Painting Plastic Minis

Started by BanzaiCat, July 11, 2016, 07:18:50 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

SirAndrewD

Quote from: Nefaro on July 16, 2016, 04:42:29 PM
Good to know.

I've only had to wash the occasional set of minis, due to excessive leftover oil.  The primers I use have been pretty good with the rest without a wash.

It's finding all the tiny flash lines, for filing off, that troubles me most in preparation.  While I find, trim, and file much of it off, there is often a small bit I only later discover after having primed and got into painting the details.  Can't win 'em all I guess.  :))

Yeah, you're always going to find that last bit of flash after priming.  It's just the nature of the beast.
"These men do not want a happy ship. They are deeply sick and try to compensate by making me feel miserable. Last week was my birthday. Nobody even said "happy birthday" to me. Someday this tape will be played and then they'll feel sorry."  - Sgt. Pinback

Nefaro

Quote from: Banzai_Cat on July 11, 2016, 07:18:50 PM
...specifically, I'm thinking of starting small (and staying that way most likely) and painting my Imperial Assault plastic minis. Any advice from you experts out there as to what brand(s) to use, brush sizes, extras, etc. that I might need to use?

Thanks in advance.

There are a few good series out there, which cover everything.


The following series has lots of good suggestions, from mini prep through the different painting steps. 

I think you'll agree, it's an easy watch too.     :)


Series Playlist:
http://youtu.be/UXBijbQ23vQ?list=PLULI8CkjwVt-lWkqLTWuw2bhAXv71xuH7


First Episode in forum playbox:



BanzaiCat

Well, thanks Nef! I can definitely appreciate painted fingernails. ;)

TOO often I see a board game review video and it's a dude with filthy fingernails, doing close ups of components. I'm not squeamish normally but damn that's gross.

Nefaro

Quote from: Banzai_Cat on September 02, 2016, 05:50:45 AM
Well, thanks Nef! I can definitely appreciate painted fingernails. ;)

TOO often I see a board game review video and it's a dude with filthy fingernails, doing close ups of components. I'm not squeamish normally but damn that's gross.
[/quote]

Definitely understand your aversion to seeing filthy fingernails on YT vids.  It's disgusting.  Being an OCD hand-washer, and having always scraped the filth from under my own nails, it makes me uncomfortable seeing such a thing.  I can understand if it was a vid of them outdoors, digging in the dirt or something, but it's not.  Those guys have obviously had enough time at home to wash their hands and clean that shit up.  :knuppel2:

Some of them also have annoying speech habits.  A primary example being those people who smack their tongue against the roof of their mouth after every sentence.  That begins to drive me nuts after a few minutes straight, because it seems to get louder over time.   :tickedoff:  Not everyone is a soothing Bob Ross, for sure.  ;D


As for this lady's painting vids, she certainly knows what she's doing.  While there is some beginner stuff that didn't get covered a lot, in that series, I did learn some new tricks which I'd not heard of before.  Her other "How I Paint this.." vids have some very impressively painted minis at the end.  And her narration is pleasant, without any annoying quirks. 


Nefaro

Here is a long series, of which the earlier episodes are good for beginners.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLTJEjDK0-g&list=PLB0292071C3B38CAC&index=114


The playlist is backwards, but the episodes are numbered.

Straightforward demonstrations of painting techniques in there, which are handy.  The later stuff goes into more detail about specific things.

BanzaiCat

Thanks for posting those too, Nef. I've no idea when I'll get to it but I'm going to want to paint every plastic mini I own once I get those paints. I need to make my way back over to the hobby store...their paints were 2.99 each but their primer can was $10. But, the primer is excellent quality and the guy telling me about it does a lot of minis himself. I just never get over there that often.

Nefaro

I just used some Rust-O-Leum black spray primer on my horde of Mercs: Recon minis.

They're nice minis, but aren't the highest quality, especially noticeable on the indistinct faces.  It did the job at half the price or less of the spray primer meant for minis. 

If I had some super detailed mini models, I might go for the $10 to $14 can of good stuff.  Such as those high dollar mini-only kits.  But for these mid-quality board game minis, the rust-o-leum primer is okay. 

I'm much more concerned with when to spray, here, since the temperature, and most notably the humidity, can jump quite a bit every day.  I had to spray in the garage this time.  Too high & they can make your primer coat sticky or globular, which is plain bad.  Still had to let them dry for a day this latest time. 

I'll often just brush on some black or gray airbrush primer, if it's just a few minis I'm taking through the whole process at the time.  Dries much faster that way, and I can prime all the hard to reach areas in one go, but obviously takes longer painting it on manually.  I only opted for spraying these latest ones because I had about 45 minis ready for priming, at once.  Had some assembly required, for Mercs, so I just powered through gluing those tiny bits all at once (though I still have the other base game to do).

