new to painting miniatures, need some advice on things i need...please

[Zozsha]

hello everyone and thnks for taking the time to read my post.
a friend of mine started getting into playing the miniatures games and has got me involved, and glad he did. he has seen some of the models and stuff that i have painted in the past, and thought i would have potential. well he was right! he hooked me up with a couple of pieces to see how i would do. now realize, i didnt have any of the proper things to paint these figures except a couple of brushes and \"poster\" type paints. the 3 pieces i did are sitting in a store now in a case. well with that said, i would like to see how i would do with the right equiptment. that is where all of you come in. : )
I would like to know what brushes all of you would suggest to use, as well as other types of things i will need. i am in the process of getting some vallejo paints.

I am gonna be building a Dark Elder Army as soon as it arrives at the store.

ANY AND ALL suggestions will be appreciated. thanks again for your time and help on my first post !

Zoz

 

[Ritual]

Wellcome to the forums Zozsha! Since you mentioned getting Vallejo paints, I don\'t need to get into that. Vallejo are good paints! Most people seem to recommend Windsor & Newton series 7 brushes. I can\'t get those where I live (haven\'t found any at least), but I use another brand of brushes that I\'m very happy with. I can\'t rember the name at the moment, but it\'s a German brand of Kolinsky sable brushes meant for photo retouching. You would also need a good modelling knife (X-acto or similar), a few needle files, a pin vice and some other tools (maybe a saw, a pair of clippers with flat cutting edge, etc.). Something I use and wouldn\'t ever want to be without is my Liquitex retarder fluid. It makes the paint dry slower which is very useful when blending.

-Anders

 

[supervike]

also...

Welcome to the site...

check into getting some sort of putty to fill the inevitable gaps that you will have from assembling multi-part minis.

Epoxy Ribbon (kneadatite aka greenstuff) works very well for this.

Also using this site for a reference is a good idea. There are tons of very informative articles posted here. Everything from painting eyes to photography to making trees. Very good stuff.

 

[airhead]

try this link (there is an even more basic link buried at the top)

http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=45352

 

[Legacy Account]

HELLO!!!

Craft knife/scalpel/exacto
PAINT!!! and a pallette - a tile is good
Quality brushes. Use kolinsky sable to start with...


Spray undercoats
Superglue
PVA glue
Sand, gravel, static grass, flock
Needle file/s
Clippers
Pliers
Pin vice and drill bits
Paper clips or brass rod
Tweezers
A Dremel!!
I find a pipette useful too

The list of sad modellers \'toys\' can go on and on. The first three will do you right. Quality paint and brushes to start with. And look after them.

 

[Dragonsreach]

Welcome to the forums.

Well someone else has mentioned Winsor & Newton Series 7 brushes. They really are the best around in my opinion.
But if you are going to get a series of them invest in good quality Brush soap from your local artists store. It will help them to last much longer. Used after every painting session it\'s a serious boon to anyone making this hobby their obsession.

 

[No Such Agency]

Bah, don\'t buy Winsor & Newton Series 7 brushes right away! Buy some cheap house brand ones (#1, 0, 00) at the art store, they won\'t last long but you can get a feel for how you use brushes, and develop good habits on them instead of the expensive ones. Better are the W&N \"University\" series - red handle, white synthetic bristles - cheap (intended for students) and pretty darn good. Brush soap is a very good idea though for sure. It gets pigment stains out very nicely, and protects the fibers.

 

[Zozsha]

Thanx alot for all the advice! I\'m going to the art store tomorrow to see what they have. thanx for the links as well. great reference

Zoz

 

[LouisCypher]

i just want to say WELCOME! to you!

i may suggest to:

- take a look here on the forums and you\'ll find TONS of good advices (and in the articles section, too!)

- paint, paint and paint even more! the more you paint, the better results you have... and don\'t forget to post some pics in order to show your improvements and collect feedbacks and advices and painting tips!

welcome again, it\'s nice to have another potential Golden Demon Winner with Us

Luca

 

[Trevor]

Mwahhahahahaha! Fresh blooood!

ahem...

