What is Reddit's opinion of
Vallejo Basic USA Colors Paint Set, 17ml, Assorted Colors?
From 3.5 billion Reddit comments
66 reviews of this product found across Reddit:
Well there's this: https://www.amazon.com/Vallejo-Basic-Colors-Paint-17ml/dp/B009162PWU
but realistically, paints will cost money and you will need quite a few of them (expect to eventually end up with at least 3 reds, 3 blues, 3 greys etc). Random acrylics are fine for terrain but I strongly suggest not skimping when it comes to the minis themselves. You will notice the difference, and you will be disappointed.
Probably better to start off very targeted at the specific minis you want to paint. Have you decided on that yet?
I bought this one a long time ago I wouldn’t waste the money on the whole set unless your missing some of the basic other colors. I use citadel paints for almost everything except Metallics and generally I will only use Silver, Steel, Oily Steel, Gold, and Old Gold. I think they are MUCH better than the citadel metallics. Then I highly recommend their black, white, and neutral grey . They have good coverage and I use them over White Scar, Abbadon Black, and idk Grey (Which I think are the GW equivalents) then I would recommend their Flat Green. It’s a good intermediary between Caliban Green and Moot Green (on the Brighter side of green). Lemon Yellow it is a Pure Yellow. It has week coverage but it helps make any yellow pop. And my favorite colors that are not metallics are their Basalt Grey. It is a cool Blue Grey that is perfect for GW grim dark minis. You can highlight black with something like the Fang and then put this Grey over the top at the extremes to give it a cool touch. I hope this helps
First, I'd avoid Citadel paints. They're good quality but generally expensive for what you get. Their bottles also suck.
I'd stick with Vallejo or Reaper paints as they're good, readily available and an affordable price. I hear AK interactive is good but I've never tried them.
Buy the paint that you need. That way you'll buy 10 paints that you know you'll use as supposed to a set of 18 where you're only interested in using 10 of them. If you're just getting started and you don't know what you want, then grabbing a basic set like This is your go to then. Just make sure they got a Red/Magenta, yellow and blue as those are your basic colors and therefore the most important ones.
These Vallejo paints are $1.50 per bottle LINK HERE (not sure if these colors are duplicates for you or not) but beating $1.50 per bottle is gonna be hard to find. There are other inexpensive Vallejo sets on Amazon as well. There is a cheap Reaper set on ebay that is $1.30 per bottle (but it's 108 bottles, so expensive overall).
The Vallejo Basic USA set is the one I always recommend and it's currently only 25 USD for 16 paints that cover the full spectrum plus gold and silver:
https://www.amazon.com/Vallejo-Basic-Colors-Paint-17ml/dp/B009162PWU/ref=rvi\_sccl\_4/134-7927240-7788832?pd\_rd\_w=7QnIh&content-id=amzn1.sym.f5690a4d-f2bb-45d9-9d1b-736fee412437&pf\_rd\_p=f5690a4d-f2bb-45d9-9d1b-736fee412437&pf\_rd\_...
I did something similar for my Wife recently.
I bought her some contrast paints, brushes, and a couple of minis, made her a wet palette and a brush box, and taught her to paint. She loved it and we had a great time together. Your plan will work, I'm sure of it.
If you aren't sure on supplies, pick up a paint pack like this: https://www.amazon.com/Vallejo-Basic-Colors-Paint-17ml/dp/B009162PWU/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=1UB24LV969GQQ&keywords=vallejo+paint+set&qid=1660954164&sprefix=vallejo+%2Caps%2C254&sr=8-3 .
Oh yes, Vallejo is a name that means a lot to mini-painters :-)
Also, grab a pair of size 0 and size 2 brushes
Lastly, order a couple of Horror models that you like from a 3d print house of your choise. Lots of sellers on Etsy. Good minis are only ever a quick search away these days :-)
Have a greate date night!
I too would say to stay away from speed paints. Too many people think that are a quick way to "level up" and skip the beginning stages. Honestly, I think it makes minis look sloppy. For me, it is much better to just start slow and take each step one at a time.
I would highly recommend the Vallejo Basic Color set. You get a good range for a decent price and their paints are very well done and highly rated in the mini community. I bought this set as my first set and still use it all the time. https://www.amazon.com/Vallejo-Basic-Colors-Paint-17ml/dp/B009162PWU/ref=sr\_1\_5?crid=KDJYRXX47ADQ&keywords=vallejo+paint+set&qid=1658840969&sprefix=vallejo+%2Caps%2C107&sr=8-5
This image contains paints from multiple paint mediums (acrylics and oils), grades (cheap to expensive), types (shades, heavy bodied, artist acrylics, hobby paints), ranges (fantasy, air, metallics, etc), and manufacturers (citadel, vallejo, greenstuff, etc)
By my very basic estimate, all the paints in that image would cost $1,000
Are you looking for a total cost for all the paints in this image, or a cost estimate or recommendation for a painter just getting started and/or building their collection?
Because my recommendation for someone just getting started would be a Vallejo Basic USA kit costing approx $27
Airbrush paints can be a bit thin but that just means you might need to do another layer or two to get the coverage you want.
If you don't mind waiting, I got my start with these: https://www.amazon.com.au/Vallejo-Basic-Colors-Paint-17ml/dp/B009162PWU
It's a good mix of basic colours for good price economy. So long as you're not trying follow a Citadel painting guide, this will let you get a brush on a model and you can start buying washes, highlights, and so on as you learn.
Personally, I would go with this set. I know it is more ~$23 CAD more expensive, but it is cheaper per mL and the paints are of higher quality. The only thing I really missed from this set was a grey but you can at least easily make that yourself.
