So, I want to get into something along with X-Wing, my first miniatures game. I have not played any other games like this unless you count Battle Masters from years ago. Honestly, this is because an intense inability to do anything artistic including painting miniatures. I just am not into that thing. How does a guy like me get into this (because I love the war aspect and the factions that are there and coming) without it costing a fortune (because I want cool painted figures too). Any tips, I assume buying painted figures costs a lot more than doing it yourself..........I don't want to buy the figures and end up with a set of Kindergarten painted globs.........

I'd say go for it anyway. If you are willing to follow the recommended "Army painter" method, literally anyone can paint up an army with minimal effort. The wonderful "dip" method is a miracle for giving a wash, shade and pseudo highlight in one step. It's been done for a long time but Army Sainter has standardized and made an entire step-by-step process to help you get a table-top army ready quickly.

If you like X-wing and have fond memories of BattleMasters then this is pretty much the perfect game for you.

Take this with a grain of salt as I am a very novice painter.

The first thing to realize is that you can likely paint better than you think. Just have some patience and go slow in the beginning. I swear, you will be surprised by your abilities. I took 7 semesters of drawing courses back in the day and my ability is absolutely laughable. But I will say that I am at least satisfied with my miniatures.

Secondly, any color generally is an upgrade. Even if its not the best paint job it will still look fine. Also, it is not like you are required to paint. If you really don't find that aspect enjoyable then just don't do it! There is also no rush...you don't have to jump in to the hobby aspect right away. And when you do, take it slow. It is pretty neat when you first start and you have a derpy unit of guys..then months later you produce a super sleek set of figures. It is very rewarding, but, it is also completely optional.

Basically, if you are interested in playing the game then play! You can decide how deeply, if at all, you want to get into the hobby aspect as you go.

For me this game was a no brainer since I played games like warhammer before and have a lot of experience painting models but it can still be a hassle to get units painted.

Paying someone else to paint you models will be expensive yes but it's an option.

There are some techniques to get painted miniatures that are to about the standard of prepainted x wing. Basicly you paints every part in a base colour so for example you paint the armor of daqan in one shade of blue and the flesh part in a pink for example. Then you wash or dip your models. Depending on how you do it that is it, or you could finnish of the colours with the base colour again as a highlight. Here are some guides:

Dipping: examples are warhammer 40k but pretty much the same deal.
http://www.warseer.com/forums/showthread.php?27857-Dipping-figures-The-ultimate-guide

FFG have paint guides as well for both armies example waiqar
https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2017/4/12/waiqar-the-undying-army-painting-guide/

There are a bunch of beginner guides out there if you google and many locas shops have paint days where you can get an introduction to miniature painting.

I don't say it easy or fast to become good and painting, but you don't need some talent for it just a bunch of time and hard work like anything else. I have done this for years and I still get baffled when I see some peoples minatures, I just can't belive they are that good. Luckily there exist a big community for minature games online that offer a bunch of tutorials step for step.

If you want more than basic crapjob paints but dont want to do it yourself, try and find someone who takes commissions. They usually arent cheap, but theyre also used to painting 40k minis which are a fortune to begin with.

I know some 40k players that have never lifted a paintbrush and still have painted armies. How they have the money for that i have no idea lol.

These are great ideas.......I'm attending a demo next week and assuming I like it, I think I'll take the plunge......

Plus, you'd be surprised how easy it is to follow the Army Painter guides and simply stop at step3 while still producing good models. The 4th step, highlights and other details, is where the majority of the actual work is done and true painting skill appears. The models look fine without that step, they just wont look eye-poppingly amazing.

Is this even if so if you use the "dip" method??

Personally ive never "dipped" my models, i always brush it on with a thicker brush since it holds more of the wash than my usual brushes.

Its called "liquid skill" for a reason in many paint forums lol. Long as you go back after about a minute or so and soak up the large pools of wash, if any, it looks very good right there. If you let the larger pools dry then you get a very obvious dark and ugly spot (by large pools i mean pools large enough to cover whole parts of the model, like the bottom of the human shields. You want it to collect in the edges, not cover the entire edge). Usually with a brush i dont have that issue though

Just echoing everyone else - go for it!

Decent paint jobs are easier than you'd think.

If you really want to go incredibly simple then you can do:

1) colour primer + dry brush of a lighter shade

or 2) for the undead (if they're who you're getting) white primer, Nihilakh Oxide wash over entire mini, white dry brush.

18 hours ago, CubsFanSean23 said:

Is this even if so if you use the "dip" method??

