First comment:

Please upvote this by default so it stays towards the top. I'm still learning how2reddit

So I am NOT an artistic person so this is especially anxious for me. But, I needed something to keep my hands busy that wasn't masturbating, so here we are.

I have probably over studied techniques and materials, and I want this post to be a "documentary" if you will. Where someone who has no business painting is going to be doing just that.

So, I'll be documenting my pitfalls and approaches to everything here. With all of you lovely people, it'll also hopefully be a central location for someone like me or just wants to get into 40k can refer to.

Disclaimer: I'll be at work until 5pm EST. But my job is pretty cushy so I'll be adding planning details throughout the day

Tools and Such

Well, I probably overspent here. Only because I'm lazy and didn't want to make the drive to harbor freights. But then again, paying the premium to help support my local game shop is going to give me some karma in the long run. Here's the list of things that I ended up picking up:

• Wire Cutters
  
  • The game shop charged me $16 for them lmao. I hate myself. But they're used to cut the pieces out of the sprues. I was using a box cutter at first, and in no time I nicked myself pretty badly. Just buy them. Again, Harbor Freights.
    
• Box Cutter / Exacto Knife
  
  • I used it to trim off the excess from the sprues. The box cutter worked, but the exacto knife was a bit better because of the handle and the gradual width in the blade helps with control when you need it, or the finer point when you need to get into smaller areas.
    
• Paint Brushes
  
  • So, I spent a lot on one pair and then minimal on another. The A Lot pair was from the game stop ($16 for three types), I figured these would be much higher quality when dealing with the tiny pieces. I went to walmart and bought a set of 8 as well for $5. I'm intending to use these on things like terrain because they're larger in size and hiding issues from crappy brushes is going to be easier on terrain than it will be on a mini the size of 6 quarters.
    
• Filing tools
  
  • Honestly I'm not sure why these are needed. I thought it'd help get rid of the excess sprue on the models but it leaves a scratchy texture. I'm pissed about that. Unless someone here will tell me otherwise, just use your exacto knife
    
• PAAAINNTT
  
  • THIS IS THE BIGGEST THING I'LL FIRMLY PUT MY FOOT DOWN ON
    
  • If you're just starting out, DO NOT GO BUY THEM INDIVIDUALLY. Its too expensive. My local shop sells them for nearly $5-$8 a bottle. Buy THIS. Its a ton of typical colors and drops the individual price down to $2.80.
    
  • Paint sets are always going to be your best friend, from what I've found. Citadel paints for example are really expensive at my local shop (like $5-$7 each expensive) But something like this is a huge savor., bringing the unit price down to $3,63.
    
  • Shading seems to overhaul the look into something more professional, so you will want to buy two separately. My buddy suggested two different ones, Black and Brown.
    
• Wet Pallette
  
  • I am yet to have this conversation without the other person talking to me like they're running for president. Wet Pallettes are a necessity. They ensure you do not waste paint, keeps your paint consistently viable while using it, and helps with storing it. I've heard a couple of days, others say months. Who knows. I'm yet to start painting, but I'm just going to say don't even mess around and just get/build one.
    
  • Tabletop Minions has a great video to show you how to make one for the lo-lo.
    
• Mini Painting Holder
  
  • If you're not looking risk smudging the paint when you're holding your mini, then this is for you. Bonus points for reducing your chances of arthritis.
    
  • You COULD get something like THIS. But I feel that because it holds onto the sides, you can't really use it to paint the base.
    
  • What I ended up doing was buying 3 bottles of champagne, cutting off the top of one of them, and then gluing & duct taping it all together. I haven't tested out its balance yet but odds are, I'm going to have to do something so its stable and I can rest it on the table standing up without worry. Bonus, I was pretty drunk for a bit.
    
    

    Theory is Great and All (11.13.19)
    

    
    So here are my updates from actually painting.
    
    

• Mini Painting Holder
  
  • LOL. Welp. didn't turn out as expected. Glue didn't stick and I had to use so much duct tape that it looks like a toxic sushi roll. Yum. We'll see how it works when I get to the actually mini painting.
    
  • https://imgur.com/sU1bqxE
    
• Paaaaaint
  
  • Welp. I'm pretty sure I added too much water. I also definitely did not mix enough of it. I'm going for a deep green metallic look and only mixed enough for one coat..... lmao. Thankfully its just the 1st so I'm hoping when I mix a boatload of it, even if the hue is different, it won't matter much.
    
