Miniature Painting

[Ulrick]

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.

Yeah, I concede this point. There are miniatures over the years I wish I would have bought, but now they are out of production--or, as in certain examples from Games Workshop: they get more expensive, get converted to that crappy Citadel Finecast Resin, or both. (Until I've seen better reviews in production quality, I'm not buying Citadel Finecast Resin--if ever).

Just a couple days ago I painted up an old Ral Partha figure--the 25mm cleric with the mace in his hand in this batch of 21 miniatures.

I've owned the miniature for at least 20 years. And just suddenly, the other day I was like, "Hmmm... I should paint up this guy."

And I tried out the greybrushing technique discussed in this thread:
How to Paint Minis the Bruce Campbell way


So Traveon Wyvernspur, your inquiry on the painting of miniatures ended up causing one of my own miniatures, which I've owned for two decades, to get painted. You're getting XP for that.

So I guess, as long as you are enjoying yourself, continue buying and continue painting!

 

[Traveon Wyvernspur]

[MENTION=775]Ulrick[/MENTION] - That's awesome! Glad that this thread motivated you to paint one of your own!

I'd give you XP for painting it, but apparently I gave you XP too recently...

A bit of an update from me, I couldn't pass up the great deal from the Reaper Minis Kickstarter so soon I'll have nearly 200 minis to paint. I've talked to my group and two of them are also interested in learning to paint so it looks like I may have some help painting all of them which will be really cool!

 

[Gulla]

Painting together with someone else is much more fun. If you can get it scheduled regularly it is a very nice way to both learn (from each other) and have a good time. I have fallen for the Reaper as well so I'm scheduling "miniature Night" with my WHFB-playing son this fall

 

[Mark CMG]

I'd give you XP for painting it, but apparently I gave you XP too recently...

Drat! Me, too!

 

[Traveon Wyvernspur]

Just wanted to say thanks again to everyone who's posted so far. This has been a great thread for learning a lot of stuff. It has tons of useful links and information that I am happy to see put in one place. If anyone else has experience and wants to share their wisdom, please feel free to keep posting!

 

[Aluvial]

The best miniature painting tip that I've tried recently, is the wet palette.

I picked this up off a French video...

Anyhow, here are the materials.

You need an air tight locking tupperware. I use the ones where the top hinges onto each side and locks with a rubber seal.

Parchment paper.

Distilled Water (regular water will mold much quicker).

Dense Foam. I use (and it is absolutely perfect for this) the Prince Lionheart Baby Wipe Warmer Replacement Pad.

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Prince-Lionheart-Ever-Fresh-Replacement-Ultimate/dp/B000K50780/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1345241200&sr=1-1-spell&keywords=prince+lionhear+wipes+warmer+replacement+pad]Amazon.com: Prince Lionheart Ever-Fresh Replacement Pillows for Ultimate Wipes Warmer: Baby[/ame]

Buy the pad first to get a look at the size. Buy the tupperware (mine is called SnapWare.

Ok, you are ready. Put the pad in the tupperware, wet with distilled water, cut a piece of parchment paper to size (so it is slightly bigger then the pad. Pour more water until the water is up to the level of the parchment paper.

I use water based acryllics. Here's the benefit. I have put three drops of paint on my palette 6 WEEKS AGO and the paint is still fresh, just like when it came from the bottle. I can mix on the palette, and the water absorbs through the parchment paper, and keeps the paint just moist enough not to dry out. This thing has been sitting on my paint table for weeks now, and I've kept the same paint mixes on it for weeks!

The mixes will allow you to gain a spectrum of color... and allow you plenty of time to paint multiple miniatures. If you need to thin the paint for washes, just add a drop or two of water.... You may need to get the appropriate surface tension reducer as well, but I don't use it.

Anyhow, if anyone is interested, I'll post some pics.

Aluvial

 

[Traveon Wyvernspur]

[MENTION=6862]Aluvial[/MENTION] - I'm actually very interested in seeing pics and if you wouldn't mind posting the link to the video you watched that would be awesome as well. Thanks!

 

[pogre]

I used to make my own wet palettes too - now, I'm just lazy and bought a Masterson's Sta-Wet Handy Palette at Michaels craft store. They are frequently on sale and you can grab them up for under $10.

I got started with wet palettes after watching Jérémie Bonam's dvd set from Kraken's Editions. Is that the one you watched Aluvial?

 

[Aluvial]

I used to make my own wet palettes too - now, I'm just lazy and bought a Masterson's Sta-Wet Handy Palette at Michaels craft store. They are frequently on sale and you can grab them up for under $10.

I got started with wet palettes after watching Jérémie Bonam's dvd set from Kraken's Editions. Is that the one you watched Aluvial?

Yes, that's it! Very good video. I think you can get it from C'MON. I'll take some pics and get them uploaded.

 

[Zaukrie]

Great thread, keep the ideas coming. Thanks.