Get decent brushes, it really makes a difference, although I wouldn\'t go for WN series 7 just yet, any quality sable will do, I also use Kolinsky.

Other than that steady hand and a lot of patience help no end

 

[freakinacage]

welcome!
some things that somehow have been missed so far are:
1 thick skin (because you will cut and drill it many times!),
2 a good first aid kit (see 1)
3 a good sense of humour (because it\'s better to laugh than cry)
4 rock hard, unwavering patience
5 loads of money always helps too!!

 

[Valander]

Welcome! You picked a perfect time to join this wonderful hobby...

SHAMELESS PLUG:
I just wrote an article on the whole process of miniature assembly and painting. You might find something in there helpful (then again, I could be on crack). You can grab a copy of my article in the December 2004 issue of Fictional Reality, over at http://www.fictionalreality.org

 

[Jeff Hofmann]

Welcome to Obsession!

Lets see......

Future floor wax & water to help thin your paints. You might as well start that good habit now. (1:4 ratio or so)

A rat tail file and sandpaper for flash lines.

CA+ glue, PVA/white glue, Get more than just GW flock

Bulldog clips to paint minis before attaching them to a base.

A copy of Jen Haleys face painting guide (It\'s on this website)

A pallette of some sort. I find that paint canisters and plastic bottle caps work well.

BTW congrats on going for the army deal right off the bat. I think it will really make your first army stand out. By swapping heads and arms and what not, you can make sure that all your figures look unique, but still give them a uniform color. Just make sure that you can still tell what the figure is supposed to be. WYSIWYG.

I\'ve thought about collecting an IG army and using lots of the Heavy Weapons Crew Parts among the troopers.

 

[StarFyre]

yay..I can try and suggest something...hehe

Let\'s see how little i know compared to the rest here:

Brushes:

a) Winsor & Newton Series 7 Kolinsky Mini series (there is a series for miniatures, and a regular series for painting....the mini series has smaller hairs)

b) Escoda Kolinsky Tajmir fine detail brushes. I find them finer than the smallest Series 7

c) between 2 to 3 regular whatever brushes for massive coats of single colours (ie. painting the side of a base all black or green for instance) and for dry brushing that can damage brushes. Do NOT drybrush with a good Series 7 or Escoda brush; no need to damage it

Paints:

A) Vallejo Model colours
B) Games Workshop Citadel colours
(from people\'s opinions, seems arguable which is better, but most say Vallejo)

* I use apple barrel cause they are cheap as dirt but do have some GW colours and Vallejos as well. ( so i use basically anything I can get that I can afford)

Inks:

a) the ones I get are New Formula FW - Acrylic Artists Ink .... awesome BUT expensive
b) GW inks (only other ink\'s i\'ve used)...don\'t like em much so once my current ones run out, other than 1 colour maybe that I can\'t find, I won\'t get any more

putty

a) apoxiesculpt (www.avesstudio.com)
b) greenstuff (kneadite is the real name)

(all are good, plus many brands I dont know...Ritual and \'em can advise better)

tools:

a) if you mod/sculpt, set of dentist tools or fine detailing metal tools
b) dremel set
c) fine files/sand paper
d) jeweller\'s saw with fine blades
e) super glue
f) white glue
g) carpenter\'s glue
h) static grass, flock, sand, whatever you want to use for bases
i) black and white primer so you can decide what you like more or use different one for different works


BIGGEST REQUIREMENTS:

TONS OF PATIENCE, some extra time, money helps (who would have thought getting into D&D, and warhammer would be so expensive), and a bookmark to www.coolminiornot.com for times you need a tutorial, advice, or examples to look at.

I am sure I forgot some tools but oh well

Good luck and god I hope you have tons of money, since this obsession is pretty brutal

Sanjay