  • Wet pallete: Definitely worked out. Do it.
    
  • Because of the paint being too watery, you can see some spots where it pooled. Again, gonna take it easier on the water the second time around and hope it covers up the bad stuff
    
  • In being careful with the finer details, I didn't care too much. Some paint here and there won't change much and should be unnoticeable after a few more careful coats of the actual color I want to use, when I get there.
    
  • https://imgur.com/jiNNc1A
    
    

    Life Sucks and I haven't gotten much done (11/15/19)
    

    
    So I was only able to apply a second coat of to what I've already done. But honestly, not too shabby! Apparently I didn't water down the paint too much.
    
    https://imgur.com/gallery/lA9LV1N
    
    Also, I recently switched to a different cell phone carrier, and got a $200 prepaid card.... So I'm getting these.
    
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004INERK4/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A3TMLEXVMVIW94&psc=1
    
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002JLVM5U/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?smid=A1Y3PCPH3CY53X&psc=1
    
    There's a blog that I found (will have to find it again later) that recommended these.

Long post incoming....

So, I don't think I've seen many airbrush discounts. Badger did a nice promotion where you could buy any airbrush for $55 for their 55 year anniversary this summer, but other than that it's kind of hard to find discounts. As far as Prime Day, I doubt they're going to have discounts on airbrushes, that's a pretty niche product they don't really get into. If you want to get started with that, I'd do something like this:

• Paasche D3000R Compressor this is the one I use... it's held up over the past 10 years quite well, painted some ~12,000 points of Marines, Guard, Knights, and Chaos with it.
  
  
• Iwata Neo Airbrush Iwata airbrushes rock... I use an Iwata HP-CS, which is really good, but like 3x more expensive than this. This would be a good starter brush that should do the job though.
  
  
• Airbrush Hood You can put this on your desk and you just spray into it. It has a fan which pulls paint dust through the filter in the back, very important to prevent you from breathing paint and getting colored dust everywhere.
  
  You then need a cleaning pot, some cleaning fluid, and an airbrush hose All told, that's like $300.
  
  Then you need paint, paint brushes, a hobby knife, super glue, a mini hand drill, some small drill bits, sprue cutters, basing materials (cork board, model railroad ballast, etc) and I find a pair of tweezers helpful. That could add up to another $200 in materials (and obviously can cost way more, paint is expensive). So of your $550 budget, you would then have $50 remaining for models... which will buy you one model kit. So if you're looking to get started for $550, I'd probably forget the airbrush for now, and just get paints that can be used with one later. I recommend Vallejo paints. The eyedropper bottles work great for airbrushing, and you can just thin them with water. I haven't met one yet that doesn't work. A paint set like this would set you up nicely for doing an Imperial Guard army.
  
  As far as what army to play... Guard is fun, but if you like the modern military aesthetic, Space Marines might be more what you're after. The new Repulsor Executioner tanks look awesome, and the new Primaris marines are great looking models... some of the best GW has produced. The Guard kits are looking kinda... dated IMO.

Just in my experience:

Tamiya Extra Thin Plastic Glue

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B017R6V4UE/

Less than $10. I've used it to assemble my ~3000pt Ork army and I've only used about half the bottle

​

Mudder 21pc Pin Vice Set

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XG1FY8P/

About $12. Slightly more expensive than the absolute cheapest pin vice you can find...which I purchased and had a drill bit snap in less than a week. Then I bought this one and haven't looked back. The set of bits has a great size range, too.

​

Woodland Scenics Basing

https://woodlandscenics.woodlandscenics.com/show/category/GroundCover

Depending on what sort of basing material you want, it can be much, much cheaper to get it from Woodland Scenics (or other train hobby sites). Their containers are cheap and large, so if you find what you like you can cheaply get enough to last you a lifetime (or close to it).

​

Akro-Mils Storage Container

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003P0XRH0/

About $25. This was a bit of a splurge purchase, but it's been pretty nice for me so far. Before I got this, I just had bits organized into Ziploc bags. This was a nice way to organize everything and still make it accessible. Helpful for me because I've been doing a ton of kitbashing. If you're building following the instructions and kits 100%, you might not need this.

