Starter Color Selection

I saw a posting in this forum on paint brands (GW and Vallejo were mentioned a couple of times) but I didn't see a posting about color selection.

What would be a good selection of colors to start with? I am just starting out at this, having only today bought the Mordheim boxed set (which means I will have 10 Skaven and 8 Human Mercenaries to paint).

Would any of the starter sets sold by these companies be good, or would it be better to buy individual paints? I saw the GW Mega Paint Set, and it looks awesome... but I don't want to spend $250 (and I'm sure it would contain lots of colors I wouldn't need). Do I need the "Foundation" paints or the "Colour" paints, or both? Black or white primer? Having very good looking miniatures is important to me, but I don't want to go overboard.

Also, related to this - should I buy any tools, like the plastic cutters or the file I saw on the GW website? I am not planning on doing any conversions.

Thanks in advance!

I would not recommend buying any color sets. Especially not from GW!

In order to choose the "right" paints, try to decide roughly on a colour scheme you want, and then ask yourself what colors you need for this colour scheme. Bear in mind that you should (usually) pick 2 shades for each color you want to use: one BASE color and one to lighten it up. Buying Intermediate shades make your life easier, because you won't have to mix as much, but are not compulsory.
What also helps is if you think of the textures you will need to paint, and the colours they will require: do my minis wear a lot of leather? Have huge teeth and horns? etc. This helps you decide.

Example:

You decide your mercenaries should be green/white.
You will probably need:
1) a dark green and a light green to paint the green parts.
2) a grey (or brown) and a white (or beige) depending on the type of white you prefer.
NB: some people like to lighten everything up with white. I personally don't think that looks good with every color. Red, for instance, does not only get lighter with white but also pinker. And I usually don't want that effect.

Aditionally to those individual colours you need, I would say the absolute essentials that should form the base of any painting/modelling set are as follows:

- a base for flesh: I use a snakebite-ish colour (light brown)
- a flesh colour
- a dark metallic
- a light metallic colour
(however some people prefer to paint non-metallic weapons)
- a dark brown
- a white
- a black
- a small drill
- a file
- a modelling knife (doesnt need to be the GW one!)
- Superglue
- PVA Glue
- Flock/Sand (both recommended)

I only use black primer. And I think so do 90% of the people. But I know that some really good painters use white. You'll just have to try what works best for you.
However I recommend black primer.

With around 10+ paints you should have a solid base to paint.

Oh, and do yourself a favour... buy as much of that from Vallejo as you can

PS: I'll post a list of my personal paint set later if you wish. Maybe that will give you an idea.

Thanks so much for taking the time to post all that information! I'll try the Vallejo paints and get the other supplies you mentioned.

Quote :

PS: I'll post a list of my personal paint set later if you wish. Maybe that will give you an idea.

That might be cool to have for future reference on this forum, but don't feel like you need to do it. I thought that would be considered a trade secret anyway

dougbass68 wrote:

Don't feel like you need to do it. I thought that would be considered a trade secret anyway

Nah, don't worry. My paint set keeps on "expanding and expanding in all of the directions it can whiz" (Monty Python - The meaning of Life) as I always discover new colors anyway. And besides, the secret is not how many paints you have, but how you use them

Ok, here goes:

- Scorched Brown
- Catachan G
- Snot G
- Dark Angels G
- Scorpion G
- Midnight B
- Space Wolves Grey
- Shadow Grey
- Bad Moon Y
- Fiery O
- Scab R
- Blood R
- Dark F
- Elf F
- Rotting F
- Tin Bitz
- Boltgun M
- Dwarf Bronze
- Oro Viejo (Vallejo Model Color)
- Amarillo mate (Vallejo Model Color)
- Tierra Mate (Vallejo Model Color)
- Uniforme Inglés (Vallejo Model Color)
- Marron cuero (Vallejo Model Color)
- Marron dorado (Vallejo Model Color)
- Arena Oscura (Vallejo Model Color)
- Amarillo Arena (Vallejo Model Color)
- Blanco Pergamino (Vallejo Model Color)
- Warlord Purple (Vallejo Game Color)
- Squid Pink (Vallejo Game Color)
- Chestnut Ink

I found a seller in California who's offering a deal on 22 Vallejo paints for $50 USD (buyer gets to pick the colors). That seemed like a pretty good deal when I compared it with the prices I was seeing on some other websites.

So I selected these colors: Dead White, Sunblast Yellow, Bloody Red, Scar Red, Sick Blue, Magic Blue, Sick Green, Goblin Green, Camouflage Green, Bonewhite, Scrofulous Brown, Plague Brown, Cobra Leather, Beasty Brown, Stonewall Grey, Black, Silver, Chainmail Silver, Brassy Brass, Elfic flesh, Cadmium Skin, Rosy Flesh

If anyone's interested, here's a link to his store.

Now, I'll try to just sit back and wait for my game and the paints Can't wait.

Great! 50$ is a bargain. Well done dougbass and happy painting!