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Hi all

New to painting models. What is easier for a beginner doing 40k space marine models: custom decals/transfers or stencils? Using brushes, no airbrush (at this stage). Freehand skills of a toddler.

FYI, playing the Angels Eradicant.

Cheers!

You don't need an airbrush to do decals etc, but it really does help. More on that in a bit.

Decals are the easiest way. Fallout hobbies are I think the go-to for custom decals (which you'll need as GW don't make those).

For now, you just need to have a bit more patience. Gloss applied by brush will take longer to dry than airbrushed, and it's sometimes unwise to try to speed it up with a hairdryer - if too thick, the air flow will push it and make it look lumpy.

Winsor & newton galleria gloss self levels quite nicely for brush application. I'd give it overnight / 24h if applying by brush just to be safe.

Once gloss is dried, microsol and microset are your friends.

This is my tutorial (which people almost inevitably link, and which covers the main pitfalls): https://www.winterdyne.co.uk/maz/winterdyne_tutorial3.pdf

Hope this helps.

Back to the airbrush: I strongly think it's an almost essential bit of kit if only for priming and varnishing (which you end up doing 3 times if you want a very durable decal - glosss before, gloss after, and matt at the end) - especially if your access to outdoors is limited. Yes, it's an outlay in cash initially, but it saves SO much time and money that I think you really have to be deliberately set against it to not pick one up.

I'll politely disagree with the post above. You don't need a gloss varnish before decals. You can apply decals directly over your paint, so long as the layers are smooth enough. It's good practice to varnish before, but any will do. I usually use satin, but matte works fine too. Gloss is a nightmare to paint over of you have any work to finish after. Satin is bad enough, but I definitely wouldn't use gloss. That's my opinion anyway.

But I second microsol and set. They're decent.

And I will politely disagree with queen annes revenge. If you are a new hobbyist, follow Winterdyne’s tutorial to the letter for your first few squads with decals. After that, branch out if you like and try other things. Gloss is no more difficult to touch up than any other finish. If you are having issues a quick spray of Testors Dullcote will make everything matte again.

To be honest, gloss *can* be harder to work on; it depends on your paint consistency and purpose, and the reason is exactly the same as for decalling - microscopically at the surface, gloss is smooth, matt is rough (and satin's in the middle).

If you're going to apply a filter coat (thin tint of paint) or use pigments, then a satin or matt coat prior to that helps more than gloss as the surface encourages capillary spread.

If you're doing a pin wash where you want flow on the surface, then gloss works better for the same reason (the surface has nowhere other than intentional / sculpted recesses for capillary action to happen). Paint may 'bead up' on the surface as the surface tension in the paint pulls it together. Counteract this with a flow improver or drop of surfactant (dish soap) in your paint mix - this effectively 'flattens out' the bead into a larger 'puddle' of paint on the surface.

If you want a primarily metal model to shine or flat model to look wet, then gloss. Handling may leave visible fingerprints on large flat areas. Can usually be wiped clean. Flat colours may appear darker straight on.

If you want a flat model to look flat (generally more 'realistic) then matt it. Handling with greasy hands will leave shiny spots, very difficult to clean. Great for display, not so much for gaming IMHO. Flat colours may look lighter straight on.

Satin is the middle ground. Shouldn't kill metals too much, and colours will usually look about right. Can look a little plastic-like, meaning models look more like models than super-realistic.

I could write for hours on this sort of thing. Probably should at some point.