​

Army Painter Paints

https://shop.thearmypainter.com/products.php?ProductGroupId=16

They're on Amazon, too. Generally cheaper than GW paints, and pretty decent. Amazon has some other kits like one for Dwarves and one for Goblins, etc. Depending on the colors you want, you could probably save some money by buying the colors individually or buying a couple of those sets that have what you want. I've really enjoyed their metallic paints and their washes. If you get their Strong Tone wash and their Dark Tone wash, paint your model, brush the Strong Tone on clothes and skin and the Dark Tone on anything that's metal and it'll come out looking really good.

The brushes you need depend on what you do but a few different sizes are nice to have around. Personally I buy really cheap brushes that i don't feel bad about throwing away if they get clogged up with paint.

The Reaper MSP HD paints are some of the best I've used but I also use P3, Citadel and Badger Minitaire but I'm slowing moving away from Citadel as it seems to be getting worse as time goes on. Also Vallejo has a great reputation but I personally don't need any more paint lines.

Airbrushing is the best way to go to get a nice smooth coat like your example. I do my priming with Vallejo primer, base coat and sealer all with an airbrush and then the details with brushes. Here is the airbrush set i use http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BF0MW9G/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1. For under $50 its a great deal and it works great for what i'm using it for. If you have a lot to paint, that with the Vallejo primer will actually save you money in the long run compared to buying Citadel primer at $16 a op.

And there are a lot of painting tutorials on youtube

Three variations on the theme:

Mountain Creek:

Shopping List

• 25mm Hollow Blank bases
  
• Elmer's white glue.
  
• Gray Talus in Fine and Coarse (1 bag each)
  
• Earth Blended Turf (1 bag)
  
• Reaper Stone Grey (or any other medium grey paint)
  
• Reaper Brown Sand
  
• 5 Minute Quick Cure Epoxy
  
• Either Mod Podge or Liquitex Medium Gloss Gel
  
  This will provide enough material to do hundreds of bases. Really the only limit is how many of the Hollow Blank bases you buy.
  
  Instructions:
  
  

1. Prime the base black.
   
2. Paint the interior hollow of the base with the grey paint. Paint thin streaks of brown sand over the grey. Make sure all of the streaks flow in the same direction. You want a pattern like this. The streaks should run parallel to the direction the water flows.
   
3. Using superglue, glue the Space Marine into position on the base.
   
4. Using a cheap brush, paint roughly 40% of the bottom of the base with the white glue. Leave roughly 60% of the bottom clear.
   
5. Sprinkle a small amount of the Coarse talus onto the glue. If you can, paint the glue on in streaks like you did with the brown.
   
6. Sprinkle a small amount of the Fine talus onto the glue. Always sprinkle the Coarse talus first, then the Fine, as this will create a more natural looking clumping of rocks -- small rocks pile up around larger rocks, large rocks don't sit on top of piles of smaller rocks.
   
7. Sprinkle a small amount of the Earth Blended Turf onto the glue. This will simulate organic debris caught up in the rocks.
   
8. Allow the glue to dry for 24 hours.
   
9. Mix up a small amount of the epoxy and fill the hollow blank up about halfway. Allow this to cure for one hour.
   
10. Using a cheap, disposable brush paint either the Mod Podge or Gloss Gel (henceforth "texture") over the epoxy. The Mod Podge is easier to work with, but will tend to settle more, so use the Mod Podge if you want to simulate slowly moving water, and the Gloss Gel if you want choppier, faster-moving water.
    
    In either case, paint the texture over the entire surface of the epoxy, then go back and using a wide brush (a cheap #4 Filbert is perfect) create waves by making short, quick strokes. You want these brush strokes to go in the direction that the water is flowing, but you want to work your way backwards from the outflow point to the inflow point so that the crests of your "waves" overlap properly. Here's an image showing what I mean.
    
    Swampy Pond
    
    Shopping List:
    
    

• 25mm Hollow Blank bases
  
• Elmer's white glue.
  
• [Green Blended Turf]http://woodlandscenics.woodlandscenics.com/show/Item/BT-GB/page/1) (1 bag)
  
• Reaper Olive Green (or any other medium grey paint)
  
• 5 Minute Quick Cure Epoxy
  
• Parsley Flake
  
• Gloss Varnish
  
  Instructions:
  
  

1. Prime the base black.
   
2. Paint the interior hollow of the base with the olive green paint. 3. Using superglue, glue the Space Marine into position on the base.
   
