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I've been wanting to pain my mini war-gaming models for a while now, but I have terrible anxiety on picking the "wrong" type of paint. (I know there's not a wrong type, but's still difficult to make an uniformed choice.)
I've tried looking up comparisons, but I haven't been able to find too many. Additionally, I'd like opinions of people from "in the field" so to speak.

What's your guys' opinons between water-based acrylics and oil-based enamels?

I have only ever used water based acrylics for minis. Some people use oils for washes but i understand they take a very long time to dry. In terms of brands the main ones are games workshop/ citadel, Vallejo game or model colour and army painter. You can use standard cheap acrylic paint too but it will be much harder to thin it properly so i would start with some of the branded ones.

stick with GW and Vellejo brand, make sure you get some acrylic paint thinners and metallic mediums to stretch your paint. Typically you want to get 3 tones of a single color, dark=base, medium=layer, light=highlight.

decal softner/GW gloss varnish/GW lahmian medium if you plan on applying decals.

FW or any dry powders are great for weathering, adding depth to your models that no paint can do. Do this last just before apply model with matte varnish spray.

EDIT: wrong primer/paint= mostly any brand that is cheap, there is a reason why that is, as the cheaper paints are not as fine, thus covering your detailed models. no enamel primer/paints, thats meant for bigger life size things not miniatures. Clean your mold lines with xacto knife, no amount of good paint job will cover up moldlines; I see too many decent-good miniatures ruined by users laziness.

 Big Mac wrote:
stick with GW and Vellejo brand, make sure you get some acrylic paint thinners and metallic mediums to stretch your paint. Typically you want to get 3 tones of a single color, dark=base, medium=layer, light=highlight.

decal softner/GW gloss varnish/GW lahmian medium if you plan on applying decals.

FW or any dry powders are great for weathering, adding depth to your models that no paint can do. Do this last just before apply model with matte varnish spray.

EDIT: wrong primer/paint= mostly any brand that is cheap, there is a reason why that is, as the cheaper paints are not as fine, thus covering your detailed models. no enamel primer/paints, thats meant for bigger life size things not miniatures. Clean your mold lines with xacto knife, no amount of good paint job will cover up moldlines; I see too many decent-good miniatures ruined by users laziness.

This did not answer anything I was asking. I wasn't asking how to use acrylic pain, which is what you seemed to answer. I was asking about the pros and cons of enamel vs acrylic.

 ShadowMageAlpha wrote:

 Big Mac wrote:
stick with GW and Vellejo brand, make sure you get some acrylic paint thinners and metallic mediums to stretch your paint. Typically you want to get 3 tones of a single color, dark=base, medium=layer, light=highlight.

decal softner/GW gloss varnish/GW lahmian medium if you plan on applying decals.

FW or any dry powders are great for weathering, adding depth to your models that no paint can do. Do this last just before apply model with matte varnish spray.

EDIT: wrong primer/paint= mostly any brand that is cheap, there is a reason why that is, as the cheaper paints are not as fine, thus covering your detailed models. no enamel primer/paints, thats meant for bigger life size things not miniatures. Clean your mold lines with xacto knife, no amount of good paint job will cover up moldlines; I see too many decent-good miniatures ruined by users laziness.

This did not answer anything I was asking. I wasn't asking how to use acrylic pain, which is what you seemed to answer. I was asking about the pros and cons of enamel vs acrylic.

I did in the EDIT part of my response; Oils takes longer time to dry(6 hrs in standard working conditions, for oils to completely dry=1 year from your last brush stroke, and you can't spray varnish till then as it seals the oil. Oils give richer color as its pigments are from natural extracts, great for blending due to its time to dry. As oils dry, it 'moves', thus ALWAYS applying oil over acrylic, not the other way around.

In the FW masterclass book, they had examples of using oil as a weathering method at the very end, however you can achieve similar effects, GW washes are a must, I highly recommend getting all of them.

