jmgreen

[jmgreen]

Hi Chris,
So, after watching the video a bunch of times, trying with the Pantone colors, etc., I ended up using my iPad to take screen shots of the paint pot lids and then using the Behr (Home Depot’s main brand like Dulux) app to select areas of the image multiple times until I got a palette that looks close for all the main colors. I bought a pot of Citadel Steel Legion Drab and yes it is too dark to be the undercoat color; what he is using as a base layer for the buildings is basically a khaki color with maybe a slight greenish-Gray tinge. But If you plan to do the walnut stain all over treatment, it will blend everything nicely.

Two things to keep in mind: I have read and talked to several owners of the factory painted models and seen unboxing videos, and the factory results range from slightly inconsistent to wildly divergent in terms of quality and keeping to the paint scheme in the how-to-paint video. Also, very slight variations are not perceptible by the human eye, especially since a lot will depend on the results of the final stain. Finally, he did mention a light dry brush pass *after* the all over stain coat, such as on the rocks and thatch. So I think this is a case of “close enough is good enough” and the minor variations are part of the organic charm. I also think it might be good to choose a water based walnut stain if you are going to do that step. Easier cleanup and quicker drying.

The one thing I think these models need is lots of moss in the cracks and crannies, depicted as light to dark green flocking stuck on with PVA-water mix dribbles. That bit of color contrast will really help, especially if you do it in the shadowed areas and in between the stone wall pavers especially where the greenish brown stones are. I’ve given up matching Pantone colors.

[jmgreen]

I actually had better luck matching Valspar paints at Lowe’s using the number-match process, but I still wasn’t 100% on those and had to guess on a few. I did notice the undercoats tend to be cooler colors and the highlights tend to be warmer, but it all warms up after the stain wash.

[jmgreen]

Thanks Mike, but as I mentioned, it’s been very difficult to match the paints, and I would not want people to base their paints on these exact colors; ultimately it may be a mix of the color codes and eyeballing it against posted photos online. I’m still experimenting, and the only way I could really be sure they were right would be to have a sample of the factory-painted buildings, which I may end up getting at some point just for reference.

[jmgreen]

UPDATE: I noticed I left off the Pantone color numbers for the Thatch; here is the original list in the post:
Tile Roofs – 7628, 7580
Thatch Roofs – 458, 460
Rope (Rigging on Thatch Roof) – 615
Windows and Doors – 467
Wood (Walls and Framing) – 464
Brick Walls – 7501, 7499
Cobble Floors and Walkways – 7539, 457
Spackling (wall plaster – stippling) – 7500 (mix 50% White)
Rock – 7536
Stone (Stretch Goal Statues) 7539, 428

UPDATE 2: I had a hard time when I went to find the color swatches at Home Depot; many of them were no longer available. I found a paint store with a Pantone color book, and went to their paint chip section to find equivalents, and it was nearly impossible. I took pictures of the Pantone chips that go with the numbers given by Tabletop Troubadour, and tried to locate color swatches with a different paint and store brand using the same process.

Ultimately, I am not sure the factory paints can be matched exactly; I would just go by the painting Hagglethorn instructional video, keeping in mind that the wet paints in the video will be lighter than when it dries, and also that the given Pantone colors *MAY* be based on a finished piece, rather than the original pre-stain paints. Just keep in mind that following JFA’s method will give the closest results, whatever paints you end up finding. I plan to do some experimenting with pre- and post-stain paint looks, and if I can find a set of named paints in any brand that match, I will share those here, but for now, I am just wishing I had a factory original to use as a guide. Also I tried to edit my original post, but that’s not allowed, so I added this update, and may have to add another one as these experiments progress.

[jmgreen]

I am hoping the figures, totems, and stone wall faces that were stretch goals in the first Kickstarter are offered as add-ons rather than stretch goals, and that they won’t be exclusive only to the first group, considering all the work that went into them.

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