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Hi all, been a while since I've been on... But yeah, I have seen that some people paint nameplates or something like that on the bases of their minis, and I wanted to know if there are any tutorials for that? If not, any tips? Thanks in advance!

I don't paint nameplates on the bases, but I do paint the nameplates for my marines that are on shoulderpads or banners and the like.

I found an old White Dwarf that provides some tips on the process:

1. Practice before you paint. Use scrap of sprue to practice your calligraphy.

2. Paint in gray before you paint in black. Black is harder to paint over than gray and if you mess up, you'll want to be able to fix it easily.

3. Start in the middle of the area and work out towards the edges. This helps to prevent a lopsided result or cramping letters at the end of the word/name.

Try micron pens. I use them for that kind of thing and they're magic.

Thanks a million Garvin, an those are some excellently painted models! Bravo!

I second the Micron pens. I can't imagine painting letters that small.

This is a test model I did for my drop troops awaiting paint striper so I can give it a proper paint job, but it's a good example of what micron pens can do for lettering.

I use micro pens but I've always wondered: Are there white ones? Every time I take look I only ever seem to find correction fluid? Or is that what people use for white writing?

Cool, I'll definitely go looking for some of those micron pens! Thanks everyone!

Gavin Thorne's advice is great if you want to use paint, but I'll throw in another +1 for Micron pens. I use them for everything from blacklining grooves to drawing Goff checks to marking patterns for scratchbuilds.

Taffiarty: There aren't white Pigma Micron pens, but Sakura, the company that makes them, does have moderately fine-tipped white paint markers and other companies make even finer tips. There was a thread on this a little while ago with links to some good candidates. See if you can't dig that up. Just be wary and test them, first, to see if they'll react to the paint. My girlfriend picked up a white detail marker for drawing on dark backgrounds and not only did it soak through the heavy paper, it ate streaks of varnish right off of the kitchen table, underneath!

I'll also hhrow my support for the pens - made suuuuuch a difference for how I do details in general.

Also, I would strongly recommend finding examples of models that look nice with nameplates and copying them. The vast, vast majority that I've seen look more like a child marking their toy rather than adding character to their mini (The ones who paint the name on the base I mean - the scrolls tend to look fine.)