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Hello guys, my name is Minh, I am totally new to the wargamming hobby.
In my place, Vietnam, there is no Citadel or Vallejo paint; we only have Tamiya, Mr.Hobby and Academic with acrylic, enamel and lacquer color.
Can you suggest me which one I can use, I have tried Tamiya Acrylic and it worked not so well, blurred all the small details of my Grot.
Thank you
P.S: sorry for my bad English

Any water-based acrylic is fine. Some of the cheaper brands have larger pigment particles, which means they clog up detail and go on too thick.

Tamiya should be fine, I have also heard good things about Mr Hobby, but whatever brand you are using, you need to ensure you thin the paint down and apply several layers, rather than use paint directly from the pot, which is what commonly causes the blurring of detail you describe.

Water is fine to thin with, although there are additives you may wish to add as your skill and knowledge improve. There is no set recipe for how much, as different paint colours and brands vary, so the key is to experiment until you learn what looks right (2:1 paint to water is a good starting point though)

Thanks a lot, so you mean I have to thinner the paint first then apply many layers of the same color to get the best result? When I watched the tutorial videos on Youtube, I saw that they only applied one layer of paint
Bytheways, how much average time do you need to finish a miniature, such as an Ork Boy or a Marine.

I haven't used Mr. Hobby, but I think it should work best from those options. tamiya is good, but if you want to use it, you will have to use Tamiya X-20a thinner, otherwise it will be too thick and cover up the detail like you described.

I don't know what youtube videos you have watched, but the number of layers of paint used depends on what type of paint and what color you are using, sometimes you can do one layer... sometimes it takes 100... make sure you are using a primer first as well so you can get the best adhesion and coverage.

Also ask your paint question on TheMiniaturePage.com. They paint a wider range of miniatures, and I've noticed that their members have used a wider variety of paints than most hobby miniatures.

Tamiya: http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=257167

Good tutorial site: http://www.how-to-paint-miniatures.com/miniature-painting-base-coat.html

I know Reaper paints will ship internationally, so look into their "Learn to Paint Kits" line. You'll not only learn to paint, but will have a good supply of paints. Reaper also has a painting forum for tips for new painters!

How long to paint a miniature varies depending on what quality you're looking for, and how you're painting them (eg. assembly line painting). It's never enough time, though!

Thanks guys, you really helped me out, are there any "Thanks" button so I can express my appreciation to you?

minhthemouse wrote:
Thanks guys, you really helped me out, are there any "Thanks" button so I can express my appreciation to you?

You can Exalt them what miniatures do you currently have ?

Tamiya do a thinner called X-20A. It will work better than water for all acrylic paint especially for Tamiya paint.
Never used the other 2 before.
Sorry I couldn't be of any more help & good luck.

Before they were available cheaply locally, I imported Vallejo paints from the UK. I would recommend doing similar since I like Vallejo, depending of course on your postal system and import taxes. You'll find a *lot* of online support for Vallejo, in the form of painting tutorials so you can easily match colours, and users who can help you with their occasional quirks ; p

Since you're new, if you're just happy to get the da*n things colored correctly, washes-only is another option. Basically, you do zenithal priming (prime in black completely followed by white or grey then white) then washes. You can make cheap washes with Liquitex Acrylic Ink and water, and don't need a high quality brush.

http://www.warseer.com/forums/showthread.php?209588-More-fun-with-washes

I do this for regular painting as well. The wash acts like a basecoat with a head start on shading and highlighting.