1d4chan's Assembling, Painting and Basing Guide

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What, seriously? We have documented almost every aspect of /tg/ except this one of the most essentials of all? Anyway, let's see if we can give you some 101 tips and save you some minis and money.

This page focuses on introducing aspects of the hobby to an absolute beginner; for a more in-depth look at specific aspects of modeling, take a look at the appropriate section of WIP.

Where to start

First, you need your miniatures. Rampant capitalism, aside from allowing these sorts of hobbies to flourish, has ensured that you can always find a wide array of miniatures for sale. However, your experience with this hobby will mostly be determined how much money, patience and luck you have.

Money:

This first one is obvious, seeing as this is not exactly a cheap hobby. But since you are already here, you are most likely committed, and have already placed your wallet on life support. Depending on which company you choose, your spending may range from a few dozen Euro coins to enough cash to hire a real private army. We suggest you start this hobby with something small, such as a character you like. Perhaps even a squad of your favorite meat shields, for a few guinea pigs. If you are short on money, you might consider second-hand minis. eBay offers a wide variety of options, particularly GW marines. If you live outside of the US or UK, however, this usually loses attractiveness, as the cost of shipment increases. But again, given that you've already come this far, you're probably willing to shell it out. Unless, of course, you can't afford to. In that case, we recommend you first try to increase your income. Seriously, don't sell your kidneys or lungs if you can't afford these toy army men. /tg/s favorite plastic crack should not be devouring 20 percent or more of your monthly budget.

Patience:

So, let's say you live in a place where this hobby is not exactly popular. Certain regions lack the historical tradition of elegan/tg/entlemen buying and building their own little toy armies, while grinding through tens of pages of rules and profiles. If your region was tragically deprived of this rich and magnificent culture, you will need to send for a delivery, which means shipping time. Also, keep in mind that these plastic models are not the same as children's toys. You yourself will need to accomplish what is usually done in a factory assembly line, and will pay double and triple the price for this privilege. Welcome to Warhammer. Furthermore, miniatures are often produced with a level of detail that would spook even a head surgeon. But that's okay. We accept the challenge. We are all craftsmen. It is our pride.

Luck:

Yes, luck. This is the biggest one. See, one day you might find an advertisement for an amazing miniature, and you just have to have it. You then discover that it's out of stock. In this case, you could decide that the time has come to rebel against the evil corporations, and flee to havens like eBay to purchase from the people, by the people and for the people. Or, you may even attempt to reject the system entirely, instead turning to China for cheaply-produced aid (just know that we strongly discourage this course of action, as it's pushing your luck even more. Also, we don't want to have the wiki killed).

Luck plays a key role in so many other aspects of a purchase, as well. You might buy second-hand miniatures to save some money, only to discover that they are in a worse state than what was shown in the picture. After all, photo manipulation, or even the perfect camera angle, can hide away the most glaring of flaws. Perhaps you want to remove the paint from a pre-owned mini, only to discover the previous owner used oils instead of easily-removable acrylics. Buying anything second-hand is always a bit of gamble, and this is especially true for miniatures. Even if you buy your stuff first-hand at an official shop, you could end with a damaged model. Things happen, and while you might recover your money or get a replacement, you have still lost valuable time.

You should also consider the weather in your region. Dry, cold, wet, all of these climates will influence your hobby experience. A good, simple rule is to practice your hobby in a place with a temperature and level of humidity that is comfortable for most human beings (and the occasional sci-fi or fantasy humanoid).

And on the matter of luck, remember. Shit happens. Brushes fray, miniatures fall and break, and Nuln Oil gets spilled (too often). The more skillful, experienced, and/or rich you are, the better you'll be able to deal with these events. Truth be told, they are going to be part of your life as a hobbyist, so be prepared.

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.

Painting

FIRST AND FOREMOST

Look at your minis. Think about how you want your new little buddies to look. Visualize the patterns, the colors, EVERYTHING. Write it down if you have to. Not creative enough to think of your own color scheme? Look up pictures, get inspired and go from there. Alternatively, if you are so inclined, look to your codex and follow that art or look at the box art. Luckily, GW has provided a couple painting tutorials on their YouTube channel hosted by different painters, the greatest amongst them being Duncan Rhodes.

So you've got your scheme in mind, brush in hand, and you're itching to go. Time to crack on and get these guys painted! You open your paint, and...HANG ON A MINUTE.

Do you have all the stuff you need? Take time to think. You've got your minis built? You've got ALL the paints you need? Different sizes of brushes? How about a pallete? Do you have water to thin your paints? Are your miniatures even primed??? If so, go on ahead and paint away. If not, get them.

Primers

Just staring at that beautiful grey mini in your hands, imagining what it will look like once it's fully painted, you'll be tempted to start slathering paint on willy-nilly. This is a mistake.

Base Coats

Base paints are what you use to apply swaths of color

Base paints are your friend — so long as you treat them right. That's why you thin your paints first. That way, you don't clog up the detail and make your eldar farseer look like a tiny wraithlord in a robe. If you've got the dosh, you can even splurge on one of those fancy rattle can primers/base paints. Those will provide you with a wonderfully uniform basecoat to start from. Just be careful so you don't put WAY too much on. Just light passes will do.

Assuming you've got your miniature based and you DIDN'T blow yourself up with a spray can, now you block in all of the base colors. At this point, you don't need to be super detailed. You can afford to be a bit messy, just try not to be overly messy. With the base colors set, you can do a multitude of things. But for a beginner, or if you're doing a squad of 10+ minis, the basic process of "Base, Shade, Highlight" is good enough. If you're a masochist or have the patience of Gandhi, then go right ahead and do all of those fancy techniques on all of your dudes.

• Shade paints are marvelous gifts to man, providing richness and depth to many a mini everywhere. In a nutshell, shade paints are extra diluted with medium as to make them watery in consistency, allowing the paint to run into crevices and somewhat stain lighter colors. If you're painting a large group that's roughly the same color, then it may be worth trying GW's brand of contrast paints. Contrasts are basically base and shades mixed together. Some are stronger than others, so be careful and experiment. You primarily need to have a lighter base for the contrast to show through. Red or blue has a hard time showing over black. The contrast will stain the large areas while also providing shades to the recesses, allowing for decent detail in a single coat.

• Layer paints are about as half as thick as base coats, but still require some thinning. Layer paints are what really make your minis POP. They're useful for highlighting, glazing, possibly even providing a base color with enough layers, and just generally being good paints.

Depending on your taste, there are a multitude of companies that you can chose your paints from, the big 3 being Citadel, Vallejo, and Army Painter. Colors are generally the similar throughout, with each company having analogues of another company's paint. (For example, Citadel's "leadbelcher" is the same as "gunmetal" from Vallejo. A helpful guide can be found here. Just remember that your mileage may vary.