Painting miniatures

[Mad Dr Jeffe]

What paints do you like for painting mini's... anyone use Vallejo? I've been Using Citidel, but find them to be a little pricey.

[Mr_Pleasington]

Use my technique and you'll never be a broke painter.

Go to Wal-Mart, Target, etc, and go to the craft isle.  There you should find a huge selection of acrylic paints for 99 cents each.  Get all your basic colors and maybe a few others.   Apple Barrel works well. I've been painting minis for almost 8 years now and I've used the same bottles of Apple Barrel acrylics I bought back then.  They never dry up.  You may have to thin them down before you apply them, but that's it.

For you crazy colors, go buy GW or Vallejo paints...you should only need one or two and maybe a few metalics or inks.

Saves a boatload and still looks good.

[42]

I have to agree with Mr. P., by acrylic paints from the craft isle. Hooby paints are usually the same thing but over-priced because they are sold in smaller quanties with more packaging. Just select the basic colors that have good saturation and are the correct color value. Getting the hues in their proper spot can be a little tricky, particularly with some brands that don't showcase the paint color well.

With the basic colors I find I can make about any color I need. I just usually have to plan my painting in steps to get good color consistancy.

Don't get cheap on the brushes. And take good care of your brushes. Use shampoo regularly for cleaning and conditioner to restore shape. Keeping brushes stored safely is also important. I use to wrap my brushes, but it doesn't work so well for larger brushes.

[Mad Dr Jeffe]

Shampoo?... Cool I'll keep that in mind.

[Spriggan]

Ya, you don't want to use paint thinner becasue it ruins the brushes realy fast.  I personaly don't like acrylics becasue they're not water soluable (or how ever you spell it) or at least most aren't.

[Mad Dr Jeffe]

All the ones I use are, its oils and enamels that arent water soluble. The problem with acrlyics is that they dry too darn fast. Its hard to get good washes and blending with them. Still a drop of dish soap goes a long way...

[42]

It is acrylics that are water soluable. You can get extender solution for acrylics. Painting in a somewhat humid environment can help a little. Normaly when I paint with acrylics I moisten the paper, canvas or wood I'm working on first. Not so helpful for minis.

Personally, I prefer oils. I have a fairly good medium worked out consisting of linseed oil, varnish, and turpentine. A japanese drier can be added if your impatient. At one point I made my own paints for a class. Its really easy, just add your pigment to linseed oil and grind on a slightly sand-blasted glass plate using a glass paint grinder. Scrape the paint from the glass paint and place in a tin tube for storage. This method has the advantage of allowing you to control a lot of the paints properties, something store bought paints don't allow you to do so well.

Finding the right cleaning solution also helps, usually mineral spirit or turpentine. But it is still important to shampoo and condition the brushes after rinsing them out with paint thinner. Leaving the paint thinner on the brushes ruins the hairs.

[Mad Dr Jeffe]

I quickly learned that nylon brushes curl which can be a huge pain in the butt with detail brushes. I switched to sable, and I really really like them...

[42]

Nylon brushes are mere immitation of brushes, not real brushes.

[Mad Dr Jeffe]

No kidding, oh I found the coolest paint,... its glow in the dark acrylic that lasts for about 10 years. Great for night games.

[Mad Dr Jeffe]

I tried Tamiya paint recently and Im satisfied with some of the colors, Their smoke gloss looks really good on top of Citadels Mithril, or chainmail metallic paints.
They also have a very hideous neon green that will look great on Goreshade... a Cryx Warcaster for Warmachine.

I would like to get my hands on a few other bottles of their stuff, if only because its more watery than citadel and you can put a lot of thin bright coats on miniatures.

[Mad Dr Jeffe]

woo hoo, I found a place that carries Vallejo paint locally, now I can try a bottle or two and still use the cheap stuff.