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I want to get into gaming but the price wall is murder, one of the major issues is the cost of paints and brushes, just to paint a small army the paints and brushes are already going to cost me $100+ easy games workshop products are extra expensive in Australia and i was hoping someone could point me in the direction of a place online i can order cheap quality substitutes for the GW paints and brushes.

even ones that are dirt cheap and will do the job are fine as long as it sticks and looks ok.

If you're patient, you can find barely used paint pot collections on Ebay for a reasonable price.
Brushes aren't really that expansive, you will need only 2-3 brushes for most of your army.

GW brushes *are* cheap. And nasty.

For learning the ropes, normal art-store watercolour brushes should do you; look for ones with good points, sizes 00, 0, 1, 3.

As for paints, Vallejo are good. All mini paints are around the same sort of price per pot here in the UK(and the pots / bottles usually dry or gunk up before you use them all). Vallejo have a consistent range that they don't mess with, means they're a good choice if you want the same results in 5 years as you get now.

Cheap brushes are a false economy.
A decent brush will last and last if you look after it.
I'm still using some sable brushes I got when I started miniature painting 25 years ago.

vallejo dont seem to have a store of their own online so that doesnt really help me unless there is a store in Australia that they supply too.

i get the brushes thing where a good set will be worth it more, i might need to peruse the craft shops and see what they have.

but my issue is the paints are really pricey im talking about 8-12 dollars a pot and i need primers mains and finished and top protective coats.

the main ones i can get locally are the GW paints and the paints that are branded for warmachine.

My tip, if you're not looking to do painting competition level work (which I assume you are not) is to get yourself craft store acrylic paints.

I don't know what's available in Australia, but here we have Micheals arts and crafts stores and I use their CraftSmart brand of acrylics for all of my miniature painting including 40K.

At 69-99 cents (Canadian) per 4 oz bottle, compared to $3-5 per 0.5 (1?) oz bottle of citadel paints it makes a HUGE difference.

Sure, the paints aren't as fine a quality as Vallejo and the like, but if used properly they work just as well.

Get yourself a bottle of Matte Medium and extender while you're at it and you'll find it's a great, inexpensive option for those not looking to do top of the line studio work.

For primer, go to the hardware store and buy a can of spray primer (matte, black white or gray, acrylic)
For a top coat, do the same. hardware store, acrylic spray varnish (matte or satin or gloss, whatever your preference)

Some (many?) online stores (like eBay and Combat Company) have Vallejo, as does my nearest model shop (I won't use "local" since it's an hour away). I haven't heard anything bad about P3, so go with that if you want. For primer, ones from the hardware store are popular, although I've had some that turned out poorly.

Dunno how the situation is in Australia, but here you can get Vallejo in almost every model shop (think trains, planes, ships and suchlike).

8-12 dollars per pot?! The hell?! A bottle of Vallejo paint costs like 2.8 € around here, sometimes even less. That's hardly explainable by the 1:1,5 course €-AU.

Hi, I hope this helps...
I have been using Walmart paint for 20 years for tabletop quality.
If you are trying to get Golden Demon quality, that is a different topic, as they use oil paints.
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Apple Barrel ($1 for 4x as much product as a GW pot) is just one brand Walmart and other retailers (Michaels arts and crafts) carries, there are metallics, infusion, glow, neon, etc. (note; paint styles are all individual, and thinning and mixing paints is part of that) http://www.walmart.com/ip/Apple-Barrel-Matte-Acrylic-Paint-2-oz/21778075
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Walmart also sells a BAG of brushes of various sizes for $5 that are fine for base coating, dry brushing, sponge painting, etc.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Royal-Brush-Value-Pack-25-Pack-Assorted/23081418?action=product_interest&action_type=image&placement_id=irs_top&strategy=PWVAV&visitor_id=72712670113&category=0%3A2637%3A667479%3A1094401&client_guid=74ecf455-9b42-4806-a0aa-a862aaf72931&config_id=2&parent_item_id=21778075&guid=dec2636f-8fa1-4900-a726-4d8be64fadb8&bucket_id=irsbucketdefault&findingMethod=p13n
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Walmart also sells $1 flat black, grey, rust, and white (I never use white) paint that works just fine asprimer.
Walmart also sells Gorrilla Glue GEL for $5, versus GW at $8? (for plastic weld glue, find a train store and get a bottle of Plastruct for $5
http://www.plastruct.com/pages/GlueContents.html

