It has been about a half a year since I wrote my last blog post about what tools I use to become a commission miniature painter. Sometimes, I wonder if I have improved enough to qualify for an updated product list, but since this continues to be one of my most popular posts I thought it would be a disservice not to update it accordingly.

The majority of what I had listed before remains true today, but let’s go over what has changed:

1. Quality Supplies:

Paint Brushes

I’m going to go ahead and list the exact brushes I love, and what ones I have purchased that I near never use.

My absolute favorite brushes, the ones that I have repurchased again and again, are the:

Winsor & Newton Series 7 Kolinsky Sable Watercolor Brush – Round #1

Winsor & Newton Series 7 Kolinsky Sable Miniature Watercolor Brush – Short Handle Round #0

These brushes last me about six months at a go, with me painting 2-4 hours a day with them. I will admit, I don’t take the best care of my brushes (it’s something I’m working on!), but these have held up through everything I have put them through, and hopefully, with my new brush cleaning routine will last even longer. What’s the new cleaning routine I’ll be using? I was using The Brush Masters Cleaner & Preserver, but my paint continued to build up on my brushes far faster than I liked. Instead, I’ll be washing my brushes by hand with dawn dish soap a few times a week. I have noticed a significant improvement in my brush tips and wish I had been doing it this way sooner!

I have several sizes of Raphael Kolinsky sable hair brushes, as well as Rosemary sable hair, and always end up putting them down in preference for my Winsor & Newton brushes.

For synthetic, I have used Army Painter brushes, Citadel brushes, and Creature Caster Brushes, none of which have held up for me at all. However, the customer service at Creature Caster was really wonderful. I used one of their brushes for 2 sittings and the tip had already started to curve. I took a photo and sent it to the company and they sent a new one right away. Unfortunately, that one started to curve as well, so I decided to skip out on future orders.

Paint



When I first began painting, I used Citadel for almost everything. As I stated in my original post: not because they were the best, but because they were the easiest to get my hands on. However, I came to learn that my painting styles require a different type of paint, and Citadel just doesn’t work as well. Citadel is an excellent beginner paint: they are highly pigmented and have fantastic coverage, but if you want to do more advanced techniques, like glazing and wet blending, I have found that the paint is simply too opaque and dries too quickly, which leads to paint build-up and texture (note: I have not tried the new Citadel Contrast Paints).

Today, I use mostly Fantasy & Game Color, Scale 75, and Reaper paints. I know that there are probably dozens of paint lines out there, but this is all I have tried thus far. So if you want to know what I think of Kimera paints, I sadly don’t have an answer. Unless you want to send me some, in which case I will happily test them out and get back to you.

Let me go over these paint brands for a second because I was surprised by the differences.

Fantasy & Game Color vs. Scale 75

Fantasy & Game Color is produced by Scale 75, so I was expecting the paint consistency to be quite similar between the two brands. That, my reader, is very very incorrect. Fantasy & Game (or FG) is a very thin consistency. Thin paints work well with my favorite techniques, so for me, this is not a problem.

In comparison, scale 75 is very intense and opaque (I would say as intense and opaque as citadel). I usually end up thinning down my scale 75 paints to a more similar consistency to FG paints, as I much prefer that consistency. When I purchased these paints at Adepticon this year, I thought the only difference between the two lines were the types of colors they created, not the paint itself.

Reaper vs. FG & Scale 75

When it comes to consistency, Reaper comes in between Scale 75 and FG. I would call it a medium opaque paint. I usually end up thinning the paint a little bit, have found the colors to be quite consistent as long as you remember to shake the bottle.

Inks

I have recently fallen in love with Scale 75’s Inktense inks. They make colors so much more vibrant, and I can’t believe I wasn’t using them sooner! If you have the extra cash, I recommend picking some up.

