Hello,

I have never painted miniatures before. I don't want to spend more than $75 on paints, brushes, and a cutter. Therefore, I am limiting my paints to 14 colors. I was wondering if these would be the best Vallejo paint colors to buy for the Descent base game + Road to Legends:

• VAL 72001 - Game Color Dead White
• VAL 72004 - Game Color Elf Skintone
• VAL 72006 - Game Color Sunblast Yellow
• VAL 72010 - Game Color Bloody Red
• VAL 72022 - Game Color Ultramarine Blue
• VAL 72030 - Game Color Goblin Green
• VAL 72034 - Game Color Bonewhite
• VAL 72036 - Game Color Bronze Fleshtone
• VAL 72043 - Game Color Beasty Brown
• VAL 72051 - Game Color Chaos Black
• VAL 72053 - Game Color Chainmail Silver
• VAL 72056 - Game Color Glorious Gold
• VAL 72057 - Game Color Bright Bronze
• VAL 72094 - Game Color Black Ink

If other colors would be more appropriate, please list them. Alternately, you can list Citadel, Reaper, or other brand paints and their colors that would be most appropriate.

Any responses will be appreciated.

Thank you very much.

I rarely look at specific colors. I just think, "I need a deep green," then I look for a color in the rows of paints for one close enough. If it's not perfect, I just mix it with other colors.

IMHO, don't stress too much about the "right" paint for the job. Just get a color you like and use that

-shnar

viper5121 said:

I don't know the exact shades by memory, but this does look like a good selection of paints. You've got the basic colours covered. If you want to save money you might consider cutting Bright Bronze. Unless you plan to use a lot of bronze or something. It's not a waste to get it, it's just one of the less frequently used colours in my experience. Depends on how tight your budget is.

I'm assuming the inclusion of Black Ink means you're planning to ink wash your minis after painting them. Be aware that washing doesn't always produce results that are acceptable to everyone, and it might take a few tries to get it right. Obviously there's no way to know if you'll like it until you try it, but I personally prefer my minis bright. I get around the shadwo issue by painting black (Chaos Black, for you) in the recesses before I get to the colouring stage, that way the recesses are already dark and the higher colours remain bright. Of course, other people swear by washing and I suppose I can't really contradict them since I never took the time to perfect the technique before discarding it. Again, not telling you what to do, just giving you food for thought. If you have any extra or spare minis lying around, you might want to use one or two for experimentation before you get down to business on the real centerpieces.

Vallejo is a good brand, one I recently switched to because I was getting fed up with how easily Citadel paint pots break or clog up with paint and then dry out. I swear GW is doing it on purpose to sell more paint, but that's just my paranoid old man rant for the day. =P

Anyway, you're definitely off on the right foot, be sure to snap us some pics so we can see your work =D

Steve-O said:

Thanks for the reply.

I decided to go with Games Workshop paints instead. From everything I have read, it seems like they are very reliable and pretty much the standard by which all other miniature paints are measured. I'm not saying other paints aren't equally good, but I felt it was the safest going with Games Workshop. Also, they are the most readily available in case I have to pick up a particular color paint from a local gaming store.

I went with these colors:

Games Workshop Paint 61-51: Chaos Black
Games Workshop Paint 61-54: Skull White
Games Workshop Paint 61-10: Sunburst Yellow
Games Workshop Paint 61-42: Goblin Green
Games Workshop Paint 61-06: Blood Red
Games Workshop Paint 61-13: Bestial Brown
Games Workshop Paint 61-34: Enchanted Blue
Games Workshop Paint 61-55: Mithril Silver
Games Workshop Paint 61-60: Dwarf Bronze
Games Workshop Paint 61-14: Snakebite Leather
Games Workshop Paint 61-63: Shining Gold

I also went with Army Painter Spray Primer Matte White because I want the colors to be bright before I dip the miniatures in Minwax.