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So i will be buying my first paints soon. I am sorta doing so on a budget. I was wondering if any old paint would work. I have seen videos online of people using applebarrel craft paints and they actually turned out really well. There is this kit online i have found. For 40 bucks i can get some brushes that i will actually need and tons more different colours to work with. Its acrylic and water based so it looks like the same stuff. I really don't want to buy the fancy model paints from citadel or army painter, seems like a rip off and i can't find kits online in a reasonable price range that has all the colours i need. There are lots of other acrylic paint sets that come with tons of brushes i will end up using. For the primer i am just using regular old hardware store white, grey or black paint primer, i have also heard you do not need to buy the model paint primer as its all the same stuff. I have never attempted to paint minis before so i am going solely off online guides.
https://www.amazon.ca/Acrylic-Water-Based-Waterproof-Artwork-Projects/dp/B08KG8SSP2/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=paint%2Bset%2Bacrylic&qid=1701997589&sr=8-5&th=1

That paint will most likely be fine, but you can't just use any old paint. How fine the pigment particles and how thick it goes on matters, otherwise it might obscure details on the models. But that sort of paint should be fine. Like, don't use paint meant for painting houses or whatever. As for primers, regular old hardware store spray cans should be fine but the warning about how thick it is when dry should be heeded.

It can be a good idea to do a couple test models first. Do a coat on a single model, if you can still see all the fine details once it dries you are good to go. Same with the actual paint. Try it out on one and see how it goes. Thick paint can be thinned down, but if its not small particle paint it can end up watering down the color itself.

Important advice for spray painting the models. Steady passes with the can from 6-8 inches away, evenly getting all sides and all the cracks and crannies. Then let it dry for a couple hours before painting, preferably in direct sunlight. When done, hold the can upside down and spray for a second or two to clear the nozzle.

When spraying in bulk, I'll put the models on a piece of cardboard which I then have on top of something I don't mind getting paint on it, Cardboard boxes or a big piece of wood. This way you can rotate the models without touching them. And preferably its all elevated so you can spray from below and above them.

 Grey Templar wrote:
That paint will most likely be fine, but you can't just use any old paint. How fine the pigment particles and how thick it goes on matters, otherwise it might obscure details on the models. But that sort of paint should be fine. Like, don't use paint meant for painting houses or whatever. As for primers, regular old hardware store spray cans should be fine but the warning about how thick it is when dry should be heeded.

It can be a good idea to do a couple test models first. Do a coat on a single model, if you can still see all the fine details once it dries you are good to go. Same with the actual paint. Try it out on one and see how it goes. Thick paint can be thinned down, but if its not small particle paint it can end up watering down the color itself.

Important advice for spray painting the models. Steady passes with the can from 6-8 inches away, evenly getting all sides and all the cracks and crannies. Then let it dry for a couple hours before painting, preferably in direct sunlight. When done, hold the can upside down and spray for a second or two to clear the nozzle.

When spraying in bulk, I'll put the models on a piece of cardboard which I then have on top of something I don't mind getting paint on it, Cardboard boxes or a big piece of wood. This way you can rotate the models without touching them. And preferably its all elevated so you can spray from below and above them.

Yes but its not just any old paint, it is actually high quality stuff with good pigmentation. It says it sticks to plastic and I avoided oil and water colour paints for a reason. It says the paint is a very creamy texture and since it is water based i can just add some water to thin it out. There is even this one review
"I bought these to paint mini figures for table top games and am very satisfied. Compared to the mini painting brands, you get more paint for less and, as far as I can tell, no difference in quality. They mix well and there is a good amount of paint in each bottle. My kids got into the hobby recently and have been using these to paint up a storm which is great to see. Highly recommend from a beginner/novice perspective. Cheers!"
So i will probably get that and i found tamiya white surface primer for hobbies for 7 bucks. It would be about the same price as buying primer at a hardware store. I plan on spraying down the models with cardboard blocking so i don't get paint everywhere on the porch outside. Later on i can buy some nuln oil to make the models look more glossy and nice.
I only have two models to start with since i am building a very special Ta'u gue'vesa army. I will only have an ethereal and a single fire warrior gue'vesa until i buy the 2 necromundia kits and the combat patrol box so i can bash them together with the tamiya glue i am buying.

