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Hi i am sort of a noob to this so take it easy on me,just getting back into painting my miniatures,as i had a box of around 300 metal ,orcs,chaos warriors,demons and dragons etc from the mid 80s,i bought a box of vallejo game colour which was discounted,what my real question is what extra paints ie washes,inks etc should i look to get,back when i was painting,it was citadel paints whci we used for base coats,watered down for shading and a lighter color for highlighting then inks come along and add an extra dimension,so recommended inks and should i buy washes or edges highlight paints as the vast amount out there is simply mind boggling,thanks in advance and apologys if this has post has been done to death.

Your wash choices depend a lot on what kinds of models you want to do. A black and a brown wash will serve you well for painting overall, then if you have Orks I'd get a green. As for actual paints and colour palettes I'd take a look at the Games Workshop website and their paint bundles, choose the colours you want/need and then find their Vallejo equivalents.

Well i am intending on doing Middle earth figures from both The Hobbit and Lotr and displaying them in dioramas in a display cabinet which i am currently sanding down for paint or to stain,my only issue i have with GW paints is they dry out,hence the reason i bought vallejo as i liked the look of the dropper method,however looking in a few forums a few folk were saying the vallejo inks were not that good,dd i just bump into a minority view on vallejo inks ?

First, please use punctuation. Your post is nearly unreadable.

Second, you can use whatever you like. I love the Vallejo Game Color line, but still use the GW base paints and washes. If Vallejo is working for you, stick with it for now.

I'd recommend getting this:

http://www.waylandgames.co.uk/warpaints/27704-warpaints-quickshade-ink-set-ii

Citadel inks are great but pricey. The TAP box set gives you a full range on the cheap and TBH they are just a good even if TAP doesn't offer as many colors.

I think Games Workshops range of inks/washes whatever you want to call them are the best. Have tried other ranges including Vallejo and P3 plus some odd ball brands but always come back to GW.
This is against my usual advice, Vallejo are my favourite paints usually.

I would buy some oil paints and make my own washes. Way better than any brand, and cheaper as well. Get few browns (sienna/burnt umber), black and whatever else you might need. (Blue for Grey knights etc.)

wenturi wrote:I would buy some oil paints and make my own washes. Way better than any brand, and cheaper as well. Get few browns (sienna/burnt umber), black and whatever else you might need. (Blue for Grey knights etc.)

And how exactly you do the wash? Mix it with white spirt or something?

johnny71 wrote:Well i am intending on doing Middle earth figures from both The Hobbit and Lotr and displaying them in dioramas in a display cabinet which i am currently sanding down for paint or to stain,my only issue i have with GW paints is they dry out,hence the reason i bought vallejo as i liked the look of the dropper method,however looking in a few forums a few folk were saying the vallejo inks were not that good,dd i just bump into a minority view on vallejo inks ?

I suggest invest time into learning what priming is and how to prime a mini.
Then start watching some tutorials.
The choice of paint brand is a matter of personal preferences, but It can be a problematic when following a particular "how to" tutorial where completely different brand is used.

 DalinCriid wrote:

wenturi wrote:I would buy some oil paints and make my own washes. Way better than any brand, and cheaper as well. Get few browns (sienna/burnt umber), black and whatever else you might need. (Blue for Grey knights etc.)

And how exactly you do the wash? Mix it with white spirt or something?


Here is a video explaining how oil paints/washes work.


Try them out, way better than "regular" washes. Just be sure to use satin or gloss varnish before you use them. Using matte varnish will give... an interesting result.

Thanks for the reply's i have ordered a box set of warpaint inks as suggested,i will see how i get on with them , and will add more Gw ink's if and when needed,in response to priming yes i know all about that from my early days a good cleaning of the model and remove the flash,on that note any suggestions on primer rather than the tiny vallejo/Gw pots,air brushing and spray painting is out of the question at the moment due to high winds and lack of funds for airbrushing kit.