My first miniatures - W40K.

Dave_The_Sheep

So my housemate got me a pack of tactical Ultramarines for my birthday recently. We're both into the Horus Heresy novels, so I'm interested in giving the painting a go. I used to do Prince August and Airfix models back in the day (about 15 years ago - I'm 29 now).

I got the starter paint kit as well as part of the present, so a clippers, paint brush and some basic paints.

Anyone got any advice on how best to start off? Would I be needing a decent craft knife at least? Any other gear that's handy and not overly expensive (I'll leave that for if I end up getting into this in a big way) but would be considered essential?

Better to assemble the models and paint them then, or paint them in the holders and assemble after?

Nody

Get a spray can of undercoating (black or white depending on the color scheme you want). In general I'd assembly most of the model up front but things such as the arm covering the chest while holding a gun I'd paint seperatly and glue on later (as it makes a pain to paint the inside of the arm/chest if not).

A sharp knife and a small file to remove plastic bits/uneven surface is also very useful to have imo.

As for the painting, try to mentally make up what color combo you want. In general I'd go with one base color (i.e. lets say blue for main armor) with one color highlight (lets say white). You would then add in perhaps red for seals, silver for the bolter etc. on top of this but by picking two colors as base you'll get a coherent looking troop. You can then work in highlights (things sticking out is light blue rather then blue and things that are in cover is darker blue to give the idea of shade etc.). Also remember to paint from inside out; that is start with the big areas first and what's furthest away and work your way out on the model; that way mistakes are easier to fix as well

Don't hesitate to paint up a troop or two to see how it looks and then change it. Cleaning of the paint is not to bad.

CruelCoin

Great to hear you're getting into it.

As above, get a can of undercoating and undercoat the models first.

Use black if you're going for a dark colour scheme, and white if going for a brighter one.

Clippers are handy, but a Stanley knife will do just as well as a craft knife.

There are hundreds of paints out there, but most models can be done quite well with only a few.

Undercoat your marines black. Then paint all over with ultramarines blue. Once this is done use gold or silver for the chest detail and red for the eyes. Use a dark wash all over the model (this runs into cracks and crevices and give much more "shadow" detail to your models). Then use some type of grey for the gun and you're all set.

Its possible to use many more paints, but these few above will give a decent enough scheme.