Hi,

I'm relatively new to the hobby - or at least newly returned to it after a long hiatus, and just getting back into it after digging out some old models in the attic one day. I think I've been doing ok, though I seem to spend as much time watching and re-watching tutorials and beginners guides as actually painting. Pictures are my first models 3-4 months ago and the WIP model I've started this week.

What I'm struggling to understand at the moment is using the Wet Palette and making paint last. I know that it's not meant to be a magic tool to keep paint usable for weeks, but I'm finding myself going back to get more paint from the pot more than I think should be needed.

In the example of the WIP terminator, I was using a citadel base paint (Wraithbone) over a white primer (Colour Forge). My process was:

1. Setup the palette (Red Grass Games), soak the sponge and then leave just enough water around the edge without going over the top... apply the paper and smooth it out so there's no wrinkles or air bubbles.
2. Shake the ever living hell out of the paint
3. Scoop some of the Wraithbone from the pot lid onto the palette paper using a cheap brush. A couple of brushfuls
4. Thin it down by slowly introducing water to the side of the paint smudge and mixing it up until it's thin enough (or what I think is thin enough - god knows if I'm right)

What then happens is the paint just seems to run out very quickly and just leave a sort of dry spot on the paper and I have to return to the pot again and again. So my main question - am I wrong in thinking that a couple of scoops or base paint properly thinned should be enough to paint a base coat for a single terminator model? If so, then what could be causing the paint to run out/dry out so fast?

Thanks!

https://preview.redd.it/11ux9x1x6jvc1.jpg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b836a8707bf82a98a90889fe7f8bde69db56c401

https://preview.redd.it/q8us6coy6jvc1.jpg?width=1236&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e789b9d6d4dff9d7c63e38ed1ffe20703ee17de0

I'm making a soul blight gravelord army and I want to make their eyes grow a kind of yellowish green color cuz I go in for a very Rusty dark decade look nice and grim dark and I think this will be a excellent way to add some contrast in a way to draw your eyes more towards the face of the minis (as much of a face skeletons can have) I don't want to spend too much time doing the eyes because I have around 98 miniatures I'll have to do the effect on so any tips would be amazing things in advance. I was also thinking of making glowing edge highlights if that makes sense for my hero characters capes.Im looking to spend 5 to 10 minutes on the glowing effect for each mini.

I got a box of two Tamiya Extra Thin bottles should I just turn one of them into Sprue Goo immediately? Is there a good ratio, like should I just use half the bottle first?

Hey all. I just started painting minis and am having issues painting a base coat on the below mini. I used an airbrush to spray the dark green for the limbs and back, which looks good. But when I try to paint a bright green to the chest with my brush, I can't get the coat even, and if I re-paint a section it removes all the paint instantly.

I tried many different dilution of water,thinner on my wet pallet, but just can't get it to apply evenly. Please see the pic. Thank you for any help.

EDIT:
I should have added, I primed this maybe 1-2 years ago and it was sitting in my garage...I just wanted a sanity check to see if I am bad with diluting paints or if the paint isn't gripping to the primer.

https://preview.redd.it/0ebudwpjrivc1.jpg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8d3f544c4439b41fdb9be3a938f92fc62eda4091

https://preview.redd.it/o8v4qt5krivc1.jpg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fad45466064ab8e049b6b6441da6c17c19b5ff7b

Hello,

I recently decided to (finally) get into painting my miniatures and models. I have a bunch of unpainted Battletech stuff, but I thought I'd start by painting some 1:72 (20 mm) WW2 stuff first (with tabletop wargaming option in mind). For starters, I'm going to paint some summer uniform US infantry since those fit nicely whether I later focus on Mediterranean theater, Western Front, or the Pacific. Now I'll need to get a set of paints and other chemicals to get started and I thought I'd ask for some tips and feedback here.

My current plan is to do some fairly simple paint schemes with the main areas painted without shades, and then doing a shading wash on the whole model. I don't plan on trying to do any small details like unit/rank patches, belt buckles or such. I'm basically hoping to achieve a "battle ready" look that isn't too flat. I might consider dry-brushing on some highlights but modern washes seem to be capable of giving as much contrast as I want. I'll also have to apply varnish to get the minis ready for wargame use.

I'm planning to start with getting the very basics and what is needed for painting US Infantry. Later I'll probably start expanding to other WW2 armies and Battletech (which will need some brighter colors). I'm hoping to keep the costs reasonable, so any kind of future multi-use possibilities and cheaper alternatives with the paints and other chemicals are a plus. I don't have any plans with the model basing for now.

I'm going to stick to acrylics and don't plan on doing any custom color mixing. I'm only planning to brush paint for now but I'd like to keep the option for air-brush use open (which, as I understand it, can be done with Vallejo Model Colors with proper thinner and other additives). I haven't made any concrete plans for brushes and other hardware yet but I imagine I'll find pretty extensive and universally applicable advice on that subject from this subreddit.

So here are the various categories of paints and chemicals that I'm thinking of getting for starters. I'd really appreciate any feedback and suggestions whether its on one of the things I have listed or something I have missed.

Primer

I'm thinking of going with one grey spray primer for pretty much everything. Uniform Grey seems popular but I'm a bit worried that it could be too dark base for stuff like Soviet, 1941-1943 US, Commonwealth tropical, or DAK uniforms (especially when combined with a brown wash that will likely make everything a bit darker). Should I consider some lighter shade of grey since I hope I don't need to apply extra layers of khaki or other light colors?

