Miniatures is a difficult hobby to get into and is even harder for an intermediate painter to know which paints to buy next! We have a selection of 5 paints that we use all the time! Check them out down below!
Base - Zandri Dust
Zandri Dust is a must have for any miniature painter and it's true strength lies in it's versatility. It is a perfect fit for bases as it can be utilised as a sandy stone colour or even as a drybrush for wood! When paired with the right washes and complimenting colours, Zandri Dust really comes into it's own.
Our favourite use of Zandri Dust is to dry-brush on your bases to mute the colours beneath for a dusty stone look. Achieving this is simple: first base-coat with Mechanicus Standard Grey (or your mid-tone of choice), wash with a dark wash (Nuln Oil or any brown wash will do) and then dry brush with trusty Zandri Dust!
Base - Leadbelcher
The advent of good quality metallic paints has truly revolutionised the miniature painting hobby! Leadbelcher is a reliable classic and no matter what you're painting, it is likely you'll need a silver or steel metallic sooner or later. Weapons, armour, vehicles and more will require a good quality metal and its hard to find one with better coverage and more realistic finish than Leadbelcher. It can be combined with dark washes for a variety of effects and can even be easily tinted with contrast paints.
To get the most out of Leadbelcher, use one or two thin coats over a mid-tone base coat. Then wash it with Nuln Oil (more on that later) to avoid dirtying the silvery gleam! Finally pick out the edges with Leadbelcher again using edge highlighting or even drybrushing for textured areas like chainmail.
Shade - Nuln Oil
Shades are the secret weapon of miniature painters the world over and are especially important for newcomers to the hobby. Various dark brown washes are popular for most uses, by we definitely recommend Nuln Oil for a crisp, clean and defined look. The dark black of Nuln Oil allows for an exaggerated lined effect similar to the art of classic comic books. When you're working at such small scales, this exaggerated level of shadow is very desirable!
Take advantage of Nuln Oil by applying it all over your models. Before you apply it make sure to thin it down. You may be attempted to use it straight out of the bottle, but this will tend to clog up finer details. To stop the wash from sitting on larger areas like armour panels, just use your clean brush to soak up an excess (this can then be used on other models.) Using this method ensures that all of the deep, shadowed areas of your model are shaded. After you have applied a coat of Nuln Oil, you can then jump into drybrushing and highlighting.
Technical - Blood for the Blood God
Technical Paints make for incredible effects that were limited to only the best miniature painters in the past! The fact that you can pick up a pot of paint and create incredible special effects on your models with ease is incredible when you stop to think about it! By far our favourite of the technical paints is the aptly-named Blood for the Blood God! The paint is a distinctive deep red colour that resembles...well, blood!
Apply it straight from the pot for the best results, this paint dries with a satin gleam, which sells it even more as fresh blood! The uses for Blood for the Blood God are only limited by your imagination! It can be applied to the edges of weapons and armour or even to injured models or the teeth and claws of monstrous beasts!
Contrast - Black Templar
The revolutionary Contrast paints have made it far easier for tons of enthusiasts to break into the hobby. Contrast paints behave in a similar way to a wash, they tint the area beneath and flow into the deep cuts of the model to provide a sense of shadow. Contrast paints are slightly different in that they provide a base coat and shadows in one application! Black Templar is perhaps our favourite Contrast Paint due to it's versatility. Getting the most out of a smaller number of paints is definitely something to strive for in miniature painting! Not only Black Templar be used in the regular way you would use a contrast paint, it can also be used to great effect as a tinting colour.
Our favourite use of Black Templar is provide a Contrast (pun intended) on armour or metallic surfaces that have multiple panels. Applying it to a select panels on a suit of armour, gives a great nuanced effect that makes the miniature pop! It can also be used on weapons such as guns to give a dark metallic look! Achieving this style is very simple, simply vase coat with Leadbelcher and then tint with Black Templar over the top!
Check out the related products section down below to browse some more of our favourite paints! Alternatively, you can browse our entire range of Miniatures, paints and tools by clicking the button below!
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