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Ok, so here is my semi finished Space Wolves grey hunter. He is still needing a few paints I don't have. As well as I do not know what would best be done to paint the helmet and bolt pistol. Any tips are appreciated.

Thin your paints!!! Your paint is on way too thick it's just blobs of colour all the detail has been obscured. Also watch youtube for tutorials

Thank you for the reply. I did try to thin the paint and I am almost certain I did it wrong but it was going on like water

Thin the paints!!! Use citadel lahmian medium for it.

I keep trying to thin it, but I either get the same consistency as the pot or a water that retreats back and does not paint well. I cannot find a good middle. It is kinda getting irritating

Try putting some paint on your palette, cleaning your brush off & drying it, and then just dipping the tip in the water pot again and dragging the paint on the palette out, as if you're painting. If it's too thick, wet your brush a little more, if it's too thin, push some of the paint you didn't wet in. I had big difficulty with trying to get my paints to the right consistency but I mostly got it because of that

Btw, have you primed the miniature before painting? If it's retreating, it could be that you've thinned it down too much, or it could be that the acrylic just doesn't stick to the plastic well enough. If you haven't primed, that could be part of the problem!

Thinning paints can be tricky for a first timer. It's a very vague statement when said without explaining what it means or how to do it. (not having a go at soitra or lliu, just stating a fact).

Are you applying the paint straight from the bottle or are you putting it on a palette of some sort first?
Because A) it's not a good idea to apply paint straight from the bottle, nor is it a good idea to try and thin your paint while it's in the bottle. You can end up over thinning it and potentially ruining the whole thing.
And B) putting a dollop of paint onto a palette is good because it allows you to thin you paint and have greater control over the quantity of paint you put on your brush.


To thin your paints start by placing a small amount of paint onto a palette. A ceramic tile or old plate is ideal for this, although a large enough piece of clean plastic will suffice. Even a disposable paper plate will do in a pinch.
Then clean your brush off in water like you normally would.
Get a small drop of water and mix it into your paints. My normal paint/water ratio ends up being about 70/30 for base coats and layers. And then maybe 50/50 for detail work like free hand things and eyes, faces, etc. Everyone has their own sweet spot of paint to water. You just have to find your own. You may find you need to adjust the paint/water ratio depending on what colours you use. Colours like reds, yellows, whites will need less water in my experience while blacks and greens, greys often need more water.


Really at the end of the day it all comes down to practice. Keep going till you get it right. If you run out of models to paint and you still haven't got it, you can always strip the paint of and start again.

Hope that helps.

I appreciate the reply. It does help me tremendously as I was trying quite a bit with just putting paint on the palette and then getting the water with the brush as I saw in so many videos and it always come out watery in so much as the paint just retreated from the plastic.

Oh, also - a lot of people say that you want to get it to the consistency where you can sort of see through whats on the other side, but not so much that its transparent. So if you were to paint on a newspaper, you could still read it afterwards. That kind of analogy helps a lot of people I think but it didn't help me because I first started painting with Caliban Green & it's so dark you'd never see anything through it anyway so I ended up needing about 9 layers to get the colour to show

On my first thread here, about my first Marine , Paradigm told me to thin it "so that it won't run, but that it doesn't leave brush marks when you apply it" - which is what did it for me, & I've been fine since. Another thing I do to test, based on this advice, is- well, I have a kind of clam shell shaped palette, with little vertical walls separating the sections. So I paint it on one of the walls and if it drips, its too runny!

 Laura Marx wrote:
Paradigm told me to thin it "so that it won't run, but that it doesn't leave brush marks when you apply it"

That right there, that's solid sounding advice.

Another thing I do to test, based on this advice, is- well, I have a kind of clam shell shaped palette, with little vertical walls separating the sections. So I paint it on one of the walls and if it drips, its too runny!

That too is also a really good idea. I kinda wish I'd thought of that.


Look, I'll be honest.

The model you pictured is a bit of a mess. The paints are very thickly applied and a lot of the detail is obscured. But really, that's it. That's all that's wrong with your model.

You've managed to keep the paint "within the lines" so to speak. I mean it's obvious what you were aiming for. You're painting is very neat. Just look at his yellow knee pad. There's no yellow on the leg around the knee pad anywhere. Same for the gold detailing on the bolt pistol and belt buckle. It's all there, confined to where you obviously wanted it to be. The silver sword on the other leg, the ears on the helmet, the sword. It's all very neat and tidy. The only downside is that it's applied a little thickly.

