Help me get into painting miniatures

Hey gang,

For a while now, I've been looking into getting a new hobby, and I think painting minis is something I'm really keen to give a go. I've in the past painted a handful of 40K Ork Boyz, and I really enjoyed painting them. It took time, effort, and I really found it therapuetic to do.

Is there anyone else on here who paints mini's for fun? If so, what would you recommend with starting, so I can learn from doing something basic?

I live in the UK, so if anyone has a reliable place to order mini's/paints from, I'd love to hear from you. I hear Element Games is pretty fantastic, so I might look into them once I get some recommendations

I'm basically all ears from anyone. Holler at me!

Currently about to come back from a break from assembling and painting stuff. The Dark Souls Board Game release comvinced me to pull everything back out. Hell, I still have a couple thousand points of 40k models sitting around unpainted.

As far as tips go, and I can't stress it enough: THIN. YOUR. PAINT. I've found that using a pretty basic wet pallette helps immensely on the thinning front, and stretching your paint for longer periods of time.

For paint suggestions, all I can offer is the idea that outside a few select, specific colors, Citadel paints tend to be on the overpriced side. They *do* make really nice washes and such, but getting attached to chaper paint will dave you possible financial headaches down the road.

I painted LotR figures when I was younger (11-15/16) and found the painting to be as fun if not more fun than actually playing (it's a skill that develops over time, and you can see that by looking at your first models painted to the models you paint 2 years in).

However, it was Games Workshop and it was notorious for being expensive then, 10-15 years a go. I check the models every year or so now and am shocked at how much they charge. We didn't have a lot of money growing up and so I consider myself really lucky that my parents helped with my hobby, but at some point my parents discovered eBay and got me bulk minis from there. The paints ended up being unofficial acrylics from whatever car boot fair we went to and eventually it just petered out (right around the time where I was expected to buy stuff for myself, funnily enough).

I couldn't agree more about it being a therapeutic hobby that improves hand eye coordination. It has also translated in me having a lot of confidence in painting in my "grown up" life (from understanding different paints and brushes and having a steady hand for those neat touch ups to just being able to walk up to a canvas and start painting because "fuck it, I've painted chain mail that is the size of my little fingernail").

I would just be wary of the cost, and try and cheap it as much as possible by going for off brand paints and brushes and second hand miniatures, unless you can afford the prices to get the official stuff.

I've been toying with the idea of getting some of these mini's as I frickin' love Batman and it would offer me a little hobby where I can de-stress and unwind, but again the prices and time investment for me right now doesn't seem reasonable, there are other things I want to focus on right now.

Anyway, good luck and I hope you find something that makes you happy :)

I've painted all my life, I too find it therapeutic! Mostly Games Workshop miniatures myself. If you don't have paints or brushes any more their getting started set is good quality.

https://www.games-w rkshop.com/en-CA/Space-Marines-Starter-Paint-Set-2016

If you prefer fantasy to sci fi, they have an "Age of Sigmar" (their fantasy line) set as well. It comes with more hobby stuff but no model.

https://www.games-workshop.com/en-CA/Age-of-Sigmar-Citadel-Essentials-Set-CAN

For painting guides look no further than youtube! Tons of quality stuff if you google.

If you are looking to improve your technique you can post pics of your painted minis on the warhammer sub reddit and folks will give tips, they are all friendly and supportive.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Warhammer/

Of course you don't have to go down the Games Workshop path, some folks find them a bit pricey, but I think the quality of the models is worth the cost. Let me know what you decide! I love seeing what other people paint up.

@willza92: you bring up a valid point! if money is tight second hand models are a great way to go and there are less expensive paints that perform fairly well too!

I played Malifaux, so I have a metric TON of minis to paint (plus they're really detailed yet relatively cheap). I haven't done much recently, but I do enjoy painting when I get the time (which I don't seem to have).

Been painting miniatures for about 2 years. I'm not very good, more because I'm not willing to devot the time needed, I rush to get them done. I do fine some enjoyment out of painting, but I do it mainly because I like playing. Currently on my paint table I have -

Zulus and British from Italari for use with The Men Who Would Be King's rules. Have 24 briti painted and 48 zulus but still have the same amount to go.

British motor platoon and 25 pounder platoon for Flames of War.

Skeleton spear regiment and Soul Reaver troop for Kings of War.

15mm Camillan Roman army for DBA rules.

I wouldn't use Games Workshop hobby products. You can get just as good if not better for less for most of their hobby products. Reaper, P3, Army Painter, etc, those paints are just as good, are usually a little bit cheaper, but most importantly, come in dropper bottles. If a dropped bottle cap isn't fitted right and the nozzle clogs, you clean it. If a GW paint cap isn't air tight, you get dry paint.

If you're going to go the Games Workshop route, I'd probably wait until 8th edition 40k comes out. Should be around the corner. People will offload stuff that's been obsoleted in the new edition and you can pick up used models on the cheap. I bet you'll be able to get a lot of Chaos space marines on the cheap when they come out.

Do you want to assemble miniatures? Because a lot of them require it. Different miniature types require different tools. While a 40k plastic mini might assemble with plastic cement, a resin/metal miniature is going to need super glue, or even pinning to hold it together. Some miniatures are one or two pieces, while some like Infinity have little fiddly metal bits that are smaller than a grain of rice.

The first mini's I recommend people start on are Bones from Reaper. They're cheap. Like $2USD. Yeah, the detail on them isn't as good, but for your first few minis, a $50 mini won't look any better than a $2 one. Another suggestion is getting a board game that's mini heavy like Zombicide. If you want to go the Games Workshop route, they have build and paint kits. Avoid the Citadel Build and Paint paint/cutter set.

Army Painter sells a set of brushes https://www.amazon.com/Most-Wanted-Wargamer-Set/dp/B007H4YR8S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1496670409&sr=8-1&keywords=army+painter+brush For starter brushes, they work well. I've been painting for quite some time - I have an army of $20+ brushes. I still reach for these Army Painters and order new ones as they wear out.

I'd check out Soratro's Painting on youtube. Some of his more recent videos get into advanced techniques, but his earlier ones like his Black Plague might be really useful. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMOTmOchKyQ

Devlan Mud and Nuln Oil are called liquid talent. They flow into the recesses of a mini and make the details pop.

Never use Games Workshop's 'ard coat. It's a toss up whether or not it'll ruin your model with a haze like coat. Testor's Gloss Coat for the first coat. Let that dry overnight and then a coat of Testor's Dull Coat. Never spray primer or varnish in very humid conditions.

Paint minis you want to paint. Even if you're just painting a mini for practice, if you hate skeletons, don't paint skeletons!

Get comments and criticism!

For a cheaper alternative to Games Workshop paints take a look at Vallejo. Their Game Color range is, in many cases, a near exact match for GW's colours. There is a paint comparison chart here (not sure how up to date it is though, so it may not be exhaustive). You can get them for a good price from Wayland Games, who I've used a couple of times (though ebay is pretty good for both paints and models actually).

I haven't painted anything in a year or two, but I did get Shadow War: Armageddon last month, so hopefully I'll be picking the brush up again before too long.

Another good site passed on to me from the websites Boardgamegeek, Secret Cabal game podcast & the Dice Tower is below. Lots of good tips here & know that the Dice Tower also has some videos up on painting minis. Good luck!

https://www.youtube.com/user/Sorastro/videos

Also a really good one as it covers a lot of elements & techniques that you can use for other minis.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4ToPspvN1k