Wait, wait, this isn't the usual FFG hate thread.

I really like the looks of Armada so far. Gameplay, decisions, dice variations representing different weapons rather than just more dice for better weapons. Frankly I can't wait to play it.

When they said the fighters weren't painted, I saw the pictures and watched the demos and thought, "You know, that's not so bad. It's just fighters, and they're so tiny..." But after seeing the Wave One previews and, especially, the up close models (See this for details), it's really starting to bother me. When it was just a handful of X-Wings and TIEs it was easier to shrug off, though now it's X's, B's, Y's, Advanceds, Interceptors, all which are going to be very important parts of core gameplay - that we're paying likely hundreds of dollars for, mind - which will stick out like a sore thumb compared to the painted ships.

It seems like they could have avoided this with even a simple wash or two at the factory. And if adding paint made the starters and fighter packs an extra $20 or so, I would have been all over that. Part of the reason we're willing to pay so much for single models in X-Wing or nearly $100 for a giant CR90 just to display somewhere is because they're completely painted with mostly great detail.

Really the point of this is to tell FFG, if they read this, that there are some of us who would be willing to pay more for a completely painted set, and if anyone else feels the same, let them know, too.

Agreed. Unpainted fighter look like ****. If they are not painted I guess I have to paint them myself. Or better, hire someone to do the job for me.

Babs out!

Ok I get what you are saying those up close pictures are crap. But for real you should never be that close to the fighters. Remember your eye will be on average half a meter away or a lot more. From far away they look adequate. If it bothers you that much for less than 5 bucks you can pick up a miniatures wash and give it a quick pass no skill required.

Since I like to paint I am kind of excited to see what I can do with them to make them look really good. Should be hard since they are so small.

Armada is expensive enough as it is without adding a painting step to the manufacturing process.

On the other hand, for anyone who buys the minis and decides the fighters in-person would look better with a wash, a bottle of Nuln Oil goes for like $3.

Considering we usually only get a single painted model for $15, I don't think a $20 for a bunch of fighter minis is a big deal.

I mean, it's not like they're selling a 'B-Wing Fighters Pack' or 'TIE Interceptor Pack', they're selling all the fighters to a faction together in a pack. Even if we only get one of each fighter type, that's still four models at about $5 each.

What wash would people recommend for the lighter ships, like the X, Y and B wings? I don't think the ties will be so noticeable, but the lighter ships might stand out.

that's still four models at about $5 each.

It's actually 8 models in each pack. I'm guessing 2 of each type. 8 models and 4 different types of ships... Seems like a reasonable bet to me So it's actually 2.50 per

What wash would people recommend for the lighter ships, like the X, Y and B wings? I don't think the ties will be so noticeable, but the lighter ships might stand out.

I'd say a bone white base with a light brown thin wash.

Agreed. Unpainted fighter look like ****. If they are not painted I guess I have to paint them myself. Or better, hire someone to do the job for me.

Babs out!

I'll paint them for you

Wow. Just looked at those photos. Are the capital ships even painted? It looks like a basic wash and red sharpie on all the rebel capital ships.

I agree about the wash on the fighter would be easy and cheap. Nuln oil for black would be my suggestion. However someone else suggest brown and that may also look good. reikland fleshshade is what I use for brown. Both colors are from GW and $5 at the most expensive.

But for the x-wings for example a quick black paint for the cockpit and a red strip down the side before the black wash will go a long way. could even do some black paint on the engines as well. Once game is out I am sure we will see a lot of people showing off paint fighters.

Ok I get what you are saying those up close pictures are crap. But for real you should never be that close to the fighters. Remember your eye will be on average half a meter away or a lot more. From far away they look adequate. If it bothers you that much for less than 5 bucks you can pick up a miniatures wash and give it a quick pass no skill required.

Since I like to paint I am kind of excited to see what I can do with them to make them look really good. Should be hard since they are so small.

Well, I was looking at it further and noticed that the regular TIE Fighter squadrons look darker, more in line with the standard Imperial colors (Probably why I didn't notice so much before). But the TIE Advanced squadrons, B-Wings, etc, look very plasticy in comparison. It seems possible that the fighter packs shown off at Gen Con may have been working concept pieces rather than actual production model ones. The article did mention that they were supposed to be colored appropriately, but who knows? I might not mind when I see them out of the packs next year.