3. Using a cheap brush, paint roughly 40% of the bottom of the base with the white glue. Leave roughly 60% of the bottom clear.
   
4. Sprinkle a very small amount of the Parsley Flake onto the glue.
   
5. Sprinkle a small amount of the Green Blended Turf onto the glue.
   
6. Allow the glue to dry for 24 hours.
   
7. Mix up a small amount of the epoxy and fill the hollow blank up about halfway. Using the end of a brush, add a little texture to the epoxy as it sets. You can "draw" concentric circles radiating out from the Marine's legs to simulate the movement of the troop through the water. When the epoxy begins to form "strings" it's time to move on to the next step.
   
8. Before the epoxy sets completely, sprinkle a very fine amount of the Parsley Flake on the surface of the epoxy. Allow the epoxy to cure for an hour.
   
9. Paint over the Parsley Flakes with the Gloss Varnish so they look properly wet.
   
   OCEAN BEACH
   
   Shopping List
   
   

• 25mm Hollow Blank bases
  
• Elmer's white glue.
  
• Fine Buff Ballast (1 bag)
  
• Reaper Golden Blonde
  
• Reaper Brown Sand
  
• 5 Minute Quick Cure Epoxy
  
• Liquitex Medium Gloss Gel
  
  Instructions:
  
  

1. Prime the base black.
   
2. Using superglue, glue the Marine into position.
   
3. Paint the bottom of the base with white glue.
   
4. Fill the hollow with the fine ballast then pour it out so that all of the glue is covered. Allow this to dry completely.
   
5. Paint streaks of white glue across the bottom of the base. These streaks should run perpendicular to the direction of the tide. Sprinkle more ballast over these streaks. This will create a ripple effect in the sand, like you see along beaches.
   
6. Paint the sand with the Brown Sand paint.
   
7. Drybrush the sand with Golden Blonde. You want to paint the tops of the ripples, but leave more of the Brown Sand showing in the bottoms of the ripples.
   
8. Mix up a small amount of the epoxy and fill the hollow blank up about halfway. Allow this to cure for one hour.
   
9. Using a cheap, disposable brush paint the Gloss Gel over the epoxy. Paint the gloss gel over the entire surface of the epoxy, then go back and using a wide brush create waves by making short, quick strokes just as described under Mountain Creek.

I just went through this myself and am very happy with my purchases. This is a complete entry level set with the tools you will need to maintain it. Assuming you're US based, you could have everything Monday with Prime shipping.

• Airbrush - $27 - This is a basic brush with the ability to change between 0.2, 0.3(most common), and 0.5mm tips. This gives you the flexibility to go from precise to blanket applications.
  
  
• Compressor - $120 - I opted for a model with a tank to help regulate the air output. The compressor still ends up running most of the time during extended applications so I'm not sure how much it helps but I didn't want to take chances. You could save ~$40 by getting a model without a tank. You could always add a tank later if you feel the need.
  
  
• Cleaner - $12 - You need this before you even think about starting. One cleaner seems about as good as another so pick whatever.
  
  
• Tools - $7 - You will need to clean paint from the internals. Some of these brushes will work for that. There seems to be differing opinions in the community over how useful these are but I opted for them and use them every so often.
  
  
• Cleaning Pot - $15 - You will need one for your station and everyone uses this one. Definitely spray the cleaner through into this.
  
  
• Wash Bottle - $6 - 500 mL bottle you fill with water. This will allow you to rinse the pot at your station without having to go to a sink (though you still might use one often). Get a bucket or tupperware container to rinse into.
  
  This will allow you to setup a bare-bones station. You could also get a fume hood or just spray into a box in a well ventilated room. Get a good white led light (if you don't have on already) to illuminate your workspace and you're good to go.

I'll grab a couple of these that I've learned in the past several months, as I'm also quite new here.

1. Sweet tool called a pin-vice (That one's pretty expensive, shop around). As for magnets, I'm using 2mm diameter, roughly 1mm thick round magnets from I dunno, I googled 2mm round magnet. Bought like 200 of them for something like $10.
   
   
2. If you paint super thin, like one of my favorite twitch streamers, Slowfuse you can just paint right over your mess-up with no problems. If you really really want to strip it, many people use simple-green for plastic models. I don't remember what to use for resin models.
   
