So several years ago I had two 40k armies. Well, present tense I suppose, since I didn't think it was worth selling them. But, anyway, I also have some leftover supplies, and was wondering how much I would he able to salvage and use for Legion. Obviously, you can't give me exact reccomendations without actually being there. However, I do have a few general questions I think the forums might be able to answer.

1) How would you go about testing the paints and brushes? I don't think I have any primed miniatures lying around to test them on. Would a cardboard box be fine?

2) Does (unmixed) green stuff hold up after a few years? What about plastic glue? EDIT: No (the blue half dried up) and No (but then it was on its last legs when I stopped playing)

3) Is there a way to tell if a paint is salvagable if it's merely a bit sticky or something? EDIT: To expand on that, a tad; the paint has congealed into a blob, but it's still relatively wet and the brush seems to pick up the paint when I poke the blob. However, I think this would make thinning the paints tricky.

4) How do washes hold up? They've done a better job of staying liquid than most of the other paints, but do they break down after a while?

5) If most of these turn out to be a total loss, is getting a starter kit (like one of the ones by Reaper) a better deal than buying a new set of brushes and paints individually (Especially since Stormtroopers and Darth Vader have a rather limited color palette)?

1) Buy a cheap mini of ebay / if you paint on card board, prime it first and you can use it to test colour transitions and blends, you wont be able to washes easily.

2) Nah it sucks for longevity, maybe if the bag was stored in a liquid...

3) I find if the blob at the bottom does not flow at all with gravity it is probably a bit too late, if you still get that thick lava flow movement, you can probably rescue it.

4) Should be fine, but shake well just like with any paint and test first.

5) I find that bundles online work out more expensive per pot that paints from my local store that does 10-20% discount as standard.

1) There are some very inexpensive minis out there. Reaper's Bones line stands out--often only a couple bucks per figure.

2) No idea.

3) Paint can be tricky. I've heard that repeated "treatment" can sometimes salvage paints. Repeated vigorous shaking, sometimes adding some flow improver, and adding a "heavy" bead/agitator are all part of the process I've read about. But I've read of people being able to revive some of the old Ral Partha or Citadel lines from the 90s. If you go about trying it, I've heard that folks prefer a hematite bead due to it's lack of reactivity with most paints.

4) No idea.

5) You'll have to do the math on that one. Sometimes the mix of colors, paint brush (if any), and/or carrying case isn't worth it. Generally, IMO, you're better off choosing specifically what you want.

1) a cardboard box is fine. No need to buy miniatures for that.

3) as long as acrylic paints aren't dried out completely, you can revive them by adding water and stirring thoroughly.

4) yes, washes don't dry out as quickly.

5) I wouldn't buy a paint set. You probably need white, black, dark gray (which I use for most black parts so I can add more depth with a black wash). For the other colors, I tend to use a base color and a highlight color. I then mix base and highlight for blending, and white and highlight to get am even lighter highlight color.

1) Cardboard should be enough.

2) i have a few packets of green stuff that has been lying around for a good few years and they seem fine.

3) I have some very old citadel paints left as well, shake them up and it should be fine. Ive heard adding medium for flow and stirring/shaking helps.

4) probably fine. dont know really...

5) depends on price really

23 hours ago, Squark said:

So several years ago I had two 40k armies. Well, present tense I suppose, since I didn't think it was worth selling them. But, anyway, I also have some leftover supplies, and was wondering how much I would he able to salvage and use for Legion. Obviously, you can't give me exact reccomendations without actually being there. However, I do have a few general questions I think the forums might be able to answer.

1) How would you go about testing the paints and brushes? I don't think I have any primed miniatures lying around to test them on. Would a cardboard box be fine?

2) Does (unmixed) green stuff hold up after a few years? What about plastic glue? EDIT: No (the blue half dried up) and No (but then it was on its last legs when I stopped playing)

3) Is there a way to tell if a paint is salvagable if it's merely a bit sticky or something? EDIT: To expand on that, a tad; the paint has congealed into a blob, but it's still relatively wet and the brush seems to pick up the paint when I poke the blob. However, I think this would make thinning the paints tricky.

4) How do washes hold up? They've done a better job of staying liquid than most of the other paints, but do they break down after a while?

5) If most of these turn out to be a total loss, is getting a starter kit (like one of the ones by Reaper) a better deal than buying a new set of brushes and paints individually (Especially since Stormtroopers and Darth Vader have a rather limited color palette)?

1) Army men. You get like 100 for 2$usd.

3) Get copperhead BBs drop a couple in (non reactive pure copper ball bearings, non reactive is essential). The try dropping some in brand medium in the paint and shake it. Like until your arm is going to fall off. If it has not returned to a smooth even texture I would just bin it.

4) As long as its not been left to open air it should be ok.

