Sometimes, things just don’t go to plan and Daredevil was a good example of this. I knew what I wanted to achieve, (I’d like to say it was a dark, gritty, Man without fear, but that would be with hindsight) and how to go about it, however, the execution what somewhat lacking. Here’s how it went.
For starters, I wasn’t keen on the pose of DD, standing on the top of a gravestone like that. The bases are pavement/roads and so it was going to look a bit odd sticking out of one of them. I know I could have considered basing him on grass/soil, but it wouldn’t have matched the boards I play on like all the others do. I could have mounted DD on something else and did think of putting him on the dustbin instead, but in the end, due to a lack of vision on my part, I just went with what was.
Secondly, there was his suit. It’s segmented, unlike the comic book hero’s and more like the DD of the movies, which was disappointing for me, but Hey Ho!
So, after priming him a mid-grey, I applied a coat of Darkoath Flesh Contrast paint. This is something I’ve been experimenting with on the Mansions figures, though usually over a white prime. The idea is that the contrast paint provides the pre-shading for a glaze, and so far, it’s worked really well. I’d primed grey this time, as the glaze would be red and I didn’t want it appearing pink, which a white prime would have given.
This is where things started to go awry. My intention was to apply three different shades of red using the airbrush, from below, horizontally, and above, just like Zenithal priming/basecoating, and I’d done it several times before to good effect. However, I also wanted to try out my new paint set…
I bought Scale75’s Blood and Fire Red paint set some time ago, as I wasn’t happy with the variation of reds I already had, which tended to be too pink or orange for my liking. I’d used some of the colours with a brush and was pleased with how they went on, though the colour change from wet to dry caught me out, as it did on DD, but I’ll get to that later.
Now, Scale75 paints use a gel medium rather than water, which is why things might have been about to go wrong. I mixed up a glaze of Deep Red in my airbrush, as I normally do, and tested it on a piece of white paper, everything appeared fine, so off I went. After my first pass I thought things didn’t look quite right, but it took a few moments for my hands to catch up with my brain, by which time I’d already applied the initial Zenithal layer. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a nice fine glaze, more a normal, thinned down layer of paint, far too opaque for what I wanted, and it almost obscured the contrast paint underneath.
Well, no going back from here. I sprayed the other two glazes, first Blood Red, again I still hadn’t got the mix right, and then Flat Red. The Flat Red was a Vallejo paint, and it glazed no problem, blending better, as it was so thin.
I decided to reapply the contrast paint to give me back my shading, and to some extent it worked quite well. I highlighted up further with more Scale75 paints, Antares Red and Aldebaran Red, with a brush this time. The scale paints are lovely to layer, but again, I got caught out by the amount of colour change from wet to dry – they darken a lot more than other paints I’ve used. In the end, I should have added another layer or two of brighter reds, as he looks darker than I’d originally intended; a darker, somewhat grittier Man Without Fear shall we say!
The gravestone was a bit of an experiment for me. Basecoated Heavy Charcoal, I then stippled it with Heavy Warmgrey then drybrushed with Deck Tan, Bonewhite, and finally Ivory. I then gave it a wash of Athonian Camoshade and Agrax Earthshade, allowing the two to mix whilst wet.
That’s about it really. Everything else went as planned and was straightforward enough. Daredevil’s one of Yasmin’s characters, and she was very pleased with him, and that’s what counts. So, it all turned out all right in the end!
I had a few issues taking the pictures of DD. First off, my camera’s batteries died and I like the poor photographer I am, I didn’t have any spares. So I resorted to my trusty iPhone. Still, I had issues. With him being all red, I just couldn’t get the exposure right and the images weren’t great. I used two different backgrounds, black and white, but the contrast was off. In the end I adjusted the contrast on the white background but it makes DD’s colours hard to see. So, here are the black background pictures, please let me know which you think give the best representation of DD.
The Solo Meeple 
Man, sorry to read that this mini caused you so much hassle, but if it’s any consolation he looks great. The different shades of red really work, and using a contrast paint first to get the shading done is a really good idea. Highlighting red can be a bit of a bugger but you’ve done a good job on him.
I have to agree, having a random gravestone coming out of a pavement is pretty odd. And the way they’ve sculpted Daredevil’s suit makes me think they were going for a Deadpool look.
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Thanks Matt.
Using contrast to pre-shade for glazes has worked well for me in the past. This is the first time I’ve done it over anything other than whit, though, so maybe that played a part.
Red is one of those problem colours isn’t it. It’s easy to get it too pink or too orange, which is why I expanded my red range. It’s also interesting just how much paints vary from one manufacturer to another.