It doesn't come with washes, but a bottle of acrylic matte medium will allow you to make your own. That is likely better bought at a local craft or art supply store.
For brushes, I highly recommend picking up a cheap set of synthetic brushes with a sharp point, just to get a feel for the brushwork and so that when you eventually get a more expensive natural hair/sable brush, you don't ruin the brush quickly. Do eventually move to natural hair brush, especially if you will be working with a lot of details.
For paints, if you follow the GW paint guides (on box or Youtube), you can get pretty good looking results, but it'll be quite expensive trying to get multiple shades of the same colors. Really depends on what your color schemes will be for which paints to get, though I would recommend picking up a basic color set like Vallejo just so you have a decent variety to start with.
It might be a bit gauche to comment my own post at this point (I'm still learning proper reddiquette) but for posterity, here's the materials used:
- Citadel Corax White - spray for prime/base, and a pot for touch-ups.
- Villejo Model Color Azure
- Villejo Model Color Black
- Villejo Model Color Gold
- Villejo Model Color Flat Red
- Villejo Model Color Flat Blue (for lenses, they don't really show in the photos)
- Citadel Mechanicus Standard Grey (for the highlights on the backpack)
- Citadel Nuln Oil (washed over black areas)
- Citadel Agrax Earthshade (diluted 1:3 with Citadel Lahmian Medium, then applied into recesses and washed over the gold.)
Thoughts: It bares saying that I'm standing on the shoulders of giants to get my first model looking this good: from this community to official video guides to my FLGS, I had plenty of help. Villejo colours are all from this starter set, and I'll be using more of them to experiment with colour schemes. Still need to finish decorating the base (plan is Astrogranite followed by a Praxeti White drybrush and a Mechanicus Grey rim). The nuln oil doesn't really show on the black areas, Villejo black is a bit too much of an absolute black for that - I might experiment with using the grey for the machinery on my crisis suits and see how that looks after a nuln oil wash. Thanks for all the encouraging comments so far, I'll keep sharing my other squads as I get them painted up!
For armies, I'd say just pick the one that you think is coolest. The army rankings are constantly changing so even as you develop as a player there are gonna be ups and downs. Just check out the site and see which models you think are the coolest.
For paints, something like this will work there are a ton of manufacturers, you don't have to use Citadel paints. The start collecting boxes/Combat patrol boxes are usually a really good start because you have the necessary units to play a legal and smaller game. Also get the codex and rule book and read through the rules section a couple times. I think it's like 30-40 pages (most of the core rulebook is lore, different missions, painting showcases etc.).
By forge world I'm going to assume you mean Citadel. I would go with the Vallejo model paint set.
Here's the Amazon link, you might be able to find it cheaper elsewhere, not sure though. https://www.amazon.com/Vallejo-Basic-Colors-Paint-17ml/dp/B009162PWU/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=vallejo+model+starter+set&qid=1626825636&sr=8-1
hey, i have one more quick question if you don't mind i decided to get this paint set from vallejo, because it has pretty much everything i need
the only thing is, it doesn't include any washes do you think i can get away with thinning the paints down with alot of water to create my own washes?
Not a problem at all! If you have one where you live it's a good place to go to meet people to play. Another tip with getting minis, facebook buy sell and swap groups are a good place to buy cheaper minis so you can get started (thats how my ork horde started) And with regards to when you get to painting, with a few additions of some washes and about 3 other paints, this painting starter set is still what I use mostly today https://www.amazon.com.au/Vallejo-Basic-Colors-Paint-17ml/dp/B009162PWU
Vallejo Basic USA Colors set is a really good option, as well as some nuln oil from citadel. Gives you a lot of good color options. Some have kind of poor coverage (red and orange especially), but their buff, blue, purple, black, green, and white are all excellent.
Vallejo Basic USA Colors Paint Set, 17ml https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009162PWU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_ECzvFbB7GF3ZQ
Use Vallejo. Best paints I’ve ever used. $50 is a lot but it will last you. Remember to prime your models, I use rustolem spray paint + primer.
Potentially years. Once you have the models painted, you can use them to play games essentially forever. Rules get updated periodically, so if they print a new codex for your faction, you'd want to pick that up (to the tune of $40). And in practice, most players need 2-4 different books. But each of those books will remain current for at least a year from its release, and sometimes much longer.
You certainly don't have to spend all of that at once, either. You can get a Start Collecting box, a starter paint set, essential tools (clippers, glue, brushes), and a codex for $200ish. That's a fairly small army and not a huge selection of paints, but it's plenty to start painting and play some small games. From there, you can expand your collection at your own pace.
If you don't buy new models until you've finished painting all the ones you have, you'll probably find that it's pretty self-limiting. Even if I paint for an hour or more every night, it takes me a couple weeks to finish one box of models, and realistically I don't always paint every day.
Hi are there specific paints, thinner and primers (and other tools i might have missed out on except the brush) for painting gundam pilot figures? I've heard vallejo is a better paint than tamiya but haven't found exactly which one to buy (or a basic color set) Preferably on amazon but anything is welcome
Don't have an airbrush for priming just yet as well so if having an airbrush makes the needed materials different, I'd appreciate it if let me know as well
Currently looking at this set here for paint: https://www.amazon.com/Vallejo-Basic-Colors-Paint-17ml/dp/B009162PWU/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=vallejo+paint+set&qid=1591202481&sprefix=vallejo+&sr=8-2
Rule #1, Allways thin your paints. Now as for priming just make sure you get a white primer, these heros and villians are supposed to be brightly colored. If you prime them whith a black or even grey you will likely be disapointed. Next if you have the means, there is a decent set of vallejo on amazon Vallejo Basic USA Colors Paint Set, 17ml https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009162PWU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_ZRumEbB5JZ17Z This set will likely be all you need it has your basic roygbiv, silver, gold, black, white, brown and a flesh. The rest is a matter of you deciding how involved you want to get. There are guides and guides and guides on youtube. But if you just want to watch someone paint marvel minis epic duck or sorastro are very good and pretty fun to watch
im going to assume these are australian dollars, or else you're being ripped off on everything. And even then
The brushes in particular, we can get cheaper throw-aways that you'll bust up being new no worries.
