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Repear learn to paint core set. Comes with good instructions. Models specific to the instructions, models don't require priming, but I'd recommend it for learning and it comes with all the colors you need to follow the directions. Also includes a brush, minis are whole and require no glue. It's a great starter kit if you're truly starting as other than water and a palette you need nothing else, it's all in the box. It isn't the best brush, not the best paints, but it is a cheap starting point to dip your toe in. Just remember to wash the minis with dish soap and dry properly before painting with repear minis. When it comes to primer I know you said no cans, but paint on primer is a pain in the was, it recommend Vallejo for brush or airbrush either way. For rattle can army painter had a rather affordable can, relative to rattle can sprays.
I also highly recommend flow aid or airbrush thinner, both work very similarly. Flow aid is cheaper at a Michael's if you have one nearby, but I'll include an Amazon link. Airbrush thinner tends to work a bit better but is also nearly double the price.
Good luck.
INTLLAB Lab Vortex Mixer, Touch Function Lab Vortexer, Tattoo Ink, Gel Polish, Eyelash Adhesives, Acylic Paints, Test Tubes and Centrifuge Tubes 15mL https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08Q7WBJFN/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_P0T5JE5FZ6SZWVQMWVBB
It's the included model in this paint kit
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https://www.amazon.com/Army-Painter-Dungeons-Official-Adventurers/dp/B07DWMTNDJ
I use this one as recommended by Dr Faust's Painting Clinic. It's doesn't have magnification, but I use 3x reading glasses when I need magnification. It's really good at shining around my dumb head when I would otherwise be blocking my own light.
i like roubloff 1010 or 1110 or the offbrand kolinsky brushes from my local arts supply shop. if you want fancy stuff look for raphael 8404 oder winsor & newton kolinsky/sable brushes. i just buy mine from amazon or ebay mostly. I would suggest asking over here as well: r/minipainting/
ie: https://www.amazon.de/Profi-Kolinsky-Rotmarder-Pinselset-Roubloff/dp/B01DS6HXC0
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.
Agreed. I have smaller brushes but getting a decent load of paint into the brush tip is a pain with ‘micro’ sizes! A good sharp point is worth gold! I suggest thinning your paints more and cleaning your brushes after use with The Masters Brush Cleaner. This is great stuff for keeping your brushes in good form!
My go to brushes are size 2 Kolinski round point brushes. Love ‘em. Reasonably priced from Amazon. With good care they last and last
Welcome to the hobby and enjoy!
Lets get started with safety. If you're priming, Always do it outside or with proper ventilation. So a spray booth is a necessity if you want to do it inside. Same with varnishing, do it outside or in a spray booth.
For regular painting, if you're using acrylics, you should always use a paint booth, although I hear some people just paint with a fan on, making sure to keep air circulating as to not breathe in paint particles. I personally use a booth but the decision is yours.
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Now, onto the brands of AB (Airbrush) and Paints. You have to first ask yourself what your use case is. Do you want to use it for priming and base coating? Do you want to use it for fine work and blending? Just for terrain?
A cheap AB and compressor is fine for priming and base coating. If you're just starting out then I recommend grabbing a cheap portable one for less than $100. I got this one for my mother to try out just 2 weeks ago. It's not "good" per say, just "good enough" for priming and laying down base colors while still being inexpensive and simple for beginners.
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As for paints, your normal acrylics work just fine. The big issue is dilution. This is something that I personally still struggle with as even different colors in the same paint range will have different dilutions for the AB. It's something you'll have to play with until you got it down but the main thing is having the paint thin enough that it doesn't clog the nozzle.
I don't have room for one of those ikea cabinets, so I have a wall-mounted display case like this one:
Yea, water mixable oils and standard oils are two different things. You want mineral/white spirits to dilute a standard oil paint. Here is a link for the same brand, but the correct product:
https://www.amazon.com/Winsor-Newton-Artists-White-Spirits/dp/B00681M69I
Paints work on any material that miniatures are made of.
I'd recommend starting with this if you're going to order online anyway: https://www.amazon.com/Reaper-Miniatures-08906-Learn-Paint/dp/B00NTMC49G
Yeah, it can be and it's bloody annoying. Basically, the paint has stained the bristles. Get some of this stuff, it's amazing at cleaning and restoring brushes.
There are a few options here: -
- You can use free software such as Blender to sculpt your own digital models, then print them.
- You can download free models that other kind souls have made, from websites like thingiverse.
- You can pay for better quality models. People use sites like Patreon for this.
If it is miniatures you want to print, make sure you get a resin printer. Some people will tell you that you can get good results from an FDM, which costs less. Well, technically you can, if you tweak and tune the printer to death. Whereas resin will give you amazing results out of the box.
Try Polymorph on Amazon. Basically you pour some grains into a cup of boiling water and wait until they’re transparent. Scoop them out and mush it into the shape you want. I put mine on the end of a 6” section of 1” diameter wooden dowel. Once it’s what you want, run it under cold water to set it. thermoplastic
https://www.amazon.com/Miniature-Brushes-Detailing-Painting-Watercolor/dp/B01M7UFLP5
I use this set above. It's not sables but the handles are so comfortable that I can paint for hours with them. Try it. It's from a company called D'Artisan Shoppe and called Minute Series XII. There's plenty of copycats with lesser quality bristles though so make sure you're getting the right one.