   
3. Slowfuse paints practically with the wash-cup water lol. As long as you unload most of the watery paint onto, say your thumb, you will have amazing results with super thin paint. You'll end up doing lots of layers, probably even more than Duncan! You've applied enough coats when the color is as visible as you need for the situation. Sometimes you can use just a coat or two, for tinting the color you put on first, or other times you can keep going until the current color is solid.
   
   
4. Super small brush, very thin paint, multiple layer, steady hand. Sometimes you can clean up a line of paint that went wide with whatever color you mistakenly covered.
   
   I'm going to stop there and hope others will finish the rest and also give their own answers to the first 4, since, as I mentioned, I'm new myself!

Ha, I get questions about this any time I post something. The rack is from Back2base-ix they have all sorts of good stuff. Not the cheapest solution but it really is amazing for organizing the hobby area and adding some aesthetics to the area (which helps spark my creativity a lot personally). It does ship from the UK so expect some time for delivery and be aware that since it is acrylics there is always the small chance of damage. I had a tiny crack in one of the drawers that I just glued back together as it wasn't worth it to try and return/exchange.
The dropper bottles can be found on Amazon and Ebay. I pre-thin my GW paints to brush thickness and then transfer them to the droppers. So much easier for using a wet pallet and also for mixing into the airbrush. Hope that helps!

Well done. I've been watching your progress on Reddit. It turned out great. Love the story it tells, and all the dynamic poses of the models. Space hulk models are awesome. Working on some myself right now. May I suggest getting a turntable and taking a small video of all the angles https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01DLL10JO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It's a nice way for us to see everything and you to showcase your stuff :-)

Airbrush Booth - You really shouldn't breath in the fumes. If you are painting indoors, you should use something like this to capture and filter the overspray/fumes. This is in addition to wearing a mask. You will see people in youtube tutorials not wearing masks and not using a booth - it's really bad practice if you care about your brain cells. I like the one below, but the fan is louder than the compressor.

80$ on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Master-Airbrush®-Portable-Airbrush-Painting/dp/B00BMUH8L6?ie=UTF8&ref_=pe_385040_128020140_TE_3p_dp_1

$20- Paint mask/respirator - See notes above. I use one designed for spray painting.
https://www.amazon.com/3M-07192-Paint-Spray-Medium/dp/B0002STR22/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1469825823&sr=8-1&keywords=Spray+paint+mask

Airbrush - I recommend starting cheap until you get a hang of it. It's easy to damage parts. It's been a while since I've researched, so I apologize for having forgotten the terms. You want an airbrush that is fed from a cup on top (gravity fed?), a trigger to control the air separately from the paint (maybe called dual action?), and needles .2 to .5mm. This airbrush came with a quick connect (to snap on and off of the compressor hose), which is a big convenience. They are cheap if you need to buy separately.
$30 https://www.amazon.com/PointZero-Precision-Airbrush-Valve-Crenelated/dp/B004KNDQMM?ie=UTF8&ref_=pe_385040_128020140_TE_3p_dp_1

$10Airbrush cleaner fluid and brushes - to flush the airbrush and clean it after use.

$10- Airbrush cleaning pot - You spray cleaner and excess paint into this.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005H46T0O/ref=od_aui_detailpages01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

90$ - Compressor with Tank - The separate tank is key, it will maintain constant pressure very well and provide good steady flow. This one is pretty quiet as compressors go, but still noisy enough that you need to work behind a closed door.
https://www.amazon.com/PointZero-Portable-Airbrush-Compressor-Oil-less/dp/B004KNDQCM?ie=UTF8&ref_=pe_385040_128020140_TE_3p_dp_2

$10 - Airbrush hose- https://www.amazon.com/PointZero-Airbrush-Braided-Air-Hose/dp/B004KNAH7E?ie=UTF8&ref_=pe_385040_128020140_TE_3p_dp_5

All in, it cost me $250 before paint.

here is my set up. nothing to complain about. and the badger 105 is a great starter. its use of good machining means it only has one o-ring and its dead simple to clean.

