People seems to be always curious to know what I use to paint or build, so here is a listing of what I'm using and a little review to help you decide whether it's worth your money or not (all the product listed have been tested by myself)
I'll try to keep this list updated as I acquire new things
I'll do a separate page for brush as I've been testing a lot of them over time, this will be used as much as a memoir than a review
Palette:
Wet Palette
Without a doubt the most used piece in my painting gear, I use it every session as it helps keep the paint from drying too fast, you have a few different brands to choose from but my favourite so far: |
| Painter lite and glass palette next to each other |
Redgrass games everlasting wet palette (painter or studio)
Well built, the sponge doesn't rot, and the paper is cut to size, which is not indispensable but a major convenience. I just love this palette, I backed the first iteration at the time of the Kickstarter in 2017 and I've been using it non-stop since then, and I'm now waiting for the second one with the new Kickstarter.
If you have one tool to buy, it's this one (and there are also sponsoring me from 2022 full disclosure!)
Masterson wet palette, my previous one, a bit bigger but the sponge got mold pretty quickly, the paper is not good for acrylic, I used baking paper to replace it, but it works
If you're on the fence, you can try to make your own wet palette with a plate, a bit of paper towel and a sheet of baking paper on top; wet the paper towel and there you go!
Dry palette
I've been using an old cd or any piece of plastic as a dry palette for oil, metallic paints (they don't like the wet palette so much) or dry brushing paint, but I recently started using the glass palette which was sent to me courtesy of Redgrass game
It's nice, easy to use and easy to clean (very important), I also don't have piece of cardboard with oil everywhere now! Well-made and classy, it's not mandatory but a nice way to avoid waste with cardboard or plastic, again something well thought and convenient! Special mention for the little anti-slip feet to make it easier to pick up the palette and it fit inside the wet palette if you take it to go!
https://www.redgrassgames.com/
Clipper:
You might think clippers is pretty basic, but there is quite a difference between basic one and something made specifically for miniature
Warhammer minis are becoming more and more fragile, and you can sometime break a piece when unclipping it from the sprue because the clipper is too "big".
Best one so far:
Dspiae 3.0
cleanest cut I've tested so far, only one side is sharp but it's really sharp, meaning if you push it on your sprue, it will leave a mark, work for resin and plastic but maximum 3mm of material to cut
It's a bit on the expensive side, but if you take care of it, you'll probably never need anything else
The blade is short, which can be problematic to cut the plastic gate sometimes
Seem really similar to god hand spn 120 or Redgrass games clipper from a visual point of view
Previous one:
God hand pn 125
It's nice, with a longer blade than the Dspiae, two sharp side, less precise than the above but also half the price
If you can, i would suggest to get one of the above
General clipper or electrician clipper
Also "work" and you can find some heavy duty one, but it will put more pressure on the parts and can broke or mangle the piece you want to cut
Useful for cutting bulkier resin gate from forgeworld or cutting down the sprue to make sprue goo
Cutter/ X-acto/ Scrapper etc
Any modelist cutter should do the work, just keep a sharp blade to work with to avoid slip and cut (been there, done that... more than once)Just find something comfortable to you, I quite like monument hobbies retractable knife for security, as you retract the blade and avoid accident this way, still be careful it's sharp and will cut your skin like butter
For the blade, I order in bulk x-acto blade #11 on the web
quick tip: wrap the used blade with a piece of tape to avoid piercing the bin bag or yourself
Mould line remover
Since it's not sharp, you're not going to make accidental mark on the mini
Monument hobbies mould line scrapper looks like a dentist tool, it works so far but I haven't used it much to really tell, I'll report back when I do! Still cheaper than citadel, and a smaller point which seem easier to access every part to clean.
Paint brand:
I used a few brands by now and those are my thoughts on them, your mileage might vary and it's something that tend to be very personal
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| so many brands |
If I must recommend just one brand now, I would suggest looking a:
Pro acryl from monument hobbies
It's easy to use, the paint is sooo smooth, the consistence is perfect out of the bottle, you can airbrush it easily and clean it well. It's just perfect for beginner and advanced painters alike, but you have a bit less choice than other brands (but it's expanding).
