there really isn't. It's just the greys. It makes for a nice contrast against the other metals.

Here's apic of something Iv'e been dabbling with......



HTH,
Jim Patrick

 

[Major_Goose]

I mix valejo oily steel and glossy black for the base coat .
once dry i use silver printers inks for bringing up the lighted metals, and black oil, cassel earth oil to make the shadows . If highlights need retoning i do it. If i wanna make it old and rusty i use reddish , and yellowish oil tones like raw sienna saw umber , burnt umber , in thin washes controllable to give the impressions

Some samples of my figures with chain mail

I hope i helped

 

[periklis_sale]

If the figure is metal i use a fine wire brush to polish the CM and then i used a mixture of Ivory Black and Prussioan Blue oils to darken it. I apply them straight from the tubes and let them settle foe an hour or so. Then using cotton buds i remove the excess. If i wand more shadows i add more oils, or if i want more highlights i remove more with cotton.

If the figure is plastic or resin after primer i paint with games workshop mixture of chaos black and chain mail. I vary the quantities of the paints depending on what i want. Then when it is dry i use the same method with the oils.

 

[Jim Patrick]

So there you have it.....there are as many ways to paint chainmail as you can dream up. Ok, maybe not that many but here you can see 3 different styles with a very nice result (not mine!). It's now up to you to tinker with a technique and see what works best for you. All are right and none are wrong.

BTW- don't forget to show us your work too!

Jim Patrick

 

[centurion]

Thank you.

Hi all,

I would like to thank all those painters that gave me much needed information regarding the painting of chainmail - a very BIG thank you. It is people like you that make this hobby of our so much fun. Again, thank you very much, very much appreciated.

Kindest regards.

 

[periklis_sale]

That's why we are here mate!!!!