I use the Liquitex heavy body professional stuff and it works great. Agreed. Also keep in mind that Infinity models are even more detailed than 40K's, so you really need quality paint for them. After primarily using the craft paints and one day fully converting to a high quality brand such as Vallejo, you'll want to re-paint alot of those minis. There are a few people who can do amazing things with certain craft paints though. Painters of all skill levels are welcome! Thanks y'all! Cheap craft paint isn't consistently mixed and while its 'usable' its not the best result and i wouldn't put it in an air brush i cared about. Local store prices may vary from those displayed. Theres a good reason model painters use modeling paint. From beginners who have never held a brush to pros who have been painting for years. I still like my craft paints for a lot of things, I have some really nice niche colours that I use a lot. Using a matte medium will dull out alot of vibrant colors, you're messing with the pigment/medium ratio, so avoid that where possible. [edit] You'll need to thin down the craft paints a TON to airbrush with them. Walmart/Craft acrylics are cheapest. They are perfectly fine after you've thinned them. Typically a 1:3 ratio of paint:water. Ultimately, the paint I plan on using should also be usable with an airbrush, mostly for base coating. I switched to Vallejo game and model series and really like them. This will require a bit more cleaning between colors. I used to use citadel paints but those were $3/pot a couple years ago and I imagine they've only gone up in price since then. The trouble isn't the quality, it's the quality control. I learned to paint with craft paints, and have only after a few years started to hit a point where miniature specialist paints look different. Just know that the pigments can be larger than specialized airbrush paints and you WILL experience what is known as tip-dry. 
Vallejo/Tamiya are fairly expensive (in comparison) but seem to be a much higher quality. I would recommend you start out with Vallejo Model Color paints. Not airbrushing yet but I always hear great stuff about the Vallejo Air line. The Army Painter set or Reaper learn to paint kits are pretty helpful in getting started with non-craft paints. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. 
Craft oil paints are useful for washes as they flow better than acrylic washes (thinned with mineral spirits). Starting out with the right tools will allow you to learn and progress faster. I'd bite the bullet and get the better stuff. Craft acrylics generally do not thin well, and are also quite thick in consistency to begin with. Both of these factors will allow the paint to maintain good coverage when thinned. Thanks in advance! Press J to jump to the feed. Any help would be appreciated! Some are great, but some are garbage. Badger Minitaire airbrush paints are also some of the best. Vallejo Surface Primers are meant to be run through an airbrush, but can also be hand-brushed. Use of this site is subject to certain Terms Of Use. Also got some Vallejo primer. I plan on getting into Infinity and Firestorm armada and I'm having a hard time figuring out which brand of paint to buy. Need Help? I was thinking white modeling clay over the connection points while I prime then paint. A starter set with all the colors you need shouldn't set you back more than $60 for 12 tubes. PS. 
New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. I went ahead and ordered the Vallejo basic paint set. The paint is more expensive because it has up to 10 times the amount of pigment than craft paints. Craft paints can be stripped with pine-sol with minimal effort after a 24hour bath in it, it'll also nuke a lot of the superglue, so there's that. Products shown as available are normally stocked but inventory levels cannot be guaranteed, For screen reader problems with this website, please call 1-800-430-3376 or text 38698 (standard carrier rates apply to texts). Again, just use more filtered/distilled water. I used Americana and FolkArt from Michaels on a couple of figures when I was starting out. You can thin these and run through an airbrush or you can use Vallejo Model Air paints (for airbrushing). Everything from tabletop wargames to board games, display pieces or just for fun! Figured I can just toy with the colors if I'm missing one or I could just buy them by the bottle afterward. :/. I use the regular Vallejo Model colours myself, with brushes, and I'm very happy with them. 
I thin mine at a 1:1 ratio. Just make sure you have a clean primer coat underneath them. A few reviews I've seen on masking fluid leads me to believe that it's not quite intended for miniatures (mostly larger models) and I'm wanting to use it so I can paint and then assemble. 
I am sure you could also go with a set of paints from Vallejo or P3 to start too. You don't need paint thinner for them, just use filtered water. All Rights Reserved. 2000-2022 Home Depot. A community for painting miniatures and models. Their primers (Stylnrez) come in bottles from 2 oz to 32 oz. I do dilute them a small bit with distilled water, but not to the extent as the Michaels paints. The pigment in hobby/model paints is also much more fine (less granular). I'm curious about masking now. I started with the three closest to basic colours and white, black and Grey from the p3 line, and now I have a ton. If I used those, should I get paint thinner? 
I ended up using a matte medium to thin out some of the paints and it came out tabletop quality, but not spectacular. There are pros and cons to them, but they definitely have their uses. 
I imagine they'd be too thick for any detail work. 