The whole retreating paints thing, to me, sounds like you're thinning your paints too much. Even if it seems at odds with what your model looks like. If it helps, trying testing out paint consistencies by painting on the sprue. A lot of the sprues have number or batch codes or even "(c) games workshop" printed on one side of them. Try painting over these parts of the sprue to see what the paint consistency is like before you commit it to a model. If it obscures to much then you know you need to thin it down more. If it retreats a bit, and some more paint to the mix to thicken it up.
Again, it all comes down to practice. I know saying that doesn't really help you a whole lot, but it is the truth of the matter.


Very few people can paint worth a damn straight off the bat.
What I'm saying is that it takes time pick up the skills and techniques needed. So it doesn't matter if you have trouble thinning your paints at first.

I appreciate the honesty, I am not looking for "It's great, good job!" That doesn't help me at all. I knew when I went into it, my first few were not going to be great, and it would take a while before I could paint worth a damn. lol. I definitely see it as a mess myself.

I am glad I am atleast capable of putting the brush where I want it to go and not getting the paints all over the place, I just need to figure out how to get a thick/thin ratio of the paints so I don't murder my model into something that looks like the blob.

I am glad I am atleast capable of putting the brush where I want it to go and not getting the paints all over the place

You say that like its insignificant! That's actually a pretty big deal, imo. Developing brush control is a big part of painting well, on models and on canvases. In one of Mike McVey's books (he was a pretty big deal as a model painter in the early 90s), the first section just tells you to go off & try to paint neatly before trying anything else The point is, once you can figure out the pesky paint thickness issue, your technique is already solid. (In other words, you can't see how good a painter you are with all that paint you're using )

Is it at all possible I am using too big a brush? I only picked up the wash brush, standard and the fine detail. I've been using the wash brush to paint most of the model.

Acalystus wrote:
Is it at all possible I am using too big a brush? I only picked up the wash brush, standard and the fine detail. I've been using the wash brush to paint most of the model.

Yes. The wash brush is far to big for general painting. Tbh you don't really need a huge range of brushes to begin with. I generally use the detail and fine detail brushes most.

As for your painting, as stated earlier, its nice and neat but the paint is too thick. With practice and thinner paints you'll find yourself improving quickly. I've only been painting about 3 years myself and I keep some of my first minis around just to remind myself how far I have come.

Yeah, I know my first few aren't going to be great, but I cannot learn without doing. I plan on keeping them around and just buying another box when I am done painting these as I will need more to actually play and it'll be a nice thing to watch myself grow as a painter as well. I have continually tried thinning my paints with my second guy, and he looks equally bad from my view. I believe it may have something to do with how I primed them as well as I think I got alittle too close. The other stuff which I primed while till on the sprue(I thought it might be a good idea, correct me if I am wrong!), I was much farther away and all of the detail is still very much intact. I say this because the wolf helmet on that one is supposed to have detail on the muzzle tapering outwards, but it is smooth from what I see.

Edit: Also, if those are your first minis, I feel almost ashamed.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Alright, I believe I have found most of the issue. On my first guy, I decided I'd rather go with a wolf claw then a power sword. Same points but better weapon totally. I tore off his arm, you know how we do.

I decided to paint the wolf claw seperate the body so that I can get everything without having to paint around. This time, I haven't messed up a single detail on the arm. I believe I primered way too close to the original marine and it murdered most of the detail.

Tomcat, that banner is awesome looking. I love the dirtiness of it.

Acalystus wrote:
Yeah, I know my first few aren't going to be great, but I cannot learn without doing.

Exactly.

I have continually tried thinning my paints with my second guy, and he looks equally bad from my view.

Throw up a picture so we can see.

I believe it may have something to do with how I primed them as well as I think I got alittle too close.

Priming is another one that can take some practice. When priming with a rattle can you need to hold the can around 20cm (8inches) away from the model/s. And you want to be spraying in quick swipes.
Again, one of those things you need to practice with.

The other stuff which I primed while till on the sprue

This can be a double edged sword. It is useful for quickly batch priming your bits, but it does leave you with mold lines that you will need to scrape off and re-prime. You'll also end up missing some edges.
In general, it's better to only prime tank tracks and large flat areas (like the sides/roofs of tanks) while still attached to the sprue.