Thinning & Sealer

I still use my 50/50 mix of Vallejo Glaze Medium and Vallejo Thinner Medium, and still use Testors dull coat as my sealer. However, I have added another step in my sealing process to add more longevity to my miniatures. For my commissions that will have a lot of play, I paint over them with a gloss varnish from Vallejo. Gloss is a tougher sealant and keeps the paint on longer. I usually do a layer of gloss, two sessions of Testors dull coat, and if there are still tricky areas that are still glossy, I go over with a matte varnish to remove any remaining shine. I prefer my miniatures matte because what’s the point in spending time adding painted highlights if the gloss varnish will work over it and add its own highlights?

Air Brush

For Christmas, I received Paasche TG-3F Double Action Gravity Feed Airbrush from my family. Never has something made such a huge difference in my painting so quickly. Adding Zenithal highlights, shading large areas faster, applying texture with decals, and achieving smoother blends, an airbrush is something I recommend to anyone serious about miniature painting.

Models

I stand by my previous statements about models, but I’m going to list a few other places for your convenience:

Please note that any websites I have purchased from I will mark with *. Any website I have heard good things about I will mark with +. Though I have not purchased from all of these, some of them have unique miniatures I have not seen anywhere else. Many of these websites I have found by digging through putty+paint or CoolMiniorNot, and Pinterest.

Brands

*Nocturnamodels.com

+morlandstudios.com/webstore/

signumgame.com/en/

*Ragingheroes.com

mierce-miniatures.com/

Resellers

+elgrecominiatures.co.uk/

+andreadepotusa.com/en/

+wampstore.com/store/

area51-d.com/

Wet Palette

Something I can’t believe I didn’t mention in my last post is a wet palette! I use a Sta-Wet Pro Palette. I have tried using my wet palette with the special wet palette paper as well as parchment paper. I think the wet palette paper was best; I could wash and reuse it, and it kept my paint wet for longer, but it was more challenging to acquire and more expensive. Currently, I use parchment paper. I have to add more water, and I can’t reuse it, but its cheaper and easier to find. Either way, I highly recommend a wet palette!

2. Extra Equipment

Lighting

I still love my same light, but with my new work station I have added more lights! I purchased LED Concepts Under Cabinet LED Light Bar from amazon, and it is beneficial. However, I was very disappointed to find that it was not the white/blue color I was expecting. I plan on purchasing another light bar for my office but will look more carefully to buy one in the color I want.

Hobby Holder



While I was at Adepticon I stopped by the Hobby Holder booth to say hello. While I was there, I commented that they follow me on Instagram, and they ACTUALLY KNEW WHOM I WAS *Five seconds of fame achieved, fangirl commencing*. They commented about the model I had posted that morning and how much they enjoyed the contrasting colors. I have never felt more famous in my life! They gave me an additional grip to add to my hobby holder, which I wasn’t sure about but have since fallen in love with!!! I highly recommend the hobby holder and grip. I love using the handle to steady my hand when I’ve turned a mini upside down, especially when I do eyes, and the large grip is far more comfortable than holding the hobby holder itself. I do enjoy this product, and it has made a big difference in my painting. If I’m painting, I’m using the hobby holder.

3. Basing



Ok. Seriously? How did I not go more into depth on this topic last time? While my info was helpful, it is quite lack luster and for that, I apologize.

Most of my miniatures have a base of just super glue and baking soda. It is vital that you get super glue that dries in about 30 seconds because anything slower than that doesn’t work. The super glue and baking soda crystalizes to create a very natural, sandy texture.

Option 2 is to use milliput or Green Stuff and stamp a base. I have a roller from Green Stuff World, a few stamps from Happy Seppeku, or you can use bark, etc. as a stamp. Most of my basing material comes from the dollar store or from Army Painter (because that’s what my LGS carries for basing material). I will be posting a youtube video on cheap and free basing material soon, so watch out for that!

When in doubt: add more variety, and don’t forget the shadows.

Conclusion

I hope that this updated list will be useful to you. If you would like, you can follow me on instagram, or watch me on youtube!

*Some of these links might be affiliate links