Personally I avoid enamels, even the Testors which is meant for fine scale work, because cleanup is a pain. Good acrylics, Vallejo/Reaper/GW/P3 and to an extent Army Painter, can give just as good a result as enamels without having to deal with specialized thinners or strong odors.

As for the people insisting you NEED acrylic medium, they’re not entirely correct. Personally for years my paints and thinners consisted of Reaper Master Series, Vallejo Model Color, and basic well water loaded with iron and calcium and I regularly get compliments on them being above tabletop quality. What the acrylic medium (or what I use is Reaper’s brush on sealer) does is allows you to thin the paint but keep the adhesiveness.

As for which to get for acrylics, bite the bullet, pay the 3-5 dollars for a pidly little 1/2 ounce. The dedicated miniature paints are designed to work well for this and won’t require extra work to get merely acceptable results. Even most paints meant for plastic scale models are oddly enough less than ideal. I have a small number of Testors acrylics and Tamiya paints for specific colors or finish and they just don’t work right for certain techniques. The exception are Vallejo paints, their Model Color line is just as good for minis as scale models. Army Painter is good for that first color to smooth out the matching colored primer but something about them is just off and thinning isn’t the answer. I don’t like pots for paint (I’ve had too many spills) so I can’t offer an informed opinion on P3 or current GW paints but from what I’ve read they’re also good provided GW doesn’t switch paint colors again and discontinue the colors you need.

EDIT: Also if you’re looking at miniature game centered sites for techniques etc. 95%+ of the people will be using acrylics so you won’t have to try and translate the technique from acrylic to enamel because it’s not a simple 1:1 of paint is paint, thinner is thinner.

I'm going to play devil's advocate for craft paints. I've been switching over to them from the far more expensive GW paints for a while now and seen exactly zero change in finished product; even between minis of the same unit. They work just as well, and are great for the painter on a budget.

The trick to using the cheaper paints is to thin them down and use multiple coats to get good color saturation. Even if you use three layers instead of two, you're still ahead of the game as craft acrylics are generally $1 for a 2 oz drip bottle, instead of $4 for a .4 oz jar of hobby paint.

Acrylic medium is useful for thinning the pigment in the paint, not thinning the consistency of the paint. It's basically acrylic paint minus the pigment, and is every bit as thick as your typical paint.

You can use tap water to thin the consistency of paint, but if it's heavily mineralized you might get some problems. Maybe. A gallon of distilled water is under $1. Put some in a 2 oz. dropper bottle and add a drop or two of brush or dish soap to make a good flow aid and general purpose paint thinner.

Where having acrylic medium really shines is for making your own washes, using the medium, distilled water, flow-aid, and artist inks. It costs a bit more to set up, but once you do you've got an almost endless supply of washes for less per oz. than GW washes and you're not restricted to their dozen or so colors.

Vulcan makes some good counterpoints regarding craft paints and in the end it really comes down to what works for you.

Is there any chance you know someone that would let you use their paints? Actually getting a brush in hand and applying paint is the *BEST* way to decide. I honestly thought airbrushes would be awesome and $30+ brushes not worth it. Getting to borrow the airbrush and buying a single expensive brush changed my opinions. Airbrushes are awesome but more work than they’re worth personally and now I use a mix of high end and cheap brushes. Unfortunately none of us can really tell you what will work for you.

For a complete beginner, the current Citadel (GW) range is the only sensible answer.

Or vallejo, warpaint etc. Doesn't really matter for beginner what brand out of the big paint ranges one chooses. As long as they are acrylics they are easy to use. GW paints are more expensive and harder to put in small quantities to wet palette(Which you do want to use) which makes them harder and pricier to use but the benefit is likely easier accessibility. Others can be trickier to find locally which adds it's own troubles.

 ShadowMageAlpha wrote:
I've been wanting to pain my mini war-gaming models for a while now, but I have terrible anxiety on picking the "wrong" type of paint. (I know there's not a wrong type, but's still difficult to make an uniformed choice.)
I've tried looking up comparisons, but I haven't been able to find too many. Additionally, I'd like opinions of people from "in the field" so to speak.

