*cracks knuckles* 

Aight. first off make sure you're buying into a system and miniatures that you actually want. 40k is a bit wonky these days, but still pretty fun. AoS is the better game, IMO, andhas a more promising future in its minis, but if you like the current crop of 40k factions, they aren't going anywhere.

If you want to paint minis, you need to invest - that's the sad truth. I have built up quite a colelction of paints and brushes over the last three years, but I did it bit by bit rather than all in one go.

First off you need to identify how you want to paint them - if you have a scheme in mind from something you've seen online, post it here. If not, try and get examples of other minis.

The best thing to do is to identify the compontents of a mini for your scheme.

I still have a picture of my first DG lads online so here they are



So your main things are: Armour, Trim, Flesh, Metal, Bones, Boils, Lenses.

Most components you'll want to do the bare minimum of base > shade > layer, so you're looking at 2-3 colours per component. You can soften steps by using the right undercaot, or by using contrast. My DG are undercoated in a spray coat of Death Guard Green - so that's the trim done. Then I wash the whole mini with athonian camoshade, and layer on Rakarth Flesh for the armour, and highlight with Nurgling green for the trim and Pallid Wych Flesh for the armour - maybe depening the shade again if I need to.

But certain shades might be usful elsewhere - I could do a very similar scheme with Agrax Eathsade for example, and at the same time i'd be able to shade the whole mini cos it's a nice neutral shade that goes over bone, metal, and various armour colours very well.

Contrast can be super useful because it combines base and shade into one coat essentially, but it really depends on how you're using it. You also need a white or offwhite primer (i'd recommended GWs Wraithbone or Grey Seer as they're abotu 100x better than any white primer) or at the very least a basecoat that works with the Contrast paint you're using. For example, my current method for painting horns and bone is to basecoat with Zandri Dust - a nice mustard yellow - and then use skeleton horde contrast over the top for shading and saturating, before layering Ushabti Bone over. If I had sprayed the whole mini in Wraithbone, I'd skip the Zandri Dust part as Skeleton Horde is already quite saturated so it works easily over paler colours.

if you keep the Base > Shade > Layer Method in mind and plan out your colours, you should find you're looking at maybe 14-15 paints for a model - which then equats to 13-15 paints for an army, given the natural overlap, plus a primer spray (black is the best, but depending on your scheme you might get away with one like Blue or Green, or a Contrast primer if you want to use Contrast)

For brushes, get yourself a Medium Shade Brush, as it is the MVP for shades and contrast paints, a Small Layer for small areas and highlights, and a Medium Layer or Medium Base brush for larger areas on infantry, maybe a Large base for vehicle stuff.

Investigate making a wet pallette online, it takes seconds and saves you masses of time and paint - doesn't work with contrast though. Remember that Contrast and regular painting is totally compatible as contrast is just a tool, not a method. I used both on my Ghrogons and I doubt you could guess which parts were contrast and which weren't.

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If this is jumbled or you have more Warhammer questions, don't hestiate to let me know. I can send you three Plague Marines for free if you want, I have a duplciate set of those at the start of my post - just sling me a PM.

Nope. The primers you use for contrast are formulated to work well with contrast, they’re more satin than matte, but really they’re just off white which means the texture is better than white which often bery grainy

It definitely is. PM your address and i’ll send you some models stuff over, that way you can start with some paints and tackle something like DI later when you’ve got a plan under your belt.

Highly recmmond Know No Fear - slots right in between First Strike and Dark Imperium, would hoenstly say it's the best of the 3 (doesn't come with the lovely hardback 40k book though)

https://www.games-workshop.com/en-GB/40k-know-no-fear-2017-ENG

Good idea, I'm going on this week so I'll ask.

Fixed link.

I'm not sure if it's the vallejo primer, or the airbrush, but the texture on the miniatures is insanely smooth. I'm really impressed.

I'm scared shitless to break the tip, or at least totally gunk it up (I had a lot of 'tip dry', which I think is normal when priming). Hopefully as time goes on I'll get more confident.

Fair enough - I was avoiding it with the primer and just adding water. I'll have a blast with the airbrush thinner and/or flow improver tonight.

I'd have thought a man of your calibre would have a decent camera, Noface.

Ah wait, that's much better, must have been a forum thing. Not bad at all for a first bash.

Of course it is, it took me so long to paint these that it'll be after Christmas before I can get time to have another go.

Great fun though, after a few attempts my head's full of ideas and a better understanding of techniques people talk about in tutorials. Just need to practice for mad skills.

Building these fucking things takes forever when you're as cackhanded as I am. Bloody magmadroth.

I do still have it yeah, but it was  specific tutorial for a specific technique!

Dread to ask how much that EVA 01 costs, please tell!

Oh god, $50ish! I might send you a message one day... looks like an insane kit.

GW do a lot of pushfit stuff these days - usually under the name of Easy To Build - it's not the same as making gunpla, but it's nice to know that stuff exists for people who just want to bash some stuff together.

Chomping at the bit to get on with some painting and modelling but my lack of free time is killing me at the moment.