Beginner Advice

[Peredyne]

Be careful reading the HH series. Some of them will make you hate the Traitors, some of them will make you loathe the Loyalists. Some will do both at once. The First Heretic is the best example of this effect. If you want to get into the Horus Heresy novels, get Horus Rising, Fallen Gods, Galaxy in Flames, and Flight of the EIsenstein. FotE is especially good, Nathaniel Garro is one of my favorite characters from the HH series.

[JGeils81]

So, bought Dark Vengeance, more paint, new (smaller) brushes.  Have begun assembly/prep on all Dark Angels, actually all are stuck together but not glued yet. so I have a few(more) questions for you guys!

 

1. I've been cleaning up mold lines, testing fitting of pieces looking for gaps, etc and it is taking a loong time, is that normal? I know that good prep makes painting go smoother and look better, but it seems maybe I'm doing too much? I guess maybe I should enjoy it so I dont have to buy more so soon.

 

2. Priming/painting. should I prime and paint before I assemble? the DA in DV seem to only come in a few pieces, doesnt seem like it would be difficult to paint in subassemblies just wont be able to use modeling glue, but I have tons of other kinds I can use(super glue/epoxy etc)

 

3. The paint I got to try, is from hobby lobby, I can't afford the citadel stuff( I can, but wife says no...hah).  Does anyone else use paint like this? it seems to be fairly inexpensive, and they have a huge range of colors. and it also comes in 2 oz bottles instead of 12ml pots...

 

4. I will probably be using a wet palette(thanks B&C!) since I'm about to have a boy in a month, and will probably be called to change diapers/change him etc, which one works the best for you guys? I bought parchment paper already because it was cheap and read that one somewhere.

 

Thanks again all!  I think Ill do this set up for practice, then start converting and stuff on future purchases! also ready to try my hand at sculpting and casting my own creations to add.

 

J

[Cactus]

1. I've been cleaning up mold lines, testing fitting of pieces looking for gaps, etc and it is taking a loong time, is that normal? I know that good prep makes painting go smoother and look better, but it seems maybe I'm doing too much? I guess maybe I should enjoy it so I dont have to buy more so soon.

It's always worth taking the time to clean up the mould lines and fill any gaps. For plastic models I find that a knife is better than a file for removing mould lines. With metal models (something GW are moving away from) a file is best. With resin models I use both.

2. Priming/painting. should I prime and paint before I assemble? the DA in DV seem to only come in a few pieces, doesnt seem like it would be difficult to paint in subassemblies just wont be able to use modeling glue, but I have tons of other kinds I can use(super glue/epoxy etc)

Whether to paint before or after assembly is entirely a matter of personal preference. Go with whichever you're most comfortable with and gets you the best results. I used go all-out on the assembly/converting before thinking about paint but recently I've found that only partially assembling the model before painting is a great way to ensure I only play with painted models.

3. The paint I got to try, is from hobby lobby, I can't afford the citadel stuff( I can, but wife says no...hah). Does anyone else use paint like this? it seems to be fairly inexpensive, and they have a huge range of colors. and it also comes in 2 oz bottles instead of 12ml pots...

I've never heard of Hobby Lobby but there are several well-regarded manufacturers of suitable acrylic paints. Vallejo, Army Painter and Coat d'Arms are three that come to mind. Alternatively, compare the cost/volume ratio of paints with that of cosmetics.

Thanks again all! I think Ill do this set up for practice, then start converting and stuff on future purchases! also ready to try my hand at sculpting and casting my own creations to add.

Converting and sculpting your own designs is incredibly rewarding. Don't forget to swing by the Dark Angels sub-forum and share your creations.

[JGeils81]

That I will! thanks for the reply.  I've been using the back of an X-acto knife to clean up mold lines and some 4800-6000 grit sanding pads to smooth things over.

[Honda]

 

So, bought Dark Vengeance, more paint, new (smaller) brushes.  Have

begun assembly/prep on all Dark Angels, actually all are stuck together

but not glued yet. so I have a few(more) questions for you guys!

That's why we're here. :)

 

 

1. I've been cleaning up mold lines, testing fitting of pieces

looking for gaps, etc and it is taking a loong time, is that normal? I

know that good prep makes painting go smoother and look better, but it

seems maybe I'm doing too much? I guess maybe I should enjoy it so I

dont have to buy more so soon.

 

As one former modeler to another, no you are not falling into OCD, it's what we do to make our models look good. You are probably bringing a lot of skills that will be applicable to the hobby side of the hobby. Go for it. Have fun.

 

Think about what a tank model would look like if you didn't clean off the spurs or mold lines. It wouldn't matter how well you painted it, it would look crappy. These figures are no different. So don't worry about the time invested, it's always worth it.

