It seems that I started in this aspect of the hobby quite some time ago even though the reality is that it's only been 4 months or so... I think that the reason it seems so long is that I have learned so much in a small amount of time. I also poured a bunch of money into the hobby and that's aside any of the miniatures I've bought since the start of all my painting. I quickly learned what I liked and what I did not as well as gotten some serious amount of gear of what I find valuable in my tool kit. With deliveries of a few successful, miniature-related, kickstarters (such as the one from Reaper which raised over 3.4 million), others like me might be thinking about getting into painting for the first time.
There is a lot more about this aspect of the hobby than just splashing various colored paints on a miniature -- you will need more than just paint and brushes even this is core of it. Once you have decided to take the first step and have selected the miniature(s) you want to start with, you need to prep the miniature. Whether it is plastic/resin or metal, they will need to be cleaned. A small brush (toothbrush or nailbrush) a bit of dish soap and some warm running water is all that is needed clean the model where as a precision knife will help you cut away any 'flash' still on the model (flash is remnants of metal or plastic along the mold lines of the model). Furthermore, in the event that the model is still on a plastic sprue, a simple set of cuts (with one side flat) will make your life so much easier. You may also find a set of files (suitable for miniatures / models / jewelry) will also help clean the area around the mold lines. In the event that the model needs assembling, glue suitable to the task will be needed. There are plenty of types available and nowhere near as expensive as some hobby suppliers will charge. Of course, you can always go for a tried and tested brand such as 'Testors' which I use myself as have been satisfied with when working with plastic models. For other applications which include metal bits needing some glue, I will go with a thicker superglue. Larger pieces may need a bit of help but we'll get to those in Part 2.
Oh, and with some of that cutting, a cutting board / mat may be a good investment. ;)
With all of that done, we can start looking at the next phase -- the undercoat. Prior to actually painting the model, you will want to add a layer of primer. Typically, these will be black, grey, or white and, for convenience, in a spraycan. It is easy to apply though you don't want to excessively coat the model in this paint as this could result in a loss of detail on the model itself. The problem is you will need to do this is a open / well ventilated area and typically this mean outdoors. Some latex gloves are recommended if you decide to hold the miniature in you hand but frankly, I wouldn't recommend that. Get a good stick and affix the miniature at the end of the stick and then have at it! I prefer to prep my miniatures in black prior to painting but an interesting trick I picked up was to gently 'dust' my model with a touch of white afterwards. This has the added benefit of having certain smaller details stand out a bit better. That said, I hate having to use the spray cans and there isn't any good alternative for a primer in a bottle. Citadel has their 'Imperial Primer' but I have had very mixed results and generally think that it is crap and only useful for touch-ups if an area was missed when spraying from a can. Even the cans can be pricey depending where you are buying from -- Games Workshop have 'Chaos Black' or 'Skull White' reach run for almost $16 a piece (and even higher in Canada). For a couple bucks less, it might be worth checking out the Army Painter line of color primers. They have black and white which go for $11 each as well as a range of various colors to serve as a primer and color combined in one which is an easy way to get a base color coat done.
At this point, some readers may ask why bother with an undercoat to begin with? Simple -- the undercoat creates a surface that other paints will bond to a lot better to the model. In my personal quest to ditch the spray cans, I have also begun to experiment with acrylic gesso -- an alternative which has a lot of potential (read more about it
HERE).
Once the undercoat has been applied and is dried, you are essentially ready to paint. A good quality paint will go a long way to a great finished product and everyone has their favorites. I use the current line of citadel paints and, they are many and expensive compared to other lines. In part, my fondness is the great experiences I had working with them when I started. If I were to start over again, I would certainly have a strong predisposition to consider the line because of the variety of shades and colors involved. That said, if you don't mind mixing your colors yourself, there is no reason why a line with far fewer choices couldn't do the job. A vial of citadel paint retails for $3.70 (12 ml) but Army Painters is worth mentioning once more as their vials retail for less ($2.99 a vial). Reaper also has a nice line of paints priced between Army Painter and Citadel but offer more paint per bottle. It really comes down to preference.
