How to... ( miniatures)?

[Bloodsparrow]

I'm actually rather glad PC hit that wrong button. I wouldn't have thought to come to this part of the board otherwise...

To make me somewhat useful in this thread, "Practice, practice, practice." "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again." And any other saying like that, listen to them. There's a reason those phrases have been around a long time, so don't just ignore them.

Can't stress that one enough.

You don't even need to buy lots and lots of minis for that either. Somebody once told me that he would clean paint off of minis by dropping them in a cup of Mr. Clean or Pinesol...

Never tried that myself... And I'm not sure what that would do, if anything, to a plasic mini...

Has anybody done that?

 

[KnowTheToe]

I'm actually rather glad PC hit that wrong button. I wouldn't have thought to come to this part of the board otherwise...



Can't stress that one enough.



Never tried that myself... And I'm not sure what that would do, if anything, to a plasic mini...

Has anybody done that?

Pinesol works great

 

[tetsujin28]

Does it take off primer, as well? I've got some minis that I botched when I first started, and it'd be nice to repaint them.

 

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

Does it take off primer, as well? I've got some minis that I botched when I first started, and it'd be nice to repaint them.

Oh yeah. Pinesol will take anything off minis. I just stripped a whole bunch of minis I originally painted 15 years ago with oil based model paints. These were BAD paint jobs, very thick, and multiple coats of each color. I dropped them in a 50/50 mix of Pinesol/water, let them sit for 2 or 3 days, scrubbed them with a toothbrush, let sit for another day or two, scrubbed again, and they are now waiting to be repainted. I'll try to find the links for a great set of instructions for stripping minis, and post them later tonight or tomorrow if I can find them.

Don't know how Pinesol reacts with plastic minis. I've only used it on metal.

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

Don't know how Pinesol reacts with plastic minis. I've only used it on metal.

I don't have any experience myself, but I've heard from Warhammer players in my group that if you let plastic mini's soak more than a day or so, they tend to soften. I'd be careful with them...

 

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

Found the articles I was talking about a few posts up, about stripping paint with Pinesol.

http://www.faqs.org/faqs/games/miniatures/painting-faq/
This one is the Miniatures Painting Guide and FAQ. A great resource on all sorts of mini painting questions, I've got it printed out and use it as a reference all the time. Section 6 is the section on stripping paint.

http://www.paintingclinic.com/clinic/clinic.htm
This one is for Doctor Faust's Painting Clinic, specifically "The Clinic" section. On the left hand side, go down about 1/2 way, and find the section "Removing Paint." There are a couple articles here on stripping paint, using a variety of solvants, including Pinesol and Brake Fluid. I can't testify about brake fluid, but I've used Pinesol with excellent results.

 

[tetsujin28]

I can't recommend brake fluid. It's nasty stuff, and eats nearly anything.

 

[pogre]

Dead Horse prepare for thy beating!

So I posed the question about craft paints versus model paints in a couple of miniature painting forums and here's one answer I received:

Actually, the difference between fine paints (particularly Vajello, Golden, etc) is the amount of pigment, binder and the vehicle.

Essentially, there are many types of paints available, each with different amounts of binders(to make it stick), pigments(to give it color) and the vehicle that carries the binders and pigments. Fine paints such as Golden, Vajello, Winsor & Newton etc will always cost more because more pigment is used. Pigment is costly. With paint, you pay for what you get...like a good pair of shoes.

Craft paints are on the lower end when it comes to the amount of pigment. They were designed with crafts in mind. They're thinner, cheaper and readily available. I often use various types of craft paints for various types of bases. Also, paints made for children are a step under these in the amount of pigment, binder, and vehicle.

Then I e-mailed some of the model paint manufaturers. Naturally they are biased, but their responses were remarkably similar to the above:

From the folks at Reaper -

Really, it's about cost. Fine pigments cost more money, but are worth it when working with scale models.

From a Vallejo distributor -

Look, don't take my word for it grab a brush and try this experiment. Take some craft paint and some of our paint [vallejo] and load a pair of brushes equally. Make sure both paints are watered down the same amount. Now, run the brushes across a piece of glass or tile. Now you tell me which one is higher quality paint?

Games Workshop U.S. sent me a catalogue and no response

I tried some craft paint again and I think it may have some uses, but I do think you get what you pay for in the end.

 

[farscapesg1]

I just found this thread and now I am really interested in craft paints. I have tried a couple colors and haven't seen a big difference from the old Ral Partha paints that I still have around.

Pogre,

I'm just curious. All the responses that you recieved came from one side. Did you also email or recieve responses from common craft paint companies (Apple Barrel, Americana, etc.)?

 

[satori01]

Has anyone tried Adiken's Adikolor paints? It is a a relatively new paint line out.

I will back Pogre up on the paint issue, with the caveat of there is cetainly a relative degree of Marginal Utility concerning quality paints.

There is a big difference in feel between even reaper paints and say the Folk Art paints one can pick up at Michaels.

In the begining I would say cost and quantity trump quality paint, I do reccomend buying some nice brushes, the right brush makes all the difference. I would in fact buy 2 sets identical brushes, maybe it was just me, but I was quite cruel to my first set when learning how to paint. Expect to sacrifice some supplies to minature gods.