About
Welcome to my blog, The Painting Bunker. I’ve been painting miniature figurines for about 20yrs now. I have painted most scales from 1/4 vinyl models to 1/300th scale. I’ve worked in most mediums too… from white metal, polyurethane resin to polystyrene (plastic) models. I first encountered miniatures in a board game called “Hero Quest”, there I started playing board games that had figures and then moved on to “Space Crusade” where I discovered the “Warhammer 40,000” universe. It was through this game that I came across “Rogue Trader” and then 2nd Edition. After that I was hooked.
This blog is about my adventures painting miniatures predominately for Sci-Fi genres. I hope you get something from it, I know I have over the years.
John Sutton, Brisbane, Queensland
Australia
The Painting Bunkerc y 
Hi John
Could you please tell me the colors you used on your carcharadons and of you posted a painting tutori for them
Thanks
Steve Gusky
Cleveland Ohio
Hey John its Paul from the Pig, just discovered your blog, this is breath taking stuff. just awesome
Thanks mate, glad you like it. See you next weekend?
Hi John, I’m interested in buying 10 of your amazing storm shields.
Please email me: adammbsmith@hotmail.co.uk
Cheers!
Hey Adam,
I just sent you the order confirmation. Let me know if you received it
Hi John,
I was just wondering, for your realm of battle cityscape board, looking at all the WIP shots i see white moulds of floor sections etc. Did you make them yourself? If so/not, are you able to tell me where to buy them?
Your terrain is phenomenal – and has inspired me to do my own table.
Thanks,
Matt
Hey Matt, they are from the shrine of the Aquila set. I just made a mold of them and cast them in resin. Thanks for the props
hey! nice work on the site. curious though, where did you get thos soft clamps that you were using in the Khorne daemon tutorial? Ive been lookin for clamps like that for a while now!
Thanks!
~Scott
Hey Scott,
I’m not sure what part of the world you’re from so I can only say where I get them from in Australia. They’re from a place called Bunnings. It’s a really big hardware chain. Hope this helps and thanks for checking in
John, would you please post the link to AMS? I’ve googled it and can’t find anything. You can also email me at Jeff@clester.us. I’m using you tutorial on getting started with airbrushing and thanks.
never mind, you can delete my last post. Found everything on amz
Hi John,
I was curious as to the colours you use, the finish appears to be almost pearlescent. A quick process and paints hit list would be awesome.
Love that army. Keep painting ;oP
Cheers
MattL
Hi Matt,
Your comment has come through on my about page. Can you tell me which army you’re referring to? Thanks, John
Hi John,
My apologies, my post was quite vague. I was looking at your Carcharodon Vindicator and Landraider models. I would love to know how you did the paint job as it looks awesome. Also, did you do the weathering/ paint chipping with the sponge method?
If you could release this gem of info I would massively appreciate it.
Many thanks
Matt
Hey Matt, that’s ok. I attribute the look you’re talking about to Tamiya flat clear varnish.
I do use weathering powders and sponging
Hi John,
The Tamiya Clear Cote makes sense What colours do you use and in which order for the main colours scheme?
Many thanks
Matt
Hey Matt,
If you go to the WAU link to my very old Carcharodon painting diary you’ll see what colours I used. Before I had my blog I use to post on Wargamer AU (I’m an Australian)
Hi John,
Aahhh!! Got it awesome blog. That tip with the water filter and the use of the vinyl stencil is probably gonna save me a fortune. So the paint job:
• Prime Grey
• May be pre-shade a touch in areas of shade/ panel joins and lines,
• Base Codex Grey,
• Panel Centres and sharp edges Fortress Grey,
• Highlight Fortress Grey up to white,
• Paint stencilled Icons
• Gloss coat.
• Add decals
• Pin wash panel lines
• Paint chipping with a sponge and Codex Grey,
• Over Spray lightly with Fortress Grey from bottom up repeat with VMA Wood (or GW similar) for dust on bottoms of legs around tracks etc.
• Add rust streaks with rust coloured oils or AK streaking effects
• Satin varnish
• Weathering powders for dust and rust fixed with Alcohol/ Pigment fixer
Does also look in some pics like there is a slightly blue/ green hue to the colour though so may also be a very thin glaze or filter before the gloss coat….. Hmm may be over thinking it.
…….. I may get Fortress Grey and Codex Grey the wrong way round, I usually airbrush with VMA paints so not so familiar with GW. Is this about right though for the scheme.. ish?
Go on John put me out of my misery lol
Thanks for your replies and help. Thinking of starting this army myself as they are so different and your vindicator was the model that fired it off.
Cheers
Matt.
Hey Matt. Glad you liked the diary!
Yep, that’s how I painted them. Good luck!
Post some images on my Facebook page. It’d be great to see how you go
John
Hey John,
Just wondering if you could tell me what you use to make your mould, resin materials etc. And where to find them?
Hey Johnny, I use pinksil. Just google it.
Cheers John, I will look into it.
Uuuummm, John,
Are you (or do you know anyone who is) interested in painting some 1:72 figurines for me for an exorbitant amount of money at all? Can you help me out or steer me in the general direction of someone, please?
Roger From Oz
Hey Roger, unfortunately I don’t accept commissions. However if you send me a message via my Facebook page I’ll be able to assist. Thanks for the enquiry.
Hey John,
Greetings from the states! I just want to say your cityscape board is even better than what Forge World did with theirs. Truly inspiring…so much so that my local gaming group all chipped in for a set of our own, paints and an airbrush!
