Questions on gear for a beginner.

[Aristander]

So the recent splurge of HH-era Ultramarine releases has kicked into gear a long stalled plan to get into the painting and modelling side of the GW universe (having nutured an interest from a purely fluff-persective for years).  I'd like to get any advice on beginner techniques, equipment from the more au fait members of the community.

 

At the moment I have the Citadel Project Box (handy, considering I share an apartment, so space is at a slight premium), black and white undercoat sprays, a small selection of Ultramarine appropriate paints, a fine detail brush, "How to Paint Citadel Minatures" and the contents of the 40k starter set (with three of the brave Astartes sacrified as an initial attempt at painting, minus the Dark Angel shoulder pads).  I rummaged through some of my older stuff when home last (I have a lot of unpainted, in-sprue models from my younger days) and I brough up a small selection of Orc and Empire archers just to ruin practice with.

 

So, any advice in terms of where to go next?  I'm happy to work with what i have for the moment before going off and making any more extravagant purchases.

[Rik Lightstar]

Brushes, nice ones and look after them, you'll find that if you do look after them, you can paint most of a model with something the size of a Standard or even Basecoat brush.

 

Also something for use as a pallet, I use the "tear off" ones.

 

Rik

[Lucio]

Practice the most commonly used techniques. A good starting place would be to build up your colours, so start with a base coat, wash for the detail, and apply the layer colour.

Once you're happy with that, you can start with dry brushing to pick out more of the raised detail after the layer has been applied.

 

Once you're happy with that, add in a basic line highlight around the edge or move onto stippling (like dry brushing but dabbing the brush onto the surface to apply the paint, helps to blend colours)


Gear wise, buy cheap brushes, and a couple of the GW ones (which are fine for anyone needing quick access to a perfectly acceptable brush range)

[ChaosRising]

My quick advice is get a feel for what you can do with your current brush before rushing off to get all kinds of fancy brushes from GW.

 

I'll second what Lucio said, as far as trying some basic techniques first. You might be surprised at just how much you can do with one brush. It's also a good idea to get a feel for your current brush before loading up on brushes you don't need.

 

have one brush that does pretty much all the work on all my models.

 

I have one brush that does the majority - in many cases, all - of the work on a given model. However, I have tons of speciality brushes, as well - from fine detail up to tank size.

 

By all means, keep a fine detail brush on hand for when you want to nail the eye lenses on a really important character, or when you want to get every detail perfect on a center piece like Captain Sicarius. Likewise, keep a tank brush or large dry brush laying around if you plan to work on large projects (like tanks or large scenery pieces) where a smaller brush would be impractical. But your current brush should be starting point, if not your default (depending on how it does).

[Sothalor]

Get yourself an additional brush, larger than a fine detail one. Something about the size of the GW "Standard" brush, like a Size 1 or Size 0. It's much faster and more consistent for basecoating larger, flat sections (which Space Marine armor has quite a bit of). Trying to do that with a fine detail brush will only wear the brush out faster and is much more of a hassle.

 

Before going nuts with the biggest and fanciest stuff, I would say learn to work with what you've currently got. Get into the habit of caring for and maintaining your stuff: make sure your paints are correctly capped and sealed when you're done, don't leave brushes sitting points-down in anything, etc.

 

What do you have in the way of tools? Don't overlook this: you need the correct tools to even assemble models in basic configurations, not to mention if you want to do any converting or customizing. I would say don't bother with GW stuff. Get yourself to any decent hobby/craft store and they'll have everything you need at a fraction of the price GW charges. Don't rip yourself off. At the minimum, you need a sprue cutter and a hobby knife. Needle files are useful for dealing with flash and sprue points, and pin vise drills for drilling out gun muzzles as well as pinning joints on heavier, non-plastic models.

 

If you're interested in HH-era Ultramarines, I presume that means you're looking at Forgeworld stuff. That's resin, and long term exposure to resin dust is hazardous. If you're filing or sanding resin pieces, wear a dust mask and do it in a well-ventilated area.

 

That's everything off the top of my head, hope it's helpful.

[Stoic Raptor]

There is a lot of good advice here (though I'd contend that GW brushes are the cheap ones!).  I could offer you a very long list of pointers for most important tools, brush care, etc. but I've already put it all into words on my blog.  I think you'll find these articles most helpful:

 

http://the-sage-brush.blogspot.com/2015/01/having-right-materials-brushes.html

http://the-sage-brush.blogspot.com/2015/01/choosing-and-using-right-paints-part-two.html

http://the-sage-brush.blogspot.com/2015/01/interlude-tools-of-trade.html

http://the-sage-brush.blogspot.com/2015/01/choosing-and-using-right-paints-part_30.html

[Subtle Discord]

Beyond the ever important brushes (do yourself a favor and buy some good quality brushes; treat them right and they will last for years) you may find my article on Tools for the Hobby a useful read. While several items are beyond what I would consider 'beginner gear', many of the things I discuss are what I consider downright essential. Note that I've been building my collection of tools and brushes for almost twenty years, so don't think that a massive investment upfront is necessary. Just remembered that quality does matter. Good tools won't instantly make you more skilled or better at a certain process, but they will produce consistent quality results, so you won't need to struggle against the tools themselves as you work. Nothing illustrates this better than a few good quality files; cheap ones will frustrate you and mangle surfaces/details, while good quality ones will be wonderful to work with, shaping and smoothing to a wonderful finish.