5) Yes. Army painter has a 50 paint starter kit for much cheaper than buying 50 paint pots individually.

https://www.amazon.com/Miniature-Painting-Wargamer-Regiment-Miniatures/dp/B01MTXRUUT/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1521406596&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=army+painter&psc=1&smid=AU2FNATHSFHNB

I've had good success storing greenstuff in the freezer long term.

On 3/18/2018 at 8:44 AM, Squark said:

So several years ago I had two 40k armies. Well, present tense I suppose, since I didn't think it was worth selling them. But, anyway, I also have some leftover supplies, and was wondering how much I would he able to salvage and use for Legion. Obviously, you can't give me exact reccomendations without actually being there. However, I do have a few general questions I think the forums might be able to answer.

1) How would you go about testing the paints and brushes? I don't think I have any primed miniatures lying around to test them on. Would a cardboard box be fine?

2) Does (unmixed) green stuff hold up after a few years? What about plastic glue? EDIT: No (the blue half dried up) and No (but then it was on its last legs when I stopped playing)

3) Is there a way to tell if a paint is salvagable if it's merely a bit sticky or something? EDIT: To expand on that, a tad; the paint has congealed into a blob, but it's still relatively wet and the brush seems to pick up the paint when I poke the blob. However, I think this would make thinning the paints tricky.

4) How do washes hold up? They've done a better job of staying liquid than most of the other paints, but do they break down after a while?

5) If most of these turn out to be a total loss, is getting a starter kit (like one of the ones by Reaper) a better deal than buying a new set of brushes and paints individually (Especially since Stormtroopers and Darth Vader have a rather limited color palette)?

1. You want to ensure that the brush forms a tip. You may need to wash it in some soap to help it along, I just use the hand soap we have in the kitchen. If you have some working paint you can even test it on paper.

2. It should go hard along the join where the two parts meet. But as the two parts haven't been mixed it sounds like you have allowed it to dry out. Store the next batch in cling wrap and you should find it lasts a long while. I also understand that you can buy various 2 part epoxy putties from a hardware shop and get twice the amount at half the price. YMMV.

3. If it is solid then you will never resurrect the paint, you'll need something that is at least somewhat paint like. Buy the appropriate medium and slowly add more and stir the pot with a disposable chopstick or "paddle pop" stick.

4. Add more medium, if the paints are dry so are the washes. You may well be able to add a little medium and shake then test.

depending on WHAT side you are painting your paint choices go from Super cheap to pretty cheap.

Stormtroopers + Vader is like 5 colors + a wash. (white, black, reflective red, 'ard coat, orchre + nuln oil)
Rebels can have every paint you need in one of battlefront's smaller paint sets (plus a reflective blue or green for luke's saber).
http://www.miniaturemarket.com/searchresults?q=battlefront+paint

I have a related question, I don't think it deserves its own thread.

Is there a difference between a shader, a toner and a wash? I'm not talking about how the paint is made, but are all of them used to bring out details? I'm getting back into paint and see these terms and confused. I don't want to buy 2 of something that does the same thing.

17 minutes ago, Ken on Cape said:

I have a related question, I don't think it deserves its own thread.

Is there a difference between a shader, a toner and a wash? I'm not talking about how the paint is made, but are all of them used to bring out details? I'm getting back into paint and see these terms and confused. I don't want to buy 2 of something that does the same thing.

not really...different companies use different names for similar products...AND each company's product MAY act different.
some shaders/tones/washes are more glossy than others...in fact GW makes GLOSS washes that can double as a gloss varnish.
Probably best to stick to one or two companies to keep thing simple (I do not follow my own advice )

Thanks. I figured it was different companies using different terms for the same thing, just wanted to be sure.

In general I think you will find that the various products act like inks. There are two ways to use ink.

First is to create shadows by applying in the recesses and groves.

Second is to change the tone of what is underneath by applying a very thin (almost clear) coat of ink that just makes the tonal changes to the colours. In plastic kit painting this would be a filter. You can also use this to remove some of the saturation you get by adding white to the highlights.

thought a similar question of my own could go here aswell. How does vallejos inks compare to washes? just found a box of unused inks in a box.

Vallejo Inks are fine. I like to dab my shading washes onto the models and remove anything that ends up pooling where I don't want it. Having to repaint areas that were painted perfectly fine because the ink formed puddles isn't fun.

GW paints are expensive, but they are also higher quality. You will notice a difference if you spend more on your paints. However I do prefer paints in dropper bottles rather than the pots that GW uses. It is easier to mix in a little water to the exact amount you want. They also keep the paint longer since you almost never forget to close them all the way. They are also smaller, which means that even if they are the same quality of paint they are a little bit cheaper. I would buy these at a LGS but pick one that doesn't specialize in GW stuff or they may only have GW paints.

You can get much cheaper acrylic paints in larger containers are someplace like hobby lobby, but it won't be as high quality. You can just water it down more an use more coats to compensate, but paining good models takes more time.