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Hey guys,
I'm returning to the hobby again and need some help. I'll need to preface this with some facts. I'm real finicky with my painting skills and modeling skills, both of which have always been underwhelming and underdeveloped. I hate having a grey eye-sore for an army, but having a horribly painted blob can sometimes be worse.

What I'm driving at is: Should I keep some of my left-over fantasy sprues and practice with them [painting, that is. perhaps some horrible conversions. or something.] or just go ahead and buy a battleforce box or AOBR?

I've always enjoyed 40K and Fantasy, but doing anything cool with my mini's has always been a major short-coming. I've never really improved upon my skills, either -- so would it be wiser to terrorize my left over fantasy minis and improve my skills or swap/sell them for 40K before they are irrevocably mauled? Any pointers or advice? I really want to go bawls deep into this again, but I always get panicky [its absurd, I know.] about my mini's before I even have them.

Thanks guys.

Your primary place that you play?

Most Bunkers offer free painting tips/tutorials.

I would take some of these old models and get an idea with what your doing first.

Th3ee Legged Dog wrote:Your primary place that you play?

Most Bunkers offer free painting tips/tutorials.

I would take some of these old models and get an idea with what your doing first.

My FLGS doesn't have painting tips/tutorials, or I've never been aware of any. Most armies are just primed, very few of the players actually have paint on their models ... and then its usually just 4-5 units [worse than me. something i hope to change with this new re-recommitment.]

I suppose I will go chop up some Gobbo Wolf Riders then and hope for the best.

Look around for painting tutorials for units you want to paint. Even GW's website has some good tutorials for multiple chapters of Marines, Ork clans, Guard regiments, and so on. What you learn from these you can apply to other paintjobs. It takes a while, but you can learn.

Or you could hire a commission guy like me to paint for ya

Brother SRM wrote:Look around for painting tutorials for units you want to paint. Even GW's website has some good tutorials for multiple chapters of Marines, Ork clans, Guard regiments, and so on. What you learn from these you can apply to other paintjobs. It takes a while, but you can learn.

Or you could hire a commission guy like me to paint for ya

Haha, I appreciate that.

But, it wouldn't be my army or my hobby if I was to let my army get painted by someone else. The portion of my brain that's supposed to be creative flat-lined or something -- I feel like I'm doing something wrong, because I have such a hard time learning these basic concepts.

Look up on the net (ie) Youtube for some tips on how to paint minis or even try the GW site for tips on how to paint minis.

I think its a good idea that you practice painting minis you aren't going to use for gaming.

Or you could paint Orks

Micromegas wrote:

My FLGS doesn't have painting tips/tutorials, or I've never been aware of any. Most armies are just primed, very few of the players actually have paint on their models ... and then its usually just 4-5 units [worse than me. something i hope to change with this new re-recommitment.]

I suppose I will go chop up some Gobbo Wolf Riders then and hope for the best.

Hello Micro,

What army are you intending to start?

Th3ee Legged Dog wrote:

Micromegas wrote:

My FLGS doesn't have painting tips/tutorials, or I've never been aware of any. Most armies are just primed, very few of the players actually have paint on their models ... and then its usually just 4-5 units [worse than me. something i hope to change with this new re-recommitment.]

I suppose I will go chop up some Gobbo Wolf Riders then and hope for the best.

Hello Micro,

What army are you intending to start?

Went to my FLGS and it was a graveyard. I fear for its survival. Might have to start driving to another town to game.

As for army.. I don't know.

I like Red and I like melee. I've considered Orks, but am scared they will be too hard for my rather sub-mediocre painting skills. I've thought about Marines and Chaos SM; Chaos scare me away for the same reason Orks do. I have also thought about Dark Eldar, but I'm not sure I understand the way they're meant to be played -- and again, the paint job scares me.

I really would like a fast and aggressive melee orientated army that is fun to play, and if possible not have an ungodly amount of units. I used to play a full Gobbo army in Fantasy, so I don't want some super competitive list. Just a fun army to play over some beers with my pals [who are also getting into the game with me.].

Micromegas wrote:I really would like a fast and aggressive melee orientated army that is fun to play, and if possible not have an ungodly amount of units. I used to play a full Gobbo army in Fantasy, so I don't want some super competitive list. Just a fun army to play over some beers with my pals [who are also getting into the game with me.].