 

2. Priming/painting. should I prime and paint before I assemble? the

DA in DV seem to only come in a few pieces, doesnt seem like it would be

difficult to paint in subassemblies just wont be able to use modeling

glue, but I have tons of other kinds I can use(super glue/epoxy etc)

This will eventually come down to preferences. People do both. Again, go back to your modeling habits and what did you like to do there?

 

3. The paint I got to try, is from hobby lobby, I can't afford the

citadel stuff( I can, but wife says no...hah).  Does anyone else use

paint like this? it seems to be fairly inexpensive, and they have a huge

range of colors. and it also comes in 2 oz bottles instead of 12ml

pots...

 

I have transitioned to mostly Vallejo paints, the same ones you get at Hobby Lobby. In fact, for the most part, that's where I get mine as well.

 

4. I will probably be using a wet palette(thanks B&C!) since I'm

about to have a boy in a month, and will probably be called to change

diapers/change him etc, which one works the best for you guys? I bought

parchment paper already because it was cheap and read that one

somewhere.

The wet diaper palette is tricky to use, but can provide some excellent browns, yellows, and an occasional green. Wet palettes are great for blending and custom colors.

 

Do make sure that you thin your paints with water. The usual description is "consistency" of milk. Feel free to experiment. Obviously, it will need to be thinner if you use your airbrush. Which reminds me, once you get the colors you like, airbrushing the base colors (after primer) will greatly speed up your painting. It has revolutionized mine.

 

Thanks again all!  I think Ill do this set up for practice, then

start converting and stuff on future purchases! also ready to try my

hand at sculpting and casting my own creations to add.

 

Rock 'n roll dude! We're looking forward to your first model.

 

Cheers,

[reckoning]

Not much I can really add here other than to say welcome aboard and have fun! Remember: This is your hobby.

[JGeils81]

thanks reckoning, I appreciate that.  I ask a lot of questions not because I want to copy what everyone else is doing, but because I don't have any experience in 40k so am just looking for starting points.  Usually when I ask for advice, its just for the idea, then I improve on it my own way. 

 

got my tactical squad, librarian, and Balthazar are all ready for primer, glue and paint!(I think)

[reckoning]

Looking forward to some pics!

[puck]

Regarding prep work and painting taking a long time: For context, I typically take between 10-20 hours per model from start to finish. I'll admit this is a bit extreme, but truthfully I enjoy the painting as much as the playing so its not so bad. The best advice I have for the entire process is to have a movie or the TV on. Your eyes get tired and your hands shakey a lot faster than you might think especially when you're first starting out and don't have your "painting muscles" yet. This leads to mistakes that you either have to fix or live with and for me at least neither option is fun. Having something on while you work will make you naturally take little breaks and in my opinion make your overall product better. I recommend either movies you've already seen or those you don't particularly care about as there's been a number of times I've just watched the movie instead of paint.

 

Also, and I can't stress this enough: you need a big ass light. I prefer the ones hobby stores sell thats the magnifying glass/light combo on the armature. The more light you've got, the less strain you put on your eyes and the longer you can work.

 

Finally, if it hasn't been said already: thin your paints. The rule of thumb I've heard tossed around and I personally use is the paint should be slightly thicker than milk. The wet pallete you mentioned should help with this but in general, if you think you can do it in one coat, do it in two. The only time I've ever got better results with one coat is on some of the older metal paints that didn't like to thin out well.

 

Welcome to the Rock, and let's have some pics

[JGeils81]

thanks Puck, I have one of those lights with the magnifying glass in the middle, the one with like 90 LED lights. Talked my wife into getting it for me for Valentines Day this year! I agree its a must have...I couldn't see anything in the office in the new house we moved into, had to have more light.  I keep hearing that about the paint, but is it the consistency of Vitamin D milk? 2%? skim? big differences there....  Im guessing too thin is a little better than too think and experience will be my best friend in that regard. 

 

Thanks all for the feedback/advice!  I was going to take them outside and prime today...but the weather here in texas decided to drop from 80 to 18....  maybe the garage....

[NovemberIX]

I'd say give it a couple of days, you don't wanna prime in the cold, it'll make for rough pilled up primer. I was gonna start priming a tank last night too when the temp went from spring back to winter.

 

If I can also make a suggestion, find a painting challenge, those have always given me the most motivation to paint up my units. Besides the big ones like ETL and LPC, there are smaller ones running all the time, I gotta make a plug for the one I'm part of right now, the Tale of Texas Gamers.

[JGeils81]

oh its not from lack of motivation, but fear of wife aggro >.>

 

Primed the tac squad black, and balthazar...  my wife got the wrong size glue sticks for her mini hot glue gun, so had to use sticky tack to hold them in place for now...  Its a learning experience.  Dont have any wine corks, have been using styrofoam and pieces of sprue.  I'll come up with something better by the time I'm ready to prime the termies and the bikes though. 

