Paint

"Bet you'd never see us again..."

Wikipedia says that "Paint is any pigmented liquid that, after application to a substrate in a thin layer, converts to a solid film. It is most commonly used to protect, color, or provide texture to objects." However, most neckbeards know Paint as "that goopy color stuff that you put on models to make them look pretty."

History

In the beginning, model makers had to take paint made for other professions and use that on their minis. Model Railroad enthusiasts would paint their tiny houses with actual house-paint, and their tiny boxcars with actual box-car paint (stolen from rail yards, of course)! Eventually animators, mechanics, and special effects crew combined their powers to convince paint suppliers to break into the hobby business. Soon, craft stores began filling with model paints.

Some of the earlier paint suppliers were Tamiya and Ral Partha, both of which are better known for their models.

Types

• Liquid: Comes in pots or droppers. Brush onto models in two thin coats, only.
• Spray: This is also liquid, but it is not for brushing! These are canisters used to fuel spray guns (see below).
• Aerosolized: This paint comes in handy spray cans! If you have one of these cans, you probably have a can of primer, which is not actually paint.
• Technical: If you want to get technical these are a kind of Liquid paint. But, they have other things in them that make them dry funny, or change colors, or glow in the dark!
• Pen: A rare and much-maligned form of paint, used mostly by Gunpla nerds (and even then only begrudgingly.
• Sealant: This is invisible paint! You use it to protect your already-painted minis by painting them all over again with paint you can't see!
• Transfers: These are just complicated stickers, not paint!

Usage

Paints are essential to many traditional games, as many use models as part of their games. Some games have models that come grey and so must be coated paint in whatever combination, however artful or bizarre, that you like before you can play them.

Most /tg/ makers make their own paints as well, 'official' paints to be used on their models which they recommend, although in practice a number of suppliers make paints of a better quality then others and wise people quickly find out the best ones for the jobs.

Some companies like Games Workshop and Vallejo create huge paint ranges, that frankly become insane; with minor variations only someone with an equally insane eye could bother to tell the difference between. GW really double-down on their insanity by totally rebooting the names and the colors they have on offer every seven years or so. Other companies create a small range of standard paints, which are expected to be hand-mixed on the fly to achieve the colors and shades you want.

Tools of Painting

• Brush: The standard painting implement. They come in endless sizes, from endless manufacturers, and have endless uses.
• Spray Gun: A flamethrower for paint! Good for quickly painting one-color base coats onto a bunch of minis, or one big mini. Use with a venting fume hood when indoors.
• Tooth Brush: A clever way to get randomized textures. Sliding your thumb across its paint-filled bristles will throw specks of paint at your model, perfect for dirt spray or gore!
• Putty: For camouflage patterns, look no further than tacky putty! Put it on wherever you want a base coat to show through an upper layer, then peel it off once the paint is dry.

Advanced Techniques

There are many terms and techniques associated with paints and modelling painting, and many neckbeards will have long experience and equally long advice in telling you just how to get that shade of dwarf flesh just right. Many of the core techniques of mini painting are skills that require at least some level of practice. Anyone can learn them, however. A fantastic series of painting guides for anyone who wants to paint wargaming minis has been made available by Games Workshop, hosted on their YouTube channel and taught by the fantastic Duncan Rhodes. Even if you aren't a Warhammer player, these guides will help you learn to artfully paint any line of tabletop minis.

Many of the truly advanced techniques in miniature painting are known not by wargamers or RPG fans, but by the veterans of miniature collecting: Scale Vehicle Replica nerds, Gunpla geeks, and Model Railroading "enthusiasts". Seeking out their knowledge will help you make your models look more realistic: painting rust effects, half-exposed metal, and texturing a surface to make it not resemble plastic. These are only a few of the secrets you will unlock by talking to your fellow nerd, you nerd.

Remember that making a model look complete doesn't just require paints. Adding flare to your base will really kick your model up a notch. The best showpiece models have things like fake grass, fake mud, fake ice, fake rocks, real rocks, and other such "realistic" touches. Remember that your soldiers need something to stand on if they want to fight!