Vallejo has like 50 subranges, with the main two being model colour and game colour, those are game colour! You'll find they are near universally panned for having poor coverage. They do tend to be a bit brighter and more cartoony colours compared to the more drab and muted model colours, but trust me you'll have a much better time with model colour actually getting paint to cover. The game colour INKS are fine, I quite like them, that sub-sub-range is actually quite good from what I've seen, mainly with the browns and wood, but for your main paint range, go with vallejo MODEL colour.
Vallejo has other sub ranges too, if ure gunna buy metal specifically, go for their METAL colour range, the best water-based acrylic one they have.
So really then 72291 is my biggest issue. You have no paints yet, get an all-round set instead of focusing on leather and metal, they'll have a couple of paints suitable if not ideal for everything: https://www.amazon.com/Vallejo-Basic-Colors-Paint-17ml/dp/B009162PWU/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=vallejo+model+color&qid=1556519933&s=gateway&sr=8-1
Get the starter set of the Vallejo Model Color. Games Workshop paints are pretty bad and their price is laughable. Reaper is hit or miss and P3 has some fantastic paints as well. I wouldn't waste your time with anything but one of those three.
Vallejo makes arguably the best paints and it's a dropper bottle. If you've never painted minis before and don't understand how significant that is, then you never want to experience a dried out pot of Citadel paint.
This set will get you started and will get you used to mixing colors.
I recommend this starter set
It should have everything you need, including a couple metallics.
For washes just add a lot of water to really thin the paint down.
Games Workshop has a lot of great painting tutorial videos on their website you should check out. The key to mini painting is learning all the little tricks as your skills increase.
I recently got the Vallejo basic set, and though it doesn't have everything, it has a lot of options. I'm quite happy with it.
IMO Vallejo paints are the best. They are pricey but they are a joy to work with and don't separate/ go bad if you go through a long creative drought.
Vallejo Basic USA Colors Paint Set, 17ml https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009162PWU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_5OkOyb5QDBS2Q
All this being said, I usually go for the much cheaper craft store acrylics. As much as I love painting I just don't have the time to do it just for pleasure, and game sessions can be rough on minis. It's a first world tragedy to see your beautifully and painstakingly painted mini chip and bend through regular use.
tl;dr... If a mini is a display model, go for the expensive stuff (I recommend Vallejo). If it's for tabletop use, go for craft store acrylics.
That's what they tend to cost. I've recently been buying Vallejo acrylics because they're cheaper and they seem to do the job just as well (for my purposes anyway).
Here are a couple of options on Amazon that are a much better value than single pot Citadel purchases.
https://www.amazon.com/Vallejo-Basic-Colors-Paint-17ml/dp/B009162PWU
Plus, I actually like the squeeze bottles more than the pots because I don't have to dedicate a brush to getting paint out and I also tend to use less from the squeeze bottles.
Here are some Bloodbowl minis I painted using Vallejo paint.
People are going to have opinions, lol. Here's mine: Army painter sucks, vallejo is good, most GW is good, most P3 are good.
As for what colors you should buy, I think I would start with a vallejo model color starter set. There are many, but maybe something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Vallejo-Basic-Colors-Paint-17ml/dp/B009162PWU/
Thank you, and I'm quite surprised myself.
For both of them, I painted the heads separately with a brown+flesh tone then washed a few times with just a brown. Then I went back with the brown mixture and did a little highlighting. I then used flesh to highlight only the very raised detail. Finally, i went back with some very watered down red for the cheeks. When it comes to the clothing, on the commander I based everything in an almost near black (black+tiny bit of white). I then went back with highlights of a very slightly lighter color. This covered most of all the folds and creases. Then I went over it again with another very slightly lighter color than that. Then I painted the undershirt, highlighted it, and used that same color to pick out the buttons and the very tip of the commanders lower jacket. The medals were picked out with a fine paintbrush, the iron cross being based in black, then picked out in white. The shoes I just gave some brown to.
The Loader is a bit more interesting. I first painted the pants, as that would allow me not be painting the strong dark colors over the light shirt. This I did with essentially the same thing as the commanders full outfit. Then I picked out the belt with black like before to give the thing more contrast. I then based the shirt in a tan+brown color, and added a few large splotches of light green color. I then added some more splotches of a darker green, and started to dot with that color. Then I went with just the base tan, and added some large splotches, and then tried to fill in some of the other colors with its dots. I repeated with the previous colors, adding more dots, making sure I only added them on there respective counterparts, so the tan on green, or the green on the tan colors Finally, after all this was on there, I added a black wash (water+teensy bit of black paint) and repeated this three times I think. When it was sufficiently contrasty, i then went back over all the raised detail with a lighter derivative of the original tan+brown color. Even if the color on the jacket was green, I still highlighted it with the brown. finally, I picked out the shoes and all the small bits. The undershirt and hands were painted in grey, and then highlighted.
