There are plenty of posts about "frosting" when using matt varnish all over the internet. We've had a right old time with it on a few plastic miniatures too, and were beginning to wonder if this Quickshade was going to work out for us after all.
One solution that comes up again and again is (to brush on some) Testor's Dull Cote.
This morning the postie knocked on the door and handed over our latest eBay purchase. Here's a before and after of the models:
Before DullCote - after applying QuickShade and allowing to dry for 24 hours:
Quickshade does a great job of picking out the details while keeping the colours from looking too muddy (an effect that often occurs using GW/Citadel Devlan Mud ink for shading) but makes the miniature look very glossy.
After applying DullCote:
The miniature on the left has Dullcote applied which is mostly dry - the model on the right has Dullcote applied but is still wet (which is why there's still a bit of a sheen on the paintwork)
The Testor's DullCote works just fine for us. It removes the shine off the QuickShade without affecting the colouring or intensity of the colours it's painted over. The lacquer was ready to paint over (with simple highlights and facial details) in about an hour or so and the final model not only had a nice, matt finish, it's always reassuring to know the model has had a coat of varnish which will protect all but the top-most coat(s) of paint.
Using the Army Painter method of painting multiple miniatures at once, and with the help of my new cheapo wet palette, I managed to finish three more space-soldiers this afternoon.
That makes five. Ideally I'd like each team in the Starship Raiders game to have six or more characters. But I've only five leaded soldiers, so we'll just have to go with five for now!
Here's how they could look on a modular board section:
Sadly the bases are really letting the miniatures down now - time to ask Mr Google how best to finish the bases so that they fit in with the industrial/sci-fi style board.
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