After wanting to do it for a long time, I'm finally going to attempt to paint my Descent figures. I've studied how to do it (I'm using the dip method since I like the results and also lack a steady hand).

One thing I'm not sure of is whether to use a spray primer or buy a bottle of it and brush it on. Can anyone give me pros and cons for both ways? Any other tips are certainly welcome, I haven't painted a mini in 20 years, and back then I did it by dipping a toothpick in bottles of paint.

I can offer some suggestions, from a non-pro who also hasn't painted in 20 years. I'm nearing the completion of painting all of my Descent figures, using the dip method. I tried both dip application methods, brushing and actually dunking the mini in the stain and shacking it off. The end results were very similar, but dunking and shaking was a HUGE pain!!! You have to do it outside, it makes a mess, and it wastes a lot of stain. I tried it on about 5 minis and quickly went back to brushing it on, and never considering dunking anf shaking again.

Some random tips after having painted more than 165 descent minis:

• Buy good paint. The difference in application and look is huge. I'm not only using Game Workshop paint.
• Use good brushes. Of the ~100 or so brushes I bought, I'm down to almost always using the two that aren't cheapo buget brushes
• Spray the minis with a primer first
• Paint from the "inside" "out", meaning start with the inner most item on the mini, like it's skin or armor, and paint outwards
• For every color, use a shade lighter than what you want to see on the mini. Dipping darkens all colors at least one shade
• Prepare to spend a LOT of time painting! I started about 3 months ago, and have help from my g/f, and I'm just getting close to completing all of the minis in the game (all expansions). I've become a very fast painter with decent results, but I'm far from creating pro results.
• Paint under bright light. I purchased a cheap desk lamp that puts bright light on the mini I'm painting
• I decided to paint the rim of the Master Monsters red, to differenciate them from normal monsters
• I applied a matte sealer after dipping dried. It's suppose to harden them for long term use and also dulls the super shiny look you get after dipping. It turns super shiny minis to dull for sure, but gives them a more natural look.

I'll try to post some pics.

These are before and after dipping pics. I haven't taken any pics after applying the matte sealer. If you like I can take pics of whatever mini you like. I have all but 1/2 of ToI minis done. Note, the dipped minis actually look better in person than these pics show.

Great pics! It's really amazing how much detail the dip brings out. Question on the Giant- it looks like the dip version has some pupils in the eyes. I'm assuming that was done pre-dip? I was figuring that no more paint could go on once that happens.

I'll take your advice and spray prime.

I was also going to paint the bases red for the masters, and black for normal.

I will probably be getting the upper level Testors paint, since Games Workshop isn't sold in my lame city. We don't have a game store at all.

Veinman said:

No you can add paint after dipping. I recomend you do all the detail after the dip. The eyes will end up very dark otherwise. You will also note the month of the naga. I assume that was done after dip also.

What mix do you use as dip? Your results look better than mine. I have actually resorted to using GW washes instead of dip because the dip was always too dark. I used future floor with minwax.

Another question- what kind of drying time do you allow between all the steps? (priming, painting, dip, clear coat)

I've been reading that the dipped figures need to sit at least 24 hours and the clear coat dries in about 30 minutes. As for primer and paint, in my past experience (not with minis, but just other stuff), these dry pretty quickly, say an hour for primer and only a few minutes for paint. Although I suppose if the paint is enamel it could be much longer?

I usually let the primer sit for 1 hour. Of course this will change on the type of primer you use. I still have GW old black primer they do not make anymore. I have heard Privateer Press makes a good primer but I have not tried it yet.

I use folk art paint found at hobby lobby. It dries about as fast as I paint. (a few min) The dip I used takes quite a while to dry 24 hours seems longer than what I needed but I would at least let stuff sit overnight. If you touch a diped minni and it feels tacky or sticky wait longer. The clear coat dries pretty fast but I still let it sit several hours. I like the shiny effect and use gloss clear coating. Finger prints show us pretty well so I try not to touch the minis until I am sure they are dry. One tip. When using primer and clear coat. You can always check to see if the box the minis are in is dry. That is at least a partial indicator.

Privateer press also has a video about painting it is online someplace but I couldn't find it quickly.

You can touch a dipped mini with the very edge of the corner of a paper towel. If the paper towel has any dip on it the mini needs to dry longer.

granor said:

Yes, touch ups were applied to both the Nagas and the Giants after dipping. These minis were painted very early in my set, and now I paint everything, then dip. I changed because applying paint after dipping was leaving some areas looking like they had no shaowing effects. I'm not sure, but I may have reapplied dip on both those minis after I touched up the mouth & eyes.

I used "Minwax Polyshades polyurethane stain tudor", purchased here for ~$12: http://www.hardwareworld.com/Qt-Tudor-Satin-Polysh-pN7NUIE.aspx

Veinman said:

• Spray Priming: waited full 24 hours before painting
• Painting: I paint multiples of the same mini in assemble line style. I paint one area and immediately put the mini in front of a high flow fan to dry quickly, then I paint the same area on the next mini, and so on. By the time I completed a decent amount of mini, say 6 of the same ones, the first mini was dry enough to paint around (not over) the areas I had just painted.
• Dip: I didn't do much after dipping, except the small touch ups on a few minis, the Nagas and Giants being two of them. I wasn't in a rush so I think the dip was left to dry for at least 24 hours, probably more.
• Clear matte sealer: It seemed to dry quick. I was able to handle them (moving them around gently) about 15 minutes after applying it outside and leaving them to dry in the dry warm air. I also have brought them inside to dry right after I applied the sealer, leaving them on the cardboard box they were on when I sprayed the sealer.

