I'm glad they're not pre-paints, only b/c 99% (100% maybe) of the time, pre-painted minis are pretty low in paint quality.

You guys may not be aware, but there are painting services that will paint your figures for a fee. Either ones online that you can ship your figures to (you can even buy the figures directly to their address to save an extra shipping charge), or just local guys that will do this. Ask around at your local game stores.

Yes, it's an additional expense, but it would cost more if they were pre-painted from FFG too. At least this way you get a lot of input on what you want your custom painted guys to look like.

exactly what i do. I'm lucky in that I have a bunch of local commission painters I can and do use.

Bare bones paint jobs like that do not look good, they make the model look cheap.

This is very much true. The idea of 'a little paint is better than no paint' is simply untrue. Unpainted plastic or even primed looks better than a poorly painted painted mini, and if they're going to sell them then people will expect a given level of quality, which will push the game out of a reasonable price point.

Also, not all of this games miniatures come assembled.

Then there's also the issue of shipping them. How much bigger of a box would you need for painted minis? They'd need to be protected in some way or else you'd get chipping and such. The cost of painting, the cost of assembly and the cost of protection would all increase the price.

X-Wing is rather unique in terms of well painted mini's. You can't really point to it as an example of how RuneWar could do it, because those are ships, which are all flat straight lines and things that can be masked off and painted quickly, then dipped in a wash. You can't do the same thing with mini's like this.

Plus most mini-gamers hear 'pre-painted' and automatically pass because pre-painted just looks like garbage most times.

I get the whole preference for pre-painted minis. It makes a new genre approachable. X-wing's success is a prime example of this. I've fallen in love with painting minis, but a 40 figure army is a hefty painting backlog. I'm on the fence on this one.

Make each faction with a different color plastic could be a happy medium.

I get the whole preference for pre-painted minis. It makes a new genre approachable. X-wing's success is a prime example of this. I've fallen in love with painting minis, but a 40 figure army is a hefty painting backlog. I'm on the fence on this one.

Make each faction with a different color plastic could be a happy medium.

As you said, for people not skilled in painting or without the required time -like me-, at least different color for different factions is welcomed.

Make each faction with a different color plastic could be a happy medium.

As you said, for people not skilled in painting or without the required time -like me-, at least different color for different factions is welcomed.

It would be indeed, but they've already said they'll all come in (standard) gray. That said, painting/spraying the miniatures, bases and/or trays a single color isn't particularly expensive/extensive an undertaking.

That said, painting/spraying the miniatures, bases and/or trays a single color isn't particularly expensive/extensive an undertaking.

For that I'd highly recommend Krylon spray paint. It's cheap, like $6 at Walmart and makes a great primer, or on this case a single color. I use it for priming everything I paint and it's as good if not better than GW primer. If you just wanted your models say blue or white, it would be ideal for that as well.

GW must be quite worried. Could this be the counter to not renewing Warhammer license?

No, I bet if this game does well, they'll license the WHFB Old world to them as a separate expansion.

GW must be quite worried. Could this be the counter to not renewing Warhammer license?

No, I bet if this game does well, they'll license the WHFB Old world to them as a separate expansion.

I don't think GW will allow anyone than themselves to do a miniature wargame with their license.

GW must be quite worried. Could this be the counter to not renewing Warhammer license?

No, I bet if this game does well, they'll license the WHFB Old world to them as a separate expansion.

I don't think GW will allow anyone than themselves to do a miniature wargame with their license.

Sadly. A game with rules from FFG (or anyone outside of Nottingham ^^) and miniatures from GW may be many gamers' wet dream .

Sadly. A game with rules from FFG (or anyone outside of Nottingham ^^) and miniatures from GW may be many gamers' wet dream .

Thankfully the humans in this game won't look like big bulky marshmallow men in giant shoulder pads.

I get the whole preference for pre-painted minis. It makes a new genre approachable. X-wing's success is a prime example of this. I've fallen in love with painting minis, but a 40 figure army is a hefty painting backlog. I'm on the fence on this one.

