Suggestion on paints & tools?

[Thraug]

Hello,

I'm just starting to paint miniatures and need pretty much everything from paints and tools, to tips on how to paint. I plan on using the MinWax dipping method to shade them, and have read how to do this, but I don't know the best way to prime and paint the minis prior to dipping. A link to a full guide, from priming to painting to dipping would be greatly appreciated.

Is there a painting kit I can purchase online that contains everything I'd need to prime and paint? If not, I'd appreciate suggestions on paints (kits?) and what primer to use and what color and how to apply it. I assume priming is done from spray cans? I'll be painting about 75 plastic fantasy figs from the Descent boardgame (hard plastic, some red plastic, some tan). I'll be painting them so they look decent, not good/great. I want to paint them semi-quickly (assembly line style) without too much detail.

Short list of requests (preferring online vendor links if possible)

• All-in-one paint kit including everything I need to paint (paints, brushes, ??)
• If no kits are for sale, paint I should buy (matte, gloss, colors, etc..)
• If no kits are for sale, brushes to buy
• MinWax to buy. I think I should be using "Minwax Polyshades polyurethane Tudor satin stain"
• Online painting guides from priming, painting, to dipping.
• Anything else you think I'll need

Thanks folks!!

 

[tallyrand]

While the dipping method you mention personally horrifies me, I will acknowledge that it is a valid method of speed painting, both for adding detail, and getting an army to have a unified look. I would recommend hitting them with a matte sealer afterward to cut the high shine that such methods can leave.

What we need to know before we can answer your question is, just what is your painting budget?

Almost all miniature paints are water based acrylics, the paints usually I work with are Games Workshop:

http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/landing.jsp?catId=cat410002&rootCatGameStyle=paints-tools

They have a Starter paint Set for about $30 which is kinda the Crayola basic 8 of painting, they also have a Hobby Starter Set for $50 which comes with a brush, clippers and some glue, and is a bit of a rip off in my book. They used to sell a massive paint set with all of their colors for about $150 which was actually a pretty good value.

I began painting minis with Partha Paints, but they don't make those any more, but most of mine are still good, even after all these years.

Most "miniature paints" ARE superior to what you will find on the shelves of the arts and crafts store, and you will pay for that, they are typically much smoother, have more pigment, and take to the mini much better than crafts paint. They also will cost you at least 2-3x as much. if you are just starting out, and on a budget, try the cheaper option just to get your feet wet.

For priming, yes, you use spray paint, while most mini paint companies have their own brand of Miniature primer, here you can skimp without noticeable effect. Usually you won't find "Black Primer" in most spray paint displays, it's pretty much white and rusty brown, what you are looking for is flat or ultra flat black. This will do the trick, remember that multiple light coats are preferable to one heavy coat, and watch out for the humidity, wait until it is nice and dry outside, high humidity can cause a rough pebbled finish that you don't want.

For brushes, again, this comes down again to price, for a really nice single fine tipped brush, you can expect to pay $5-10, but, for that same $5, you can go to the Wal-Mart crafts section and get a variety pack of brushes which will work just fine. You are looking for natural fibers, short, fine tips for detail work, as well as some flat brushes for broader areas and drybrushing. I've been painting for a long time, and have tons of brushes, but I still picked up a couple of these multi packs just last week.

Other basics are a roll of paper towels, I always paint over a pad of paper towels about 4 layers thick, it gives me something to remove excess paint from my brush on, a place to dry my brushes after cleaning them, as well as a cushion for when I inevitably drop the mini I am working on.

You also need at least 2 cups of brush water that you are willing to sacrifice to the cause, I use disposable red party cups. Why at least 2? One is for the basic cleaning of the paint covered brush, and it gets dirty pretty fast, the second one is for a second rinsing of the brush before drying it on the paper towel. Also if you are working with Metallic Paints you want a separate cup for that so the tiny flecks don't contaminate your other waters and transfer.

There are tons of tutorials online for painting minis, just Google it to your hearts content, or, if I may suggest, check my sig for the thread I just started, it's a bit hit or miss, and not a real tutorial, I'm more or less covering all kinds of related subjects as they come to me.

 

[Kris]

Some great advice there tallyrand

I began painting minis with Partha Paints, but they don't make those any more, but most of mine are still good, even after all these years.

You can get paints from Ral Partha Europe (dunno if they are the same or not) ...and I use quite a few of them - as you can get a 15ml pot for £0.80 - whereas a GamesWorkshop 12ml pot will cost you £2.20 (which is almost as much as the RP 90ml pot).

https://www.connectstores.com/ralpartha/sp_19261.html

Though I understand that might not be very useful to folks in the US ...but I thought I'd mention it all the same - just it in case anyone from over here reads the thread, and is interested in a cheaper alternative to GW (though I still use some GW paints - especially their metallics).

 

[Thraug]

Excellent info, especially to Tally. Thanks again for the great hot-to article, it's exactly what I was looking for.

 

[Doug Sundseth]

First, for priming, do not use spray paint. Use spray primer. They are not the same, and spray paint makes a really poor primer, because it doesn't bond to the underlying miniature anywhere close to as well as real primer. (Note that what GW currently calls primer is actually paint.)

Krylon primer (available in Black, White, Gray, and Rust Brown to my knowledge) is adequate and cheap. Many painters think that Duplicolor (available from auto parts stores) is better and still inexpensive. Competition painters seem to mostly use Tamiya Fine Surface primer, which can be found in better hobby stores. Black, white, and gray all work, though the techniques are different. (The short version is that white is slow and pretty, black is fast and ugly, and gray is in between. I use all of them at various times, though I use black least.)

Second, stay away from cheap brushes. They make your life harder and they don't last long. Buy top-quality Sable brushes. A good brush will cost you $8-12 and last more than a year of regular painting. If you're planning to paint a full Descent set, you will save money by buying quality brushes. I would recommend Winsor & Newton Series 7, Da Vinci Maestro, or Raphael; all are available from Art Supplies from Dick Blick Art Materials. (Blick has good prices and excellent service.)

When you're getting brushes, pick up a cake of brush soap as well. The Master's Brush Cleaner and Restorer works pretty well and doesn't cost much. I'd also recommend that you pick up either a porcelain (not plastic, it doesn't clean well) well palette or (if you have someone to teach you how to use it) a wet palette.

For paint, I use mostly Reaper, but any of the major hobby brands will work. For that matter, craft acrylics like Apple Barrel or Delta Ceramcoat will also work, though they're a bit more difficult to get good results with. The difference between good paint and adequate paint is much less than the difference obtained by using good brushes, though.

I'd start with Black, White, Red, Blue, Yellow, and a few colors you plan to use on your first minis. With the basic colors, you can mix your other colors; anything beyond the first set is a convenience, not a necessity. It is enough of a convenience, though, that most painters have a wide variety of bottled paints available. Fortunately, buying paints one bottle at a time is relatively easy.

If you have lots of painting questions, you might want to try out Reaper Miniatures' forum; it's a very polite and helpful community, with some of the top painters in the world as regular contributors.

HTH

 

[Thraug]

Thanks Doug, and everyone else. Everything posted helped a LOT! I think I have enough knowedge to give it a go now. Look out!!!!