Keep in mind, I wasn't in any rush to do lots of priming, painting, dipping in a single day. I primed them all in one day, let them sit for at least 24 hours, painted the minis slowly, then a couple weeks later I dipped a large batch (30+) when I got tired of painting. These dipped minis sat around for a month before I sealed them. I still have ~20 minis to paint, lots to dip, and of course all of these ones to seal.

I also dipped the ~20 minis I painted ~20 years ago, and all of them look a LOT better. Here's a pic of one:

I can't figure out how to post the entire pic without getting ti chopped off. If you like, just look at the image properties and view the original at it's source.

Well I got back from the hobby store / hardware store... I didn't expect to drop over $60, but I did.

This does accomplish one thing though... I'm now committed.

I wanted the Tudor stain, but they didn't have it. I got the Bombay Mahogany Satin. Hopefully I'll get good results.

This afternoon I will wash and prime the Medusas and Deep Elves. I'm starting with those because I almost never use them, so screwing up won't be too much of a tragedy. I should just do the deep elves, but they are so tiny I suspect I'll want to do more painting.

Watch out for a Mahogany stain. They are usually more reddish than brown or black. You may not like the results. (I tried a Mahogany stain once and stripped it off and had to repaint the mini.) I only use Minwax Tudor, which I have only found online.

Thanks for the heads up on the mahogany. Normally I'd have ignored it and pressed on, since I am generally eager to start projects once I get motivated. But after seeing a shot of an unpainted model that was coated with the mahogany, it was enough to make me wait. They had a flat black poly shade there, so I will exchange it tomorrow.

I considered getting the black today, but I was worried it would be too dark. I suppose too dark is better than too red.

Anyway, I painted the medusas and deep elves. They are ready to dip. My camera can't do macro stuff, so here's a shot of the whole bunch. I realize that they do not look good, but it's my first time and as mentioned, I don't have a steady hand. I didn't even bother trying to do the elves' faces. I would have completely botched that. The eyes I put on the medusas didn't come out so hot.

But it's not a big deal to me... I'm only doing this for fun and to make playing with these figures more entertaining. I think any bit of color on them is better than none. I'll post pics after the dip, and then after the dull coat. View the image in a new tab / window to see full size.

For those of us who don't dip, any advice on washes? I'm having trouble getting my washes to really look right on these pieces. I thought it was because they weren't true miniatures so they didn't have the sculpting detail to hold the washes as well. I'm using a mix of paint and water (with a tiny bit of dish soap) to do my washes. Haven't tried inks, but I am hesitant to buy even MORE products without a compelling need. I'm just not that much of a miniatures hobbyist.

Oh, and I use mostly Folk Arts paints too. They're a WAY better deal than your typical miniatures paints, but be advised that you can't take the cheap route on everything. So far, I've found that any metals need to be the good stuff to look right. I also had to buy the good red and I suspect this'll hold true for oranges and yellows as well. With Folk Arts, these bright colors just don't go on solid enough.

After having applied the "classic black satin" polyshade, I'm starting to think 'too red' would have been better than 'too dark'. My figures look like they fell into an oil barrel.

This stuff is BLACK, not like a wash as I suspect the other polyshades look. Just how opaque is the tudor? I think I should bite the bullet and order some online before ruining any more figures.

Barring that, is there a way to thin this stuff down?

I use Citadel Washes. They are colored so you have to be more carefull than dip but they work well.

I have also used Winsor & Newton ink. I like the effect.

I use 3 shades of the color I want. Then I ink or wash the area. Doing this when the highlight is slightly wet works well. I then highlight the area again.

The figures were totally dry so I dull coated them tonight. They look semi-okay (the medusas faired better than the deep elves). I painted some Last Night on Earth zombies tonight, and will dip them tomorrow. I'm not going to shake the can, hoping that far less pigment gets on them.

Success! I went back to Menard's and got Mission Oak Satin. I used it on the zombies, and they look great. I feel like an idiot... when I looked at the cans again, the classic black satin color swatch was opaque, while all the others show wood grain through.

So let this be a lesson... stay away from the classic black satin. I know tudor is the popular and most likely the best one to use, but I like the mission oak so far. Hopefully it still looks okay on flesh tones. (I colored my zombie skin flat gray)

I believe I'll try the dark priests next.

Veinman, how is your painting coming along? Any pics for us?

So far I've painted the medusae and the deep elves (with the wrong stain so they look fairly bad), the beastmen, the skeletons, and 4 heroes for our upcoming RtL campaign. We picked the heroes well in advance of starting so I could paint them. They are Valadir, Tahlia, Landrec and Vyrah. They came out pretty well, with Valadir looking the worst and Vyrah looking the best.

I've also painted 7 zombies from Last Night on Earth, and I need to get started on doing the rest of the figures in that game.

Turns out my phone is better at close-ups than my regular digital camera. Here is a shot of one of the LNoE zombies BEFORE it got sprayed with dull coat.