The metallics are very similar to scale 75, the transparent set is pure pigment and very useful for mixing. that's also the unique white paint I would recommend and by far.
The transparent range is similar to ink but they wont reactivate like usual ink can, also very useful for tinting metallic paints or shading without killing the shine.
The screw top needs a bit of getting used to, but I like it, if you don't, alternative caps are available from monument hobbies
I did change most of my paints for them fyi
Citadel - impossible to miss them if you're painting miniature considering the size of gw
I started with them, but they have become a bit too expensive for me, the pot is bad and tend to dry that why I moved away from them. The paint is good but not all the colours are consistent, you do have a pretty large choice, the metallic don't work well for my taste
I don't really use contrast paint, so I can't really give any advices on it but the colours seems nice enough
Vallejo - probably the biggest selection of paints from any manufacturer, can be a bit confusing with the different ranges though
Vallejo model colour - good consistency in general, pretty cheap, dropper bottle style, huge selection with natural colours, I like them but some of them have to be shaken A LOT to be properly mixed
The pigment binder is more fragile than the game range, for me it's the best black you can find
Vallejo game colour - range advertised for fantasy, the pigment is supposed to be stronger than the model line, I'm not a fan of the consistency but pretty good selection of colours, mostly match the old citadel line
Model air and Game air - Pre diluted paints for airbrush, it's mostly the two basic range diluted for air with flow improver and thinner, not really useful for me, you're paying the same price for diluted paint in my opinion, so I don't really see the point except if you're doing 90% of your work with an airbrush (and that’s coming from someone who ordered the whole game air range to sell it after)
Though advertised for airbrush, you can use them with a brush just fine
Exception to this is vallejo metal colors, which are airbrush ready metallic paints and they are very good ! Lots of silver to choose from but not much for other kinds of metal though.
Vallejo premium airbrush colour flat, satin or gloss - my reference for airbrushed varnishes, it's just perfect out of the bottle
Scale 75 - another spanish producer, with now a few different ranges
Model colour - my previous go to colour set, the consistency is gel like and need some getting used to, but I love the range of colours. dropper bottle style, can give a chalky finish sometime, it's not easy to use but I still like them, some of the best metallic paints on the market and still my recommendation on metallic paints. You do have to shake them to hell and back to have them properly mixed; I suggest using agitators to facilitate mixing.
some amazing colours: Black leather, Caribbean blue, Basic flesh, Sandalwood, Petroleum grey
Fantasy range - like Vallejo the colours have a different pigment to make them more resistant to gaming pieces, dropper bottle. Most of the paint are pretty thin and transparent which require multiple coats, it's less than ideal and after testing the whole line, I would recommend a few colours only which I'm still using regularly
Mayhem red, Despair green, Huldra blue (I really like tindalos red)
Artist range - heavy body acrylic paints in a tube, those are heavy body paints and required a good understanding of what you're doing to get the best of them. Nice selection but I wouldn't recommend this range on his own but a nice complement to other ranges.
Ink
Small selection but good product, I recommend the chestnut and wood (it's basically sepia) inks
The closest to the old citadel chestnut ink
Ak interactive 3rd generation acrylic - spanish again !
Another "new" range with a new formulation and a massive range similar to vallejo
My new favourite paint with pro acryl, massive selection of paints, very good consistency, easy to use and blend, The best cap of any brand. To many paints for my space but some amazing colours in this set!
Favourite: Wine red, Decomposed flesh, Archaic turquoise, Burnt red, pastel colours
Army painter
I don't use army painter except their washes with dark and strong tone a staple of my arsenal
Kimera kolors
A very special set of pure pigments paints; in opposition to other range, each bottle is just one pigment (except for the two signature set) and the saturation is amazing but require a bit of practice to use them. The ultimate set if you love colour theory and mixing. A second set just came out to expand the range.
The set is something special and the presentation is very classy, the pot tends to accumulate paint on the lid but it's still airtight. I have a love and hate relationship with this set, as I love the colours, but I have a hard time painting well with them and you need to shake them a lot.
The signature set are mixed pigments with colours set according to the preference of the artist, they are easier to use than the pigment set from my point of view, only 2 set at the moment, with a third just being announced.
