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I recently got into Warhammer, and chose the Ultramarines as my group, chapter, thing, whatever it is. I painted it in the team colours, and I think it turned out alright. I have some experience painting models, having made a Halifax B, a Panzer tank, 2 AM6 Zeros and a M15-D Mustang. I finished paining my Marine, using Altdorf Guard Blue, Mephiston Red, Auric Armour Gold, Leadbelcher, a white and brown from Tamiya, and based it by thinning some PVA glue and chucking dirt/gravel/sand on it, for 3 layers. End Result:
Any recommendations for improvement?
FYI I didn't prime. never heard of it until AFTER I finished it

Its not bad! some recomendation though.

As you said definitely prime the models, they are usually greasy from the mould and the pain goes on better after.
I would suggest whatever paint you are using you water it down and apply a couple of layers.
I think just by looking that you may need a finer brush for the details, you seen to have gotten gold on his arm form the shoulder pad and gun metal on the hand from his boltgun.

The base is good, but to break it up a little have you thought of added a couple of small stones just like the one picture right.

Otherwise good go, miniture painting is something that just take more and more practice! So keep up the good work.

So what do I prime it with? Regular Acrylic paint, or do I need to go and buy? I don't really like buying new things, trying to stay on a tight 'budget'
And yeah, I think I do need to remove the paint. And another question, how can you tell when you have thinned the paint enough? Do you just thin with water...?

Priming with a proper primer is sort of an investment, your paint will not flake off, you get a smooth, uniform undercoat for your basecoating.. Also, washing the models in lukewarm soapy water beforehand (obviously, rinsing and drying them) helps a bunch.

After that, two cents on painting per se, ifyou let me (I am far better in theoretical than in practical, alas)..

I would suggest to thin more (acrylic thinners are better, but water is fine).
A fine-tipped brush is less fundamental than you could think; a pointy tip is way more important.

Depending on your style, a milk or a watercolour density is your aim when thinning, and more thinner layers are better then fewer thicker ones. Just don't overload the brush, and "unload" excess paint on the palette/on a towel. You want to leave a sort of wet glaze/uniform layer without poolong, blotching, drowning parts of the model.

I (now) go from 1:2 or 1:1 water:paint (basecoating) up to 3-4:1 water:paint for shading/lighting (hint: one coat with this consistency is hardly noticeable). Take your time to find "your" consistency and your balance between number of layers (and consequently the smoothness of the gradients) and the time you want to invest in models (showcase models and characters usually take more work than tabletop ranks).

So I just wanted to play for game standard....not display standard. I want to start with game standard as 'practice' per se, then when I think I'm skilled enough, move on to display. So If I just remove the gold and the silver from where it shouldn't be, does that pass, 'Table top standard?'

Yep that's tabletop standard to me. I've seen worse tabletop standards. Much worse. So you're good to go.

Derp Marine wrote:
So I just wanted to play for game standard....not display standard. I want to start with game standard as 'practice' per se, then when I think I'm skilled enough, move on to display. So If I just remove the gold and the silver from where it shouldn't be, does that pass, 'Table top standard?'

honestly the way they are now is fine to play with, table top standard it painted, in my mind. You dont have to be amazing at painting at least you have put some on.
i have seen people play with unpainted models blue tacked onto bases! and to me like most thats a no!
You models just need neatening up. But as i said before once you get better at it they will! Have fun playing.

Looking good for starters, mate. You clearly know what you're doing. A little rough at the moment no doubt, a few stray splashes of paint here and there but that's natural and it's nothing you won't overcome as you go.


As all ready suggested.
- Prime those bad boys. Makes the world of difference. Whether it's hand primed, or out of spray can, it don't matter, It's all good.
As you might well imagine priming a model black will give you a darker overall paint job. While priming white will do the reverse and as you might guess, priming with grey will give you a more neutral tone. It really depends on how you want your models to look.
The Ultramarines on the left, (painted by Brother SRM) have most likely be primed white. This gives you a nice bright and vibrant colour. While the Ultramarine on the right (painted by bubble) has probably been primed black. Giving it a much deeper colour.

As to what kind of primer to use? Well I use The Army Painter colour primers. Easy to use. Nice colours. They go on well. I've used their black and white primer and I haven't had a problem with either. Games Workshop also sell something called "Imperial Primer". I don't know if this is proper brush on primer or not, as I've not used it. But it could be an alternative. I know some people even use cans of auto-primers or even gesso to prime models with. It's all down to personal choice really.

- Before you even cut the models off the sprue give the whole thing a scrub in luke-warm soapy water. Helps the primer go on better. Some people will tell you don't bother washing it unless it's a resin model. I like washing the plastic models as well. I figured it only takes 10 minutes and if it helps achieve a better painted model, well then why not? You are spending good money on these things. Why not make them look as good as possible.

- Thin you paints. thin your paints. THIN YOUR BLOODY PAINTS!
Every one gets told this at some point or another and with good reason. Thinning paints can be very experimental at first. You have to figure out how much you need to thin individual paints down. Some colours like reds/whites/yellows don't need much while some like purples and black might need a lot. (This is just going off of my experience with the colours in question, mind. And is in no way a universal constant.) There are specialist paint thinners you can buy but plain old tap water will work just as good.
A word of caution. - Don't thin your paints in the paint pot. This is never a good idea. If you don't already then get yourself a palette of some description. An old plate will do. So will a ceramic wall or floor tile. You can also get plastic ones from stores and whatnot. Thin your paints on the palette. That way if you over thin well then you haven't potentially ruined a whole pot of paint.

As Kerrathyr said, find your consistency. You hear people go on and on about paint needing to be the consistency of milk or like this or blah blah blah. Find the consistency you are happy painting with. Painting is very much a trial and error process. If you are happy with the way something looks then you stick with it. Don't let people tell you otherwise.


- Brushes.
What size brush are you using? It's good to have a range of different sized brushes for various tasks. Fine detail brush, base-coat brush, tank brush, etc. All good things to have.

- Brush water.
I'd advise having two pots of water for cleaning your brushes. 1 pot for metallic colours and 1 pot for non-metallic colours. Metallic paint leaves little flecks floating around in the water. These can stick on the brush and get transferred to other colour paints. This can leave your non-metallic paints looking kind of sparkly. It's certainly not the end of the world. But it can be bloody annoying seeing your nice clean, crisp blue armour looking like a vampire out of twilight.
You might even consider having 3 pots of water. 1 for metallics, 1 for dark paint and one for light paint. This might be a little over kill though unless you're constantly switching between light and dark colours. It's probably easier just to go and get fresh water.
On that note, it's good to replace your water often. How often is up to you. But I normally replace my water at the start of every painting session.



Honestly, the best advise is to just keep practising. It sounds a bit clichéd but it's true. You'll pick it up as you go.

Alright, so I will buy myself a primer, and thin my paints and whatnot. As for brushes, I use 2 things: a Tamiya Model brush....No. 0...I think. That's used for painting the model in Altdorf Guard Blue, and for finer details....Toothpick. You heard me, a toothpick. Works well! Surprisingly! Just asking, how do you seal the sand? I'm not entirely sure how to seal it, if I drop it, the sand will all come off! Any tips or ideas