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Hey guys. I'm brand new to 40k and wargaming, so I'm going to be asking some really basic questions, which I hope will be a help to everyone like me as well.

So I bought the Black Reach starter set, and I'm about to start painting. For something like that, would you guys recommend painting first, then assembling, or painting second after assembling. I'm worried that if I assemble first, getting a nice, even coat of primer will be difficult. Like in the little bits of space between the bolter and the model, or that the primer will pool there and I'll have a different problem. However, I think that if I prime first, I might not be able to fit those little pegs in to fasten the bolters and backpacks on (Though that wouldn't be too bad, I'd just hit them with the plastic cutters and glue them down). What are your views and recommendations?

Second question: I have 3 cans of spray primer: 1 can of Armory White Primer, 1 can of Krylon Dual Paint/Primer in Black, and 1 Krylon Dual in Red. For painting reds, I know that White primer is recommended over black, but what about Krylon Dual paint/primer? Anyone have any experience with it as primer?

For assembly of the Black Reach set leave the guns and backpacks off until you are finished painting. The priming should effect your ability to fit the pegs in.

Remember you prime with small puffs, not by holding down the button and spraying. It should be a VERY light coat.

As for priming, white, red or black is going to have a huge effect on the finished product. White is NOT recommended over black, it just depends on the effect you want. Priming in white will make the end product more likely to pop as a very bright red. It is easier to get bright color effects over a white base. Priming in black will likely make it a duller, darker red.

Nether of these looks are bad, you just need to decide which you want.

I'm not sure how new you are to painting, but for this type of color scheme you are going to want minimum red gore, blood red, and badab black. Mechadendrite red from the foundations line is optional. Foundation paints are very high in pigment and will allow you to quickly get a solid red base coat, but mechadendrite is a bit dull compared to red gore and blood red.

Make sure to thin your paints with water at least 1:1 or 2:1.

A very belated thank you to Riplikash.

But it's time for another noob question.

For Black Reach and some Finecast minis, it's pretty obvious that for mounting the mini on a base, you just put the tab in the slot, glue it down, and call it a day. Or, in the case of the Black Reach Termies and Dread, use the little foot-peg. But now I'm wondering: How would I mount things that have neithr of these options? For instance, I have some Sanguinary Guard. They don't have footpegs or tabs to fit in the bases, so how would I best mount these? I'm reluctant to just glue them down, as it seems like that is pretty unstable and prone to failure.

Thanks in advance

When priming models with peg/hole assembly (I have a bunch of AoBR models), I mask off the areas with a small piece of poster tac. Once the stuff is removed, kneading it for a while breaks up and distributes the dried paint, like "erasing" a newsprint copy taken with Silly Putty, and restores the tack. This really helps with the occasionally tight-fitting pegs, keeps me from having to spot-strip parts to get a good glue bond, and gives me a spot to stick the parts onto the cardboard sheet I use to catch overspray.

Models without tabs or pegs do simply get glued down... if that's as far as you're willing to go. Honestly, a bit of super glue is enough for most plastic troop-sized models. A beefier epoxy would provide greater strength and be easy enough to hide with basing, as well. When you really want/need a strong joint, though, you can pin the model to the base. By drilling a hole through the base and up into the foot and gluing in a metal rod (in addition to glue between the foot and the base surface), you provide not only extra surface area for glue to grip, but extra mechanical resistance to torque, the enemy of strong but brittle superglue bonds.

riplikash wrote:...Make sure to thin your paints with water at least 1:1 or 2:1.

Not to hijack this thread but more of building off of.

I've heard this many times. I use citadel paints.

What does this ratio mean? 1 drop to 1 drop? 1 oz. to 1 oz.? I've tried what I thought was 1 drop to 1 drop and the paint comes out runny in which I end up going back over with non thinned paint.

Mordechai wrote:

riplikash wrote:...Make sure to thin your paints with water at least 1:1 or 2:1.

Not to hijack this thread but more of building off of.

I've heard this many times. I use citadel paints.

What does this ratio mean? 1 drop to 1 drop? 1 oz. to 1 oz.? I've tried what I thought was 1 drop to 1 drop and the paint comes out runny in which I end up going back over with non thinned paint.

It is one part water to one part paint, so the answer to the question is "Yes". The thinned paint won't obscure details, but takes several layers to build up. Also when blending and highlighting, the thinned paint is easier to work and give a smooth transition between colors

It's given as a simple ratio specifically so it can be applied to any amount of paint. Personally, I don't like giving out "thinning recipes," considering how widely various brands and colors vary, especially when age and storage conditions come into play.

I'd suggest putting a splodge of paint on your palette, painting a line/pool of water near it, then pulling the two into the middle for mixing, as needed. It gives you far greater control, so you can play around with the consistency until it's where you want it. For general coverage, you only want to thin the paint enough to allow it to flow smoothly off the brush and not clog textural detail - anything thinner is making more work for yourself. There are near-endless uses for further diluted paint, but the average newbie that thins a fresh pot 1:1 is almost guaranteed to go "how the do they use this stuff?"

Here are links to a couple of videos I've done on Thinning Paint, one on Primers, and another on Color Theory.

These should all help you out. Understanding color theory is probably the best bit of knowledge that you can learn when beginning to paint models.