Gary was joking about some Kickstarter featuring fancy miniature-holding grips in the other thread.  Laughs aside, I recommend you get a pack of Sticky Tac and use some small round jars, tall lids, or large corks to sticky-tac your minis' bases to.  I use a small pack of round hard plastic jars pretty much the size of those old black film development cannisters, mounting them on the bottom.  Much easier to turn the mini around without dropping it, and have more stability when painting.  Holding them by the mini's own base makes it more susceptible to being dropped while the paint is still wet, and accidental smudging & getting extra paint on yourself.

As for buying high quality stuff, the only thing you should be required to go the extra monetary distance for is the acrylic paints.  Vallejo, 3P, Army Painter, GW, etc.  The rest of the supplies don't need to be the highest quality.  I'd say spend any extra money you have on more tools & paints, and paint assistants like Medium.  Tools such as a pack of the differently shaped metal jeweller's files (trimming mold lines), a proper set of sprue clippers if you need to cut little plastic bits out of sprues, a wet palette or the stuff to make your own, etc.

That latest series I linked is great for getting started, and has a bit of this info.




Bison

This is a really nice conversion chart for different paint brands. 

http://www.dakkadakka.com/wiki/en/Paint_Range_Compatibility_Chart

I use Vallejo game color primarily.  I do have some Vallejo model paint.  However I will say that Citadel produces the best washes IMHO.  I picked up some Vallejo game color wash, it's ok but takes some prep work.  The Citadel wash is just dip and brush.

Staggerwing

Have anyone of you used Krylon Fusion paints for a primer or base coat? Supposedly it's made to stick to most types of plastic including PVC and Vinyl.
Vituð ér enn - eða hvat?  -Voluspa

Nothing really rocks and nothing really rolls and nothing's ever worth the cost...

"Don't you look at me that way..." -the Abyss
 
'When searching for a meaningful embrace, sometimes my self respect took second place' -Iggy Pop, Cry for Love

... this will go down on your permanent record... -the Violent Femmes, 'Kiss Off'-

"I'm not just anyone, I'm not just anyone-
I got my time machine, got my 'electronic dream!"
-Sonic Reducer, -Dead Boys

Nefaro

#24
Quote from: Staggerwing on September 03, 2016, 02:57:08 PM
Have anyone of you used Krylon Fusion paints for a primer or base coat? Supposedly it's made to stick to most types of plastic including PVC and Vinyl.

I've seen people mention using Krylon before, too.  I've not tried it yet.



Quote from: Bison on September 03, 2016, 10:26:18 AM
This is a really nice conversion chart for different paint brands. 

http://www.dakkadakka.com/wiki/en/Paint_Range_Compatibility_Chart

I use Vallejo game color primarily.  I do have some Vallejo model paint.  However I will say that Citadel produces the best washes IMHO.  I picked up some Vallejo game color wash, it's ok but takes some prep work.  The Citadel wash is just dip and brush.

My Vallejo washes require extra watering down.  Took me a bit to realize that. 

But, at the same time, I can also use them as an ink-ish paint with no adjustments.  Have used it as a darkening or dirtying coat over metallic paints, to tone down the sparkles and give metals a grungier look.

I'm still very much experimenting with various methods, and constantly modifying current ones.  Guessing that's how it will always be, to some extent.

In "Aela"s vid, she suggested mixing a little bit of dish soap in with a Wash, to make it seep into the low points & off the high better.  Never heard of that before, may have to attempt that sometime too.  :coolsmiley:

Bison

I use a concoction I brewed up with water and matte medium, but I need to look at a thinner too.  The Vallejo washes aren't horrid just not as easy as the citadel to use.

Silent Disapproval Robot

Ugh.  Been out of the minis painting field for almost a quarter century other than a few quick dabs of paint on the fighter models for Star Wars: Armada. 

I figured now that I own Mansions of Madness, Tide of Iron, and Descent that I should get back into the hobby as I used to enjoy painting figures.  Went and dropped way too much money on a bunch of paints, brushes, and other stuff only to come to the realization that the eyes and hands just aren't up to the task anymore.  Bloody frustrating, this getting old business.  Beats the alternative I suppose but still....


Bison

I picked up three new Reapers miniatures to paint today.  I must have been in a ranger mood because I got two different ones, but to fair to myself one is dual weilding swords and the other has a bow.  The third mini is a dwarven fighter or cleric.  He has a wonderful shield and warhammer. 

After these guys I'm going to pick up either some goblins or a few orcs.  Although the oldest is clamoring for a druid, so we'll see. 

Silent Disapproval Robot

I use these.


https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B007CDJKM2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


My biggest problem is getting proper paint consistency.  It's often too thin, especially with metallics and acts more like a wash than a paint.  I also have a problem of mangling my brushes when I clean them so there are always a few split strands and/or flyers.  The shaky hands just complete the trifecta.