TERRAIN PAINTING

AND OIL WEATHERING

GUIDE
preparation & tools •
0 Odourless solvent or artists white spirit. Make sure
you have a well ventilated space as solvents emit VOC’s.
• Plan your colour scheme then get acrylic paints - A small fan can push the air to an open window.
hobby or artists. Matte medium if using artists. • Oil suitable brushes & brushes for acrylics.
• Varnish - Gloss or satin, and matte. • A cloth or brush for cleaning with solvent.
• Artists oil paints (traditional type, not water soluble). • Airbrush (recommended) Colour spray paints otherwise

1 priming raw MDF opt sealing MDF - optional

Optional - wipe burnt MDF edges with damp cloth for
better paint adhesion. Outside, or in a well ventilated
space with a spray booth (& using a P2 mask as
minimum) prime your sub-assemblies or built terrain.
Some kits should be painted before final assembly,
such as the Fadelight kits. I use Rustoleum Flat Grey
as my go-to spray primer - it’s good quality with great
coverage compared to cheaper cans. Since it’s grey it
can even be used as the basecoat, if you use two coats.
MDF can be very absorptive of paints and thus a lot
of people recommend sealing MDF before priming.
You can use hairspray, enamel spray primer / paint,
Mod Podge or a matte varnish to seal the MDF.
However the MDF in Brutal Cities kits is quite dense
and high quality and I don’t bother. I personally just
used 1 or 2 coats of my primer (depending on how
much time I have). Before step 1, you can apply these
products to seal the raw MDF if you like.

2 basecoating opt detailing - optional

Paint the various parts of the Using the same acrylic colour as
terrain with your chosen colours. the basecoat, but a lighter tone,
This is best with an airbrush. As I paint the centre of the panels.
paint concrete a lot, I like to use An airbrush creates this gradient,
a light grey such as Cold Grey otherwise try dusting lightly with
by Vallejo. I don’t keep recipes a white spray can. 1-2 runs of this
because concrete batches are will create contrast, leaving the
often different. My airbrush has panel engraving lines darker. Next
0.7 & 1mm heads allowing use paint other details as you would a
of cheap art paints. mini, such as metal, drains etc.

3 varnishing 4 oil wash

This step is optional but I strongly recommend it. A It’s cheapest to make
satin or gloss varnish will protect the terrain for years you own wash. Place a
of tabletop gaming. Varnish also affects* the oil wash small amount of oil on
and protects the acrylic paint basecoat from the harsh cardboard for 30 mins
solvent. I use Rustoleum acrylic gloss varnish. If you so the linseed oil is
are short on drying time you can use a non-yellowing Wait for the linseed oil to be
absored. Then in a small absorbed by the cardboard.
polyurethane matte varnish. Let the varnish dry bowl mix it with a liberal I use Paynes Grey & Burnt
minimum 8-12 hours before the next step. amount of solvent or Sienna for washes - a whole kit

5 streaking grime white spirits. Using your

oil brush then paint ALL
takes me only 5 mins to wash!

Use your fine oil brush to apply
small amounts of oil paint
directly to the tops of walls. Let
it sit for 5 mins then dab your
brush in odourless solvent, then
wipe most of it off. Working in
a downwards motion, blend the
oil paint into realistic grimey
streaks.
Once dry (24hrs min, oils can
take longer) spray matte varnish.
FIN! Let me know how you go!
Because we are using
oils, you can use
solvent to clean up any
mistakes and blend
the streaks downard.
Practice if you are unsure.
over the terrain, focusing
on the panel lines and
dirty areas. Repeat as
necessary. You can use
gravity to create stains
down the walls. If you *Oil washes will pool in organic
ways and readily fill the
use too much and the
engraved panel lines thanks
wash is too dark - you to gloss varnish and capillary
can clean with solvent.
action.
Hope you enjoyed this! Have fun and practice makes
perfect! - Ryan ©Brutal Cities 2023 - brutalcities.com