So with the holiday season fast approaching lots of people will be out filling stockings and buying gifts. Thought it would be a neat idea to start a thread about our painting essentials and share ideas for gifts.

I'll kick this off by saying the Rosemary and Co. Series 33 brushes Sorastro recommends are legit. I use the #2 for just about everything, it is an absolute work horse. For the price of these brushes it is amazing how resilient and accurate they are. I have a set of Winsor and Newton series 7 as well, and I find that I use the Rosemary 90% of the time. Can't recommend them enough especially at the price point.

https://www.rosemaryandco.com/watercolour-brushes/pure-kolinsky-sable/pure-kolinsky-pointed

I also really like the texture line from Citadel for basing. I've got some army painter and other brands that come with the loose granular stuff and it is good.. but I find it is just so much easier to smack on the texture in a pot, especially Valhalla blizzard. I recently painted my Snowtroopers with it and wow is it accurate. This is a bit nerdy but I actually have a masters in hydrology, I've studied snow and its related processes extensively for years and Valhalla is the most accurate snow basing material I've seen, it actually does look life like and fluffy and is so effortless to apply. Much better than the alternative PVA glue + granular snow. It's also great for applying to the actual minis. Add this to your collection if you haven't already, especially if you are like me and really enjoy the basing game.

https://www.games-workshop.com/Texture-Valhallan-Blizzard-24ML

Anyone else have any suggestions for 'must haves' or 'game changers'?

A color wheel, a color wheel, and a color wheel.

Anyone?

Exacto blades
Green stuff or other type of putty
Superglue and regular
Sanding files
Poster tack
Sculpting tools
Acrylic paints
Spray or brush on primer
Cutting mat
Brush cleaner
pallette

- Mold line remover - GW's is fine but expensive. These are Excellent for scraping off mold lines, and much more child safe than an exacto.
- Alternative bases - SW/IA is mostly on 25mm / 1 inch rounds, and there are a Lot of options out there. I use clear acrylics from Warbases.co.uk.
- The very best brushes out there for painting miniatures are Winsor & Newton series 7; I recommend a size 2 normal and a size 0 mini.
- For palettes I use a stack of gloss white kitchen tiles; cheap and great and easy to clean. Fancier people use wet palettes, but I have really bad experience with those.
- Brush Soap - allegedly the best on the market is The Master's Brush Cleaner & Preserver, but I haven't used it myself.
- Some sort of magnification is good, especially with ageing eyes; I use clip ons for my glasses, and am Very happy with them.
- Paints! One can Never have too many kinds. I prefer Reaper and P3, but there are at least a score companies making them, and they All have something good to say.
- Pin vise and 1mm drill bits - for pinning minis to alt bases, see above, or for conversion projects.
- Good illumination. There are special lamps out there, and they can cost a small fortune. I use a simple ikea lamp and the strongest LED daylight bulb that will fit in there. The bulbs cost a euro or two, if ordered from china through Ebay; the type I use are called Corn bulbs .
- Table organisation: A system for all this stuff: Drawers, a paint station, boxes etc.
- Cute and personal paint water cups; having dedicated ones limits the risk of accidentally drinking paint water =P

Paint/project caddy (tool box, tackle box, etc.) for dragging your stuff around.

I use a small(ish) thing from one of the big box craft places. There's enough room for 14 (25mm base, humanish size) miniatures in the top tray, tools and brushes in another portion of the top tray, and room for a couple dozen paints in the bottom.