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Hi guys! I am interested in buying the starter box of tau. GW paint is ridiculously expensive at $4 per paint. How can i paint my Tau in the standard white black and red that is shown on the box without paying so much? Thanks!
Automatically Appended Next Post: Also what brushes?
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2016/06/22 10:06:45
Vallejo paint is more economical and very nice. But you could easily paint the whole scheme with Addabbon Black, Ceramite White, Mephiston Red and Wile Rider Red using a good bit of mixing and watering.
I use cheapo brushes and replace often (though I do have a few expensive detail brushes). So just go to an art shop and find something to fit your budget.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2016/06/22 11:59:10
In relative terms of "I can pan paint my army for $x", the brand of paint doesn't really matter a whole lot, for most armies. If you find the GW paint bill ridiculously expensive, you'll probably find the Army Painter paint bill pretty expensive, too. A lot of hobbyists rarely finish using up pots of paint other than the dominant color of their army, black, and a wash -- which means that the price of the 8 pots of paint you'll use has a range of, like, $16 - $32.
The hook is that if you really like the hobby, you might end up buying a bazillion colors from god knows how many brands, and before you know it, all your rolled up pennies and drawers are used up for paint.
You can always go craft paints from the dollar store, but depending on what you want to get out of it, you likely won't get the results. Personally, I would focus on finding the paint I love with the colors I want and that is accessible.
For paintbrushes, you get what you pay for. There's a zillion threads on it; but basically, on the brush side, excluding special purpose brushes, it comes down to synthetic versus natural hair, and kolinsky sable versus everything else; on the care side, it comes down to whether you're willing to spend a bunch of time caring for your brushes every time you use them -- because frankly, if you're not, it doesn't matter what brushes you buy.
As many people have stated, GW has really standout drybrushes. Also, if you want a kolinsky sable brush, and you can't find one anywhere else near you, the GW artificer brushes are quite serviceable.
You gotta paint smarter if you wanna paint on a budget.
you often spend way more doing things wrong the first time.
iv spent WAY to much doing that
If you are going for generic table top standard i would personally do,
White primer
white paint to touch up areas you missed
black paint for the black areas (maybe an off black like minitaure raven black which is a very very dark grey)
the red for the detail colors (and an orange if you wana highlight the red up a bit (brighting up red with white will lead you to pink ))
gw black wash (its super effective)
possibly a gloss coat spray if you want to retain a very clean look while washing
and a satin spray coat to protect it afterwards
and the base is up to you
buy really take your time with the model. and clean it up nice first.
its a super expensive hobby in it self. dont cheap out too much on paint
Tutorials are a good start, showing which paints you need for your project.
'It is a source of constant consternation that my opponents cannot correlate their innate inferiority with their inevitable defeat. It would seem that stupidity is as eternal as war.'
- Nemesor Zahndrekh of the Sautekh Dynasty Overlord of the Crownworld of Gidrim
Mansur123 wrote: Hi guys! I am interested in buying the starter box of tau. GW paint is ridiculously expensive at $4 per paint. How can i paint my Tau in the standard white black and red that is shown on the box without paying so much? Thanks!
Just figure out what brand of hobby paint you want to use, GW, Vallejo, P3, Tamiya, or otherwise. There's really no easy alternative that's going to be cheaper in any meaningful sense. I just finished off my last pot of Bleached Bone, which meant that 'expensive $4' lasted me six plus years. I still have pots of Chestnut, Magenta, and Yellow Ink that I still use, which GW discontinued what... more than a decade ago? The upfront cost may seem steep, but it's not one you should be repeating often.
GW brushes are adequate, if pricey, although the drybrushes are really useful. You can get a lot of mileage out of some of the cheaper brushes from your local craft store. Just don't go for the cheapest of the cheap, and figure out what works for you.
"-Nonsense, the Inquisitor and his retinue are our hounoured guests, of course we should invite them to celebrate Four-armed Emperor-day with us..." Thought for the Day - Never use the powerfist hand to wipe.
The key to budget is skip "hobby paints" and supplies altogether.
Get your brushes from the art store.
Go to the craft store for your paint. The Delta Ceramcoat brand is my favorite for it's pigmentation and application, but the Americana brand is almost as good and is more common.
A bottle of craft paint generally costs 1/4-1/3 the cost of hobby paints and comes with over 4 times as much paint! Around a buck or a buck fifty for 2oz of craft paint vs 4-5 dollars for a half oz of "hobby" Paint.
If you doubt the quality of craft paint check out this guys work. He uses almost nothing but Americana craft paint.
http://mdarrow.blogspot.com
Yeah, I'll echo the don't scrimp on paint comments.
The $/hour cost is tiny so just save up and get what you need.
That said some brands are cheaper and mixing your own paints and washes for smaller areas is a smart thing to do rather than buying fully into GW's painting system. There really isn't any need to use 8 different pots per colour.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2016/07/03 11:40:29
Oli: Can I be an orc?
Everyone: No.
Oli: But it fits through the doors, Look!
If you can be arsed mixing your own paints you can save a little bit of money, but really not heaps.
The GW method of painting, like Ghaz's link, you end up buying heaps of individual pots. Not great if you're trying to save money.
If you choose a method where you mix in black or dark brown for your shades and mix in beige or light grey for highlights, you can save a bit of money by not buying lots of shade and highlight colours.
Instead of buying 5 subtly different reds, buy 1 red and mix the subtly different shades yourself.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2016/07/03 11:43:36
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