Miniatures!

[Hituro]

I'm sure this has been asked by many a noob before :)

But, what do you guys use for your D&D miniatures? WoTC? Reaper? I kind of like reaper but at the same time I have absolutely no clue how to paint miniatures, WoTC is ok, but they don't look the best. What do you guys use? And if you paint your own minis, what tools/paints would you recommend getting?

[Forrestfire]

Personally, I'm not a fan of using miniatures on a grid, but when I do, I use LEGO minifigs, since I have a large amount of parts for them.

[The-Mage-King]

I'm sure this has been asked by many a noob before :)

But, what do you guys use for your D&D miniatures? WoTC? Reaper? I kind of like reaper but at the same time I have absolutely no clue how to paint miniatures, WoTC is ok, but they don't look the best. What do you guys use? And if you paint your own minis, what tools/paints would you recommend getting?

Personally, I'd be using a mix of various minis. Reaper, GW, rebased Heroclix, D&D, Pathfinder...

However, I'd suggest Pathfinder pawns or paper minis, if you're lacking in artistic talent.



Paint/brush wise, I'm using a set of brushes picked up from Hobby Lobby, and Reaper/Warpaints, with Vallejo as my metalics of choice.

Regardless, uh... Thin your paints.

[Hituro]

Personally, I'd be using a mix of various minis. Reaper, GW, rebased Heroclix, D&D, Pathfinder...

However, I'd suggest Pathfinder pawns or paper minis, if you're lacking in artistic talent.



Paint/brush wise, I'm using a set of brushes picked up from Hobby Lobby, and Reaper/Warpaints, with Vallejo as my metalics of choice.

Regardless, uh... Thin your paints.

I wouldn't mind taking up painting. Just never painted miniatures. I've painted oil paintings and acrylics. I also have a CRAP ton of Heroclix. Some of them LotR and hobbit. I could rebase the orcs and goblins. Do you have any suggestions or guides for beginner miniature painters?

[The-Mage-King]

I wouldn't mind taking up painting. Just never painted miniatures. I've painted oil paintings and acrylics. I also have a CRAP ton of Heroclix. Some of them LotR and hobbit. I could rebase the orcs and goblins. Do you have any suggestions or guides for beginner miniature painters?

Not much- just what I was given when I sought advice on a related, yet less savory part of the internet.


Track down the "How to paint Citadel miniatures" guide published by Games Workshop, and read that fully. Thin your paints (http://1d4chan.org/images/5/52/1237018138010.jpg). Get some cheap acrylics and some plastic army men to practice with/on. Thin your paints (http://1d4chan.org/images/c/cd/1292840989889.jpg). Get some Simple Green for when you want to remove a paintjob. Thin your paints. (http://1d4chan.org/images/4/4e/1323919239898.jpg)


And, uh... Thin your paints (http://1d4chan.org/images/9/98/1369548189366.jpg). :smalltongue:


EDIT: Actually, I could probably pass along a few tutorials. I only really got into the painting part of the hobby last year, frankly.

I got linked this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQQNpGBH1RQ) when I asked around, and his tutorials helped out. So did this person's (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adm-Y8jukHU).


EDIT EDIT: Also, buy a few washes. I'm using Citadel's Nuln Oil and Agarax Earthshade mostly. That stuff makes ANYTHING look better.

[Windstorm]

I have a bunch of bits and peices from a very misguided adventure into warhammer fantasy when I was younger. These days I do mostly aircraft/armor models but I'll still dig out bits from that box to make minis for an adventure. Makes for a fun gallery actually, up to 11 minis with associated character sheets.

The warhammer fantasy range is probably good, just grab some round bases from 40k, and for heavens sake buy from internet wholesalers/bits shops. No sense paying extortionate direct price

[hemming]

I like my minis pewter and unpainted generally - my current party all have custom minis that one of the more artistic players sculpted out of modeling clay, baked and painted (they came out really nice)

I used to use minis pretty sparingly and only go narrative, but some players in my group have a tough time keeping track of what is going on - so I switched it up to accommodate them and am liking it just fine

You need to invest in a chessex grid and a set of wet erase markers to make it worthwhile

[Hituro]

Personally, I'd be using a mix of various minis. Reaper, GW, rebased Heroclix, D&D, Pathfinder...