What's your guys' opinons between water-based acrylics and oil-based enamels?

Are you just talking about miniature painting here, not plastic kit/models I take it?

As someone who grew up on enamels, I cannot tell you exactly how much of an improvement the modern acrylics are for miniature painting. I remember as a kid painting a kit of a jet with an enamel silver, and there being a thin layer of dust over the miniature when the paint had finally dried over a day later(!) I still think people who achieved realistic-looking results with those back in the day (by mixing in God-knows what into the paint) must have been practising some kind of black magic.

That being said I wouldn't automatically exclude all enamels, depending on purpose. A lot of the new weathering paints (oil, water, rust effect paints) from Mig Jiminez are enamel based, and the results some modellers get with those are incredible.

But if it's just standard miniature painting then acrylics are the way to go. The acrylics themselves have improved a lot over the past 15-20 years, as other guys have said anything from GW, Vallejo, Scale 75 or Mig Jiminez should be a safe bet.

I have used both in my time, and I am quite happy to give a little insight:

Enamels are often listed as the paint of choice by the fuds of miniatures. They are the old style paint, the one that everyone used back in the day, and if it aint broke then why bother fixin it right?
In practice Enamels are a bit of a faff to use, they require a lot or preliminary stirring, especially if you havnt used the for a while (what, you thought vallejo was bad? Think again.) and your brushes need to be washed in white spirit. It is not pleasant, the white spirit ruins the brushes and the paint is never entirely cleaned away. However they do offer that lovely oily smell and have a good smooth finish, which is the main selling point.

Except Acrylics. Acrylics have come on a long way since they first showed up. Back then they where kiddies paints and noone in their right mind painted a proper model in them. But these days acrylics are a lot better, they offer a smooth finish, they can do fine detail, thin down easily and best of all do not clog your brush when you use them (unless you are dumdum) and can be cleaned in ordinary tap water which does not damage your brush.

So, to my conclusion I have to say: Enamels are inferior in most cases today.

Iirc Enamel based paints are fairly tough stuff so if you can get passed using them then id bet they are better for use for gaming pieces

personally use a lot of acrylic and lacquers through an airbrush.

Acrylics with a coat of varnish are even tougher and dont ruin your brushes.

 master of ordinance wrote:
Acrylics with a coat of varnish are even tougher and dont ruin your brushes.

Well its what i use and can attest to it.

I wonder though how are enamel metalics through say an airbrush.

Both oil-based enamel as well as water-based acrylics work fine, however due to easier clean-up and less toxic constituents, I'd recommend water-based acrylic paint.

Back in the day I would buy Testors oil-based enamel in the square glass jars; using thinner these can produce professional results. This is from the Testors.com website:





Floquil was the first water-based acrylic paints i used before Citadel Colour; over time, GW has changed the jar design and increased prices.



Here is the Paint Range Compatibility Chart:

http://www.dakkadakka.com/wiki/en/Paint_Range_Compatibility_Chart



Several companies offer a compatible paint colour and some are less expensive as well, including the Coat D'art which comes in a very nice flip-top jar which looks reminiscent:

I started with enamels way back in Rogue Trader days, and once I switched to acrylics, everything got way faster and easier. Clean up is easier, paint drys faster, and nothing stinks.

Water-based paints have the simplest learning curve because you can thin them and clean them up with plain water.

Oil-based paints commonly use linseed oil as the medium. The oil doesn't evaporate; instead, it polymerizes. This effect means that oil paints have a much longer working time; where water-based paints may have a few minutes to work with, oil paints can still be worked days later. Oil paints need their own thinners and cleaning agents since water just bounces off them.

There's a misunderstanding with the term "enamel" in painting. It's not necessarily a synonym for oil paint, but rather a type of paint designed for outdoor and/or high-heat environments where the paint is expected to take some abuse.