https://www.amazon.com/Badger-Air-Brush-Patriot-Gravity-Airbrush/dp/B002W84GTO

https://www.amazon.com/Master-Airbrush-Fitting-Conversion-Adapter/dp/B0038NJYHG/ref=pd_lpo_vtph_201_lp_t_3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=9CTBV4FN6C10RQSFJXPG

https://www.amazon.com/AIRBRUSH-COMPRESSOR-Airbrush-Published-Exclusively/dp/B001738DXU/ref=sr_1_4?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1505354405&sr=1-4&keywords=master+airbrush+1%2F6

then you will need cleaning supplies such as

https://www.amazon.com/Naturebelle-Airbrush-Cleaning-Holder-Nozzle/dp/B01D41W04U/ref=pd_sim_201_12?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=3SG1JR28SAK6TVWHEZ03

https://www.amazon.com/Iwata-Medea-Airbrush-Cleaner-16-Oz/dp/B003TJA0SQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1505354507&sr=1-1&keywords=iwata%2Bairbrush%2Bcleaner&th=1

I'm pretty happy with the quality of everything and it makes painting a base coat of pure white or yellow super simple. also makes painting a color shift or pattern very easy. if you have the cash i would highly recommend it

here are some of my projects i have completed with it

https://imgur.com/a/N4mhr

I can type up what I did really quickly.

1. Ensure your dropper bottle is clean, the top is off, and this is over a stable surface. Also ensure the surface is easily cleaned if there is a spill. I have a glass desk I use as my hobby station, yet for those who don't do what you feel you need to.
   
   
2. Use a funnel so that you can pour out and capture as much paint as possible.
   
   
3. Open up the GW paint and add in some medium to thin it as much as you feel you need to. I do this to get it the consistency that Duncan has and then pour it out into the bottle.
   
   
4. Once the paint has been transferred put the GW container to the side, remove the funnel, cap and close the dropper bottle, and you are done! If you want to remember what kind of paint it was just peel off the GW paint label and put it on the outside of the dropper bottle.
   
   Hope this helps anyone who is interested in using dropper bottles.

Man there is a lot to cover.

But to start, get a compressor with a reservoir so you can have extended paint sessions without overheating the pump. Something like this, Also some Dentist supply depot have oilless compressors with reservior ( the oiless part is very important for painting) that are really quiet but can get a bit expensive.

Get a good airbrush, you can find good quality airbrush in amazon but skip ANY of this type you won't get much out of those. This is a very good gravity fed airbrush.

I buy plastic drawers from those companies like Sterilite and whatnot, just plastic bins with pull out clear plastic drawers. You see them everywhere like Walmart/Target or whatever your alternative is if not in the US.

​

About $8-$10 can store a couple mid size armies including vehicles in, large creatures go on display here in a cabinet but the main forces go in the plastic bins. Then I stack the bins up on cheap garage shelving and pull out the drawer when I need to grab the figures so that's pretty convenient.

Been doing this for over a decade, all good no problems, dust free cheap storage you can expand as needed.

These kinds of things here: https://www.amazon.com/STERILITE-Organizer-Mini-Drawer-Pack/dp/B014E30YX6/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=sterilite+drawers&qid=1563124180&s=gateway&sr=8-3

​

You can buy cheap foam inserts from Amazon as well, just pick and pluck foam and line the bottom of the bins if you wish to keep everything stationary.

You want a gravity fed airbrush there are several compressors that are quite and portable and still offer the amount of psi you need for an airbrush. I spent $100 on mine on amazon and it came with 3 air brushes. I haven't used any of them and would be a bit skeptical but I may test them out again once I get back into painting. Here is the air compressor I purchased

Beyond that there are a lot of people recommending badger air brushes and you will see that a lot. But they are rather expensive especially if you are just starting out. That being said there is an Iwata Neo available at Hobby Lobby if you are in the states. As seen here. And hobby lobby offers a coupon (I think they still do) that is 40% off one item. This brings the price down considerably.

There are also some other neat things you can grab while you are at hobby lobby. The other most important one would be a Airbrush cleaning pot Again this is something you could get at Hobby Lobby and use your fancy coupon on the next day.

I hope this all helps if you have any other questions feel free to ask.

If you are in the US I would recommend the badger airbrushs I have had great luck with mine.

I think the one I have is:

https://www.amazon.com/Badger-Air-Brush-R1V-Renegade-Velocity/dp/B0013NBQLA/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1526884557&sr=8-13&keywords=Badger+airbrush

Get a gravity feed airbrush, they require lower psi to work and are just easier.


