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Hi All,

Just a little precursor, I am thinking of adventuring into mini painting as a hobby as it is something I can do creatively that does not take up much room (I have limited space in my house for hobbies such as woodworking or metal working which were the other I wanted to do). I also have a few games coming down the pike that I kickstarted/pre-ordered (ZPocalypse, Sedition Wars, Kingdom Death - All miniature heavy)

I tried to comb over this folder to see if anyone has posted anything to this topic and could not find anything readily, so please excuse me if this topic has been done before.

I first painted my ATOE base characters using craft store products like krylon acrylic base primer and Americana/Folk Art paints. They came out decently, however I was doing a simple basecoat of warm white with a wash of sepia. Just something to distinguish them on the board.

In trying to figure out the best way to paint miniatures, I have scoured this board and many other miniature painting boards and all the artists say they use GW, Vallejo or Reaper paints.

My question is what is the difference between these miniature specialty paints and craft store style paints if any? I understand they are color driven to particular game/model schemes, but is there any difference to the paint themselves that make specialty paints that much better? Is it in how they handle when actually laying the paints on the models or is it more aesthetically pleasing to the eye?

I just wonder if I should go and invest in the specialty paints or stay with craft styles and modify them (i.e. flow-aid).

Also are there any really great resources on color choosing/blending, any help would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

W.J.

Hi Wastleland Jack,

Vallejo, GW and Reaper paints are designed for the miniature hobby so these paints will work the best hands down. You will get the best results and the ranges of colours are huge. If you buy craft store paints I think the results would vary. Some will be too thick and obscure detail some would be thin and coverage could be terrible. It's also possible that as they aren't designed to paint plastic miniatures the paint may react with the figures in some undesirable way. By all means experiment I think when I was young I tried the cheap and cheerful approach and ended up disappointed. Personally I would only paint my miniatures with paints designed for painting miniatures. I hope you get into this fantastic hobby it really adds to the gaming experience. Best of luck and any questions fire away!

Thanks for the feedback samuraitrev.

I guess it has really come down to a fiscal decision. Looks like I'll be saving up my coffee money for a new paint set.

Another hopefully quick question. Are sable brushes a must? I bought a golden taklon brush set (Brush Sizes: Round 10/0, 5/0, 3/0, 0, 1, 3) as a starter set and was truly wondering if there is a major difference in the end results? Granted I am not painting for competition but I do want some nice looking models.

(01-14-2013 08:39 PM)Wasteland Jack Wrote: [ -> ]Another hopefully quick question. Are sable brushes a must? I bought a golden taklon brush set (Brush Sizes: Round 10/0, 5/0, 3/0, 0, 1, 3) as a starter set and was truly wondering if there is a major difference in the end results? Granted I am not painting for competition but I do want some nice looking models.

Sable brushes aren't a must. Just buy what you can afford. Maybe upgrade at a later date. This is a hobby you can build up slowly adding paints, brushes and figures as you go.
I've just looked up your brush set and they seem fine as a starter set. Just keep your eye on them and make sure they keep their points. Don't let any paint get into the metal ferrule. If you do clean it straight away. Only clean them in cold water, never hot as it can ruin the glue holding the bristles. Store them point upwards in an old cup. Happy painting.

(01-15-2013 12:19 AM)samuraitrev Wrote: [ -> ]Just keep your eye on them and make sure they keep their points. Don't let any paint get into the metal ferrule. If you do clean it straight away. Only clean them in cold water, never hot as it can ruin the glue holding the bristles. Store them point upwards in an old cup. Happy painting.

Good things to know. I always store them on their side and I didn't know hot water was bad for the glue.

thanks again.