[Miniature Monday] Giant Mushroom

I'm still dabbling with the Vallejo Xpress Colors and I used them to paint this giant mushroom.  I've watched several videos about using speed paints.  I've made several attempts to match the coverage and the results I see in those videos. For whatever reason, I can't get the same kind of results.  I seem to be more in tune with the more traditional layered approach to painting miniatures.  I haven't abandoned the speed painting method.  

After the Xpress Colors dried, I used Dark Tone from the Army Painter line.  I like how dark and grubby this giant mushroom looks after using this wash over the Vallejo Xpress Colors.  These miniatures are available at one of the local stores for 99 cents each so I'm going to pick up some more of them to use for a cavern with several large mushrooms on the floor.

If you paint miniatures, have you tried any of the speed paints from the available brands? Do you have a method you developed on your own or do you follow something you saw in a video?  Do you have any suggestions for people learning this method?

[Miniature Monday] Naga Part II

I completed the second Naga using mostly Vallejo Xpress Color paints for the majority of the miniature.  I would have used them for all of the miniature but there are not metallic paints in the range as of yet and when I returned to buy more the display rack was already down to less than half full. It went much quicker than the Naga I painted in another post.  I will definitely buy more of the Xpress Color paints because they make the process so much quicker to complete.

[Miniature Monday] Vallejo Xpress Color

I made a stop at one my local FLGS locations on Friday and noticed they had a rack of the Vallejo Xpress Color paints setup in their shop.  I tried the standard Vallejo paints when I first started painting and I have remained a fan of them ever since.  I have tried a variety of paints, but I still maintain a healthy selection of the Vallejo range in my collection.  

After browsing through the rack, I decided to pick up three bottles of the Xpress Colors to test them out on an unpainted miniature this weekend.  I still had an unpainted Naga miniature in my collection.  I decided to paint it so I could compare it with the other one I painted a while back. I did not finish painting the Naga but it wasn't because I was disappointed with the results.

I used Snake Green (far right) for most of the body and yellow for the mid-section of the front.  You can tell the difference between the other Naga (left in the picture) and this new one.  The reason I chose to stop painting is because I'm enjoying using this paint and I'm going back to pick up the other bottles before I continue painting.  We get our bonus payout at work this week and that's going to be my splurge item.  

The Xpress Color paint is really smooth and flows like milk.  It's going to take a minor adjustment on my painting method but that's not a bad thing.  I can skip the wet palette for these, and it seems like one coat will most likely do the trick.  Simply put, I can paint more miniatures in a shorter amount of time.  Since my miniatures are for in-game use rather than competition or showcase then that's perfect for me.