For a compressor get one with a tank it will give a nice consistent air flow. Something like this is a decent starter compressor:


https://www.amazon.com/PointZero-HP-Airbrush-Compressor-Portable/dp/B004KNDQCM/ref=sr_1_12_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1526884681&sr=8-12-spons&keywords=Badger+airbrush&psc=1

Flush Cutters: https://www.amazon.com/gp/slredirect/picassoRedirect.html/ref=pa_sp_atf_aps_sr_pg1_1?ie=UTF8&adId=A07771002JJJMUPKY9LNZ&url=%2FIGAN-330-Electronic-Clippers-Powerful-Precision%2Fdp%2FB07RW8VTSX%2Fref%3Dsr_1_1_sspa%3Fkeywords%3DFlush%2Bcutters%26qid%3D1568614943%26s%3Dgateway%26sr%3D8-1-spons%26psc%3D1&qualifier=1568614943&id=3287567174581193&widgetName=sp_atf

Hobby Knife:

https://www.amazon.com/Hobby-Excel-Blades-Safety-American/dp/B0006O5JHE/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=Excel+hobby+knife&qid=1568614967&s=gateway&sr=8-5

Testor's Model Glue:

https://www.amazon.com/Liquid-Cement-Plastics-1-oz/dp/B0006N6ODS/ref=sr_1_9?keywords=PLastic+glue&qid=1568615017&s=gateway&sr=8-9

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As for paint, I usually buy off of Games Workshop's website. Any order over $60 gets free shipping in the US. Models depend on if I can get them at my local store, or Amazon first. Anything not available at those two I go to the GW website for. Have fun, and good luck.

I was in the same boat as you. This is all the stuff I bought: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0067BAYNO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1, https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001738DXU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1, https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KS1II96/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1, https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003TJA0SQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1,https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004BN5RUU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 .

I also bought an assortment of paints I thought I'd need. I went with the Vallejo Game Air line. If you look around, you'll see the stuff I bought recommended by many people for novice airbrushers.

Also, when I bought all that stuff, I signed up for the Amazon Prime credit card as well, so I ended up getting like $120 off that order. It worked out pretty well.

TCP global makes excellent iwata / badger clones I have one (Master Airbrush® Brand G233-SET Multi-Purpose Precision Dual-Action Gravity F... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0067BAYNO/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_eOaMxbN05V02N)

Works great for base coating, they also make a cheap compressor that works great. I do recommend a spray both and 3m dust masks as the atomized particles are not particularly great to inhale.

Priming is absolutely necessary. There's a lot of ways to do all the painting, the order of priming, assembly and painting can vary, but you DO need to prime. Without primer the paint will just pool and dry weirdly, and then you'll go over it with another two or three or four coats to get solid color, and your first coat will act as "primer".

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First, a word on glue.

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You want plastic glue like this. This stuff is great. Easy to apply just enough, economical, and bonds the parts together permanently. This made me into an assemble-then-prime guy.

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Before, I used this stuff. EM-2000 Starbond cyanoacrylate. Before I got this stuff, for a year or more I trudged along using watery superglue from the dollar store. I had no idea what I was missing. This is thick, like honey, it stays where you put it (mostly) and has microtips for the spout so you can control where it goes. It's great stuff.

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>\> Should I fully build the figure then prime it and paint it?

When I use plastic glue to glue, that's what I do. I realized that if I had been using plastic glue earlier, some of my Weirdnob's staff coming apart and arms coming off of orks in transport might not have happened at all, so I wouldn't open my boxes to unpack for a game and go, damn, where's the glue...saved some frustration and panic.

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>\>Should I build it in sections and prime them and then glue it together then paint?

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What you'd actually want to do is prime on sprue, then assemble say, the torso, then paint that. Assemble the arms, paint, then glue the arms on the torso. Or assemble partially, prime, then paint, then do final assembly of the whole thing. So you're working on only the right arm, only the torso, etc. This is called painting in subassemblies. It can be very helpful if you're kinda anal about getting every...single...spot that's hard to reach when a model is based and assembled (which used to be me), or if you're doing a big model with lots of parts and color borders and stuff.

You really should. Relatively cheap to get into.


Master Airbrush Compressor with Water Trap and Regulator, Now Includes a (FREE) 6 Foot Airbrush Hose and a (FREE) How to Airbrush Training Book to Get You Started https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001BJFHAW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_IGoBCb7ZSM1K1


ABEST 3 Set Airbrush Spray Cleaning Repair Tool Kit Stainless steel Needle Brush Set https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UFBJGRM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_QHoBCbTPZHK9X

You can use any paints but you’d need to thin some. I use citadel, Vallejo model/air/mecha, scale 75, and army painter. They all flow through the brush with different amounts of thinner.

