Author Topic: Starting with minis  (Read 3323 times)

-Ice

  • Sergeant
  • *
  • Posts: 125
Starting with minis
« on: 24 January 2012, 05:57:29 »
As I start my Battletech mini collection, I was wondering how to paint these minis.  I have previous experience mini painting with the Games Workshop Warhammer 40K, using GW primer and paints.  Are there any "favorites" for paints and primer for Battletech minis?

Also, as I am in the UK, I would love to hear where UK players get their "supplies" from.

Finally, do the "best of the best" mini painters here still offer their skills and services up for commission work?

john blackwell

  • Lieutenant
  • *
  • Posts: 1123
  • putting on a happy face
Re: Starting with minis
« Reply #1 on: 24 January 2012, 06:33:29 »
I haven't painted minis for quite a while, so I'm not the one to go around suggesting what to use.

However, CamoSpecs has some excellent minis from specific units covering all houses, many merc units, and the clans for reference as well as tutorials.  I would go there for ideas and inspiration.

ALSO: there are some fantastic painters that post here as well.  I always keep my open to see what comes along here.

Hope this helps.  Happy hunting,
JB
One who puts on his armor should not boast like one who takes it off
Pro pacis par vox excellens

-Ice

  • Sergeant
  • *
  • Posts: 125
Re: Starting with minis
« Reply #2 on: 24 January 2012, 06:55:29 »
Yep, looking at CamoSpecs and I do see some paint "work" that I like.  Or rather paint "style."

GunjiNoKanrei

  • CamoSpecs
  • Lieutenant
  • *
  • Posts: 822
  • tired ... very tired ...
    • darklined.com
Re: Starting with minis
« Reply #3 on: 24 January 2012, 08:00:37 »
Check the Tips&Tricks section. There are a couple of threads about "starting to paint" with lots of useful stuff.

If you already have experience painting miniatures you are good to go :) There is no Battletech line of paints. Any of the hobby brands work equally well (GW, Vallejo, P3, Reaper, ...) and you can even look at some of the craft paints out there. It really comes down to personal preferences and what suits the way you do thing (e.g. paints with a high pigment ratio, paints with lower pigment ratio, ...).

You already have GW paints? Excellent, use them.

The biggest difference between painting W40k miniatures and Mechs is the scale. Space Marines and such are (mostly) in 28mm(ish) scale while BattleTech is in 6mm(ish) scale.

Just get painting, try to translate your previous experiences to Battletech miniatures and see what happens. And make sure to post your results to get tips and pointers :) If in doubt just start a WiP thread as it is much easier to give feedback seeing where you are at with your painting.

whytwolf

  • Catalyst Demo Team
  • Corporal
  • *
  • Posts: 89
Re: Starting with minis
« Reply #4 on: 24 January 2012, 08:04:02 »
I tend to use a mix of Citadel and Vallejo paints as that is what I have on hand.  For primer, I like to use Reaper's black brush on. I only use spray primer (Army Builder) for larger scale models (40K and Warmachine) as I am afraid the spray will obscure the smaller details on Battletech minis.

I also use Camospecs as a great resource for their "How to" clinics and to get ideas about how to paint some of the canon schemes. One thing to note though is that many of them are the artist's interpretation so there will be some variety even within the same unit scheme.

Good luck!

-Ice

  • Sergeant
  • *
  • Posts: 125
Re: Starting with minis
« Reply #5 on: 24 January 2012, 09:45:53 »
Thanks for the info guys.  Glad to see that my current supply of painting materials will still work with BattleTech.

Can anyone put a pic of a BT mini and a GW mini so I can have an idea of the scale of the BT mini?  Never had any BT minis before, but when I first started painting 40K Space Marines, I thought "damn, these are tiny!"

