I have bunch of games with miniatures made of single colour plastics which is a bit boring. I did buy a Warhammer paint kit to eventually try to paint some but so far I was too lazy (or scared? 😅) to try.
Do you colour your miniatures? If yes, what do you do to them - nice single colour coating/detailed multicolor paint job/…?
Edit: “derailed” -> “detailed”
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I have a painter friend who does my miniatures full colour for me! And he’s wicked good! He did my entire gloomhaven and nemesis. In exchange I make him warhammer 3d prints.
Nice. You seem to have good trade system going :)
Start with an undercoat of primer (usually available in spray cans) in a neutral color.
I’d suggest keeping your colors simple. A black undercoat with red for major areas is very striking and easy without lotsa commitment.
Don worry about messing up! You have lotsa little pieces and one bungle doesn’t look as obvious from afar.
And have fun!
Riiight. The undercoat seems like a great idea. Actually in some cases a black or metallic looking undercoat and a few details would do the trick.
Yes, it’s become a hobby in itself for me. If I like a game and know I’ll play it at least somewhat regularly, I’ll paint all the miniatures. Usually I’ll go for a detailed multicolor paintjob usually.
Don’t be scared! It’s easier to get decent results than most people think. And you can always paint over the old paint job once you got better. You can even strip paint from minis completely and start over too. So no reason not to start.
You likely want to wash the models in soapwater, let them dry, then prime them before applying the paint. Thin your paints before applying. There are lots of great tutorials on YouTube.
Feel free to ask for feedback or tips on https://lemmy.world/c/tabletopminis. We’re pretty chill over there.
Thank you for the heads up about tabletop minis community. Looks awesome.
It takes a lot, so only if I actually have free time but I will typically paint the minis for my party at minimum.
Spray primer first, depending on how you want it to look. Black makes shadows easier, overall darker. White makes colours brighter. A lot will use a grey because it’s a good in between.
I just pick a colour pallet I think will be nice for the mini and restrict myself to only a few colours then go for it.
If I was doing things like armies, then it’s a lot more:spray in base colour, then maybe paint in a secondary colour on details.
I like painting almost as much as playing the games 😅.
Don’t be scared to try it out, just watch some video to learn the basics and then try it out yourself. It’s surprisingly easy if you know some of the basic techniques. Prime your minis, use thin layers of paint, look up how to dry brush, and get a wash for shadows. Then you can start adding other techniques as you get better.
Or if you want you could follow along a recipe from a video for your first mini, that way you know how it will look and can learn the colours and techniques yet be sure that the colour palette works.
Worst come worst it is possible to strip the paint, but I doubt it will come to that.
Doing a proper paint job is on the eternal to-do list graveyard, haha. Maybe one day, but nah for now they’re all still the basic single colour plastic they shipped as.
I don’t have the time and patience to do a real paintjob for minis anymore. I used to do individual character minis whith whatever talent I have but for board games I just try and make them not look a drab grey.
I like to do either a discount Sundrop especially when the game’s theme is darker, or alternatively prime in a light color and then wash with one or two suitable inks.
Both of those techniques don’t take an exorbitant amount of time and effort but make minis a lot easier on the eye, plus more easily identifiable.
Definitely the way to go if you don’t want to spend more time painting the minis then playing with them, but still want them to look reasonable. It’s incredible how much even a single dry brush on a base layer brings them to life. Maybe the only caveat is that some miniatures are not designed with painting in mind and don’t have the textures and structures that give the depth. But even then the worst you will get is a not really improved mini and some spent time.
Exactly, it’s my “make them presentable” procedure, really. I’ll never brag about how well they look but they definitely have more presence than plain grey.
And I agree, not all board games have high quality minis unfortunately. But I’ve rarely encountered any that didn’t look better with a primer / base layer, some wash and/or dry brush.
Plus I really enjoy differentiating them a bit by picking hues for the ink and highlights that match the character class or monster type etc. But that is really as far as I’m selling to go nowadays. :)
I paid my stuff, but only if I know I’m keeping the game/minis. For example, I have an Arcadia Quest set and I paint those cause I know I could repurpose them for other games if need be. Conversely, I’m not painting my Cosmic Frog set yet cause I don’t know if it’s staying or not.
The hassle of getting that green goo stuff to strip paint turns off a lot of buyers, and there is something about accepting your own mistakes vs mistakes of others…
I tried coloring a couple of my Blood Rage miniatures but I suck at it and really dislike the activity. Honestly wish I never tried it in the first place xP
In theory I’d like too… but I don’t know if I ever will. And I don’t like the look of unpainted minis so I tend to avoid games that don’t have other options.
As an alternative, I’ve been 3d printing bases to differentiate plastic miniatures. Similar to the bases in something like Argent or Blood Rage.
Obviously not as pretty as painted minis, but significantly easier to play with