 

On the agenda this weekend - Go to battlefield games and watch some, trade/buy a few things just to get "in".  going with a "friend" who invited me to come and watch. 

Start painting the tactical squad...lets see how this paint does...bought a little like sampler set, going to try for the colors I want first before buying more. already made my wet pallette, wife bought me some nice tiny brushes to go with my magnifier lamp.  First squad will be standard colors to see where my skill set is lacking...next up will be conversions and DIY chapter! so..I should probably buy some kind of codex I suppose...

 

hope to be posting pics soon for some advice!

[JGeils81]

well. I think I thinned my paint a tad too much. ill try again.

[Honda]

 

I think I thinned my paint a tad too much. ill try again

 

Trust me, multiple thin coats are a WHOLE lot better than one too thick coat.

 

Something I use all the time is an eye dropper. That allows me to somewhat consistently mix up 1:1, 2:1, 3:1 batches of paint. Also keep in mind that if you are thinning your paint a lot and you are using a wet palette, you're getting extra water on your brush. Not saying that's bad, just that your coats will be thinner and therefore you may need extra coats.

 

That's why we experiment. This is an art, not a science. :)

[Adra'Melek]

I must admit I struggle to thin my paints. Whenever I've tried it before it just feels wrong. I'm trying again now and I plan on persevering. I do use a lot of saliva on my bursts though so they are a bit wet (don't do this at home kids).

[JGeils81]

yeah, I think the palette had too much water on it. I didn't add any and it ended up really thin.  Especially trying to cover black. 

[*Furyou Miko]

I think I thinned my paint a tad too much. ill try again

Trust me, multiple thin coats are a WHOLE lot better than one too thick coat.

Something I use all the time is an eye dropper. That allows me to somewhat consistently mix up 1:1, 2:1, 3:1 batches of paint. Also keep in mind that if you are thinning your paint a lot and you are using a wet palette, you're getting extra water on your brush. Not saying that's bad, just that your coats will be thinner and therefore you may need extra coats.

That's why we experiment. This is an art, not a science.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v205/KaguraHakubi/Forum%20Comments/MikoAnga.png Doesn't experimenting turn the art into a science?

[Forté]

There is a technique called glazing or juicing which uses very thin paint to gradually build up colour. Worth looking up as when it's done well it looks much smoother than layering.

[Adra'Melek]

 

 

 

 

I think I thinned my paint a tad too much. ill try again

 

 

Trust me, multiple thin coats are a WHOLE lot better than one too thick coat.

 

Something I use all the time is an eye dropper. That allows me to somewhat consistently mix up 1:1, 2:1, 3:1 batches of paint. Also keep in mind that if you are thinning your paint a lot and you are using a wet palette, you're getting extra water on your brush. Not saying that's bad, just that your coats will be thinner and therefore you may need extra coats.

 

That's why we experiment. This is an art, not a science. :)

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v205/KaguraHakubi/Forum%20Comments/MikoAnga.png Doesn't experimenting turn the art into a science?

Depends how it's done :)

[JGeils81]

 

so, spent most of the day painting.  not done but they had no color this morning!  My paints seem to get a little gritty when thinned a lot, and make my brushes "spread"?

anyways! first pic. from iPhone.  advice welcome!

 

Also, checked out Battlefield games here in Killeen Texas yesterday, watched part of a game, bought a Dark Angels codex and a HH book....

[Trevak Dal]

Don't get Chaos Space Marines.  Go loyalist, they get the best toys, the best rules and generally better and more options.

 

If one army gets something...say a 2+ armor save unit for heavy support...chances are you'll get a better one sooner than later while the previous one gets nerfed on the altar of 'balance'.

 

So, go Loyalist is all I can say. 

[Honda]

Looking good. I think you're doing fine, keep plugging away.

[Adra'Melek]

Yep, looking good. You could start a blog/plot in the Work In Progress part of the site. It can be really helpful, with some great advice coming in. :)

[Forté]

Don't get Chaos Space Marines. Go loyalist, they get the best toys, the best rules and generally better and more options.

 

If one army gets something...say a 2+ armor save unit for heavy support...chances are you'll get a better one sooner than later while the previous one gets nerfed on the altar of 'balance'.

 

So, go Loyalist is all I can say.

Or...go for what you like the look of and want to paint. Yes, you will find the standard marines get more toys to play with as they are GWs bread and toilet roll (show me a supermarket without those) but Chaos is the way if you want free reign for painting and converting.

[JGeils81]

Get a 4 day this weekend! I plan to finish up the sgt and balthasar as much as I can with my current paints, and try to get the who tactical squad done as well, assembly line style. will see how this plays out...

 

next time I will take pics with the fancy schmancy camera I bought my wife...that should show more