Federation Commander

[Starfury]

I'm finishing up my first B-10 battleship. I'm in the process of attempting to freehand the Klingon symbol on the wings.

And I'm not good at this part.

I have extremely limited drawing skill which is why my ships tend to have Warhammer 40k decals on them..because it's what I have. If I'm not happy with the paint...off it'll come and on will go some sort of 40k logo. May not be "accurate" but at least will be neatly finished.

[John Schneder II]

Starfury,

A couple of recommendations on your attempt at free-handing it:

Don't skimp on brushes. For my fine detailing I use a natural fiber 20/0 brush. It set me back a bit but the results can be worth it.

Thin out your paint with its appropriate thinner. Oils (enamels) can work better here as they will tend to not dry up in the brush, but acrylics can as well. For enamels I actually use airbrush thinner rather than simple mineral spirits. For acrylics I use water and a 'wetting' solution they sell at Hobby Lobby for canvas acrylic painters so the paint won't dry up on the palette.

A trick I learned painting pinstripes on cars is to brace your hand/fingers against your other fingers for stability. On cars you tend to use the vehicle itself for this but the same theory applies.

Don't attempt it when you are tired or after having finished up the main painting of the mini. Wait until a few hours later or tomorrow, your hands and eyes will be much more rested.

Don't be afraid in the middle of the job to totally clean out the brush if it seems to be drying up. Make sure you put the bristles into a sharp point before going back into painting.

This is hard to describe but I know it when I feel it: I prefer to load up the brush, then wipe it off, then dip very small quantities back into the tip letting the paint almost 'wick' down onto the mini.

I don't claim to me the master at hand-painting symbols, but with the exception of my Fed numbers and stripes every fleet symbol and lettering was done by hand all all of my minis.

My Seltorians:
http://i242.phothttp://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff38/Johhnyjohhny/Star%20Fleet%

http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff38/Johhnyjohhny/Star%20Fleet%20battles/SeltHeavies01.jpg

My WYN:
http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff38/Johhnyjohhny/Star%20Fleet%20battles/WYNfleet01.jpg

My LDR/Lyrans:
http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff38/Johhnyjohhny/Star%20Fleet%20battles/CA-DD-02.jpg


http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff38/Johhnyjohhny/Star%20Fleet%20battles/DNE-02.jpg

All of those symbols are hand-painted. Good luck!!
_________________
One of the guys that sculpts the minis (Starline 2400)

[Starfury]

I tried to sketch out the logo on paper...and it was Ok. I then used white paint and a fine (10/0) brush to put it on the wings.

The scale was off and overall it looked like crap. So I cleaned off the paint, re-painted the green and am back to square 1. My freehand painting/drawing skills are very poor; been that way since I was a child.

I may try getting a logo and printing it out and using it as a template; or I may go with a 40k decal. That way it would match many of my other ships.