I'm a big fan of the pisarski set for non-metallic metal, as the tone are pretty spot-on , the cartacci set is also very good but less special in tone for my taste.
Abteilung 501 - oil paints
The only oil paints aimed directly at miniature paint (as far as I'm aware mind you) very good oil paint with little oil in order to dry faster than general oil paints. Love them for weathering or washes, as I don't really paint with oil I can't really say more than that !
Daler and rowney fw acrylic ink
My favourite selection of ink, easy to use and awesome saturation with a good selection of colours!
Recommended for inks with a large pot and a practical pipette to use
Keep in mind that they will reactivate if you put too much water on the mini after using inks.
Favourite: Marine blue ink, Green ink, Crimson ink
Liquitex acrylic ink
A few interesting colours, I tend to prefer Daler and rowney as I find them easier to use
Com-art White paint
Airbrush ready paint, that's the only one I have from them but I really nice to pre-shade model with as the paint is very liquid with small pigments, too liquid for brush use but I love it in my airbrush!
P3 paints
Glue, holders and others useful tools
Glue
If I recommend on thing for plastic mini is Tamiya extra thin cement, it works with capillary action and it's just the best.
Put a few pieces of plastic sprue in a half empty jar and you'll have sprue goo to fill gap with melted plastic, you can even smooth it out with regular extra thin. I love this stuff so much; it makes building plastic models a breeze.
I don't like revell or similar plastic glue with needle as it always end up clogging.
For resin, superglue is still required any brand will do, be careful with extra thin superglue as you will glue your fingers together faster than flash. I prefer standard or gel like glue, so it doesn't go everywhere. Also useful for gluing painted parts together without melting everything.
I rarely use 2-part epoxy except for big forge world piece.
Mini holder for painting
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| Holders everywhere ! |
RedGrass miniature holder
A plastic handle with a removable cap, mounting putty is included in the packaging, easy to use, lightweight with the cap spinning on top. I like a lot for painting squad as it's quite small, you just push the mini in the putty and you're good to go ! Also good for small piece as I don't have to pin them before painting since the putty is quite sturdy.
In the package, you'll find a metal sticker to stick the holder to, as the base have a (strong) magnet to avoid knocking it down, it's a clever feature and very useful!
I'm actually storing my handle attached to my painting lamp this way, always available when i want !
I bought one and 10 caps before RedGrass started sponsoring me and they did send me a second one for free (total disclosure ;) ). pretty useful tool for a few quids !
Rathcore miniature holder v3
Made of woods with a split cork in the middle and a rotating metal fingers rest/holder to avoid touching the mini.
The finger rest is a good idea, but I don't really use it in the end.
Wine cork, champaign cork, old citadel pot
I'm using them less and less since the RedGrass is faster to use (and more comfortable) and I'm lazy, but I still using cork for pinning small piece, but that's the thing you either have to pin or bluetac the piece.
Lamp
A important tool to help you paint accurate colours, you don't need to spend a lot, just one or two lamps from ikea with daylight bulbs and you're good to go!
I'm using a LED task lamp Professional dimmable it's pretty good and I can recommend it easily but it's a bit pricier.
RedGrass is coming with a new fancy lamp for painting which looks stellar, but we don't have more info right now.
Vortex mixer
Mandatory? no; practical and very convenient? yes; if you have the spare cash that's a long term investment
Hobbyzone modular hobby desk and paint station
I've been using hobbyzone product for years now and I really like them. You do need to build them as they arrive flat in a box full of mdf, but it's easy to put together and work as advertised!I don't have the space for the full modular space any more but I still rocking the wip module to protect my models from dust and accidental knock-out and the mobile painting station.
Brush Soap
If you have expensive sable brushes, you want to take care of them and it means shampooing them once in a while (again I'm lazy, but I should do it more often...) especially if you have accidentally put paint around the ferrule
I'm using 2 different one,
"The masters" brush cleaner and preserver
Monument hobbies Jentastic's drunken brush goop (I just like the name and the packaging to be honest)
Both works, I just prefer the monument box and it's easier to put the brush on the side than on the masters where the brush tend to be almost perpendicular.
Yup. All staple items for sure. Good for those new to the hobby station!
ReplyDeleteThank you Dayton !
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