The above airbrush isn’t the best but it’s a good starter setup to try out airbrushing to see if it’s what you’d be into.

This kit is only $27 shipped and has all the magnets you'll need unless you really go nuts - then you might have to get some more of the middle size eventually.

You also need a pin vice drill

But if you really can't wait, just go really easy with super glue on the arm joints - as that is typically where you magnetize. I'll get some pics here in a sec and update this post.

EDIT Ok here's a quick and dirty magnet album so you can get a good idea of which spots to magnetize. On the Thunderwolves I magnetized the rider in the ass so I can transport them easier. The arms are magnetized for weapon swapping. I also magnetized the backpack of any dude that might ever equip a Jump Pack (blood claws can quickly become sky claws, rune priests are great with jump packs so they can deep strike and psych). Dreadnought arms are pretty obvious. I also magnetized the hand on my battle leader using the smallest magnet size so I could give him a plasma pistol or a combi weapon.

Dark angels cheap:

Caliban green Spray (GW) - $20
Biel-tan wash (GW) - $7.50
Warpstone glow layer (GW) - $4.25
Mephiston Red (GW) - $4.25
Leadbelcher (GW) - $4.25
Nuln Oil (GW) - $7.25

That's about your bare minimum.

If you want to do a step further (with plasma) grab Guilliman blue glaze, Celestra grey, and the layer paint white (can't remember name).

If you have a bunch of Robes in the army, grab zandri dust, and ushabti bone.

There is a paint conversion chart here: (if you aren't a fan of GW paints - though some colors aren't exact matches) https://www.dakkadakka.com/wiki/en/Paint_Range_Compatibility_Chart

Despite how expensive they are, GW does have a really solid system down that makes it easy to get the desired results. Also, get yourself a wet palette - it will make your paint last longer.

This one: https://www.amazon.com/Sta-Wet-Palette-Keeps-Paints-Airtight/dp/B000C18GTE (throw away the paper it comes with, it's shit. Replace with some baking paper (non wax).


In regards to the different subsections of paint GW has, it's mostly just for ease. You can technically use ANY paint as a drybrush paint, the ones labeled as such are just designed for that purpose ONLY.

TLDR: Any paint from any company will do, but they all go on differently. Some you may have to thin more than others, some may have worse coverage. GW's system is good and is popular for good reason. Get a wet palette.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JJQD5CG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The light from this is very good and the magnifying part a good bonus

Bought it on Amazon :) Very happy with it! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0756ZQX42/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Just starting off, Master's Airbrush is a great intro to the hobby. You can add a spray booth to that and be off and learning pretty quickly. I started with a Master's compressor(the TC-20T), and a Badger Patriot 105(which I got on sale on Amazon).

Two things I'd tell you to start with.

1. Buy one of the citadel paint handles because they're relatively cheap and having a good grip helps a lot with finding good angles. You can always use a pill-bottle and poster tack as well.
   
2. Get a wet palette or make your own. Don't waste money on the citadel palette pad.
   
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   At the start, thinning your paint with water is more than fine but when you get further into it look into making your own thinning medium.

Purchase something to learn. Last year I bought a top of the line airbrush and compressor and ended up selling it. Seemed like overkill. High PSI compressors create a lot of over spray. Remember you're not airbrushing giant canvas or cars so you dont need a strong compressor. I purchased this for 30$ https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BF0MW9G/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

these were my first minis using it.

http://imgur.com/3jN5peb

http://imgur.com/kGzTS8x

Airbrushing is very different from painting with a brush so its smart to see if you like it before a high investment.
Remember painting is not about gear and money. Its about skill, technique and the tricks you learn along the way.

Would this one be comparable? Costs a bit less but if the other would work better I don’t mind paying a bit more.

I went ahead and ordered this, my skills are noobish so i figger its a good starter airbrush

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006HJCP8S/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thanks

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0756ZQX42

Ive put down a large cardboard piece and thrown quite a few dudes on it so can handle a bit of weight.

Amazon also has an airbrush kit starting at about $50. It's got a compressor, and it's got control with the internal mix.

https://www.amazon.com/Master-Airbrush-KIT-VC16-B22-Portable-Compressor/dp/B00BF0MW9G/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1527377179&sr=8-5&keywords=master+airbrush