Topic: Advice for grey primer

[oak_prince]

I fear I may have ruined about 40 Warlord Games plastic figures by priming them with Army Paint Uniform Grey. Do any fans of grey primer have some tips or insight for me? It just seems like it combines the worst aspects of white and black primers. It doesn't provide a good surface for metallics and drybrushing like black primer and it doesn't drink up bright colors like white primer. 

[Darknight]

What figures are they?

I would recommend giving them a wash with a shade or ink or something like that, something dark. I have a big pot of this dark gray stain I got from a home improvement project - but it is basically just a dark brown shade / ink.

Then, give them a drybrush of white.

That will give you some instant shades / highlights and you can use thin, translucent colors on top to put the basecoats on.

I have no idea if that will work for your figures per se, but such techniques have been successful before.

[oak_prince]

They're Warlord's Blitzkrieg era German infantry.

I'll give the wash and and drybrush idea a go. I appreciate the advice.

[Dotification]

I would also be interested in advice pertaining to Grey primer.  I bought a can recently and figured it would give my horde of flagellants the right amount of "dinginess."

[Darknight]

Oh, they are Wehrmacht? Aren't their uniforms mostly gray?

I'd do a dark gray wash and then a drybrush with some lighter gray then - see if that doesn't give a good field gray for 'em.

[oak_prince]

The rub is that upon doing some research I learned it was  :eusa_wall:more of a green with a grey tint. 

[Darknight]

Green wash

[ZeroTwentythree]

It just seems like it combines the worst aspects of white and black primers.

EXACTLY. I dislike it, but use grey when I can't find black. I just give it a fairly heavy wash of black (just thinned paint, not expensive commercial washes) before painting.

[Zygmund]

Grey undercoat definitely needs a dark wash before the real painting can start.

I think grey is a much narrower choice than black or white. You have to carefully plan when to use it and when not. Basically, you will need to WANT grey or muddled-up surfaces in the end paintwork if you pick up grey primer.

I've also seen many experienced painter using black basecoat lightly sprayed up with white from the direction where the light comes. They get great surfaces to paint, but even if it looks grey, it isn't. Grey just doesn't do that.

-Z

[Zak]

don't use it unless that's all you have ...IMO