Troll Lord Games

So after Gencon i've decided to get back into painting miniatures again. I did some many years ago while in high school, but that's been over 12 years now. So my question(s) is, what are some good sites online to order figs, and whats paints/brands are good to use for painting figs?

I've totally been out of the loop on this and feel kinda lost. I feel that some good detailed mini's can help enchance your gaming experience.

TIA!
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Richard McBain

Trolllord Games

Convention Coordinator

Executive Director - TrollCon, Winter Dark
richard@trolllord.com

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ALEA IACTA EST - THE DIE IS CAST

There are some official C&C miniatures, available from TLG, made my Magnificent Egos if I remember right. Otherwise, I would say Reaper. For paints... no idea, but I know Reaper does some.

For advice on paints, miniatures, rules and virtually anything else related to the hobby, I cannot reccomend TMP enough. You'll find the people there helpful and knowledgeable.

To answer your question: the Games Workshop paints are very good and because the popularity of their game, Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40k, also very accessible.

I order most of my mini's from Noble Knight Games. The reaper ones are pretty good, I also use their paints and can't really complain about them although I'm far from a painting aficianado.

I'm wanting to check out the C&C mini's, particularly the Wizard but I heard that the mold on that wasn't that great? Maybe someone could confirm or deny this?

DangerDwarf wrote:
I'm wanting to check out the C&C mini's, particularly the Wizard but I heard that the mold on that wasn't that great? Maybe someone could confirm or deny this?

Yeah, the wizard was supposed to be recast. Not sure if it's been done yet.

I have the fighter and he looks great. I need to get motivated and try some painting.
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Count Rhuveinus - Lejendary Keeper of Castle Franqueforte

"Enjoy a 'world' where the fantastic is fact and magic really works!" ~ Gary Gygax

"By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes:" - Macbeth

Thanks,

I really hope they get it recast soon.

Coolest...

Wizard....

EVER!

I personally love Reaper Minis, their paints a pretty good quality as well. You can order direct from reaper at: http://www.reapermini.com/store/customer/home.php

Most of my minis are from Reaper, once I get my nice cmaera back I will take pictures of them and put them in the Artists Alley section.
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CK the CK
"My goddess touched me at an early age."

-Grikis Valmorgen, Paladin

The beginnings of my homebrew campaign world and info for my play by chat game:
http://kbdekker.googlepages.com/home

I use reaper for my C&C campaign. But I have a soft spot for spyglass minis.

As far as paints go, I'm a sucker and I use GW stuff. I just got the mega paint set and that's all I use. But then my style is very cartoonish so if you dont mind that sort of colour pallete then you're ok.

Actually I just posted some pics of my painted stuff in the artist alley if you want to see how the colours are for the GW stuff.
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Big Iron Vault Your friendly neighbourhood gaming magazine. Check out our new webcomic, The Heindrich Project!

I like Reaper's paints a lot. Vallejo is good too.

GW paints arent bad at all, but Reaper tends to last me longer for the same cost.

as far as paint, Ive had luck with reaper and gw. However, Reaper has the best mini's out there.

Reaper all the way for me, even if most of them never get painted.

Well i made it to my local hobby shop here in town during my lunch break. I picked up 2 reaper mini's, about 10 different reaper paints, some brushes, some special mini glue, and few other things of nerdness. So hopefully tonight i can get started on painting the first one. I'll post some pics when i get done (if i don't completely hose it up).
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Richard McBain

Trolllord Games

Convention Coordinator

Executive Director - TrollCon, Winter Dark
richard@trolllord.com

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ALEA IACTA EST - THE DIE IS CAST

huds0n wrote:
Well i made it to my local hobby shop here in town during my lunch break. I picked up 2 reaper mini's, about 10 different reaper paints, some brushes, some special mini glue, and few other things of nerdness. So hopefully tonight i can get started on painting the first one. I'll post some pics when i get done (if i don't completely hose it up).

Don't worry, you will

Both reaper and gw has a starter ser for paints. Both come with minis and a guide on how to paint them. there are about 10 colors, 2 brushes and 2-4 minis. may want to check that out. it runs about 20 to 25 bucks.

Good to see you getting into the hobby (passion/obsession) of minis Huds0n. Reaper makes the best stuff. I'm starting to do adds for reaper minis that mesh with all my DB series just because I feel that their product is that good and their customer support is freakin awesome.

Main thing with getting back into painting miniatures, is first and foremost cleaning the flash (little lines and groves) off of figs and then washing (with some dish soap) your miniatures before PRIMING them.

Those 3 steps are soo huge in importance even for novice painters but are often overlooked. Washing the miniatures gets any dust that keeps primer from sticking. Primer is key because you don't want to paint right onto bare metal.

I use black or dark brown primer, the same kind you spray onto a car that your doing some work on. Why black or brown? So if i miss a spot the fig doesn't suck. I use reaper paints because they are thick enough that they cover over black or brown. A guy who works for reaper gave me the tip on the dark primer, because when they judge a mini they actually turn it in every direction and even look underneath. Thats good advice because most people dont think about looking underneath a fig when painting it, but painting in every nook and crevasse makes a HUGE difference in the look.

I usually buy lots of cheap tiny brushes at a place like michaels or hobby lobby where i can get about 20 cheap brushes for about 1-2 dollars each. They work almost as good as the really fancey expensive ones (which I do buy, but keep for finishing and details).