Weirdo

  • Painter of Borth the Magic Puma
  • Catalyst Demo Team
  • Major General
  • *
  • Posts: 40758
  • We can do it. We have to.
    • Christina Dickinson Writes
Re: Starting with minis
« Reply #6 on: 24 January 2012, 10:28:17 »
No pics on hand, but looking at some minis in front of me, a standard space marine will often stand as tall as a light 'mech or as high as the lower chest of an older heavy or assault 'mech. Newer minis tend to be a bit larger, so 'mechs tall enough that a space marine is merely waist high are becoming more common.
My wife writes books
"Thanks to Megamek, I can finally play BattleTech the way it was meant to be played--pantsless!"   -Neko Bijin
"...finally, giant space panties don't seem so strange." - Whistler
"Damn you, Weirdo... Damn you for being right!" - Paul
"...I was this many years old when I found out that licking a touchscreen in excitement is a bad idea." - JadeHellbringer
"We are the tribal elders. Weirdo is the mushroom specialist." - Worktroll

-Ice

  • Sergeant
  • *
  • Posts: 125
Re: Starting with minis
« Reply #7 on: 24 January 2012, 11:23:09 »
Great info Weirdo.  Would love some pics if you can get them later on. 

I'm mostly interested in the "core" clan and IS mechs, those that are in the 3040-3050 era and maybe a touch beyond, but nothing like the new WoB mechs.  So, Thor, Madcat, Atlas, Locust, Hunchback, and so on...

Also, looking at the map packs, I assume the mech mini bases are about as big as the hexes on the map pack?  Even for the heavy mechs?

whytwolf

  • Catalyst Demo Team
  • Corporal
  • *
  • Posts: 89
Re: Starting with minis
« Reply #8 on: 24 January 2012, 11:27:52 »
A Space Marine model stands right around 1.5 inches tall. By comparison, BT mini's average around 2 inches tall (varying based on whether it is an old or new sculpt as the newer tend to run larger).

A standard metal hex base is right around 1 inch from flat to flat and each hex on a paper map is the same size.

foxbat

  • Tunnel Rat
  • Global Moderator
  • Captain
  • *
  • Posts: 3095
    • classicbattletech.fr
Re: Starting with minis
« Reply #9 on: 24 January 2012, 12:38:46 »
I mostly use Citadel paints, and Coat d'Arms, which are available in the UK I think. I prime and seal with GW stuff too.
REgarding comparative sizes, here is a pic to help you. A mech,  a Battle Armour (the little guy, the equivalent of the unpainted armored guy)
BTW, what is that GW dude, I got it in a  abtch of various stuff, never knew what it is.
Hanse Davion is my shepherd.
We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender! Winston Churchill, June 1940

-Ice

  • Sergeant
  • *
  • Posts: 125
Re: Starting with minis
« Reply #10 on: 24 January 2012, 13:10:44 »
Holy **** that mech is SMALL!!  That GW mini is a terminator-armored captain, IIRC.  What "class" is that mech mini, is it a light mech?

Any chance of a more familiar mini, foxbat?  Like a hunchback, or madcat, or atlas?
« Last Edit: 24 January 2012, 13:15:28 by Weirdo »

whytwolf

  • Catalyst Demo Team
  • Corporal
  • *
  • Posts: 89
Re: Starting with minis
« Reply #11 on: 24 January 2012, 13:13:37 »
The green one is a Hercules, heavy class. The Red, White, and Blue tiny guy isn't a mech and looks to be Cavalier Battle Armor.

-Ice

  • Sergeant
  • *
  • Posts: 125
Re: Starting with minis
« Reply #12 on: 24 January 2012, 13:33:12 »
Ouch!!  Is that a Heavy mech?  Oooooo.... I never thought the BattleTech mech minis to be so eety bitty teeny weeny tiny!

Still requesting for some of the popular IS or clan mechs picture...