​
Some resources : These are all the paints I used, only some went unused
Also I would check out Duncan Rhodes Painting Academy, as his tutorials are great. He explains everything very nicely, and although he does a lot of wargaming, the techniques can transfer great to figure painting. Most of the colors he uses can be obtained by either shilling out a bunch of money, or just mixing and matching with some regular acrylics.
I definitely would not start out at $150 worth of paint.
Get a starting selection of base colors like this one from vallejo or this one from Citadel/Games Workshop.
Then buy paints as you need them. This will save you from buying a massive set where you won't use half the paints.
I know I started with Reaper for my beginner paints, but I have switched to Vallejo recently. Starting with Vallejo would be a good suggestion. I found these on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Vallejo-Basic-Colors-Paint-17ml/dp/B009162PWU
This gives a pretty good breakdown of everything you should need.
The extent you want to go depends on how much disposable income you have, how far you're willing to go in terms of making your minis look as perfect as possible, etc.
Bare minimum, I'd recommend the following:
- Some cutters to get the pieces off of the plastic sprues.
- A craft knife or file to trim mold lines, as well as the plastic bits where they were cut from the sprue.
- Plastic glue. Any kind should work, though I've been using Tamiya's Plastic Cement and it works wonderfully.
For painting, at least get the following:
- Some form of primer. Spray can primers are cheaper, but the price will add up over time if you do a lot of painting, and you may occasionally get a bad can. If you can afford it, you can also prime with an airbrush, which is much more efficient (especially if you want to do zenithal priming)
- A set of brushes. If you're new to painting, just get a few to start off with. I think Army Painter has a decent beginner brush set, but I'd also recommend getting a slightly larger, cheap, synthetic brush to use for mixing your paints.
- This is probably the best beginner paint set. I've got a decent range of paints from Vallejo, Army Painter, and a few Citadel colors. And I've looked around at some starter sets from other lines. But this Vallejo set is by far the best value. It's relatively cheap and gives you all your standard colors. Once you've gotten the feel for painting, feel free to try whatever paint brands you like.
- Slightly optional, but I also recommend getting a set of washes from either Citadel or Army Painter. Especially for beginner painters, washes are incredibly useful for shading.
- Also slightly optional, but I'd recommend getting a wet palette. They're not expensive, I got mine for like $15 from Michael's. They keep your paints usable for much longer than if you were to use a standard dry palette.
If you haven't already, I'd recommend looking at some painting tutorials before getting started. Sorastro did a really great tutorial for Journeys in Middle Earth that covers a lot of basic painting techniques. It's pretty easy to apply the techniques in this video to painting most minis. He's also got a few videos for KDM specifically, but those are much more advanced. Don't feel the need to try to copy something you don't think you can handle.
Brushes
Glue? Citadel
Matt varnish? Vallejo
Black wash? Game wash
Please note that I've linked to amazon.CA
/u/Noobxs seems to have covered most of it. Here is my two cents -
If just want to paint things like they show on the box, Citadel stuff works just fine. And they aren't horrible at ~$4.50 a bottle. Use the apps and keep an eye on Warhammer TV and I am sure they will have a tutorial for whatever you want to do. Those are some great resources.
If you want to get creative, want to play around with mixing colors, etc - I would recommend picking up Vallejo Model Color paints instead. YMMV, but personally I find they are more consistent. They also come in dropper bottles which is super helpful when mixing or watering down paints (which is pretty much all the time for me). I use Vallejo Model Color for most things. For metallics I use their Vallejo Air line, and for shades/washes I like the Army Painter brand.
These paints are a little more expensive. On amazon they seem to go for closer to $5 for a 17ml bottle. But that should last you a LONG time. If you are just starting out I would recommend looking at a bundle like this one There are a few - and each usually comes with 16 colors and brings the price per paint to $2.30. The set listed I linked has a decent array of colors and should help you get done whatever you need to do.
If you choose to jump out of Citadel's paint lines - this may also be helpful. I watch a lot of painting tutorials, and most that use GW paint names. This will help you translate from Citadel's proprietorial names to the actual names of colors...or at least what other lines call them.
i like the model color range more aswell....but it depends on the specific paint
​
And the smaller sets are great.
There is also the "Basic color USA set" which has a pretty good range of model colors
link (only 25$): https://www.amazon.com/Vallejo-Basic-Colors-Paint-17ml/dp/B009162PWU/ref=sr_1_2?crid=3G0XPYGPHOYYY&keywords=vallejo+paint+basic+color+usa&qid=1658629210&sprefix=vallejo+paint+basic+color+usa%2Caps%2C146&sr=8-2
Here is also a Game color set(35$):
https://www.amazon.com/Acylicos-Vallejo-Acrylic-Fantasy-Figures/dp/B000PHCTRK/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1EV7X602DDL9H&keywords=vallejo+game+color+set&qid=1658629277&sprefix=vallejo+game+color+se%2Caps%2C148&sr=8-1
​
If you are commited to the big set...i would look for the model color one
i could not find that one on amazon tho :(
I had no idea you were in India. I just looked on amazon.in and they have this set which is a fantastic beginner's paint set. It's a bit more expensive than in the States but as I mentioned before, paints made specifically for mini painting are much more user-friendly, they flow better, they cover better, they thin down better, and they just plain make painting minis easier and more fun. I don't know what your financial situation is like, but I can promise you that VMC (Vallejo Model Color) is worth the money. That said, I don't know what stores are available in India, I just looked it up on Amazon because... well, it's Amazon. If you can find it somewhere else for cheaper now that you know what to look for, maybe you can save some money? This kit is the first one I bought on the recommendation of some online mini painters and I still use most of the paints. The only complaint that I have is that the lemon yellow is super weak. It needs a decent undercoat to really make it shine. I use Averland Sunset for this, but that is insanely expensive for a single pot of paint. For reference, that same exact pot costs about $4 USD (~₹310). You could probably use the "Buff" color from the VMC basic set and get similar results. Just don't try going into a black or white undercoat with that yellow, because it's going to take forever to get even moderate coverage and that's incredibly frustrating.
