|
Fellow Pathfinders,
Can you recommend paint sets or beginner paint sets for minis?
I have purchased a few minis and would like to start painting. Tell you the truth, I dont want to spend much money. My local game stores sells a starter set for $50, which is allot more than I want to spend. Is that a normal price? I prefer to buy another Pathfinder book than a small paint set. I also need glue and something to cut the metal.
Thanks
Hmmm...
It is probably sacrilege to the purists, but I bought some cheap brushes and acrylic paints at Hobby Lobby. In fact I started with one of those plastic multi-paint sets with the ten different colors all in a plastic strip and a set of a dozen brushes for like $4 or so.
I also bought some sculpey clay and made my own miniatures. Total spent was probably $20 or so for the sculpey clay, paints and brushes. I must have made and painted about fifty miniatures with that before I finally started buying acrylic paint in bottles. Also from Hobby Lobby.
Just be ready to thin your paints and you'll be fine.
Yes, after a while you'll realize that the cheap brushes are wearing out faster than you want, especially if you do a lot of dry brushing. But they'll get you through enough miniatures to learn if you really want to spend the money on better tools.
I still use the cheap Hobby Lobby acrylic paints. Not that I'm a purist, I make and paint miniatures to play with, not to put in little glass boxes and admire lovingly.
But I spend a lot more on brushes these days...
Just my $.02...
|
|
i agree...
I use cheap hobby lobby paint ( and buy when on sale) I water it down.. and also make my own ink washes.
brushes... you get what you pay for. you can pick up a decent set at hobby lobby or miachels with a 50% off coupon and get a decent starter set for fairly cheap.
good luck and have fu.
Hmmm...
It is probably sacrilege to the purists, but I bought some cheap brushes and acrylic paints at Hobby Lobby. In fact I started with one of those plastic multi-paint sets with the ten different colors all in a plastic strip and a set of a dozen brushes for like $4 or so.
Not at all. I do commissions and sell painted minis and terrains at conventions, but even as a "pro," I don't think there's anything at all bad about Hobby Lobby/Michael's paints.
I don't usually use them anymore, but they have many uses, and are great for beginners. Note, though, that on some of the usual difficult colors (orange and yellow), those paints are going to have even worse coverage than the pro paints from Reaper, Privateer Press, GW, etc. That means a lot of coats to get coverage. But the browns are good, for certain.
As for brushes from those places, stick with sable whenever possible. You should find two grades; real expensive sable, and cheap sable. The cheap is fine. Any other material from those stores is going to get frazzled and leave bristles behind.
As the new painter gets acquainted with the hobby, he might look into the triads Reaper sells (packs of three paints meant to complement one-another), as a cheaper means of filling out a collection with more suitable paint. Reaper, GW, Army Painter and PP sell paintbrushes in packs. The best deals are probably going to be the Army Painter packs. They'll likely be expensive at a hobby store, but you should find them online at better prices. I say they are the best deal because they last the longest and are decent quality for the price. Reaper's wear out fast, and though GW's are good at first, they get frayed quickly and cost A LOT. PP are also pricey for fairly limited life. You just get more done with the Army Painters.
GW has three starter sets in the $35 range that include eight excellent basic colors (one is a wash and another a basecoat black that covers almost as well as a primer), that comes with a brush and either five Space Marines, five High Elves, or five Moria Goblins. The $50 set the OP mentioned is probably the one without figures that has nine paints, a brush, clippers, super glue, PVA glue, and basing sand. Not a bad deal overall, though you can get most of those things dirt cheap at Hobby Lobby/Michael's, and if you buy their paints, you won't pay near as much.
|
The best deals are probably going to be the Army Painter packs. They'll likely be expensive at a hobby store, but you should find them online at better prices. I say they are the best deal because they last the longest and are decent quality for the price.
GW has three starter sets in the $35 range that include eight excellent basic colors (one is a wash and another a basecoat black that covers almost as well as a primer), that comes with a brush and either...
Army painter paintbrushes are decent, but if you are buying their paints make sure it is the new formulation. Their old stuff was terrible.
I think for 50 dollars you could put together a pretty decent starting hobby set.
What starter set is this? $50 seems like a lot, yes, though it depends on what's in it.
This is what you absolutely should have:
1. Inexpensive largish (size 4 or so) brush for basecoating/terrain/painting broad areas.
2. One as-high-quality-as-possible size 2 round kolinsky sable brush, such as Windsor and Newton Artist brushes, which you can often find on sale. Should cost you no more than $10 AT MOST. Keep it clean and store upright and it will last a long time (cheaper brushes will wear out and cost you more in the long run).
2. Paint. If you want the cheap stuff, get thinner. If you want the high quality mini stuff, any is fine; my personal preference is Reaper Master series which thins nicely with water and doesn't need a lot of fuss. Focus on getting basic colors and mixing what you need otherwise (ex, a brown, yellow ochre, flesh tone white, black, red, yellow, blue to start).
3. An XActo Knife for cutting off flash
4. A needle file for filing off mold lines
5. Superglue (e.g., Zap-a-gap) or similar for gluing multi-piece minis together.
Good luck.
|
Reaper makes a few Learn to Paint Kits for about $25 that you might be interested in. Each comes with a mini or two, a few paint colors, a couple of brushes, and instructions covering the kit's theme.
Reaper also have their own forums on their site that are frequented by a number of professional miniature painters and advanced hobbyists that can give pointers.
If you can make it to a convention where they have a presence, they usually do a "paint & take" table where they provide everything you need, and also offer instruction and advice if you need and want it. You get to keep the miniature after you take it.
Also, it looks like there's some good tutorials over on how-to-paint-miniatures.com.
|
To begin with I bought some cheap brushes (sizes 0,1,00,2), some Apple Barrel acrylic hobby paint, and some Rustoleum sandable auto primer. I also bought some Future Floor Shine floor polish and made my inks (water, paint, future floor polish mixed together). After I knew I liked doing it I invested in some Kolinksy Sable brushes, miniature paints (reaper, valejo, coat d'arms), but I still use the same cheap primer.
One thing to remember, if you are using the hobby paint it will need watered down some.