As for brushes... my advice is to shop around a bit. Forget the hobby shop -- go to the art supply store. If you are working with 28 - 30mm scale and you are working on a lot of individual character models, you'll want something where you can do some decent detail work. You can get a brush of a much better quality than a 5-7$ brush at you hobby shop. Of course, you can spend a lot more money on a specific brushes at the art store depending on what you're looking for. For the most part, you want a brush no bigger that size 2 and, depending on what you do, you will want to go much smaller than that for very fine detail. I like sable brushes and found a decent enough selection when I look at the brushes for watercolor -- the smallest I use is a 10/0. I bought quite a few brushes when I first started, and I currently use 4 routinely though I have a couple others for drybrush work.
Recently, I bought a set of inexpensive sable brushes for a friend (a set of four) and they cost me $16.00 during the holidays. I bought the brushes for my friend when I saw the state of his usual brushes. They were terrible and this brings me to the next point: proper cleaning of brushes. Shortly after I started, I began using "The Masters" Brush Cleaner & Preserver" which will end up saving me money on more brushes. I am amazed at how well this stuff will clean and restore the bristles of a paint brush. Another inexpensive option is Murphy Oil Soap which is gentle on the bristles. My friend's old brushes would have fared much better if he routinely cleaned his brushes with either of these products.
Finally... when the last of the paint on your miniature is dry, you'll want to protect the model with some sort of sealant like a varnish. You can get this stuff in a spray can and you can get this stuff in a bottle. Either will do the trick but the thing you'll want to consider is if you prefer a matte finish or a glossy finish or just something in between. You'll also want to be careful if using a spraycan ... temperature and humidity can affect the application of the varnish in this matter (especially if the temperature is too cold). In either case, like the primer, you don't want to have it applied too thick.
These are the basics of what you'll need and what they are used for. How mush does something like this cost to get started? Certain hobby suppliers have start kits to get you into the hobby... Citadel for instance has one for less than $60 which comes with 8 paints and a black primer, cutters, thin and thick glues, a starter brush, and a couple other things for the bases of miniatures. Army Painters on the other hand doesn't exactly have a small starter... they have a set with cutters, glue, and hobby knife for plastic miniatures and another with a file instead of the hobby knife for metal models. These are $12 and they have a 3 brush starter for another $12. However these don't have paint but, to their credit, they have a much larger kit for $99 which includes pretty much everything you may want and a bunch of other stuff I'm covering in Part 2.
The truth of the matter is, if one starts adding up everything, $50 to $100 can easily be spent to get started and this is not counting the miniatures you'll be painting. A discerning consumer will be able to get away with spending closer to the $50 end of the spectrum as long as they don't immediately buy everything they need from the hobby shop ... check out the art supply stores or even the dollar store. Some of the best contact super glue I use and buy when it's available I happen to find at the dollar store. Decent paints is what will really bring your initial expenses up though so it might be best to be mindful of what you are painting in the beginning.
Part II will expand our selection of tools.
M
When it comes to painting, I knew for a fact that I had a lot of miniatures coming in and it became quickly apparent that I had many years of painting ahead of me if I could only paint a single miniature at a time. Of course, you still will end up doing this but that doesn't mean you can't get a leg up if you a painting multiple miniatures of the same type. Using a primer from a spraycan is quick and easy and you're able to do multiple miniatures at the same time. Being able to have a spray gun to paint the basecoat for a group of miniatures is a massive time saver. Some people will go as far to use a single action airbrush for this purpose but Badger (who makes airbrushes) also have a spray gun between $ 30 and $ 40 which will tend to be less expensive than a decent to good quality airbrush. Even Gamesworkshop has one and, despite of some of the negative reviews associated with it, I have to say that it works well. The problems people seem to have with these spray guns is usually due to a lack of understanding how to properly use them. People who move from just brushes to paint their basecoat to a spray gun usually will do so through the use of a compressed can of air. When these cans are used, they are able to put out enough pressure to adequately use a spray gun. However, these cans will also become 'colder' while using them and when this happens, the volume of air pushed out of the can is dropped and there is effectively a loss of pressure until the can warms up again. If you don't have enough pressure, you will get crap results from your gun. A can will initially deliver around 30 psi before it begins to drop and to get decent results you want to remain close to this number. A solution to this 'frozen can' issue is to use multiple cans and swap between them.