Our question was when doing your roads, did you use a broad bristled brush to paint the blue/grey, or did you use an airbrush? And did you use the toothbrush to just ‘dab’ a few spots of earth onto the roads?
Thanks, and cheers mate!
-LT W Ford, USN
Hey Will,
Glad to hear that USN have dropped into the Bunker. As for the roads. I used an air brush to apply the base colour. I then added the shading you see on the roads using oil paints and a brush. To get the look of the aggregate in the road I used a tooth brush to splatter on some paint here and there.
Hope this helps!
Regards
John
Thanks so much, John. We went over the roads today with a solid blue/grey, looks similar (but obviously not as good) as yours. Do you think using an airbrush would be good for making those soft spots of light tan for dust/dirt debris, or just dry brushing with a larger brush?
I’d use and air brush. You’ll get a much more subtle effect
I’m southaussie and was wondering if you guys would be keen for a game next time I’m up in bris, I do HH BA
sounds good, flick me a message
Hi John,
i’ve been asked by the Queensland Gamers Guild to gauge the interest of the community to run a one day 30K event at their Orktoberfest Event this year. There seems to be the enthusiasm for it, but I lack the experience in organising an event like this. Would you be willing to chat about how you ran your last event? It looked to be a huge success, and the photos from the event were amazing.
Thanks
Bowlzee
Hey Bowlzee, flick me a pm on my FB. page and we can talk a bit more about it. Thanks. John
Hi John, Any chance I can get your painting recipe/suggestions for your world eaters? They are outstanding and your conversion work is spot on.
I am painting one of my large scale custom sculpted marines and I chose the World Eaters chapter and would love your guidance. You can check out a few examples on my website.
thanks
Gil
Hey Gil, I’ve actually got a tutorial on how I painted the World Eaters. Just check under the tutorial tab. Thanks for dropping in
Hi. I’ve noticed many of your gaming boards use Forge world resin tiles. I’ve heard a handful of horror stories about peoples use of them which typically look like… “Forge world resin tile” + Australian summer heat = melted tile. They mentioned it is something to do with the black resin forge world uses. Could you share your own experience with how the tiles you’ve worked with handle the heat, as I’m looking at investing a bit for a city table and you’ve pretty much laid out all the inspiration I need in your tables.
Ta,
R
Hey Rob, never had any problems with them deforming becasue of heat. Howver, i can imagine if you did leave them in the sun, like any resin model, theyd change shape. Hope that helps, John
Thanks John, it’s just good to get an opinion from someone who had clearly had used them. I think with careful storage in a cool area, there shouldn’t be an issue.
Hi. I’ve noticed many of your gaming boards use Forge world resin tiles. I’ve heard a handful of horror stories about peoples use of them which typically look like… “Forge world resin tile” + Australian summer heat = melted tile. They mentioned it is something to do with the black resin forge world uses. Could you share your own experience with how the tiles you’ve worked with handle the heat, as I’m looking at investing a bit for a city table and you’ve pretty much laid out all the inspiration I need in your tables.
Ta,
R
Hi
I am getting ready to launch a new and fun kick-starter called – Mini-Crate a box FULL of miniature surprises, and was wondering if you would be interested in spreading the word?
You can check out my kick-starter here; https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1625281219/1095842773?token=5b8283dc
We also have a fun competition running which you can check out here; http://mini-crate.blogspot.co.uk/p/compet.html
Kind Regards
Ashley Curran
Where do these Epic scale minis come from. I don’t remember xiphon interceptors, MKII assault marines, Spartans, and Pyroclasts in epic. Are these all custom pieces?
Hi John,
How do you mount the pieces to the toothpicks? Do you use an adhesive or a tape?
Thanks!
Jane
Hey Jane, I use two types of tooth picks. Depending on the size of the object I want to hold. For larger pieces, I use the one sharp end, one blunt end version. For the smaller pieces, I use the two sharp end varieties. To secure the one sharp end, I drill a 2mm hole and put the blunt end in. For the two sharp end, I drill a 1mm hole and put one end in. The tapering of the tooth pic into the round hole holds it in place.
Cheers
John
Hey John,
You wouldn’t by any chance have any remaining Carcharodons transfers left which you’d consider selling? I’d be willing to pay a very good price for even a part used sheet.
Thanks
Hahaha! Msg me via FB and we’ll talk. I may have a few bits and pieces lying around
Hello,
I’ve been reading your posts about your building and painting of the Anphelion project terrain. As it is no longer available I am looking at using my skills in CAD and CAM to make some molds to cast some similar terrain. If you have some spare time I would like to talk to you about the size of the terrain.
Cheers, Phil
Hi Phil,
I actually don’t own it anymore. It was a great project, and to be honest, I regret selling it. At the time I had bigger financial needs (new baby and mortgage). Good luck with your project!
Ever condiser putting out some more of those alternate storm shields?
Yeah, just contact me through FB
Hi John
Can you please tell me where you source your epic 30k stuff from? (Or if not if I can leave my email or something to message me the details privately If you need)?
ta
Hi John,
Great stuff. I too am very interested in all the epic 30k stuff you are posting. It looks killer and fits the scale so well. If you could drop me a line on how I could start collecting it would be greatly appreciated!
Dan
Hello, I could you E-Mail me about aquiring the EPIC Heresy line you paint?
Username:JTPeter
EMail-Domain:aol.com
(connect both with an @)
Hi, just discovered your blog, amazing painting. I am interested in the minis like everyone else so I guess I will try pm you on Facebook?
Hi John, are you still doing stuff? your work is inspirational and would be good to see what you are doing these days!