So yeah, should be just fine. But I would still test it out just to be sure.

 Grey Templar wrote:
So yeah, should be just fine. But I would still test it out just to be sure.

Will do. I plan on playing around with the paints anyway to see how they stick to the models and how much water i need to add. I will even post the results to the forum so you can see my sick Ta'u gue'vesa army. They are only models i bought off etsy though so there might be a lack of uniformity to the army. But that is fine since the Gue'vesa firewarriors are all irregular auxiliaries so they don't need to match.

Anything made by Tamiya is pretty good, so the primer wont be a problem. Remember to clean your models with soap and water before priming, in order to get any grease/dirt off them first, this will also help the primer to adhere better.
Acrylics are acrylics, so as long as you thin down your paints and apply thin coats in layers for the difficult colors (such as yellow/red/white over a dark colour), you should be good.

Looking forward to seeing the models!

Here's a tip: Paint easy stuff first.

That means wooden things, zombies and space marines with helmets, terrain, that sort of thing. Doomed might be a good game to start with, based on that.

I paint to advanced tabletop for gaming.
Skill = time * practice more than materials.

For cheap paints, I would go with:
* Craft paints: Three browns and three greys for terrain and wood things.
* Hobby paints: Buy what's on sale. You're not a genius artist, so more fancier paints won't help you. Amazon has low prices for Vallejo Game Color.
* Washes: Make your life easier. Army Painter Ink Set. Never on sale, unless Miniature Market has sale on accessories. Go subscribe to their newletter yesterday b/c you've already missed deals.
* Brushes: Get a pile of cheap synthetics from Amazon with a 00 tip. Practice brush cleaning on them before you try out and ruin a $15 brush.
* Wet palette: Find a tutorial to make a cheap one.
* Mold line: X-Acto blade. Regular one
* Gaps: Vallejo plastic putty in a tube.
* 005 black pen: Eyeballs.
* Black brush pen: Assembly line touch-up of bases after the first coat of black primer.

Next:
* Hobby Brush: Do your research. Get one later than sooner.
* Styrlenezt (sp) paints from USA Airbrush. Get on their email list for their 30% holiday discounts. You'll be put off by their minimum order for free shipping, so just use regular primers for now. But they're sold in larger bottles, so, per ounce cheaper than hobby paints. Ebony Brown, Metal, Neutral (khaki), Flesh. Maybe red brown, grey, black and white, though white has too many bubbles. Other colors you just don't use as much, so I dunno about recommending them (red, green, blue). Gold, brass, copper have terrible coverage. https://usaairbrushsupply.com/

If youre going citadel paints stick to base paints. Better coverage and you can get a good level of painting done without worry about mixes and shades and layering

Once youve got base painting models down you can then start expanding to layers and glazes.

 Corennus wrote:
If youre going citadel paints stick to base paints. Better coverage and you can get a good level of painting done without worry about mixes and shades and layering

Once youve got base painting models down you can then start expanding to layers and glazes.

No i am sticking to the paint set i listed. It will work fine other then the washes which i plan on buying nuln oil for. But that is good to know for when i run out of paint and wanna try citadel paints. White Tamiya is my paint primer. I should have the first models posted by next week sometime. Interested to see your opinions on the models when they are done. I am not super artistic and i do not know what colour i want to paint them. I was thinking green and black, from my research it says the septs make their colours out of the planet they are from. So the green and black would make me think they came from a jungle planet. The models would kinda look like they came from the jungle too since i am buying a bunch of different kits from different games to bash them together.