Current choice: [Army Painter - Colour Primer - Uniform Grey Spray]

Wash

I'm thinking a brownish wash will probably work well for all things WW2 land warfare and Citadel's Agrax Earthshade seem to be highly regarded. Going a bit off topic, I also have a bunch of Battletech minis and I'm thinking Nuln Oil would probably look better on those. So if there are some cases in WW2 where Nuln Oil works better, that's definitely something I could get now as well.

Current choice: [Citadel Color Shade - Agrax Earthshade]

(With an option for: [Citadel Color Shade - Nuln Oil] )

Varnish

I'm thinking of finishing the models with Army Painter's anti-shine varnish. Sonic Sledgehammer Studio gets a pretty nice subtle effect out of Agrax Earthshade by applying Munitorum Varnish before washing with Agrax. I would rather skip that step of applying an extra layer of varnish, but if its necessary to keep the base colors from getting much darker, I'll do it over highlighting/dry brushing.

Current choice: [Army Painter - Anti-Shine Matt Varnish Spray]

(And if necessary for the wash: [Citadel - Munitorum Varnish Spray])

Basic Paints

For paints, I'm currently leaning towards Vallejo Model Colors as much as possible (and also getting some thinner, more on that later). I'll probably need basic paints like black and white, as well as a set of colors for stuff like leather, skin, wood, metal etc.

These are the colors that I'm currently fairly confident about.

Black: [Vallejo Model Color - 70.950 Black]

White: [Vallejo Model Color - 70.951 White]

Grey: [Vallejo Model Color - 70.995 German Grey]

Skin (light): [Vallejo Model Color - 70.928 Light Flesh]

These are the ones I could really use some comments and suggestions for. There's a lot of overlap and variance in wood and leather so any good mix of 2 or 3 browns total would be great. It would be important that the colors produce good results with Agrax Earthshade.

Wood: [Vallejo Model Color - 70.981 Orange Brown], or [Vallejo Model Color - 70.985 Hull Red]

Leather: [Vallejo Model Color - 70.983 Flat Earth], [Vallejo Model Color - 70.818 Red Leather], or [Vallejo Model Color - 70.984 Flat Brown]

Metal (non-metallic paint): [Vallejo Model Color - 70.863 Gunmetal Grey]

US Infantry Paints

I'm basing these on Vallejo's themed paint set and a Flames of War painting guide by Evan Allen.

Helmet: [Vallejo Model Color - 70.887 Olive Drab]

Jacket/Leggings: [Vallejo Model Color - 70.988 Khaki]

Webbing: [Vallejo Model Color - 70.886 Green Grey]

Trousers: [Vallejo Model Color - 70.873 US Field Drab]

M43/HBT: [Vallejo Model Color - 70.893 US Dark Green]

Metallic Paints

I guess some metallic details might look nice. Vallejo Gunmetal Grey seems like a good generic choice but any suggestion for alternatives are welcome (especially if it's something that works better when washed).

Current choice: [Vallejo Metal Color - 77.720 Gunmetal Grey]

Paint thinning

I'm seeing a lot of different advice for thinning Vallejo Model Colors from using tap water, to using Air brush thinner even for brush use, and some even suggesting some extra additives. Since I'm aiming for quick brush paint jobs, I'm currently leaning towards getting some Vallejo thinner medium (acrylic resin) as a safe choice. Any insights on this subject would be welcome.

Current choice: [Vallejo - Thinner Medium]

I guess I should also get some brush cleaner but other than that, I think that's about it for painting related chemicals (unless I'm missing something). Thank you for reading and thanks in advance for any advice you might have.

I've been using bold titanium white and golden yellow from pro acryl for a while, and they cover nicely when going for a high opacity layer, but when I thin them down much past that they start developing really bad textures. Like if I want to glaze a few layers to smooth a blend, when I apply the paint I can see individual pigment particles. I'm not sure if it's a matter of poor quality control, if there's a better brand, a trick with some sort of medium that could help, or if I should be using something different like inks. Any advice?

First time doing secondary reflections I was curious if I should make they stand out more? Any other advice on where to improve is very welcome. Thanks!

i did my first paint jobs and i did some purple and black paintjobs and came out a lot better than the yellows i painted yesterday. why is that? primer is gray

https://preview.redd.it/oy35np19thvc1.jpg?width=1536&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3eec250c5d98e3b3e95fff99883f6f9b350ee6a0

https://preview.redd.it/hr0kjo19thvc1.jpg?width=1536&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=52e4de90c7d87f13871b9524b001a7f4508e8fa8

https://preview.redd.it/0nz2jp19thvc1.jpg?width=1536&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a9cfc02bcb29dfb326a8c5d4483c3955341117cc

Thanks in advance!

Hi guys, just getting into the painting aspect of the hobby and have a couple of questions:

1. I stripped about ~40 marines (using Super Clean, nylon brush, etc.) which are now mostly all stripped to their primer (with a few stripped to the plastic, and a few more with some areas stripped to the plastic and some to the primer). Is it alright to just respray all of these with spray primer (Citadel)?

2. I haven't been able to find a shade of purple as dark as I want to use, but using Impcat I found a 75/25 blend of two paints (one from MSP and one from Citadel) make the shade I want. What's the best way to precisely measure this out so years down the line I can still match the color if I get new models?

Thank you!

Hey guys, i need help. I want to use oil paints first and then acrylics for the finishing touches. I have used oil washes before. How do i get the acrylic paints to behave normally on the layers of oil paints? I have read that i have to varnish after i put on the oils. I have a matt acrylic varnish, but i dont know if oils work with that stuff. Does someone have experience with that?