Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

The title says it all really. I was wondering if anyone knew of some good books I could get for pretty much any aspect of our hobby. Preferably something more challenging akin to the FW books that have some nice ideas in them.

I know for a fact that there are a great selection available but don't really know which ones would be a good pick.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

Cain

In all reality, your best bet would be to just search the internet to find articles about topics you are interested in. If you are looking for more "realistic" models, try looking on military modeler message boards/websites. That community has been doing for years what is just now becoming in vogue with miniature wargame modeling.

Oh don't get me wrong, I love online articles but sometimes it is just nice to have a good old book that you can flip through.

My personal favorite to date are the Tank Art books by Rinaldi Studio Press. I own Vol. 1 and have the Vol. 2 & 3 combo pack on pre-order (Vol. 2 is available, Vol. 3 will be released later this month). They offer incredibly detailed instruction on advanced weathering techniques including oils, powders, and enamels. The instructions are very clear and based upon the quality of the first volume, I cannot recommend them enough. They are also reasonably priced at about $30 each. The photos below are from the website:














The go-to standard for an advanced modeling bible is FAQ2 by Mig Jimenez. It's about $80-$100 but is considerably longer than the Tank Art books. From the reviews I've read, it's mandatory reading if you're looking at weathering vehicles to the highest level. I don't have any personal experience with the book, but it's on my Christmas list along with a few other books available from AK Interactive.





I think you're on the right track by looking for books if you want to take your painting to the highest level. Youtube and the web are great places for tutorials, but there comes a point where you need to be willing to pay truly talented artists for their knowledge and experience. The trick is doing your research to figure out who is doing more than regurgitating the information you can legitimately get for free.

You also need to be honest with yourself about what you want to paint. As good as they may be, the books I've listed are useless if you want to be a figure painter or learn to master OSL/NMM. In addition, most advanced books will also require that you have an advanced toolkit and specific paints. For the books above, a quality airbrush and the skill to use it are prerequisites. Books are very cheap by comparison to all the other stuff you need.

Thanks very much Nodri! I think I saw the Tank Art books somewhere before and that FAQ2 one looks awesome!

 Nodri wrote:
My personal favorite to date are the [url=http://www.rinaldistudiopress.com/index.php]I think you're on the right track by looking for books if you want to take your painting to the highest level. Youtube and the web are great places for tutorials, but there comes a point where you need to be willing to pay truly talented artists for their knowledge and experience. The trick is doing your research to figure out who is doing more than regurgitating the information you can legitimately get for free.

You also need to be honest with yourself about what you want to paint. As good as they may be, the books I've listed are useless if you want to be a figure painter or learn to master OSL/NMM. In addition, most advanced books will also require that you have an advanced toolkit and specific paints. For the books above, a quality airbrush and the skill to use it are prerequisites. Books are very cheap by comparison to all the other stuff you need.

There is plenty of free, readily available content on the web that covers all the the advanced techniques used my military modelers (color modulation, grime/rust/oil streaking, hairspray/salt weathering, etc.). There are plenty of extraordinarily talent artists out there that offer up these techniques without charging money for them, mainly because none of this is new to them; they have been using these techniques for years.