And I know buying paints are cheap, but, I used to paint tons of minis... one of the reasons I love the X-Wing line. Getting half unpainted minis feels like they're charging me the same, but dumping half the work on me, the customer.

looking at the covenant video, the size of the fighters would lend to a very simple paint scheme that would lend to easy identifiers. Red, Gold, Green flights will be easier to paint up... as small as they are, just a few strokes of any type of wash or ink over a base coat would be everything that is necessary to get something to started. I don't mind the unpainted at that size because I don't think I could mess it up. anything bigger, and I don't think I could do a very clean job...

I do think, however, I will be replacing the clear plastic stands with a wire frame... the plastic looks to bulky to me...

looking at the covenant video, the size of the fighters would lend to a very simple paint scheme that would lend to easy identifiers. Red, Gold, Green flights will be easier to paint up... as small as they are, just a few strokes of any type of wash or ink over a base coat would be everything that is necessary to get something to started.

I like that idea. I would be tempted to paint the group the squadron color overall, then do a wash to pick out details. I figure, if Im standing 3 feet away at any given time, differentiating squadrons will be more important than detail I probably wont be able to enjoy from more than a few inches anyway.

that's still four models at about $5 each.

It's actually 8 models in each pack. I'm guessing 2 of each type. 8 models and 4 different types of ships... Seems like a reasonable bet to me So it's actually 2.50 per

What wash would people recommend for the lighter ships, like the X, Y and B wings? I don't think the ties will be so noticeable, but the lighter ships might stand out.

I'd say a bone white base with a light brown thin wash.

Cheers

As for Imperials... Badab black wash, with maybe some administratum grey highlights?

Black wash for imperials, brown for rebels, and they will look fine.

Guys, they are TINY. At that scale you don't need to worry too much about detail. I mean painting them will be fun, but you won't need to.

I'm a painter so I will have some pimping little ships when I'm done with them.

For those that aren't painters I feel your pain. The thing is though, at that scale pre-paints would ruin the detail of the tiny models and it would be very hard to do well. FFG would have threads about the crappy paint jobs.

If you can't paint, either use the wash method as suggested with some dry brushing to raise the details or just pay a local guy to do it for you.

With the right equipment it would be somewhat easy to paint them to a 'tabletop standard'.

But yes! FFG could have at least base coated and dipped them.

I have zero problems with the unpainted fighters. Quite the opposite. I see them as abstract representations of squadrons as opposed to actual individual ships. To me they are just fancy markers to show where my escorts are while I focus on commanding the big boys, and the Caps look just fine.

I know nothing about painting minis so what is this wash everyone is talking about and how easy would it be for a novice to try it on the fighters?

A wash is basically a very diluted paint that will nestle in the recesses of the model and provide shading and accentuate details. For example in the below picture, the model left has had a wash, the model right hasn't.

Well as so one who's painted gw stuff for two decades including epic scale models I'm not put out, won't even take me an hour to do the lot to a nice standard.

But really they are not the focus the big ships are and as long as those look nice I can forgive the tiny fighters being unpainted.

I like to get the GW Wash and some of their thinner. I mix about 1 drop of ink to 2 thinner. Then I get an olding brush and dab the ink on and move it around as it falls into the creases and folds. Don't just splash it on and hope it works.

If you plan to paint the models I would be inclined to add 1 drop of paint to 2-5 of water, you want the mix to be about milk consistency. How much water to add will need you to do a bit of an experiement. But go for the thinnest paint that you can control. If the paint is too watery it will pool and become inconsistant.

I would go for a size 1 or 2 brush, and if this is about the limit of what you want to paint I would suggest just a good value brush.

I have zero problems with the unpainted fighters. Quite the opposite. I see them as abstract representations of squadrons as opposed to actual individual ships.

For the most part this is true for me and my gaming group. Good post.

I've been painting models for over 40 years, so unpainted fighters are going to be just great for me. It'll give me a chance to personalise the squadrons. Red Squadron, Green, Blue, they're going to be awesome. Imagine the 181st Wing all painted up in a uniform 'ace' colour scheme.