I typically use Vallejo Game Color and Game Air, but I still tap into the old Americana/Folkart hobby acrylics when I don't want to dish out $4 for a color I'll use on maybe 3 figs. Some of the metallics will need to be thinned with alcohol, and remember to not use Sable brushes with them. It wasn't bad, however I noticed that I lost some of the fine detail in the model because the paint was so thick. The problem with craft acrylic is the pigment density and quality. You'll be better off getting Liquitex acrylics or something equivalent. Afterward, I can glue it all together and hopefully it'll look cleaner. They are however good for doing DIY terrain pieces and buildings. They build up after awhile. Please call us at: 1-800-HOME-DEPOT (1-800-466-3337), Please enter in your email address in the following format: you@domain.com. You can buy a gallon of distilled water for a buck if you want to be a fancy-pants.
Vallejo/Tamiya are fairly expensive (in comparison) but seem to be a much higher quality. I would recommend you start out with Vallejo Model Color paints. Not airbrushing yet but I always hear great stuff about the Vallejo Air line. The Army Painter set or Reaper learn to paint kits are pretty helpful in getting started with non-craft paints. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Craft oil paints are useful for washes as they flow better than acrylic washes (thinned with mineral spirits). Starting out with the right tools will allow you to learn and progress faster. I'd bite the bullet and get the better stuff. Craft acrylics generally do not thin well, and are also quite thick in consistency to begin with. Both of these factors will allow the paint to maintain good coverage when thinned. Thanks in advance! Press J to jump to the feed. Any help would be appreciated! Some are great, but some are garbage. Badger Minitaire airbrush paints are also some of the best. Vallejo Surface Primers are meant to be run through an airbrush, but can also be hand-brushed. Use of this site is subject to certain Terms Of Use. Also got some Vallejo primer. I plan on getting into Infinity and Firestorm armada and I'm having a hard time figuring out which brand of paint to buy. Need Help? I was thinking white modeling clay over the connection points while I prime then paint. A starter set with all the colors you need shouldn't set you back more than $60 for 12 tubes. PS. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. I went ahead and ordered the Vallejo basic paint set. The paint is more expensive because it has up to 10 times the amount of pigment than craft paints. Craft paints can be stripped with pine-sol with minimal effort after a 24hour bath in it, it'll also nuke a lot of the superglue, so there's that. Products shown as available are normally stocked but inventory levels cannot be guaranteed, For screen reader problems with this website, please call 1-800-430-3376 or text 38698 (standard carrier rates apply to texts). Again, just use more filtered/distilled water. I used Americana and FolkArt from Michaels on a couple of figures when I was starting out. You can thin these and run through an airbrush or you can use Vallejo Model Air paints (for airbrushing). Everything from tabletop wargames to board games, display pieces or just for fun! Figured I can just toy with the colors if I'm missing one or I could just buy them by the bottle afterward. :/. I use the regular Vallejo Model colours myself, with brushes, and I'm very happy with them. I thin mine at a 1:1 ratio. Just make sure you have a clean primer coat underneath them. A few reviews I've seen on masking fluid leads me to believe that it's not quite intended for miniatures (mostly larger models) and I'm wanting to use it so I can paint and then assemble. I am sure you could also go with a set of paints from Vallejo or P3 to start too. You don't need paint thinner for them, just use filtered water. All Rights Reserved. 2000-2022 Home Depot. A community for painting miniatures and models. Their primers (Stylnrez) come in bottles from 2 oz to 32 oz. I do dilute them a small bit with distilled water, but not to the extent as the Michaels paints. The pigment in hobby/model paints is also much more fine (less granular). I'm curious about masking now. I started with the three closest to basic colours and white, black and Grey from the p3 line, and now I have a ton. If I used those, should I get paint thinner? I ended up using a matte medium to thin out some of the paints and it came out tabletop quality, but not spectacular. There are pros and cons to them, but they definitely have their uses. I imagine they'd be too thick for any detail work. I typically use Vallejo Game Color and Game Air, but I still tap into the old Americana/Folkart hobby acrylics when I don't want to dish out $4 for a color I'll use on maybe 3 figs. Some of the metallics will need to be thinned with alcohol, and remember to not use Sable brushes with them. It wasn't bad, however I noticed that I lost some of the fine detail in the model because the paint was so thick. The problem with craft acrylic is the pigment density and quality. You'll be better off getting Liquitex acrylics or something equivalent. Afterward, I can glue it all together and hopefully it'll look cleaner. They are however good for doing DIY terrain pieces and buildings. They build up after awhile. Please call us at: 1-800-HOME-DEPOT (1-800-466-3337), Please enter in your email address in the following format: you@domain.com. You can buy a gallon of distilled water for a buck if you want to be a fancy-pants.