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Hello,

I am new to painting figures and had a question about painting. I was looking for different schemes for SWs, as baby-blue is hideous and abomination, and found a style I liked. I watched the video and discovered that his primer he used was an airbrush paint. I was curious, if it was possible to prime airbrush paint with a brush? If so would I have to water the paint down? Also another general question how do you determine if you watered a paint down 1:1? In his video he talked about you want to water down 1:1 for some paints or other variants of the such. Would you use a measurer? Or possibly do one dip in paint and one dip in water?

Thank you for the help!
This is the primer in question: "Badger Air-Brush Co. SNR-202 Stynylrez, 2 Ounce, Gray"
Also this is my first time posting, so I hope I posted on the correct forum

Airbrush paints are usually a good deal thinner than regular acrylics.

You can indeed brush them on as well, but I’m not sure how workable that is.

As for 1:1, 2:1 etc? The ratio is more important than the precise measurement.

Some paints (Vallejo for instance) come in dropper bottles. Those make it easy, as it’s drop for drop.

Citadel and other “open pot” paints? Trickier, but just use the same brush. And if you’re looking at doing a bunch of models? Better to get hold of a suitable empty pot (GW used to sell them, but I don’t think they do now) and make a decent batch.

But, as you’re a newcomer, I’d highly recommend looking for more videos based on the Heresy Era Space Wolves. The armour scheme then was a grey grey, rather than a blue grey.

Once you find a scheme you like, I’d then recommend watching any of Duncan Rhodes’ video (his own ones, or when he worked for GW), as I’ve found him the most accessible when it comes to explaining and demonstrating different techniques.

Hope this has been of help

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
But, as you’re a newcomer, I’d highly recommend looking for more videos based on the Heresy Era Space Wolves. The armour scheme then was a grey grey, rather than a blue grey.

Here's the one from Games Workshop:

Thanks for the information, so I have found a video with the painting style I really enjoy. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5AZJG2UW10&list=LL&index=3) I really like the grim dark style that I have seen on youtube, because I think it fits the Warhammer darkness and the fluff of SW. I know mine won't look nearly as good as his, but I think I would like to give it a whirl as I enjoy the style and looks of "Zatcaskagoon Miniatures" SW. I do plan on adding some differences however. Mainly just being me adding Russ Grey, as a homage to the previous paint style. I was thinking fluff wise, that my troops where running out of paint and that their armor was aging; yet they wanted to add a little bit of their old paint. I was thinking either a stripe on the armor with Russ Grey or maybe on the kneecap.

Granted this looks really hard, and he uses a paint brush, but I feel like of all the ones I have seen I can't get over the looks of this style. This is why I am really fixated on this style of SW painting.

Good luck. I found this late and looks like your questions have been answered. Hope you share some of your results. I love the modeling side and root for anyone going in!

I’d genuinely and whole heartedly recommend going with basic schemes at first.

I’ve been in the hobby for coming up 32 years. And in that era, painting guides were truly laughable. They’re noted for being....

Step 1. Basecoat
Step 2. Wash
Step 3. ?????????
Step 4. Collect your Golden Daemon (a coveted painting prize of prestige).

It really put me off when I follow the guide, and got absolutely nowhere near the promised result.

This is where GW’s own modern painting vids come into their own.

They’re well framed, well lit, well explained, and crucially for me, well demonstrated. Because a good part of the battle is how you wield your brush - and the importance of the right brush for the right job.

I advocate getting used to the very basics, such as (this is not exhaustive, and is o-en to debate!)

1. Right brush for the right job.
2. A good, smooth base/undercoat
3. Multiple thin coats, for good coverage and an even finish
4. How to use washes to best advantage (line shading, overall shading, fading etc).

So whichever video you follow, do it step by step on a group of models.

Say, get them all base/under coated. Then do the wash stage across each one, ideally one at a time, letting the paint dry, and reviewing the result before moving on to the next one.

Another solid tip? Use whatever is left on the sprue to experiment.