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Here is another list; Inexpensive Supplies
 
Tools (Purchased);
Dykes; or heavy-duty wire cutters; NOT Sprue-Cutters (sprue-cutters are expensive and will get damaged when trying to cut metal or wood). Example; http://www.xs11.com/forum/images/tips/20020902-floatpinremove.jpg
Scissors; crappy or inexpensive, you are not a seamstress, so $1 ones will do fine when cutting stuff, if you need a more precise cut, you should probably invest in a straight cutting table or use a blade and metal ruler.
Metal Ruler; often called a Drafting ruler. Uses; guiding a straight cut, and measuring.
Hibachi skewers; (made of Bamboo) cost about $1 for a bag of 50 at local grocery store, great for spiky defenses, and etc…
Place-mat for dinner table; (made of Bamboo and other wood slat items) good for fences when cut.
 
Supplies (Found);
Wire Hangers; from the dry-cleaners. I prefer the plastic coated ones. (Cut-out the straight area and save). Then find a drill-bit the same size. Uses; pinning large items, axles on vehicles, BANNER-POLES, etc… Alternatively, LARGE paper-clips.
Broom (Old); (house/kitchen) with long Nylon bristles. Depending on stiffness can be used as Spears, Lances, Antenna arrays, poles, cabling, and etc…
Stir-Sticks; wood, (NOT Popsicle, they are treated and can have a to-finished look). From Starbucks for free with a cup-o-Joe or a box from Smart and Final for about $5. Uses; as wood, for everything wood; floors, bridges, fences, and etc…
Cereal Box Cardboard; Save the front and back of the Cereal-box or GW box, etc. the cardboard is treated and very solid. Uses, a VERY inexpensive substitute for plastic-card.
Rocks and Gravel; from your neighbor’s driveway (I Keed, I keed) Uses; boulders, and etc…
Old Toys; from your closet, from a yard-sale, and etc. Uses; BITZ for Orky stuff, rubble terrain, machinery, and etc…
Chopsticks; (fast food for free) Uses; large wood poles, fencing, supports, and etc…
Wrapping paper rolls; (thicker ones) Pringles can, oatmeal can, etc.
Telephone DSL Cabling (wires); they have 4-12 different colored wires inside
Pennies (or nickels fit ROUND base weights perfectly; if you are rich lol); (note; I have tried the washer and slug idea, trying to find the right size and driving around is not worth the penny, or the nickel) Alternatively, they can be cut in two (just off-center) to fit in the underside of the slotted-bases.

Combat company has Vallejo paints for $4.50 or so. I'm not sure if there are cheaper places in aus, but they're my favourite place to buy stuff and have always been awesome. (my wallet disagrees)

Army Painter have a much smaller range than Vallejo (who are excellent), but you get the same quantity of paint for a similar price and their products might be more accessible. The few P3 and Coat D'arms paints I have are good too and were cheaper than GW from what I remember.

Don't skimp on brush costs. The cheaper they are the quicker they'll need replacing.

Just a suggestion on the pricing of model paints and kits in Australia, would it be more cost-effective to have a friend from overseas buy stock locally for you, and send it to you as a personal import?

Otherwise, as far as paints are concerned, model shops - trains, planes, cars, whatever- are probably your best bet, and they're likely to be a lot cheaper than GW paints.. You can get colour conversion charts online for most brands of paint. For brushes, palettes, cleaners etc., art shops are the place to go.

I'd have to agree with a few of the others on here.

I've heard such tales of things being expensive in Australia (damn import costs), so if having a buddy ship it to you isn't an option, I'd go to the arts and crafts shop, and grab craft paints.
I personally use DecoArt Americana line (slightly more expensive but the colors seem more vivid), Krylon for primer, and Krylon again for matte coating. I also occasionally splurge and grab some Badger airbrush paints. Can you say holy-vivid-colors-for-cheaper-than-GW?! In 2oz bottles to boot...

Brushes is a different story. If you buy a cheap brush, you'll get cheap results. A brush with splayed bristles in a months time, even taking care of it. Don't skimp too hard on the brushes. Take a look at ebay, Amazon, and Dickblick.com for some decent sable brushes. They don't have to be $15 brushes, but don't get $3 brushes either.
If that doesn't work, back to the arts and crafts shop to look at their brushes, and grab (if any, I know they're worked over pretty well) some Sable, or (the alternative, still decent but not quite as nice) Golden Taklon. Oh, and grab a brush cleaner. Google "The Masters Brush Cleaner" to see what it looks like, and grab that as well.

