Miniature Painting

[Ulrick]

Well then, Pogre, here's some second-hand miniatures of mine on Ebay you can buy, BUY, BUY!!!

 

[Mark CMG]

Some of the video tutorials I have enjoyed a lot have come from MiniWargamerJ and Doctor Faust's Painting Clinic -

J's Miniature Wargaming Channel - YouTube

Doctor Faust's Painting Clinic - YouTube

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2y8wIJCS-k[/ame]

 

[Storminator]

Another thing that's handy is a notebook. Write down what colors you use on which parts of the mini. Then you can recreate/modify a look you decide you like. More importantly, if you take a break from painting for a while you can go back to a half finished mini and get the colors right.

And see if you can find someone to hang out with and paint together. It's both a great motivator and more fun to bounce ideas off people. And you can show off your freshly painted minis right away!

PS

 

[Traveon Wyvernspur]

Great ideas, advice, and links in this thread and thank you to everyone who has posted!

 

[Mark CMG]

Here's a couple on brushes that have some good info -

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WedCDHz5Ls]Wargame Miniature Basics - How to: Taking care of your brush - YouTube[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vC5j4mdlDM[/ame]

 

[Lord Pendragon]

You might consider these forums as well:

http://privateerpressforums.com/forumdisplay.php?6-Miniatures-Painting-and-Modeling

Privateer Press is mainly about producing miniatures, so there's a decent painting community on their forums.

 

[was]

I make sure my kit contains:
1. Primer...I like a light gray, black interferes with some lighter colors.
2. Matte Cote..to protect when finished..I usually use two light coats
3. A handy shoebox in which to spray the minis
4. Toothpicks to move them so I can spray the otherside..tweezers work too
5. newspaper or plastic to protect the table
6. 2 wider brushes for larger areas and 3 fine tip for details
7. a jar/container of water and some paper towels for cleaning brushes
8. a small mixing tray to blend colors
9. paints to include at least: black, beige, brown, green, silver, white
..i also like brown and black inks for shading
10. hobby knife
11. super glue and white glue
12. grass/rock terrain for base
To simplify the process:
Step 1..trim the piece when you remove it
Step 2..dry fit it to the base before using the superglue
Step 3..lightly spray it with primer
Step 4..paint
Step 5..shading
Step 6..apply the base terrain..some people do this before painting
Step 7..spray it with a protective coating
The best tip is not to get frustrated. Next don't start learning on the priciest minis..get some cheap/scrub pieces and experiment with them.
Good Luck!

 

[ExploderWizard]

I think what I'll do is practice on the 40 plastic minis I got from the Ravenloft board game before putting the brush to the more expensive minis that I buy and have to assemble.

I don't know what those minis are made of but some plastics don't take paint very well. Some surfaces are just too sealed and smooth for paint to adhere to very well.

I would suggest attempting to prime just 1 of them to see if it works.

 

[Traveon Wyvernspur]

I don't know what those minis are made of but some plastics don't take paint very well. Some surfaces are just too sealed and smooth for paint to adhere to very well.

I would suggest attempting to prime just 1 of them to see if it works.

I've actually seen the plastic minis painted by someone else, so they hold paint well and looked pretty good.

 

[JoeGKushner]

The real reason to 'Buy' is because if there is a miniature you like, there is no guarantee that it's going to be around forever. There are many Grenadier and Ral Partha figures I should have kept, rebought as a young man that I'd have to pay preimum price for now via e-Bay or the new seller from Italy. Minis go out of production all the time. There are whole swathes of dead lines that are hard to find after the initial sell off.

[sblock=Top Secret]Shhhh - I love second-hand minis.[/sblock]

Mr. Wyvernspur I am going to advise you to not listen to the negative comments about reigning in your miniature purchases!

I think it is important for a new miniature painter to buy every figure that catches their eye. There is nothing worse than going to the painting table without a horde of pewter (and plastic I suppose these days) to choose from.

When the painting muse comes upon you - it's important to have lots and lots of possible projects available right at the moment to choose the one that interests you most at the time.

By buying lots of miniatures you are supporting this wonderful industry and investing in the future of the hobby. If you accumulate a few extra minis you're never going to paint - you can always sell them OR even send them to the loving home of a dedicated painter like myself.

In short, my good man, Buy, BUY, BUY!