Here's another tip that I just thought about. Don't worry too much about your brushes for right now. Just get a cheap brush set that has some nice small brushes and a couple of medium sized ones. Because you're inexperienced, you're going to fuck up your brushes. It's unavoidable, and it happens to all of us. Just buy the cheap ones to start with until you learn how to care for your brushes properly, then go for the fancy, expensive Kolinsky sable brushes (which I just found out were banned in the US last year because American lawmakers are smooth-brained morons). Also, don't throw away your old brushes (unless the bristles get all glued together somehow). A jacked up brush can be used for painting. Base coats where you're just slapping down solid colors with little regard for detail, adding texture with stippling, mixing paints on your wet palette, etc. Even an old brush has some use!
> Would love to see the differences between the models you painted!
Okay!
Here's an album of the first game I painted, called "My Little Scythe" that I bought to get my younger son into board games. I made some improvements to those models later, but I don't think I took any pictures after the updates. I basically just put a matte finish on them and did the bases instead of leaving them bare. On the first mini, you can actually see how bad the Lemon Yellow coverage is on a dark undercoat. Since this was my first mini, I did it all wrong. I hadn't yet learned to base coat properly. You can see an improvement here on Walter, Biddy, and Morty (photos 11, 12, and 14). It's the same yellow, but I put a pale yellow base coat under it instead of attacking a black surface with a bright paint.
This guy is from a game called Arcadia Quest that I bought for super cheap ($35 USD/~₹2700 for a game that costs $100 USD/~₹7700 at retail) because I wanted to paint the minis. I know very little about the game beyond "it's a dungeon crawler". I only wanted the minis.
This sexy thing is an abomination from the World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King board game. Similar to Arcadia Quest, I bought the game for the minis. I don't even want to play this game because I'm not a fan of Pandemic. I just wanted to paint some minis of my favorite video game characters. This is another one of those aboms. Looking at the abominations, you can actually see progress. The second one (which was really the 3rd one) looks WAY better than the first one.
This is the most recent thing I've painted, just a couple of days ago. It's not my favorite, but I'm happy enough with the outcome. I stopped painting for a while because I let someone's shitty internet comments get into my head and stifle my joy, so I'm a bit out of practice.
When I started off a few years back, I got a starter set of some Vallejo paints like this, Nuln Oil and Agrax Earthshade from Games Workshop for my washes/shades, and then just bought a few cheap brushes like these.
You really don't need a lot. I have nicer brushes now, but the paints are all the same. You definitely want to get specialized paint for miniatures, though: Games Workshop, Vallejo (harder to find and getting more expensive, unfortunately), Reaper, or Army Painter. They have smaller paint pigments to handle the smaller models.
Also, for starter paints I would recommend the Basic Colors set from Vallejo.
Vallejo makes great paint that is easy to work with and doesnt need a lot of work to get thinned properly.
Something like this, I think this is exactly the one I use even today: Vallejo Basic USA Colors Paint Set, 17ml https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009162PWU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_XMWVJG9C4D8BDZQNEA03?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
Acrylic paints all day everyday. They don't give off strong fumes and you can use water to clean up your brushes. They dry faster too which is both good and bad. You can get cheap craft paints but I don't recommend it. Acrylic paint is a pigment suspended in an acrylic medium. If you get cheap craft paints the pigment grains are too course. Get dedicated miniature paints. For my money Vallejo is the best. Not too expensive, available and a huge selection. I would say stay away from Games Workshop paints. The pots are designed to leak air which causes the paint to dry out. Vallejo starter sets also come with regular sized bottles:
https://www.amazon.com/Vallejo-Basic-Colors-Paint-17ml/dp/B009162PWU
Another good brand is Tamiya. I think they are alcohol based so the fumes can get to you. Not as bad as enamel based paints. Tamiya has a HUGE selection to choose from as well.
| Item | Current | Lowest | Reviews |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vallejo Basic USA Colors Paint Set, 17ml | - | - | 4.8/5.0 |
^Item Info | Bot Info | Trigger
That is part of your issue. Those aren't the best paints, and have a low pigment count. You can make them work, but they require some doctoring up.
I would suggest getting actual model paint and see if there are better results.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009162PWU/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_8XVTWAFGVMZ87ZCJR02Q?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
Vallejo is a good brand, I use them for miniature wargame painting, not too expensive.
I purchased this one a couple of weeks ago https://www.amazon.com/Vallejo-Basic-Colors-Paint-17ml/dp/B009162PWU/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=vallejo+usa+color&qid=1629409919&sr=8-2
wanted to order the face/skin set too... but that's when i thought, maybe it's just better to order the large set and save a few bucks?
I noticed a lot of places only sell them individually, the basic set can be found on Amazon
This one: https://www.amazon.it/dp/B009162PWU?tag=miniac0c-21&geniuslink=true
And just buy nuln oil and agrax earthshade from games workshop and you are set
I would recommend this set by Vallejon instead of the FFG/Army Painter set
You can get a decent set of Vallejo paints for about 30 on Amazon think it has 16 colours Vallejo paints
Okay, so. Let's go piece by piece. I'm fairly new to miniature painting as well (only a little over a year of doing it by now), so a lot of this is based on personal experience and a lot of trial and error. Long post incoming oh boy.