Yes, I painted two core sets worth of Waiqar undead by dipping and foregoing any highlighting afterwards and I think they look pretty good. Especially if you spray paint a base coat of silver then with purple for cloth, white for bones and brown for the shield. I'm not joking, you can finish a whole army over the weekend this way. Click on my tutorial to see how fast and easy it is:

I spend a lot more time on the Carrion Lancer but you can also dip that as well.

I'm wondering based on your username if you live in the Midwest? I am in St. Louis and would totally be willing to walk you through the process and teach you using my paints with only playing a game for payment! Although full disclosure, I'm a Cardinals fan.

If you are far from St. Louis, then check out your FLGS or gaming Meetup groups and I am positive that someone would be willing to give you a tutorial since most gamers (especially painters) I know are super nice and would be more than willing to help out. (At least regarding painting--expect no mercy on the field of battle!)

I am from KCMO, but I live in Phoenix now. I am part of the amazing X-Wing community here and looking to branch out.....I am watching the tutorial now. Thanks for all the advice.

I had, and was joined by several others with the same sentiment.

not pre-painted miniatures? Pass.

The reason I got into Xwing and armada was BECAUSE they were pre-painted.

Was not going to paint, hate it. Not truly terrible at it, but still, the time, money and energy investment is (to quote our prez) "huuuge".

but the game is very cool, and army painter has simplified - mainly, just a few colors, they don't have to be what you see these masters doing, to still be cool.

If you do get into it, the assembly of the archers was the worst - make sure the arms fit before any glue, and trim to make sure.

now I took my time, so it was 4 days between opening the box and the first game of unpainted minis.

But the game was a lot of fun! (I got...killed, bad - I guess you don't just hang out when there's a big freakin' golem coming at ya...who'd a thought?)

But there's typical FFG nuance to how to play and strategy options that make this a great game.

List building will get very interesting and all the things.

The Elves are coming!!!

'nuff said.

@bumyong Are you GamingGeek, then? Those two videos were what convinced me that I could actually paint minis. So I picked up Runewars, and painted my first miniature ever yesterday.

@CubsFanSean23 I always said I would never paint minis. Runewars looked really cool, but I didn't think I'd be able to paint worth a ****. I watched the GamingGeek tutorials first then about ten hours of other painting videos (some were really good, some really bad) I actually painted the first mini of my life yesterday, and I think it turned out well. I used the basics from the above tutorial, and added a bit to it.

The dip method tutorial??

Yeah. The one posted in this thread.

2 hours ago, Brunscheon said:

@bumyong Are you GamingGeek, then? Those two videos were what convinced me that I could actually paint minis. So I picked up Runewars, and painted my first miniature ever yesterday.

Yes, that's me. And your first mini looks great! Did it take you very long?

It took about an hour?ish?... I was kind of doing other things. I have 4 more that just need a quick touch up, and those took about an hour and a half total.

Thanks for posting the videos. They really helped give me a starting point that didn't seem impossible.

One other little tidbit to mention... don't underestimate how enjoyable and immersive it is when you play with miniatures you painted yourself. It's a funny thing but you really do have a kind of connection with the game and, in particular, with the miniatures - as you observe and play with minis you are kind of 'invested' in artistically. You simply don't have this element in a game like xwing that has all prepainted miniatures.

Congratulations on your first minis Brunscheon!

You'll likely find that your speed increases alot as you paint more of them. Especially when using one of the "dip" methods.

I was in the same camp as the OP. I think that once I realized that it doesn't matter what the mini looks like when it's 1 foot away when most of time you'll be looking at it from further than arm's length. Once I stopped stressing over all the details that could be painted and just focussed on getting the really noticeable stuff painted it was a lot less intimidating.

14 hours ago, WWHSD said:

I was in the same camp as the OP. I think that once I realized that it doesn't matter what the mini looks like when it's 1 foot away when most of time you'll be looking at it from further than arm's length. Once I stopped stressing over all the details that could be painted and just focussed on getting the really noticeable stuff painted it was a lot less intimidating.

This is exactly the mindset to have. It doesn't take very much skill at all to get to "not embarrassed to put it on the table" level of painting.

In this day and age, with the myriad of washes, glazes and various mediums easily available on the market and with the wealth of information available on the internet, Youtube in particular, I no longer believe 'I don't know how to paint miniatures' is anything other than an excuse to not put the time in.

Fifteen years ago, when you had to figure things out by trial and error or find someone to teach you, sure. But now? If you can manage to stay within the lines in a colouring book, you can paint miniatures to a decent standard, as long as you take the time to use the wealth of free resources available to you.

Painting miniatures takes no talent and of you plan stuff right, only minimal skill. The only real requirement is patience.

I'm noticing the people who paint for this game nearly universally play the undead army.