Make each faction with a different color plastic could be a happy medium.

As you said, for people not skilled in painting or without the required time -like me-, at least different color for different factions is welcomed.

If aiming for two distinct colors, consider the Army Painter line of base coat / primer sprays.

Like another post above I highly recommend priming black first -- although I use Army Painter over Kryon for that as well, because the coverage is extremely thin and leaves splendid detail. Twice the price, however, so to each their own.

The colored sprays are amazing -- and they have both a lovely blue for the humans if desired, as well as an undead bone. Who knows, maybe it will inspire you to wash & drybrush at some point.

Regardless, a bit of time and a modest hit to the wallet equates two opposing different forces; your imagination from there is the only limitation.

I've tried priming with [spray] paint and it was awful. I either lost detail or the the layer went on too smooth for the paints to stick. I use brush-on Vallejo white primer these days.

EDIT: Forgot to clarify spray paint.

I either lost detail or the the layer went on too smooth for the paints to stick.

Sounds like you got bad paint or something. I primed all my Death Watch minis from the Overkill box with Krylon and I lost no details and had no issues with the paint sticking.

Those models are highly detailed as in I looked at it and thought "oh my god how am I ever going to do this thing justice???"

I've tried priming with [spray] paint and it was awful. I either lost detail or the the layer went on too smooth for the paints to stick. I use brush-on Vallejo white primer these days.

EDIT: Forgot to clarify spray paint.

Which brand did you use? I prime with P3 spray primer and get excellent results.

I've tried priming with [spray] paint and it was awful. I either lost detail or the the layer went on too smooth for the paints to stick. I use brush-on Vallejo white primer these days.

EDIT: Forgot to clarify spray paint.

Then either the spray paint was bad or you made a mistake, i have been spray painting (for the base coat) my miniatures for years now and never had a problem, i mostly use Citadel sprays but there are many alternatives on the market.

I don't remember. I think it was the regular Krylon stuff from the hardware store. But it was my first time priming figures, so I probably did something wrong. This was for my Runewars figures and I still haven't finished them because the paint don't stick very well to the figure. But then I got Imperial Assault and used the brush-on kind -- that was phenomenal! Worked great! I got the whole core painted in about 2-3 weeks.

Maybe I could try the spray again, but the brush-on stuff is just so convenient and worked so well for me. I'd be afraid of ruining my figures with spray again.

If you make no mistakes and you don't get a bad can (which can happen with every paint spray or not) you wont ruin something and you can prime a whole batch of miniatures at once, that's why i rather spray paint primer than use a brush.

Important things are shaking the can, temperature, distance to the miniature, use a thin coat so don't spray to often/long and give it enough time to fully dry.

If you need a good cheap brand of primer, try Duplicolor Sandable Black which you can get from auto stores. It's what all the Privateer Press pro painters used to use before they created their own line of paints & primers.

Could have been some mould release still on the figures? I was told to always wash them with dish soap first just in case.

Could have been some mould release still on the figures? I was told to always wash them with dish soap first just in case.

I don't know if that was his problem or not but yes - it's a good idea to clean the minis before priming. I have always washed mine with a bit of soap and a toothbrush. Some say you don't need to, I'm more of a "better safe than sorry" approach.

I don't remember. I think it was the regular Krylon stuff from the hardware store. But it was my first time priming figures, so I probably did something wrong. This was for my Runewars figures and I still haven't finished them because the paint don't stick very well to the figure. But then I got Imperial Assault and used the brush-on kind -- that was phenomenal! Worked great! I got the whole core painted in about 2-3 weeks.

Maybe I could try the spray again, but the brush-on stuff is just so convenient and worked so well for me. I'd be afraid of ruining my figures with spray again.

I just switched to Vallejo brush on primer as well and it's awesome. I started with Citadel sprays, but got tired of having to wait for the weather to be conducive to spray since humidity mucked up a couple of miniatures (I also then found that the Chaos Black spray is insanely hard to strip, those things are still soaking in Super Clean).