But definitely, prime in dark, then build your colors on top of that. starting with the areas that are hardest to reach first and painting the "easy" surfaces last. If you need any other hints, tips or advice give me a hollar.

Case

+1 for reaper paints and minis. I've been using the reaper pro paints, but am going to start switching over to the master paints. If you order from their store it's likely you'll get a sample of some paint.

Oh one more thing!
Don't be cheap! In my experience, you want good results use good tools! That goes for paints, brushes, mixing fluid, lighting... etc.

Which brings me to another point, buy yourself a daylight bulb. It is AMAZING what that can do for your painting. It doesnt bleed colours and generally shows them for what they are. Minis that look great under yellow light, can often look terrible under blue light!
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Big Iron Vault Your friendly neighbourhood gaming magazine. Check out our new webcomic, The Heindrich Project!

Oh one more thing!
Don't be cheap! In my experience, you want good results use good tools! That goes for paints, brushes, mixing fluid, lighting... etc.

Which brings me to another point, buy yourself a daylight bulb. It is AMAZING what that can do for your painting. It doesnt bleed colours and generally shows them for what they are. Minis that look great under yellow light, can often look terrible under blue light!
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Big Iron Vault Your friendly neighbourhood gaming magazine. Check out our new webcomic, The Heindrich Project!

I agree, lighting is key, as are paints and brushes. Skimping shows in your work when you cut corners.

For me, I like Rackham miniatures, since I have an orc horde (I like their orcs much better than Games Workshop's) and I am currently painting a Japanese themed goblin army as there is a faction of goblins from the East. Rackham makes very beautiful miniatures.
http://www.rackham-store.com/boutique_u ... e_lg=lg_us

The pieces for their new tactical rpg, Cadwallon, especially the militia are excellent fighter types for any rpg.
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"All that we are destined to behold will reveal itself at the proper time," said Eibon.

--Clark Ashton Smith

Alright, well i've finally finsihed my first mini. I'm actually quite pleased with how it turned out. There are some imperfections obviously, and i decided against trying to do any shading. All i've got left to do is seal it, but other than it's done! Let me know what you guys think.

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Richard McBain

Trolllord Games

Convention Coordinator

Executive Director - TrollCon, Winter Dark
richard@trolllord.com

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ALEA IACTA EST - THE DIE IS CAST

Nice clean job, your paints look like they're a little thick; you might want to try thinning them a little bit more next time.

Yeah i kinda noticed that after i got started so i decided to go ahead and stay the course with this one. But that's what it's all about, getting the technique down. Once you've got a good solid technique, i'm sure it will come alot easier.
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Richard McBain

Trolllord Games

Convention Coordinator

Executive Director - TrollCon, Winter Dark
richard@trolllord.com

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ALEA IACTA EST - THE DIE IS CAST

huds0n wrote:
Once you've got a good solid technique, i'm sure it will come alot easier.

This is very true. Once you;ve got the knack for putting colors to metal, you then gradulate up to shading and drybrushing. It's a natual evolution. Nice color choices BTW.

................................................Omote

FPQ
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> Omote's Advanced C&C stuff <
Duke Omote Landwehr, Holy Order of the FPQ ~ Prince of the Castles & Crusades Society

And that, friends, is how Huds0n spends his days at work!

Nice. And I thought crusing the internet all day was a great way to waste time at work. Huds0n... nice life.
.................................................Omote

FPQ
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> Omote's Advanced C&C stuff <
Duke Omote Landwehr, Holy Order of the FPQ ~ Prince of the Castles & Crusades Society

Haha, don't let Breakdaddy fool you. That guy has more free time at work then a city public works employee working road construction.

But yes, working for the state does have it's advantages, one of which is NOT your payscale.
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Richard McBain

Trolllord Games

Convention Coordinator

Executive Director - TrollCon, Winter Dark
richard@trolllord.com

------------------------------------------

ALEA IACTA EST - THE DIE IS CAST

Yup I'd say some thinning of paint, working up from the base to the high light stage and a wider spectrum of colours and it'll look great.
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Big Iron Vault Your friendly neighbourhood gaming magazine. Check out our new webcomic, The Heindrich Project!

Yeah, metal mini's are still around. Check out Reaper Mini's. Pretty good company with a strong line of 'em.

marcuspeddle wrote:
The last time I saw Dungeons and Dragons miniatures they were made of coloured plastic. When I was in high school I had a small collection of metal (lead, I think) miniatures that I painted myself. Are these things still being made or did they die out with the first and second editions of AD&D?

Yes, metal miniatures still exist, though the metal "official" Advanced Dungeons & Dragons ones are long gone. Wizards of the Coast still do miniatures, but it is indeed the pre-painted plastic ones you refer to. If you want some quality metal miniatures, I would suggest that you look into Reaper Miniatures, as they are widely regarded as the best fantasy minis on the market today.

Some others include:
Black Raven Foundry
Wargames Foundry (kind of GW-ish)
Minifigs

Just to name a few. Hope this helps!
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LD's C&C creations - the witch, a half-ogre, skill and 0-level rules

Troll Lord wrote:
Lord D: you understand where I"m coming from.

If Reaper is kinda pricey (it is for me, but I kinda stink painting minis), you should try Mega Minis at eBay. They are good, solid metal minis, but at a good price. They don't have the detail Reaper does, but they are excellent as 'starter' minis, or for those of us who painted them back in the 80s and want to get back into them.

Hope that helps,

Kim
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kim@trolllord.com

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