Priming:
First of all, prime your miniatures. While it isn't 100% necessary (especially if you're on a super tight budget), I highly recommend it. Spray cans are cheaper in the short-term, and if you're gonna go this route, do it in grey. Zenithal priming is good, but hard to do with spray cans. If you wanna go for it anyway, just spray everything in grey (or black) with a very quick spray of white directly from above.
If you've got the cash to spare, however, get an airbrush. It's an expensive investment, especially if you're only gonna use it for zenithal priming, but it'll save you some money (and some frustrations) in the long-run. The problem with spray cans is that you can very easily over spray and ruin the detail if you aren't careful. High humidity will also ruin your prime, as will the occasional bad can of primer (this does happen and there's nothing you can do about it aside from start over). Plus, if you're doing a lot of painting, the cost really starts to add up. If KDM is the only game you plan on painting, it shouldn't be an issue, but just something to keep in mind.
If you get a bad can or mess up your prime in any way, and this is probably where you're most likely gonna find yourself forced to start over, LA's Totally Awesome is probably your best bet at removing the primer (and any paint) safely without ruining the minis. You can get it at basically any dollar store in the US, it's very cheap. Just fill a tupperware container full of about 50/50 cleaner and water and let the minis sit submerged in there for a few days. Then use like an old toothbrush or something to wash the paint off. They'll probably look slightly stained from the primer, but it shouldn't harm any of the details so long as you're gentle with the brush. You won't notice the stains after you reprime anyway.
Paints:
Okay, so. There are a ton of paint brands out there, and this one is honestly down to personal preference and cost more than anything else. As well as what might be available in your area (for me, the only things regularly available were Army Painter and Citadel, and I eventually found a store that carried Vallejo).
I'm personally fond of Vallejo paints. They're fairly cheap and there's a lot of variety among their different product lines. They also come in dropper bottles that are a little more beginner friendly. Vallejo sells a very nice beginner paint set that covers most of your basic colors.
A lot of people swear by the Citadel paint line, but I personally find them very overpriced, and they come in pots rather than dropper bottles. You get half as much paint per pot as you would a dropper bottle from one of the other brands for the same price, if not more. However, they have a wide variety of vibrant colors and their lineup of washes are very good.
Army Painter is basically just a cheaper, less varied lineup compared to Vallejo. And I mean that in every sense of the word. You can actually buy their entire lineup for just a couple hundred dollars, and it's a really good deal if you've got the money to burn on it (it's what I started with), but you'd definitely want to supplement these with paints from other brands.
Scalecolor is the only other major brand I've tried, and while they are very good, they're not the most beginner friendly paints. They're a little more expensive than Vallejo (but not as bad as Citadel) and can be tricky to thin down properly, since they're gel based rather than acrylic.
My ultimate recommendation: Buy a set of paints if you can and build from there. Try a few brands to see what fits your style. The Vallejo beginner set is the best "cheaper" option, and Army Painter's Complete Paint Set is also nice albeit a very expensive investment. Also, absolutely buy a set of washes from either Citadel or Army Painter. Just pick one and buy the full line-up of washes. You'll likely use them all eventually. (If you buy the AP Complete Set, it does include washes.)
Brushes:
Fancy brushes are nice, and will last a lot longer than cheaper ones if you treat them right, but they aren't necessary. You can buy some cheap ones and they'll work fine. I'd recommend having at least one or two nice brushes for detail work, one "garbage" brush you might use for mixing paints, and at least one flat brush for dry brushing.
You wanna make sure you have at least a size 0, size 1, and size 2 brushes.
Magnets:
Okay, so. People in other comments have already linked other guides on how to handle magnetization, so I'll try and be brief here.
In my honest opinion, I didn't find full magnetization to really be worth the effort. Especially with some of the female torsos, which are so small that you'll very likely wind up with connecting holes that will make the magnets rather unstable inside. (I had one torso where the arm and neck magnets all wound up connected to each other and stuck inside, and I had to dismantle the whole thing and patch up the inside with green stuff.) Trying to magnetize the hands might be even worse.
Even if you successfully magnetize everything without issue, it's just such a massive, time consuming process. And it makes the individual pieces harder to paint as well.
What I ended up doing instead was only magnetizing the heads, and just assembling the bodies with as much variety and dynamic posing as I could. At least that way I could swap out the heads to match a specific character's appearance. I definitely recommend at least doing this, and maybe the bases as well for safer storage.
The painting process:
I mentioned this in another comment, but I found this tutorial from Sorastro to be one of the best guides on the general painting process. For beginners, the best and easiest practice is basically a 3 step process:
- Base coat
- Wash
- Highlights
Essentially, paint every area of the miniature in the color you want (usually a darker shade, so that the highlights later are more effective). Then use appropriately colored washes over the majority of the miniature (especially highly textured areas like hair, fur, certain areas of clothing, etc). And then finally, highlight each area starting with the base tone, building up to gradually brighter colors. Just do your best to make the transitions as smooth as possible. If you have trouble with this, I've found thinning down a second wash over the area can help hide some of the transitions. Just be careful you don't overly darken the highlights by doing this.
Also thin your paints.
Lastly, you'll want to spray on a varnish when you've finished painting. Testor's Dullcote is pretty much the universally recommend option. When you spray a varnish, I highly recommend wearing a mask. Also, DO NOT touch your mini while the varnish is wet. EVER. It will strip the paint off.