Might I recommend Nids. Fairly fast and melee. Gaunts shouldn't be that complex to paint. As you build skill MCs like fexes could be a good challenge. Horde units in like gaunts can look pretty cool with a couple of colors and a wash. Check out this link for a red scehme.

http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/content/article.jsp?categoryId=400031&pIndex=2&aId=4900035a&multiPageMode=true&start=3

And here is a painting tutorial for Hive Fleet Behemoth (red and blue)
http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/content/article.jsp?catId=&categoryId=§ion=&pIndex=1&aId=4900028a&start=2&multiPageMode=true

A few suggestions:

Ebay. My Craftworld E'bay-tan Eldar are beautiful! Every time someone compliments them, I say, "Thank you, I bought them myself."

OK, yeah, if you have to be the one to paint them - try any of these super easy methods of creating good-looking (just good, mind you) miniatures in a hurry. Makes for a nice coherent force, too.

1) Basecoat white (always!) - then use the *new* washes. Add some drybrushing and pick out a few details - done. Works great on "organics" - Tyranids, Orks, Guard...etc.

2) Spray paint (no basecoat) metallic, GW washes and/or Vallejo inks. Works incredibly well on "metallics" - Marines, most Tau, Necrons, etc.

3) Spray paint (no basecoat) metallic, Army painter - brushed on, not dipped! Just follow the army painter instructions. Dullcoat afterward. Probably works as well with non-metallic spray base, but have not tried it.

I hadn't considered Tyranids. Mainly, because I guess I want my army to have some sense of emotion or, I guess, capacity for individual thought. Sounds a little silly, I know.

Thank you much, Voidangel. I have been debating whether I want to go a route similar to what you mentioned and then when I go to expand my army practicing on those models. I just can't see myself buying a pre-painted army; namely for the already mentioned reasons, but also I could buy so much more for that amount of money.

I did find a terminator still on his sprue in my hobby box and paints too! That was quite an exciting find. Most of the citadels have dried out or are drying out is there any remedy for the ones that are still slightly, for lack of a better word, moist? I plan on doing evil experiments to that terminator, !

GW paints in most of the last few incarnations are designed to dry out, even when locked in hermetically sealed stasis vaults. You can put a few drops of water in them and shake or stir the living gak out them. Sometimes that even works. I've switched over to Vallejo, mostly, for this reason. The very newest pots seem to be "OK" - but I still don't fully trust 'em.

I would go with space marines, specifically (I shudder to think I'm suggesting them) Blood Angels. They are red, and melee based. Space marines are an elite army, so they tend to have a low model count. Plus painting them is really easy.

Basecoat->mechrite red->red(scab or blood)->pick out details (chest eagles, eyes, backpacks)->wash. Easy. Nothing very hard, and you have a nice table top quality paint job.

PraetorDave wrote:I would go with space marines, specifically (I shudder to think I'm suggesting them) Blood Angels. They are red, and melee based. Space marines are an elite army, so they tend to have a low model count. Plus painting them is really easy.

Basecoat->mechrite red->red(scab or blood)->pick out details (chest eagles, eyes, backpacks)->wash. Easy. Nothing very hard, and you have a nice table top quality paint job.

Is it bad that I feel a sense of dread at buying Space Marines?

Micromegas wrote:

PraetorDave wrote:I would go with space marines, specifically (I shudder to think I'm suggesting them) Blood Angels. They are red, and melee based. Space marines are an elite army, so they tend to have a low model count. Plus painting them is really easy.

Basecoat->mechrite red->red(scab or blood)->pick out details (chest eagles, eyes, backpacks)->wash. Easy. Nothing very hard, and you have a nice table top quality paint job.

Is it bad that I feel a sense of dread at buying Space Marines?

Well if you don't like space marines don't get them. However, Blood Angels fit all the criteria you asked for, so they seem to be the best for you. However, many people consider them overpowered, and cheesy, so you may be stigmatized if you play them.

I'm not sure. I guess I might invest in a few codices and read through the respective fluff and units.

Blood Angels give you a lot of flexibility in play style. You don't HAVE to be cheesy about it.

VoidAngel wrote:Blood Angels give you a lot of flexibility in play style. You don't HAVE to be cheesy about it.

I hadn't planned on that, good sir. I just keep swaying violently from Dark Eldar to MEQs. Assault squads intrigue me, but the whole of DE intrigues me -- something about the 80's hair band/heavy metal look, I guess.

Heck, I HATE the DE, and they intrigue me. Have you seen the new beast models for them? Drool....

Yeah, they're pretty neat. I wasn't impressed with the pigeons they got, though.

And honestly, I probably wouldn't want to field their beasts anyway, but I'm sure that would be subject to change if I started collecting them.

The nice thing about MEQ is...they're cheap and plentiful. You can get scads of them still on sprues, on Ebay and suchlike.

They are also the MOST flexible, since you can paint them a unique scheme, give them your own name, and play them as whatever chapter you happen to be enamored of at the moment.

I was going to suggest Blood Ang3ls as well...