Spraying is much faster but it's so temperature and humidity dependent that I'm sold on the brush on now.

I don't remember. I think it was the regular Krylon stuff from the hardware store. But it was my first time priming figures, so I probably did something wrong. This was for my Runewars figures and I still haven't finished them because the paint don't stick very well to the figure. But then I got Imperial Assault and used the brush-on kind -- that was phenomenal! Worked great! I got the whole core painted in about 2-3 weeks.

Maybe I could try the spray again, but the brush-on stuff is just so convenient and worked so well for me. I'd be afraid of ruining my figures with spray again.

I just switched to Vallejo brush on primer as well and it's awesome. I started with Citadel sprays, but got tired of having to wait for the weather to be conducive to spray since humidity mucked up a couple of miniatures (I also then found that the Chaos Black spray is insanely hard to strip, those things are still soaking in Super Clean).

Spraying is much faster but it's so temperature and humidity dependent that I'm sold on the brush on now.

I never had any problems spraying in our garage no matter the weather outside and as already was said with a little preparation you can easily spray inside your house, you should of course vent the air afterwards.

I don't remember. I think it was the regular Krylon stuff from the hardware store. But it was my first time priming figures, so I probably did something wrong. This was for my Runewars figures and I still haven't finished them because the paint don't stick very well to the figure. But then I got Imperial Assault and used the brush-on kind -- that was phenomenal! Worked great! I got the whole core painted in about 2-3 weeks.

Maybe I could try the spray again, but the brush-on stuff is just so convenient and worked so well for me. I'd be afraid of ruining my figures with spray again.

I just switched to Vallejo brush on primer as well and it's awesome. I started with Citadel sprays, but got tired of having to wait for the weather to be conducive to spray since humidity mucked up a couple of miniatures (I also then found that the Chaos Black spray is insanely hard to strip, those things are still soaking in Super Clean).

Spraying is much faster but it's so temperature and humidity dependent that I'm sold on the brush on now.

I never had any problems spraying in our garage no matter the weather outside and as already was said with a little preparation you can easily spray inside your house, you should of course vent the air afterwards.

Humidity and heat can cause the spray primer to have a grainy texture when it dries (that's what happened to the two I'm stripping). As for spraying indoors, that's really not a great idea. With cats and a central air system it's just not worth the risk.

I don't remember. I think it was the regular Krylon stuff from the hardware store. But it was my first time priming figures, so I probably did something wrong. This was for my Runewars figures and I still haven't finished them because the paint don't stick very well to the figure. But then I got Imperial Assault and used the brush-on kind -- that was phenomenal! Worked great! I got the whole core painted in about 2-3 weeks.

Maybe I could try the spray again, but the brush-on stuff is just so convenient and worked so well for me. I'd be afraid of ruining my figures with spray again.

I just switched to Vallejo brush on primer as well and it's awesome. I started with Citadel sprays, but got tired of having to wait for the weather to be conducive to spray since humidity mucked up a couple of miniatures (I also then found that the Chaos Black spray is insanely hard to strip, those things are still soaking in Super Clean).

Spraying is much faster but it's so temperature and humidity dependent that I'm sold on the brush on now.

I never had any problems spraying in our garage no matter the weather outside and as already was said with a little preparation you can easily spray inside your house, you should of course vent the air afterwards.

Humidity and heat can cause the spray primer to have a grainy texture when it dries (that's what happened to the two I'm stripping). As for spraying indoors, that's really not a great idea. With cats and a central air system it's just not worth the risk.

I do know what humidity/heat can do to spray paint, i just said I never had problems, of course I do not really spray outdoors but the garage is neither heated nor cooled or as isulated as a house and of course I couldn't know about your cats.

I've had similar experiences with Army Painter basecoat sprays. If I'm not very careful, it goes on way too thick, and can obscure details. I'm now a bit better at it (hold it a consistent distance from the models, don't do too many at once, spray with constant consistency and a quick back and forth motion over the figures) and the last round of spraying did pretty good.