I will start with brushes. So initially I bought a cheap set of small brushes from Hobbycraft. I imagine they are the same as any cheap brushes from any hobby store. They were good enough but due to their cheap nature if you don’t look after them well they lose their point or become frayed very easy. Over my time painting I always bought cheap brushes from amazon or hobby stores and they did work fine for miniature painting. However since it was my birthday not long ago I asked my partner to treat me to some Raphael 8404 brushes. The main difference is they are sable hair compared to synthetic and boy does it make a difference. The Raphaels are incredible and I bought them because they were recommended by a YouTuber I follow called Miniac. He has great videos on starting painting and great content of what to bu and how to use stuff so I would recommend checking out his stuff. For beginners like yourself I would stick to the cheap brushes and when you get some experience then buy 1 or 2 brushes from a company like Raphael or a sable style brush. You can buy a set of cheap brushes for say £10 buy 1 Raphael brush cost £15+
My knowledge on paints is this. Citadel has a great phone app called citadel colour this is super handy for working out what paints you need to buy from Citadel to get the look you want. Citadel paints are great and I use them. However they do come in annoying pots which sometimes drive me up the wall due to spilling etc. What I would recommend and what I started with is Vallejos Model starter set. It basically has every colour you will need to start and if it doesn’t you could mix that colour up. Vallejo also comes in dropper pots which is great and you get more paint per pot normally for a cheaper price as well then citadel. I swear by Vallejo paints but you must remember to shake them very well before using.
From my experience all the paints (citadel, Vallejo) which are acrylic all went through my airbrush very well provided I added some Vallejo paint thinner. As a tip you want your paint to be a ‘milky’ texture before firing it through the airbrush. As long as the paints viscosity is milky then it will spray fine. I have used specific air brush paints and from what I can tell is the same acrylic paint already thinned down. They are easier to use then mixing it yourself but for 10 seconds of hassle I would rather mix my own.
When the airbrush arrives I will let you know what I find. My friends which have been doing this hobby longer then me keep telling me to buy a Badger airbrush but the airbrush and compressor add up to around £250 which may not be a lot for some but it’s a lot for me.
I hope this helps and here is a link to the paint set I would recommend.
I will also link cheap brushes I have bought and still use because I like them but from the reviews not everybody likes them so your mileage may vary.
Here are some tips and such that I recently told a friend that was thinking about getting started. Its all from personal preference and experience, but should hopefully be helpful.
Starting supplies:
- A good minitaure level paint set. One that is not the cheapest, but a really good quality for the price is Vallejo Model Color like this one https://www.amazon.com/Vallejo-Basic-Colors-Paint-17ml/dp/B009162PWU/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwy8f6BRC7ARIsAPIXOjiPX7zVqUDM_Hn_FCV8L8RirLOVt9CYxbCHDwtBCjdAe3MClaq3XxgaAqG0EALw_wcB&hvadid=329774713883&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9009568&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=11371663274205268246&hvtargid=kwd-326944293111&hydadcr=2144_9908430&keywords=vallejo+starter+paint+set&qid=1599244422&sr=8-2&tag=googhydr-20
Its one I wish I would have started out with instead of the Army Painter set.
- You will also want a few brushes, like a size 1 and a size 00. Then a flat brush for dry brushing. You can get some cheap hobby store sets for starting out, just make sure they are for acrylics and the size 1 and size 00 are round body with a sharp pointed tip. Your first set of brushes is likely to get ruined, so thats why getting cheap ones first is better. The more "pro" ones are real Kolinsky Sable hair.
- Then just get some cheap plastic pallet or even a paper plate to put paint on.
- Some brush cleaner to cleaner the paint and condition the bristles. This is the most popular one: https://www.amazon.com/General-Pencil-105-BP-Masters-Preserver/dp/B0027AEANE/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2KL5P7K25YAQY&dchild=1&keywords=masters+brush+cleaner&qid=1599246236&sprefix=masters+b%2Caps%2C176&sr=8-3
This actually has some brush cleaner and some synthetic brushes https://www.amazon.com/gp/slredirect/picassoRedirect.html/ref=pa_sp_atf_aps_sr_pg1_1?ie=UTF8&adId=A100934021GQVRRYOTRZ8&url=%2FGeneral-Preserver-Watercolor-Painting-Professional%2Fdp%2FB085H6RZ7Y%2Fref%3Dsr_1_2_sspa%3Fcrid%3D2KL5P7K25YAQY%26dchild%3D1%26keywords%3Dmasters%2Bbrush%2Bcleaner%26qid%3D1599246236%26sprefix%3Dmasters%2Bb%252Caps%252C176%26sr%3D8-2-spons%26psc%3D1&qualifier=1599246236&id=1456644869316761&widgetName=sp_atf
- A primer of some kind. There are miniature specific ones, but some Krylon gray, white, or black would be fine as well. Just make sure its coming out clean before spraying the model with it. You will see some people refer to zenithal priming, which is a dark gray/black coat, then either 2 more coats from above or 1 from above using gray then white, or just white. This isn't crucial, just helps see where a highlight would go.
​
Some tips just from my experience:
- Have a container of clean water to rinse brushes in (might be obvious)
- Don't let your brushes sit in the water container, it will ruin the sharp point
- Try not to get water above the metal piece and onto the wood/plastic handle. This will allow water to run into the ferrule and start warping the bristles.
- Don't let paint get up to the ferrule (or metal part) next to the bristles. This also will cause paint to dry in there and flay out the bristles. I have made this mistake before knowing better.
- Thin the paint some! This one is crucial to perserving the model's details. Its better to do 2 thin coats of paint that one thick globby one. You can thin with a little water, you don't want the break to break, but still cover while looking smooth. Some of the videos will talk about that. The general goal is milk-like consistency.
- Shake the paint really well before using!