Go hit the hardware store, and grab a big bottle of latex paint conditioner (typically used to thin it for spraying on walls, rather than rolling or brushing it on). It's not just for latex (read the back!). It's for all water based paints (including acrylics), and is an excellent alternative to high-grade paint thinners. No, don't use water, or window cleaner, or windshield wiper fluid, or simple green. If you can't find it, grab a bottle of Acrylic floor polish (i'm thinking Future Floor polish, but I'm in the USA, so names will vary).

Another option would be the "Quickshade" painting. Grab 3 colors for all your models, paint them those colors (eg: skin, clothing, guns: fleshtone, brown, and silver respectively). Then, dip them (and by dip, I mean brush it on lol). This reduces the amount of paint you need, automatically tones the models, protects the models, and gets them to approximately tabletop standard (in a hurry!).
Just do some Google work and see what normal poly-stain colors are equivalent to what you want.

Economic options do exist, but you have to think outside the box XD

Thx for all the help guys, i live in ballarat in victoria for those who are aus location savvy, but that basically means, little to no quality hobby shops, most i got it lincraft and spotlight, some low end craft shops and maybe a tobacconist or 2 that may carry hobby stuff, i go have a goodgames but they only stock GW and P3 and not cheaply i might add.

that means for most stuff i would need to commute to the larger cities (not cheap and would most likely negate any saving made) to try and find paints, i have a hardware store that i can get the sprays from but thats it.

hence why i was asking online.
to my US peers our version of walmart (bigw) is crap compared to walmart in the way of 1 stop shopping, i have never seen a hobby section in one selling any kinds of suitable paints or brushes.

i dont really have anyone i can call upon to send me stuff from overseas, i wont be looking to buy anytime soon im assessing my options atm to see if i can bank getting into warhammer anything.

i am taking all your advice to heart and you have given me some ideas i never thought of and shot down and confirmed some others, and thats awesome.

i have some new product names i can look for also and will endevour to do so!

dakka dakka is definately the best forums i have seen for wargaming advice!

Wow, that's some pretty bad luck. I guess shopping online might be your best option, though it's never the same as shopping in person.
I think your next move is to make a shopping list, and ask questions on Dakka about your chosen online supplier...

No worries if no walmart, you have a decent arts and crafts chain in AU, ECKERSLEY'S, I do not speak Australian, so you may have to use google translate...
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Liquitex spray paints are really good for base colors (over light priming), I have used them for the bright colors on armies that wear lots of armor (blues, reds, yellows, etc.) You can do an entire large army with one can, pricy, but really good. http://www.eckersleys.com.au/products/art/paints/spray-paint/liquitex-professional-spray-paint
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Just compare the type of paint, GW is JUST water based acrylic paint (GW would lead you to believe it is made of ground up C-Tan).
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Paint; http://www.eckersleys.com.au/products/art/paints/acrylic-paints
There are several "starter sets" that are inexpensive.
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Brushes; http://www.eckersleys.com.au/products/art/brushes/acrylic-paint-brushes
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Really easy to find, and they ship.
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Good luck!

nice thx for the link ill give them a look over.

and fyi AUSTRALIAN is not its own language, nor is AMERICAN.

its all english, we both have some native slang, and different accents and a little bit of differences in spelling but its all the same language.

Look for Tamiya paints too. I would be very surprised if they aren't available in Australia.

 marv335 wrote:
Cheap brushes are a false economy.
A decent brush will last and last if you look after it.
I'm still using some sable brushes I got when I started miniature painting 25 years ago.

Agreed, and the funny thing i that a really nice brush (e.g. Windsor Newton Series 7) costs about the same as a cheap GW one! I get about 6 months of painting (2-3 6 hour sessions a week) from a series 7 brush but the few GW ones I've had won't keep a tip for more than a couple of weeks before they start splitting.

Once you have a good brush you will wonder why you ever used cheap ones.

Defiant Gaming is the cheapest place to pick up Vallejo in Aus that I've found, at ~$3 per bottle. Combat Company as mentioned and linked above is good too, but they tend to cost more.