Please take pity on a Newbie :)

[kiltedyaksman]

Hi there,

I've recently decided to get back into painting metal miniatures for my D&D game. I painted miniatures a bit as a teenager, but was only self-taught. I don't want to paint minis to sit in a showcase, I want to paint them for play.

I have a bunch of old citadel miniatures and some new otherworld miniatures I would like to paint properly, but I know very little about brushes, paints, and basing.

I've surveyed the net for how to's, step-by-step painting tutorials, etc.

Those are all well and good but not the same as hearing advice from people who know what they are doing.

Can you suggest what brushes I should get and what jobs they do best? Citadel paints or reaper? Others? Etc.

Thank you for taking pity on a newbie!

 

[freakinacage]

have a look at the sticky thread, it's a superb run down for a start
http://www.coolminiornot.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34306

then feel free to ask more specific questions

 

[kiltedyaksman]

Yes, I've been reading through the articles.

Does anyone know a particular technique to take an old D&D miniature, say Ral Partha or early Citadel, and covert it to fit in a slottabase?

 

[funnymouth]

i regularly put non-slotta minis on slotta bases. you can either remove the mini from the crummy metal base entirely and then pin it to the slotta (this can be tough, and sometimes you lose a foot you have to resculpt - kinda advanced), or shave down the edges as much as possible, then hollow out a slotta and put your junk base inside. fill everything up with gs, and base as normal. the height of the mini can be elevated or depressed by putting it on top of a blob of gs.

 

[Tercha]

Hi, and welcome, probably the best thing to do is have a go, start with a cheaper plastic, give it a prime, block in the colours then shade/highlight, GW brushes will be good enough to get you going, don't bite off to much to start with, and most of all take a picture and post it for tips and comments - good luck and I look forward to seeing your work!

 

[kiltedyaksman]

Here's another newbie question, and I'm sorry that I don't know the correct terminology yet:

Once painted I would like to use some different textures for my bases. Sand and small rocks and such. Nothing fancy, just enough to add a nice finish to each miniature. Given that I intend on using these in my D&D games, is there a particular way of "coating" the base when you are done to keep the "stuff" from coming off over time? Or are you committing to periodic upkeep of your bases?