 

As mentioned about brushes, if properly treated most tools will last for years, if not a lifetime. Invest in a few select quality tools up front, and then grow your collection selectively over the years and you'll have a more enjoyable time assembling and painting for the hobby. If you consider the cost of the models you'll be working on, carefully investing in the right tools for that work is a shrewd investment.

[Peredyne]

Based on all accounts, the new GW brushes are as costly (or even more so) than some really top-quality brushes (Winsor & Newton, etc.) while only being a low-to-midgrade quality brush. If you're going to get new, high-quality brushes, hop over to Amazon and search for WInsor & Newton Series 7. I just dropped 60 USD on four W&N s7 brushes. They normall sell for twice that amount in art stores.

 

Get an Xacto knife and a batch of #11 blades. And make sure it's an Xacto and not a knock-off brand. Xactos have a metal collet to grip the blades. The knockoffs will have a plastic collet.

 

Get a sprue cutter, whether it is GW's or another producer. I use a Testor's Model Master sprue cutter.

 

Get a pin vise, preferably with a ball or hex grip and a selection of drill bits.

 

Lastly, find a Harbor Freight near you and go pick up a set of diamond-impregnated files. It should cost you less than 10 dollars and will last you a lifetime.

[Aristander]

Much obliged for the answers folks - I'll definitely be looking at those blog articles in more depth.  Think it's looking like a small bit more variety on some initial brushes, and in particular picking up some modelling tools (to answer A Melancholic Sanguinity's question, don't have anything to speak of at the moment), will be my next steps anyway.

 

I like the idea of having a centrepiece figure to serve as a goal (I have Horus tucked away, but wouldn't dream of attempting him for some time), so maybe Captain Sicarius is a good shout.

[ChaosRising]

@Aristander....just start small and work up. There's nothing more disappointing than trying to start with your baddest guy before you have a tried and true method for your grunts (even if they are 7' tall killing machines)

[Stoic Raptor]

you may find my article on Tools for the Hobby a useful read. 

 

I've been in the hobby for about 30 years, and I still found some of your advice useful - especially sources for high-quality tools.  Thanks!

 

If you're going to get new, high-quality brushes, hop over to Amazon and search for WInsor & Newton Series 7. I just dropped 60 USD on four W&N s7 brushes. They normall sell for twice that amount in art stores.

 

Since the OP is in Ireland, he may be able to get them inexpensively directly from Winsor & Newton.  Much of the markup here is due to import restrictions.

 

But if you are in the States and you want good brushes, I would not recommend Amazon.  If the brush is not satisfactory, you may have difficulty exchanging or returning it.  I get all my brushes from Dick Blick Art Materials - prices are very affordable (less than $15 USD per brush) and they are totally committed to customer satisfaction.  I got a brush last week that had two wild bristles - because it wasn't perfect, I called them and they shipped me out a new brush right away.  You can't buy this kind of satisfaction!

 

I like the W&N Series 7  - for beginners, get the regular Series 7, as the Miniature brushes have shorter bristles and smaller bellies, which means the paint dries out quicker in the brush and that affects flow and smoothness, as well as how often you need to rinse and reload the brush.  However, another fantastic brand is the Raphael 8404 - comparable in every way to the W&N S7's.

[Ironwulf]

 

But if you are in the States and you want good brushes, I would not recommend Amazon.  If the brush is not satisfactory, you may have difficulty exchanging or returning it.  I get all my brushes from Dick Blick Art Materials - prices are very affordable (less than $15 USD per brush) and they are totally committed to customer satisfaction.  I got a brush last week that had two wild bristles - because it wasn't perfect, I called them and they shipped me out a new brush right away.  You can't buy this kind of satisfaction!

 

I like the W&N Series 7  - for beginners, get the regular Series 7, as the Miniature brushes have shorter bristles and smaller bellies, which means the paint dries out quicker in the brush and that affects flow and smoothness, as well as how often you need to rinse and reload the brush.  However, another fantastic brand is the Raphael 8404 - comparable in every way to the W&N S7's.

 

 

I agree wholeheartedly on DickBlick.com. Also, the Raphael 8404 is my favorite brush too.