To get the most use from your gun, you may want to consider an air compressor though. The problem with the cans is your are restrained by how much the can holds and, once the can is empty, you're stuck with an empty can that should be properly disposed of. The cost of these cans for the use you'll get out of them will get pricey if you intend to get a lot of use from your gun. Besides, if you also decide to try your hand at airbrushing, you'll need to consider an air compressor anyway. A compressor does represent a significant investment though but if you shop around, you may be able to find something closer to your price range. Canadian Tire ... a retail chain up here carries a brand called Mastercraft which is their house brand of tools. The quality of these tools is quite good (hand tools carry a lifetime warranty and power tools typically a 3-5 year warranty) and, being a house brand, various tools will occasionally see great prices during a sale. I have seen the two-gallon air compressor go on sale for as low as $50 (regular price is $100). Naturally there are bigger models but for the purposes of airbrushing, you really won't need much given that your wont be going for much more than a 30 - 40 psi range for your work. If you are thinking of using your compressor for other things such as various air power tools, you'll certainly need something with a bigger tank. In short, do your research. It is also worth noting that you also may have to put some thought into something referred to as a moisture trap. Regular use of a running compressor may also result in a bit of humidity accumulating in the tank or lines. The last thing you want to have happened is to do some detail work with an airbrush, only to have a splatter of water potentially ruin your work.
There are inexpensive airbrushes as well as cheap ones ... if trying to save some money, get an inexpensive one from a recognizable brand like Badger or Paasche. This will undoubtedly be a 'single action' air brush. Currently I own and use a slightly older Paasche model which is a single action model that allows for a syphon feed via a cup or bottle. It allows for airflow control only. If getting serious about airbrushing, then a good double action airbrush will prove to be invaluable to you. A good double action air brush is not cheap though and can easily run you a couple hundred dollars if not more. A double action airbrush allows for control of air flow as well as paintflow. Another consideration as the preference of syphon feed versus gravity feed. A gravity feed allows for smaller amounts of paints to be used compared to a syphon feed that needs larger amounts of paint to function properly. Like a compressor, it is important to do your research before you buy and there is nothing wrong with beginning with a 'starter brush'.
First and foremost, something called 'green stuff' is what is often used for this sort of work. Green Stuff is compossed of yellow modelling putty and blue modelling putty which, when mashed and combined together becomes green, can be shaped and sculpted to meet your needs which eventually dries and hardens. It can then be sanded a bit and painted. Green Stuff can be used to fix, modify, or simply create. Citadel has also made available a sort of liquid green stuff which can be used to seal small cracks and sanded in order to creat a smooth and continuous surface. Of course you will need a dedicated brush (and one you don't care for) to apply this stuff. As for the original green stuff, you will need a few tools to help sculpt and shape it. These tools are inexpensive -- Army Painters has a set of three (six different tips) for $10.
With larger pieces, whether they are pieces of your own creation or just pieces that need to be assembled, something additional to the glue may be needed to keep the pieces together -- pins. In order to install these pins, a pin vise is used to drill these very tiny holes. Naturally a vise of sorts (one that can be secured to a table), will be needed to firmly hold whatever you are trying to drill. A bit of green stuff, a pin, and some glue will be all you need to secure larger and heavier pieces. Beyond that, a pin vise can also be used to make holes for tiny magnets if you want to have a model capable of swapping out pieces ... like the armament on a vehicle or even the arms and guns of an individual soldier. Prices for a pin vise can vary but generally begin at $10 for something basic. More expensive models with more bits are available and these aren't exclusive to hobby shops to shop around.
With assembling and modifying miniatures, you may even want to remove something from a model and, for larger pieces, something like a hobby knife or cutters may just not be up to the task. A razor saw is quite handy but prices also vary for something like this -- the pricing of citadel's version is excessive compared to what you can find by going to a good hardware store. I have seen good quality ones go for as little as $7 which is a steal if looking to buy Citadel's which Game Workshop has the nerve to charge $35 for in Canada. Actually, the their Razor Saw is probably the single, biggest example of price gouging I have ever seen. Consider that the US dollar which has generally been at par with the Canadian dollar for the better part of a couple of years now is $12 cheaper ($23 in the US as opposed to $35 in Canada). A razor saw of this type isn't worth much more than $10!!
