Editing 1d4chan's Assembling, Painting and Basing Guide (section)

==Choosing and Assembling Your First Model==

So you've decided to make your first model. You've set aside a budget for yourself, and have begun to look around at the wide variety of miniatures available to you. It's possible that you've already picked out and bought one or more models — or, perhaps, you've been overwhelmed by the wide variety of options and have yet to choose one for yourself. Either way, don't panic! Your first miniature will probably have its fair share of faults, but if you follow this guide, you're sure to end up with minis that hold a special place in your heart, even years down the line.

===Choosing Your First Model Kit===

Obviously anyone who already bought themselves some models to paint can skip this part, but if you're struggling to choose baby's first model, here are a few things you can keep in mind to help:

*'''Keep It Simple, Stupid'''
**Try to ignore the temptation of only getting a cadre of infantry, under the logic that the large quantity of models will make practice easier. While you will get a large number of models, you'll likely get tired of assembling, basing and painting all of them- either leading to huge losses in time or rushed jobs. You don't learn much from that other than "don't do a Conscript squad of 20 units in one go."
**You're still learning muscle memory stuff like brush technique and control, and larger, simpler models give you plenty of room to practice.
**Terrain is a good choice for this, but it's hardly a requirement.
*'''Remember Your Budget'''
**It can also be tempting to splurge on one big miniature, thinking that while it may take a while to paint, finishing it will make you a better painter; this logic isn't entirely wrong, but it's important to remember that a model is only the first thing you'll be buying for yourself.
**Later on, you'll be needing glues, paints, brushes, pliers, files, and perhaps many other optional tools as well. If you don't budget for the things you won't get with the model when you buy it, you will deeply regret it.
*'''Plastic is Your Friend'''
**Models are made from a wide variety of materials, but plastic is arguably the most common.
**While most advice is of some use regardless of material, most of this guide assumes you are using plastic; if you choose something else, be sure to note how it differs, especially in terms of assembly and priming.

===Universal Assembly Advice===

So, let's say you finally have your first box of miniatures. You feel a rush as you hastily peel away the plastic wrapping. You gaze in awe at the sprues, lined with the pieces that will eventually become your friends for life. You reach for a helmet, and-

'''Stop. ''Please, for the love of God, stop.'''''

Before you rush into tearing the sprue apart to get at those juicy bits, ask yourself. Do you have cutting pliers? Do you actually know how to use them? Do you have the tools needed to remove the vents and flashes, or actually take out the pieces of the sprue without damaging them?

If your answer is no, and you actually care about the condition of your models, then you will first need some cutting pliers and needle files. These tools will ensure that your bits are correctly cut, and that the vent, flashes and mould lines are dealt with.

As a general rule, you shouldn't apply too much pressure when using any of these tools over the plastic. Also, please watch what you're doing. It's a very sad day when your pliers end up slicing off a detail of your mini because you miscalculated the angle. Pro tip: test your tools on the sprues before you start cutting, in order to get a grasp of the pressure you'll need to apply.

Okay, now you have your pliers and needle files, and you're ''itching'' to free your soldiers from their sprue prison. We're ready to go, right? Not quite. You should have a clear idea of what are you going to cut, and how are you going to paint it. If you happen to be working with just one miniature, then you can go ahead and remove each piece without much planning. However, if you have a big box with multiple miniatures, then you need to plan your course of action. Unfortunately, we can't give you a perfect answer that will work with every Warhammer product ever created. However, we ''can'' tell you it's far easier to find pieces when they're still attached to a sprue, as opposed to rolling around inside the box. Unless you are kitbashing, it's best to only cut the parts of a single miniature or set of miniatures, and only after you're sure that all the bits will be used. Again, no point in cutting pieces out if you're not going to assemble them for the next few months.

Let's say that one way or another, you damaged your models while removing them from the sprue. Take a deep breath. It'll be okay. Green Stuff has come to your rescue. [[Green Stuff]] (which starts its life in a pot as technical material, or as a blue and yellow band inside a package) is an easily moldable substance, not unlike clay. However, once it dries, it becomes as hard as nails, making it ideal for repairing missing bits, or even adding new ones. We certainly hope you won't end up in a situation where Green Stuff is needed, but as we said before: shit happens. Even if you're certain that you won't mess up, it doesn't hurt to keep some handy.

===Non-Plastic Modeling Tips===
Perhaps you're working with one of the many alternatives to plastic for models- metal was quite common back in the day, and resin was a common stop-gap between metal and plastic for many miniature businesses- including Games Workshop, who still has the Firstborn Techmarines, Commissars, and Pyrovores solely in finecast (the trade name for their specific resin blend). There are pros and cons to each.

Metal is much heavier, and more difficult to assemble for models without pinning- best seen by the old metal models of Abaddon the despoiler, whose arms dropped off so often it became a meme. They also have more chance of losing paint over time, and are usually more expensive- both from actual cost of metal being higher than plastic and the gradual decrease of metal miniatures being produced since the 90s. That being said, it's far from fragile, and will last you quite a while; they also usually have more defined features than plastic, which means a higher maximum quality.

Resin tends to bow in the other direction- light, cheaper to produce, easier to assemble, and keeps paint well, but easy to break and can melt in high temperatures, much more often than plastic. The cheaper/inferior quality types (particular the finecast by Games Workshop) tend to have bubbles and warps straight out of the box, and while these can often be exchanged/refunded, it's still a great waste of time. These can be mitigated with Green Stuff.