Oh, and thanks to Weirdo for editing my post.  I do apologize for the slip up.

foxbat

  • Tunnel Rat
  • Global Moderator
  • Captain
  • *
  • Posts: 3095
    • classicbattletech.fr
Re: Starting with minis
« Reply #13 on: 24 January 2012, 14:06:20 »
Here you go, Mad Cat and Atlas.
Hanse Davion is my shepherd.
We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender! Winston Churchill, June 1940

dirty harry

  • Lieutenant
  • *
  • Posts: 939
  • Make my day
Re: Starting with minis
« Reply #14 on: 24 January 2012, 15:44:29 »
This Atlas sculpt is one of the bigger mechs available, while the Mad Cat would be medium size. There smaller mechs out there (e.g. Piranha or Icestorm), mostly light weight mechs.
And there are even smaller infantry units. They tend to be really small.

I don't have GW minis at all but my picture shows a Chameleon, medium battle mech (the green one, about the same size as the Hercules or Mad Cat), a infantry trooper from Flames of war (unpainted mini) and a Davion jump infantry trooper (the small one). Its base is a 1-Cent coin.

-Ice

  • Sergeant
  • *
  • Posts: 125
Re: Starting with minis
« Reply #15 on: 24 January 2012, 18:21:58 »
Top notch pic the foxbat!  Thanks!  At least I know the Atlas is a bit bigger.  That Madcat though, that's a first-scupt, yes?  I see a few of them that seem to be... fatter.

Also correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't all BT minis (except the ones in the box set) made of metal/tin/pewter/lead/whatever?  How prone are they to breaking and chipping off bits of metal?  How about chipping the paint?

dirty harry, I do realize some of the extreme mechs may be bigger/smaller, I do not see myself buying some obscure mech from an experiment from an obscure planet.  I will be sticking to the "common" mechs... TRO 3025 and 3050, and mechs only for the meantime.

Amalor Myrnnyx

  • Lieutenant
  • *
  • Posts: 836
  • www.myrnnyx.com
    • Myrnnyx Minis
Re: Starting with minis
« Reply #16 on: 24 January 2012, 19:43:17 »
First, welcome to the hobby.

For paints, pretty much anything you would use with one company's minis will work with another. Personally, I prefer a blend of Delta and Reaper Master Series, which I use for all of my minis, not just BattleTech.

Quote
Also correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't all BT minis (except the ones in the box set) made of metal/tin/pewter/lead/whatever?  How prone are they to breaking and chipping off bits of metal?  How about chipping the paint?


MOST mechs are lead-free pewter, but some of the older 3025 sculpts (pre 1992, iirc) are lead pewter. There were also plastic Mechs that were available in some sets (3rd Edition box, CityTech 2, PlasTech). Depending on your paint, a good primer is recommended. (and good hygiene practices when working with leaded metal)

Aside from dropping Mechs, breaking really depends on the type of glue used. I use Duro Superglue, and ship painted Mechs all over the world. Very rarely do I hear of one breaking in transit. Admittedly, I do pack them tightly for shipping as well.

Chipping (and rubbing) depends on handling, like any other type of gaming mini. Oviously, the more it's used, the more likely for chips and rubs. A couple layers of a good sealant, like Krylon Matte, should help preserve it.

Some good sites to help you get started with both canon and non-canon color schemes are:
http://camospecs.com/
http://www.heavygauss.com/Index.html
http://www.myrnnyx.com/

Also, check people signatures. Many of the artists have links to their own galleries.

Happy painting.
-James Degenhardt


ISD

  • Master Sergeant
  • *
  • Posts: 283
    • Project Mumblings
Re: Starting with minis
« Reply #17 on: 26 January 2012, 13:17:06 »
That Madcat though, that's a first-scupt, yes?  I see a few of them that seem to be... fatter.
Nope, the first sculpt Timber Wolves have a lot bigger gun pods at least. Resculpt or was it the 2nd resculpt is pretty slim :)
Clan Jade Falcon
Gamma Galaxy
3rd Falcon Talon Cluster

 

Register