The one on the left was my second attempt. The right is my third. He does not have his plasma rifle in hand as I don't have the paints for it yet. I want to paint both sides before glueing.

By the way, attempt making a Wet Palette! http://www.fullborerminiatures.com/articles/wetpalette.html I'm still experimenting with how to work with one. I recently made one. It seems worthwhile, as my paints on a dry palette dry out after I'm ready to apply a new coat. It keeps your paint fresh AND thin!

I have a question that seems to be missed...

How are you basecoating your models? Spray primer or by hand, or possibly airbrush (doubt that one).

The problem may be how you prime them. If the primer is too thickly laid on it won't matter what consistency your paint is, the details will all be gone already.

I only bring this up because on your second and third attempts, the detail is still looking 'blobby'.

Are these minis second hand by chance? Were they already painted before and reprimed?

Keep at it though, we are all trying to help you

I used spray, but I know the first and second I sprayed too closely. I do not think I did that on the 3rd one but I can't be for sure until I get another set of dudes to paint.

I definitely appreciate any help I can get of course, and I want to thank everyone for all the great feedback.

Edit: The third one doesn't look super blobby in person, I believe that was just how the picture turned out. There is alot more detail in that one then the other two, the leg metal actually still has the runes showing, as well as the silver runes on the helmet.

perhaps post step by step pictures. Then we can help explain where you're getting the blobbish look.

This is my latest one.again, I still need several paints to finish the way I like, but I feel he is turning out well

I have an issue painting the small designs. I have the small detail brush but even with that it is hard to get exact.

Hey, he looks much better. That's a massive improvement.


Still a little bit of obsucred detail around the head and knees, but not nearly as much as your first guy.
Could you maybe explain what you do from priming all the way up to "finish"? That might help us identify where you're going wrong.

I will try.

I start with cutting the parts off of the sprue. I had primed the entire sprue prior to any of this, for better or worse. I think start painting on The Fang base coat. I think I finally found a good thinning of the paint, I realized it goes on better with the primer,
when it looks like it is retreating on the pallet. Afterwards comes Russ Grey, again thinning the paint as opposed to how it was the first time. Then I try to find the places of detail I want to paint other colors and I paint those. Not much else really to say that I can think of. I feel
like that bolter is the best thing I have done so far. lol

Edit: In a more unrelated note, What exactly are the backpacks on the space marines?

Prime lightly and you shouldnt have to paint too thinly, god knows I don't lol.

Backpacks contain iirc the power plant for the suit, medical supplies for the marine and air filtration system?

Yeah the backpacks (really a powerpack) contain a micro fusion generator that keeps the armour powered. Some backpacks, like the apothecaries and techmarines have additional functions. The apothecaries houses all manner of medi-gubbinz that the average plebmarine need not concern themselves with. While the techmarines often have 1 or more servo arms attached for vehicle maintenance and/or extra killiness.
The exhausts on the top and sides vent the excess heat the fusion plant generates. This can also provide the marine with limited manoeuvring capabilities in zero-g environments if I remember correctly. Although for the life of me I can't remember where I read it.
I don't know/remember if the backpack also houses the combat stimms and air filtration systems. But it's more then plausible.

at this point you are ready in my opinion for wash / highlights. If you are nervous about this, you can try this stuff.

http://www.thewarstore.com/product39120.html

you just dunk the figure in it for 4-5 seconds.

after that, a matt clearcoat, throw on some basing material, and you're done.

Ok, I was just making sure they weren't built for the jetpacks. I know they are on all marines, but I think they are kind of rediculous and fairly large.

I do need to do some shading some how, but it is very hard to get that tiny brush into those small areas without messing anything else up. I absolutely hate having to go back over the coat with another coat. I am also not entirely sure how to paint the detail without clogging the detail, I may just need to go off and buy the base balthasar gold and use that first, but then I have several coats on type of the detail.

A simple wash with bring out a lot of the detail as it will work it's way into the cracks and make the raised areas pop more. Then you can do something simple like a quick dry brush of the main color again to even out the color.

I know that it could be must more in depth but for a starting painter the best thing I have found to do is get all your base colors on do a coat of wash to get the details to pop some and then a quick dry brush of the armor plates to bring the colors out a little more.