However, I'd suggest Pathfinder pawns or paper minis, if you're lacking in artistic talent.



Paint/brush wise, I'm using a set of brushes picked up from Hobby Lobby, and Reaper/Warpaints, with Vallejo as my metalics of choice.

Regardless, uh... Thin your paints.


Not much- just what I was given when I sought advice on a related, yet less savory part of the internet.


Track down the "How to paint Citadel miniatures" guide published by Games Workshop, and read that fully. Thin your paints (http://1d4chan.org/images/5/52/1237018138010.jpg). Get some cheap acrylics and some plastic army men to practice with/on. Thin your paints (http://1d4chan.org/images/c/cd/1292840989889.jpg). Get some Simple Green for when you want to remove a paintjob. Thin your paints. (http://1d4chan.org/images/4/4e/1323919239898.jpg)


And, uh... Thin your paints (http://1d4chan.org/images/9/98/1369548189366.jpg). :smalltongue:


EDIT: Actually, I could probably pass along a few tutorials. I only really got into the painting part of the hobby last year, frankly.

I got linked this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQQNpGBH1RQ) when I asked around, and his tutorials helped out. So did this person's (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adm-Y8jukHU).


EDIT EDIT: Also, buy a few washes. I'm using Citadel's Nuln Oil and Agarax Earthshade mostly. That stuff makes ANYTHING look better.

Should I thin my paints? :D. Jk! Thanks for those tutorials. I definitely will check them out. I have a local hobby shop I'm going to check out this week. Hopefully I can pick up those paints

[banjo1985]

I have a few Otherworld miniatures, some Very British Civil war stuff for modern games, a shed load of old D&D miniatures (eBay job lots are my friend), Infinity for Shadowrun games, and a crapton of Heroclix and Horrorclix for games that those things suit. Oh, and 40k for Rogue Trader and those related games.

I don't get very much use out of them though, only in systems where figures seem necessary. 3.5 never really feels like it needs them to me.

[GnomeGninjas]

I use coins.

[Grod_The_Giant]

Little cardboard squares for players and important NPCs. Pennies and nickles for mooks and bystanders. A friend of mine uses soda bottle caps, which seem about perfect. Sure, you have to remember that "1 and 2 are goblin spearmen, and 3 is the worg," but that seems easier than "the skeleton and the wizard are goblin spearmen, and the hellhound is the worg."

[Vhaidara]

DND, PF, heroscape, another game one of the guys in our groups has minis from, and a Rhydon. Yeah, we use a Pokémon.

[Big Fau]

Vast quantities of Green Stuff and good sculpting/painting skills.

I wish I had a 3D printer...

[Mutazoia]

Vast quantities of Green Stuff and good sculpting/painting skills.

I wish I had a 3D printer...

If your good at programs like 3DMax (or the free gimped version 123Design) and can create detailed custom CGI models, a 3D printer will work great. If you don't have several thousand dollars to buy a 3D printer, a lot of Office Depot locations offer 3D printing services!

But you still have to paint them.

Generally I used to start with an airbrush and lay down the primer then paint the whole thing black (thin coat's all). With the coat of black you can dry brush metallic colors over things like chain armor and have the shadows inside and under the links. Depending on how detailed you want your paint job to be, and how steady your hands are you can crank out several mini's in a day. I do recommend picking up a desk lamp with a magnifier built in so you can get even lighting and see the fine details as you work.

[Big Fau]

If your good at programs like 3DMax (or the free gimped version 123Design) and can create detailed custom CGI models, a 3D printer will work great. If you don't have several thousand dollars to buy a 3D printer, a lot of Office Depot locations offer 3D printing services!

But you still have to paint them.

Actually some 3D printers can do (limited) color models, and some 3D printers are less than 2K. You can even buy a 3D pen (http://the3doodler.com/) (albeit preorder only) for about $100. If you know what you're doing, you can print out individual pieces of whatever you're modeling and glue them together to remove the need to paint at all.

[Bloodgruve]

Reaper Miniatures recently introduced the Bones line. They're plastic miniatures that paint up nicely for about half the cost of their metal ones. I did their Kickstarter and I'm very happy with almost all of the 200 that I got. Boiling water allows you to reshape them also.

