Calling my fellow geeks!!

[kellinator]

I'm thinking about taking up a new hobby (as if I needed another time and money sink): miniature painting! I was hoping some of you out there might have some tips on getting started. In particular, is there any such thing as a set of paints that won't break the bank?

Comments

From another beginner...

[tall-man.livejournal.com]

Paints: I'm really liking the stuff from Reaper (http://www.reapermini.com), as they've got a wide selection (especially their pearlescent colors!) and reasonable sized bottles for the money. As deza said, Howard Hughes (the historical line) and the same company's fantasy line are pretty skeezy. Their metallics are OK, but the jars become very hard to open as the paint gets in the threads. Look (or ask at the hobby store) for paint sets, especially beginner sets. Usually these run in the $25 range, and generally include a brush or two, a couple of paint pots (although perhaps small ones, as in the case of Games Workshop (http://us.games-workshop.com/)'s sets), and a figure or six.

Brushes: I generally use 2 or 3. A 10/0 for details, a 5/0 for drybrushing, and a 3/0 for filling in big swaths of color. Right now I'm using synthetic bristles (Taklon, IIRC), mainly because they're cheaper, but I've heard that sable lasts longer, so I might take the plunge.

Primer: Armory primer is OK, but you need to mix it well first. We've been shaking the can until the rattle stops, and then putting it in warm water for a couple of minutes, to help mix the powder in with the propellant and fixer. As voltbang noticed last week, primer can go bad; it then becomes essentially airborne talcum powder that refuses to stick. But figures need primer for the paint to stick. You'll probably want a white or grey primer, depending on the kind of figure that you're painting -- grey is a good base primer for metallics.

Figures: An often-overlooked part of painting, the figures... Look at the figure and envision what kind of techniques you're going to need to use on it. Do they fit in with what you're good at and have on hand? It always sucks to go "man, I wish I had [foo], that'd make this look perfect." In fact, shop with the figure you've got in mind. Is it going to need a lot of dry-brushing? Might want to pick up an extra brush to do it with (drybrushing kills brushes). Would a wash make it look great? Think ink, then. If you're bad at a technique, find a cheap figure and practice it out (Ral Partha army packs are great for that -- $7-$10 for 5 figures, if you screw one or two up, no biggie).

How-To guides: Citadel has a book on painting minis, that includes some great tips (even though it's a bit steep, like $25). There're a couple of "how to" guides online (Reaper has one, I think there's one on coolminiornot.com (http://www.coolminiornot.com), and their boards are full of cool advice).