- Some optional tips for prepping the model. These are not necessarily required, just help produce a better result:
- Use the back edge of a Xacto knife or something similar to scrape off any mold lines. These are required, but could see it in the final product: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wargamingtradecraft.com%2F2015%2F04%2Fgetting-started-removing-mould-lines.html&psig=AOvVaw1almfAXyO2Sy9zPf0nGkW-&ust=1599334205121000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCIia0aye0OsCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAg
- Wash the model with some dish soap and then rinse it and dry it completely. This just makes sure and mold residue (or mold line scrapings) and oils from your skin don't prevent paint from sticking.
​
Videos that helped me get started:
Miniac: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ94-fHMfAt1hH_gvkj5bWaxqtlXcPOpf
Squidmar: https://www.youtube.com/c/SquidmarMiniatures/videos (These aren't playlisted so may require some searching)
Vince's Hobby Cheating: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcdsbwBroEmD2fNEJhcju6PD7qRmoo04Y (These aren't necessarily starting with beginner tips, but does have some. Its a better guide for finding good ways to do specific things you might want to do, like red hair, fur, leather, etc.)
There are a couple different 16 colour sets from vallejo. That are worth looking at. https://www.amazon.ca/Vallejo-Basic-Colors-Paint-17ml/dp/B009162PWU
Do you think that i could do that with this paont set? I don't own any colours rn and i'm looking to buy some as soon as possible https://www.amazon.it/dp/B009162PWU?tag=miniac0c-21
Try amazon smile to donate to charity automatically at no cost to you!
https://smile.amazon.com/Vallejo-Basic-Colors-Paint-17ml/dp/B009162PWU/
^^^I'm ^^^a ^^^bot ^^^and ^^^this ^^^action ^^^was ^^^preformed ^^^automatically.
Yeah fair question. Games Workshop are solid but pricey. I also like Vallejo and Scale Color. Not a fan of Army Painter but they work in a pinch. Start with a core box that has the basics and a few metallics. Most of them have a starter kit.
Here’s a Vallejo one:
https://www.amazon.com/Vallejo-Basic-Colors-Paint-17ml/dp/B009162PWU/
Even cheaper is the reaper bones set. Super basic but all you need :
https://www.amazon.com/Reaper-Miniatures-08906-Learn-Paint/dp/B00NTMC49G/
And the GW one. Honestly I would t have picked these pains as a starter set but it would work:
https://www.amazon.com/Warhammer-40-000-Paints-Tools/dp/B08FFTRWBV/
All of these come with brushes, clippers, etc.
Amazon also has a build your own box for GW.
Try amazon smile to donate to charity automatically at no cost to you!
https://smile.amazon.com/Vallejo-Basic-Colors-Paint-17ml/dp/B009162PWU/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=vallejo+paint&qid=1601409153&sr=8-4
^^^I'm ^^^a ^^^bot ^^^and ^^^this ^^^action ^^^was ^^^preformed ^^^automatically.
Lmao. i asked on the mini painting sub for advice when i got my plastic ones printed. Amazon has some really good paints I decided on Vallejo as it was a good price for the number of colors you get, it binds to plastic well.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009162PWU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
This army painter set comes with a wash but washes are basically black and water https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MTXRU2L/ref=sspa_dk_detail_6?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B01MTXRU2L&pd_rd_w=qEfKn&pf_rd_p=45a72588-80f7-4414-9851-786f6c16d42b&pd_rd_wg=1V3xR&pf_rd_r=YGVA247R0VAG1ZFQ3WF3&pd_rd_r=630c979d-3766-41fa-94bb-1b632...
I'm a really crafty girl so i got into making terrain for DnD as i'm the DM but the quality wasn't what i wanted (foam board) so I got WAYYYY too excited when i got my 3d printer... i've printed so much dnd stuff now i destroyed my ender 3's magnetic plate and had t buy a glass one
https://www.amazon.com/Vallejo-Basic-Colors-Paint-17ml/dp/B009162PWU
This is what I have. Looks pricey but the cost per ml is among the best.
Thanks much for the info. I've heard others recommend Vallejo, too. Would you recommend the "basic colors" set? There's also a "medieval colors" one:
I have a decent set of Golden fluids I use at present, as well.
This should get you started, the only other thing I'd suggest is getting a black wash (I use citadel paints so I use Nuln Oil, unsure what the technical term for it is). The thing is, I've purchased a ton of stuff. A TON OF STUFF. I never ended up using the Dry Paint set that I got, out of all of the washes I only use two of them on a regular basis and I use expensive brushes now. If you're just starting out it's better to use these synthetic brushes because they're cheaper and you don't have to worry too much if they get ruined. Expensive brushes are great, but you won't know why until you get better.
Would you reccomend something like this for starting with Vallejo? I would prefer if they were more of a "flat" tone and not glossy. Thanks so much for your advice!
I was thinking of getting this set of Vallejo Paints to start out. Would I need to mix these with thinner before I start? Thanks
vallejo, Reaper, or Citadel are really your best choices. Army paint works well but is a little cheaper.
This one : https://www.amazon.com/Vallejo-Basic-Colors-Paint-17ml/dp/B009162PWU
​
And also watch this on what is best beginner paint set : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrJ1Yb2QI1g
Popular alternatives to Vallejo Basic USA Colors Pa...
Reaper Miniatures 08906 Learn to Paint Kit Core Skills, Master Series Paint Box Set
The Army Painter Miniature Painting Kit with Wargamer Regiment Miniatures Paint Brush - Miniature Paint Set for Miniature Figures, 50 Nontoxic Model Paints - Mega Paint Set of 3