Don't bother with the 3D printing pen for creating miniatures or terrain. I have one for my business and I couldn't see it working very effectively.

I also own a production model 3D printer (http://www.stratasys.com/3d-printers/production-series/fortus-360mc) and even with the highest resolution tip I doubt you could get good miniatures out of it without some finishing work. I doubt the desk top 3D printers could give you the resolution you would want. I'd suggest some good research and prototype with a system before buying one.

The future may hold some printable miniature options though. (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/heroforge/customizable-3d-printed-tabletop-miniatures)

Blood~

[dysprosium]

I use miniatures from D&D and Pathfinder mostly. I've used Heroscape and Heroclix miniatures too.

I have a few metal miniatures that need to be painted though . . .

I have used certain toys (including Legos) as miniatures stand-ins, especially if I do not have (the perfect) miniature on hand.

My friends and family know me as a miniature junkie.

[Chronos]

A couple of the other guys in my group have a bunch of miniatures, and the rest of us mostly just use the closest thing they have. When I played a druid, though, I used the paper miniatures from the OotS kickstarter for myself and my zoo, because I didn't like calling on someone else to provide that many minis. I also made up a couple of swarm minis out of paper for use with my current warlock.

[RedMage125]

I own a 4 foot plastic tower of drawer full of WotC minis, all separated by race, or perceived class (in the case of PC races), or some other classification (demons and devils go in one baggie, elementals in another).

[Hituro]

So I picked up a bunch of minis. A bunch of paints. And the guy at the store threw in some circular 1" cork bases. He said not all figures have to be based but some do. My one question is, with reaper minis for D&D and pathfinder what are good bases to use? I like the war hammer bases but those are for slotted characters right? Also what color washes should I keep on hand for painting? Right now I just have a flesh wash and a green ink wash for my goblins :p

[The-Mage-King]

So I picked up a bunch of minis. A bunch of paints. And the guy at the store threw in some circular 1" cork bases. He said not all figures have to be based but some do. My one question is, with reaper minis for D&D and pathfinder what are good bases to use? I like the war hammer bases but those are for slotted characters right? Also what color washes should I keep on hand for painting? Right now I just have a flesh wash and a green ink wash for my goblins :p



Reaper metal minis usually have a tab for slotted bases, so go with the Warhammer kind. 40k's, specifically.

Otherwise, use a plain one for just balancing stuff. I've got a knight mini I need to base, since the damn thing is so wobbly.


Washes, go with Agarax Earthshade, and... Nuln Oil, I suggest.

What brand of paints? Citadel? Or the previously recommended Reaper or Warpaints?

[Hituro]

Reaper metal minis usually have a tab for slotted bases, so go with the Warhammer kind. 40k's, specifically.

Otherwise, use a plain one for just balancing stuff. I've got a knight mini I need to base, since the damn thing is so wobbly.


Washes, go with Agarax Earthshade, and... Nuln Oil, I suggest.

What brand of paints? Citadel? Or the previously recommended Reaper or Warpaints?

Ummmm tab?? Maybe this mini doesn't have one? @.@. I mainly went with citadel. But also picked up some formula p3 washes. When it comes to washes do I need to use the same color wash that I use with the base coat I'm making shadows on?

[Hituro]

Also, as far as priming goes. I kind of live in an apartment. Not sure where to go to really spray prime my minis outdoors. I don't want to get in trouble for technically spray painting on the premises. I suppose I could go out into the woods or a field somewhere... But that just sounds weird :P

[Hituro]

Ummmm tab?? Maybe this mini doesn't have one? @.@. I mainly went with citadel. But also picked up some formula p3 washes. When it comes to washes do I need to use the same color wash that I use with the base coat I'm making shadows on?

Also the bases they gave me were made of cork. Seems somewhat flimsy though. I'll probably check out the war hammer bases

[gurgleflep]

I'm fond of this stuff (http://www.iheartprintandplay.com/) myself; OotS style, lots of variety, and templates if you know how or want to make your own stuff! :smallbiggrin:

[Captainspork]

My group uses minis we inherited for a lot of it, combined with old Mage Knight we had from back in the day. They seem to work pretty well (we can usually find something close enough), though I have no clue how they'd price out nowadays... If you could even find them.