As soon as I read Deadpool, I though yeah, you’re right there, I never noticed myself. Personally, I prefer the original comic DD look rather than the film version.
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I know what you mean about red, I have about 12 shades now lol.
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I think he looks really good, Justin! 🙂 Really like him!
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Thanks John 😁
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I’ve got DD on my bench as we type!
I think he turned out just fine! Sometime you have to take a leap of faith to find out if the new paint is gonna work for you. I think in the end you made a fine course correction!
Also, I feel the exact way about the sculpt – I wish they would have stuck to the comic book look.
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Thanks Eric.
I know you were planning to mount him on something different, I’d go for it, as he looks dumb on the gravestone!
Scale Colours paint really nicely with a brush, I just need more practice with them in the airbrush.
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Great work Justin, may not have been what you were aiming for, but turned out good regardless, and the comic version has had so many versions, you’ve hit the nail on the head with at least one of them
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Thanks Dave.
Lol, like there’s so many of them I’m bound to have got one right, yeah?
I was just disappointed that he didn’t look like the one in the comics I enjoyed reading as a kid… 😞
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To get the really dark version, so a lot of black undertones, you would need to start from black, you could then use Coat’D’Arms vampire red and build up the red slowly, finally highlighting with blood red, did it once on an Eldar Avatar, as it was for Ulthwe, and wanted a darker colour scheme
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That sounds good Dave.
I usually do red in a similar way to that, starting with Heavy Red over black and working my way up. Red’s one of those colours – a slight variation here or there can drastically change the overall appearance; I’m still experimenting!
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I guess they put a parking lot or street over a cemetery for Daredevil to fight in! In all seriousness, that was a puzzling choice for the sculptor but not a lot you can do unless you want to attempt a conversion. I think the black background doesn’t show as much contrast as the white background so for that reason, I would prefer the white background in this case.
I was giving it some thought as to how I would go about painting ol’ Red and I think I’d just layer the shadows and highlights on. If you mix red with black and a bit of brown, you’ll get really nice gothic tones of red and then you just add more red in to work your way up to pure red. Since this mini has small surfaces, I think that would get you the results you’re looking for but that’s just my two cents and what you’ve done looks nice. Most importantly, your MCP partner approves and that’s all that matters 😀
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Thanks Jeff. I’ve been struggling with black backgrounds since I stoved (proper black country word that!) my flashgun in. I’m tending towards using my phone more, partly because it’s quicker, but I think my DSLR is on the way out, as the I’m having problems with the autofocus – probably because it hit the floor with my flash!
I did think about layering, similar to how you say, but I like experimenting and I’d used this method before. As Eric says, sometimes you have to take a leap of faith when using new paint and it didn’t quite go to plan here. I have leant a lot about the scale paint, though, and how I need to thin it to what I’d usually expect for a glaze and then thin it some more.
I’ll take the hit on DD, not my best and a I was a little disappointed, but then I painted Ghost Rider and I’m really pleased with how he turned out, so that cheered me up – that’s another post though😁
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My understanding is that DSLR cameras are the way to go for mini photography. I use a point and shoot camera because I’m not much of a photographer (its my Dad’s only hobby though so I know how complicated they can be to use!). As far as the mini goes, there’s no shame in experimenting and I’ve had plenty of minis go awry but I usually do learn something along the way which is the important thing. And stoved, eh? I’ll have to remember that one, mate so I can blend in when I move to the black country! 😀
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Yeah, I get… got… some great pictures with mine, even though it’s getting on for 12-years old now. I caught the strap when moving it around and ripped it out of my hand, totally wiping out the attached flashgun and damaging the camera; it has never been the same since. I’ve been unable to get a flash that does what my old one did, as they all cater for the new hotshoe nowadays.
Depth of field is big difference, and being able to control it. My iPhone produces some good quality shots, but it’s a case of ‘what you see is what you get’ whereas I was used to being able to blur out the background or bounce the flash around. I wish I could justify buying a new camera, but alas…
As for DD. Well, I know I could have done better, but he isn’t so bad.
You’ve hit the nail on the head – If things go awry, if you learn from it, then it isn’t a waste. If you don’t learn, you’ll never get better!
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That makes sense and it sounds like you should ask Santa for funds for a new camera this year 😉 I’m starting to think about gathering up a few quid to get a new one myself.
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The gravestone is Elektra. Its two miniatures in one!
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Ah! Of course, I should have twigged to that!
Two for one – bonus- still looks a bit daft when he’s in the middle of a road and stood on her grave stone though😉
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Thats why I put him on a set of Dwarven forge stairs and I put Elektra on her own base. 😄
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Lol, I like it!
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