Supplies you wouldn\'t want to be without.

bakalla

Member
Hey.. :)

So, what are your favourite painting supplies? Apart from the obvious that is, since we all need a cup of water, a brush, some super glue, etc etc to do this hobby.

Apart from that, what are your favourite supplies, that have helped you the most since you started with this hobby?

I have two :)

1. W&N series 7 brushes. I spent my first few months of painting minis frustrated over the brushes I was using. Citadel brushes and cheap no-brand brushes don\'t last very long, and the tips don\'t stay sharp for long either. I got my first W&N series 7 brush over a month ago, and it\'s still perfect.. gotta love it :) They might be rather expensive, but they would be worth twice of what they cost.

2. \"Winsor & Newton Acrylic Flow Improver\". Wow. That was a revolution for me when i first tried this. No more were my colours too dry, or too watered out by water to cover sufficiently. This flow improver medium thins out the paint without losing much coverage. And it thins WAY better than water, too. Gotta love this as well :D
 

No Such Agency

New member
I always though it would suck to get sent to jail, because even in a minimum security jail they might let you paint your minis, but likely wouldn\'t let you have a knife or files! So you\'d have these great paint jobs (nothing to do but practice) but with lots of flash and mold lines.

I love my X-Acto miniature needle files. 8 cm long, 5 cm of that is blade. The blades are 3 (triangular) to 5 (flat) mm wide. Also my double-ended dentist\'s pick and blunt probe (from a school dissecting kit). They make cleanup so much easier!
 
I couldnt do without my 1\" diameter piece of dowel that I blue tack my mini to for painting without touching the mini.Also I find cocktail sticks very usefull and I cant help but snigger at the name.My camera tripod was a god send.
BTW the one thing I certainly cant do without is this site.
 

freakinacage

Well-known member
draper files, a scalpel blade, greenstuff (for filling in those hideous gaps), a sculpting tool kit that my parents got me (my old man really doesn\'t understand this hobby but he saw this and thought of me - how touching!). also static grass looks sooooo much better that my old crappy flocking. and of course this site - the best single resource for modellers on the net. thanks guys I LOVE YOU ALL!!
 

bakalla

Member
Good idea.. i\'ll try to teach my girlfriend how to prep minis too. Doesn\'t he find it a bit boring? ;)

Originally posted by Jenova
My boyfriend (because he preps all my minis :D )

and NO, he\'s not for sale!
 

johnboyjjb

Active member
Originally posted by Jenova
My boyfriend (because he preps all my minis :D )

and NO, he\'s not for sale!
I don\'t swing that way and my wife would kill me but to get my minis prepped I might consider it.

Biggest improvement was seen when I got a comfy chair with a bright light over the shoulder.
 

eparchos

New member
My Dremel tool. Seriously. I went from hand-drilling all my holes for pins (which took a good few minutes each pin) to wham bam thank you meester. Course, I have to love my 20 year-old brushes which kick butt for drybrushing.
 

dauber22

New member
Oxygen and water lept quickly to mind, but you may be on to something therre, Finn lol

More seriously though: a supply of good clean water, my x-acto knives, diamond files, an assortment of sculpting tools (several improvised and not particularly intended at all for that purpose), and at least reasonable quality brushes. All are indispensible.
 

Kamui K

New member
Dremel Minimite & my many many basing materials.

Can\'t live without that dremel.

But to keep my creative juices flowing, I need my various basing materials, like my dried flowers and static grass.

Mini painting seems dull without a good base. (for me painting anyway).
 

Cerridwyn1st

New member
The best things in Painting are Free (or almost)

There\'s a lot of stuff I literally pick up to use for painting.

1. Coffee Straws. Cut them down to use as brush covers. Come in various sizes, you just have to look. Also the McDonald\'s coffee stirrers that look kind of like very long plastic shovels.

2. Toothpicks. Especially the dental kind that are plastic and have a little bend on the end.

3. Disposable cups. OK, so I have a brush basin at home, but these are great for painting on the road.

4. Condiment/creamer containers. The little tiny plastic ones that hold .5 to 2 oz. Hey, you would throw them away anyway, just give them one more use before they go in the dustpin.

5. Cheap spounges. Cut an ordinary household sponge in half, then use sharp sizzors to cut out a custom-sized depression in each half for a finished mini. Viola! A customized holder, for about $0.10.

6. Shopping bags: the big ones with handles that you get from department stores and the like. Cheap carrying case for going to painting groups.

7. The empty tube from my greenstuff. Now serving as a brush tube (with the coffee straws to keep the bristles nice, of course).

8. Empty Ferro Roche box: perfect size for Vallejo bottles. Can\'t get the top on, but keeps paints for rattling around in the carrying case.
 

Calavera

New member
Huhm, i could not \"live\" without my Hobby knife set.. 7 types of knives with 52 blades :eek: At something like 17 quids/30 bucks, and my needle files.. all the ten of them, and pin vice.. just got it recently, really fun to pin everything you glue IMHO :D Then my W&N S7 #000 has layered a crap-lot of layers.

They\'re not really supplies but mom and dad have been helpful.. mom, telling me every mini is her favourite lol ??? And dad for making me a paint station and bringing me some gizmos and tools i can use :D
 

Dedwrekka

New member
My brain and uhhh lungs...

I\'d have to say that my chestfull of bitz is probably my best tool. You never know how often you can improvise a tool from a bit-o-sprue.

@Finn: Trying the drunken mini painting again are we?lol And you where so close to your 10 week AA chip.
 

Sand Rat

New member
Originally posted by Dedwrekka
@Finn: Trying the drunken mini painting again are we?lol And you where so close to your 10 week AA chip.

You know, you\'re just removing the doubt that your Daubers son everytime you do this, right? lol
 

vincegamer

Active member
I guess the most important would be brush soap.
Followed by x-acto knife.
Next my OTT lite.
Then a place to put the finished minis.
 
Back To Top
Top