Googling "arthritis aids" and "writing" might win you some ideas, although they seem to be exploitatively expensive because they're medical supplies.
Another idea I just now came up with and have not tested in any way is to take a pen barrel that you like and figure out some way to stuff the brush up into it. Maybe clay? Some kind of pourable acrylic? Epoxy? Spitballing here.
Pretty good so far!
My recommendations.
thin your paints more. Yes it absolutely sucks figuring out the good consistency. But you will feels like a champ once you do. Otherwise contrast is always a good solution if you don’t mind how runny they are.
practice dry brushing. Probably the easiest skill to pick up, it will be great for your making your metallics appear thin and not glob of the details. Once your good enough with it you will find it can really help spice up armor panels too.
prime it black. If you workbgently around the panels it will make the crevices pop out a lot more, and it will look amazing. I HIGHLY recommend Vallejo Surface Primer Black (74.02) it is an absolute game changer. It is made for the airbrush, but it comes out so smooth you can easily apply it with a brush rapidly and lose no details. I think it is magic.
What gold did you use? It’s actually kind of insane how bright it came out. It looks similar to the gold you get from paint pens, and if that is what you used you have to be ridiculously careful with them because it is extremely hard to control how paint comes off them and it peels extremely easily.
For the shield, I completely understand what happened. White is a complete joke of a pigment from most brands and never comes out smooth, they are always either too thick or too thin, no exception. I recommend another white pass on the shield to help smooth it over.
If you find that they come off to glossy after the wash (nuln oil be like that) I recommend armor painter anti shine sealer make sure you let them dry before doing this.
Don't lay them flat for drying. You want to put them hanging upside down. Had the same problem before. I bought one of these.
The left set are these pen clips I found on amazon Pen Holder Clip Self Adhesive for Pen Paint Brush Desk Computer Car Bulletin Board Clipboards, 20 Pack, White https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B071F9GHYW/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_NPVFHGE27G7A2Z1SPD3P?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
The white brushes are pegs with nails through the spring hole, and then sprayed black, some brushes are too thin so they also have some foam I had lying around
The left set are these pen clips I found on amazon Pen Holder Clip Self Adhesive for Pen Paint Brush Desk Computer Car Bulletin Board Clipboards, 20 Pack, White https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B071F9GHYW/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_NPVFHGE27G7A2Z1SPD3P?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
The white brushes are pegs with nails through the spring hole, and then sprayed black, some brushes are too thin so they also have some foam I had lying around
The left set are these pen clips I found on amazon Pen Holder Clip Self Adhesive for Pen Paint Brush Desk Computer Car Bulletin Board Clipboards, 20 Pack, White https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B071F9GHYW/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_NPVFHGE27G7A2Z1SPD3P?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
The white brushes are pegs with nails through the spring hole, and then sprayed black, some brushes are too thin so they also have some foam I had lying around
The left set are these pen clips I found on amazon Pen Holder Clip Self Adhesive for Pen Paint Brush Desk Computer Car Bulletin Board Clipboards, 20 Pack, White https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B071F9GHYW/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_NPVFHGE27G7A2Z1SPD3P?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
The white brushes are pegs with nails through the spring hole, and then sprayed black, some brushes are too thin so they also have some foam I had lying around
The Army Painter - Battlefield Tufts - Terrain Model Kit for Miniature Bases and Dioramas - Swamp Tuft - 77 Pcs, 3 Sizes https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004BBX4X4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_TAWHASJAM6DZQZCACX21
Black, White, Primary colors = mix your own colors. Expand when you can.
Dollar store brushes.
Brush cleaner: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0027AEANE/ref=ppx\_yo\_dt\_b\_search\_asin\_title?ie=UTF8&th=1
Dollar store tupperware, paper towel/sponge, parchment paper = Wet Palette.
Brown wash. (Agrax Earthsade)
Have fun.
Night Scales and Glitter Green are. They come in the Army Painter Metallic Colours set: The Army Painter - Metallic Colours Paint Set - 10 Acrylic Paints for Collectors in Wargames Miniature Model Painting https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B08JZ7P67T/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_PF70RP5HTZSY5E6GP4XS
I think Night Scales is my new favorite to mix with now. It doesn't overpower other colors like pure black and gives a good shine. I used it on this one and the green guy I posted earlier today.
And the other is Reaper Imperial Purple, my bad. It's just a reaper core color I picked up single at my comic shop.
The quickshade is sold in a set too with like 10 other shades.
I have made one myself Gold dragon horde I used wizkids gold chests and modge podge gold glitter
Thanks!
I bought it from my local game store, but it’s from the Crisis Protocol game.
Atomic Mass Ghost-Spider & Spider-Man Character Pack https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07YFFYL7H/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fabt1_708XFbWVSTM3J
Thanks so much! I have the flocking in a tupperware container. I use a brush to coat the areas I want flocked with Turbo Tacky Glue and run the entire base through the flocking. If there are any areas missed I take a pinch of it and drop it onto the base. Immediately after doing this I hold the base upside-down and give it a few hard flicks to knock the excess material off. Just make sure all of your paint and washes are COMPLETELY dry prior to doing this haha.
I used GF9 flocking specifically: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001N1A7EO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apap_ilCljJ6gapSHN
on this figure.
The Iawata Neo was my first decent airbrush, and I still use it quite a bit. The small paint cup is perfect for minis, and it's pretty easy to clean.