For instance, I’m about to embark on glazing for a specific effect. Before I go anywhere near actual army models, I’ll be digging through my Pile of Shame still on sprue for useful candidates. Because far better I bugger them up in the name of progress than a model I was planning to use!

Another top tip now I think about it? If like me you’re in a hard water area (good old White Cliffs of Dover....)? Use bottled water for cleaning your brush and thinning your paints. The benefit I’ve found in doing so might well be psychosomatic, but I swear it does make a difference!

Wow, that's actually really smart and helpful tips Mad Doc Grotsnik, thank you for your painting veteran tips and tricks! I'll have to write them down and remember them when I start painting!

I really enjoy the Horus Hersey SW but I really want to challenge myself and try and shoot for what I would enjoy most. I think if I had Horus Heresy Models I would definitely paint them as such; however, I have the Combat Patrol kit and I do not think I would like the look of the newer models with the HH SW paint. If I had the HH helmets it would be killer, but I think I am going to try and go with the Grimm Dark style of painting. So far I have found majority of the paints used in brush paint, just not the Badger Air-Brush Co. SNR-202 Stynylrez Gray. I may look to see what the most viable substitute is for this primer, maybe Citadel Gray Primer.

Do you have any other tips on painting? Like lighting, mats, brushes etc.?

I’ve been around a while, but as a reluctant painter I’m probably a lot closer to your position than you’d think!

Hence my focus on easing into it.

Me? I’ve trying to overcome a couple of decades of indifference to actually painting stuff. I’ve now, thankfully, got the time and money to experiment a fair amount.

For you? I’m just trying to pass on whatever wisdom I can, to help you avoid the same “Pit Of Meh” I fell into.

And on such a note? There is no definition of a painting session. It could just be doing a shade on a specific armour panel. It could be a good long session of a few hours, where you get loads done.

Something I’m still forcing myself to adjust to is Just Getting On With It. Could be a quick bit on my lunch break. Could be a Discord session with others (I’ve got one setup, but haven’t gone live in a few weeks).

Find your time, and your preference. Push yourself, but never force yourself. That’s the key to enjoyment in my opinion.

Thanks man! No matter what happens I'm gonna enjoy myself, as I have wanted to get into Warhammer for just about 6 years. I've always enjoyed the lore but never had the opportunity to play. I hope to do alright, but I think the reason I like the Grimm Dark style is that it looks rough. Meaning, that if I "mess" up I could just say that was what I was going for. It has a very aged and tampered look to it, which fits really well into the current SW lore, as they are not able to be at full ranks like other Chapters. They are not in tip top shape as of right now, With Leman Russ gone and them trying to survive I think some mistakes could be fluffed out!

Plus. Of all the Chapters, Space Woofs are the least likely to stick to any given colour scheme.

They’d take their heraldry super serious*, but the exact shade and hue of their armour seems unimportant given their individualistic culture.

*if the GW transfers don’t have the emblem of your choice, worth looking around for third party ones - and vids on how to best apply transfers.

Yah that's what I like about the barbarian esque SW, they have history but they do not care as much as other factions about color schemes; but rather caring about there emblem and fealty.

I do dislike the they are "Vikings," as this display is a pop-culture belief on what the Vikings where like rather than historical evidence. This is why I often call them barbarians, as in similar to that of D&D.

But funnily enough Scandinavians and Germanic peoples where called barbarians by Greeks and Romans, due to them classifying anyone not Roman or Greek to be barbarians. And the Greeks thought anyone not Greek was barbarians. But thats neither here nor there I guess.

I plan on buying all my paints, I wont be able to start my figures until after my mid-terms, but figured I would ask around to be prepared.

Thanks for the help!

The baby blue scheme is awful, that's the truth, but there are plenty of dark grey schemes you can replace it with. As for primers, they aren't particularly important with regards to which you use. I generally use a hardware shop grey rattlecan primer. It's just a layer for your paint to cling to easier. For a beginner I would recommend keeping things as simple as possible until you get a bit of experience under your belt.