Getting back into wargaming.... time to buy the equipment!

[Charlie_]

I gave up wargaming many years ago. Back in the day I was a WFB player.

I'm going to get back into it, and I'm going for a historical 15th century project that can double-up for A Song Of Ice And Fire. I will be using the Perry Miniatures War Of The Roses plastic kits (no doubt with the odd metal figure in there too later).

Now a few years back I did briefly have a go at getting back into the painting side of things at least, and purchased some Citadel paints and a number of old OOP metal citadel models I had always admired (from ebay). I painted up a few of them but lost interest / enthusiasm. However I still have the paints, and today as I type this I've started to get some brushwork practice back in on those old metal figs I still kept hold of.

Now, I'm gonna do this project right! So it's time to buy some equipment.

I'm gonna be getting the Perry kits from Wayland games, and thought I'd add this to my order.
http://www.waylandgames.co.uk/army-painter-tools/13510-plastic-starter-set
Any thoughts? In particular on the glue... I'm going to be assembling a lot of plastic soldiers, and will happily pay a little extra for a better product.

Now, paint.... I don't want to stay with Citadel. I won't ever need many colours, as I like to blend a lot. So I'll only need one brown, one red, one blue, etc....
The one thing that really puts me off Citadel paints these days is not the price, it's the ridiculous names! I could cope with Goblin Green, Bleached Bone, Chainmail, Bestial Brown....
But.... Druchii Violet?? Athonian Camoshade??? Nurgle's Rot??? BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOOD?
Seriously? Those names really put me off.
So I hear Vallejo is the way to go. Is that true? If someone could reccomend what basic colours I should have, that would be great.
The one Citadel colour I love and will need a good replacement for is Bleached Bone. That colour always came in handy for me!

I want to be taking some good quality photos of my progress on this project, so I'm going to make a lightbox to help me out, following a guide I found here on this forum (sorry, I can't remember who was responsibly for it right now!).

If anyone wants to chime in and give me some tips as to which brands are good, which ones are worth avoiding, hints with vallejo paints, anything really, I'm all ears!

Consider me a beginner if you want, or someone who has opened their eyes and seen the gaming world being Games Workshop for the first time.

[Mick_in_Switzerland]

Welcome back

If you remember the old Citadel Paint colours, then the Vallejo Game Colour range has very similar colours and colour names.
I would stay with Citadel for metals as I am not very keen on some of the Vallejo ones.
I think Bone White is the equivelant to GW Bleached Bone.
http://www.beastsofwar.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/3-Colours-Vallejo-Swatch.jpg

I suggest you buy Revell Contacta Liquid glue in a bottle with a brush.  This should be in most good model stores.
http://www.revell.de/en/products/colors-glue-co/glue/id/39601.html

It is worth investing in a good pair of sprue cutters.  
I have a pair from Games Workshop which are quite good and an expensive pair from Tamiya that are fantastic.
ITEM 74035 Sharp Pointed Side Cutters for Plastic - The Tamiya cutters cut so flush that I rarely need to file or sand the stub.


Mick

[Charlie_]

If you remember the old Citadel Paint colours, then the Vallejo Game Colour range has very similar colours and colour names.
I would stay with Citadel for metals as I am not very keen on some of the Vallejo ones.
I think Bone White is the equivelant to GW Bleached Bone.

I suggest you buy Revell Contacta Liquid glue in a bottle with a brush.  This should be in most good model stores.

It is worth investing in a good pair of sprue cutters.  
I have a pair from Games Workshop which are quite good and an expensive pair from Tamiya that are fantastic.
ITEM 74035 Sharp Pointed Side Cutters for Plastic - The Tamiya cutters cut so flush that I rarely need to file or sand the stub.

Interesting, I'd never really considered spending much on cutters, but I could be convinced it's worth it!
The one in the 'starter package' I linked seems to be this one.
http://www.waylandgames.co.uk/army-painter-tools/13522-precision-plastic-cutters

As for the glue, again I'd not considered applying with a brush before. How fine is the brush?
Might be useful to get one of these as well, or is the needle applicator redundant?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Revell-Contacta-Liquid-Professional-Applicator/dp/B000RMJ2H8/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1439322725&sr=8-3&keywords=revell+liquid+glue

Has anyone tried the GW 'liquid green stuff'? If it does what it says on the tin, it could be very useful!

[fred]

Vallejo Game Colour are very handy paints - they have good coverage, and I like the dropper bottles.

Sprue cutters are very handy - I can't remember what I paid for mine - but they are very useful.

Brush on liquid polystyrene cement is also the business, back in the day I only used to use poly cement in a tube and this was always really messy. The brush on stuff is great really easy to control - to either get a little amount on, or to get lots on to join bigger parts. The brush is about the size of a no.2 model painting brush. As the liquid cement is so thin if you get a bit extra on, it doesn't cause a mess.

A set of needle files is very useful.

eBay is generally useful for picking up these various bits and pieces - unless you are lucky enough to have a good local model shop.

[Mick_in_Switzerland]

I find that Contacta with the tube applicator dries up, so the brush is more reliable.

Use real green stuff. I am not impressed with the liquid.

[Lowtardog]

Cote d arms paints are the original citadel paints rebranded if any use

[Charlie_]

Ok, so I'll get a cement with brush, hadn't thought of that, thanks guys.

As for paints.... I've been browsing both the vallejo and citadel ranges and guess I'll take a select few from both.

The paints I need are....
Black and white, obviously.
A good dark brown.
A bright red and a bright blue (what used to be Blood Red and Enchanted Blue).
I guess a yellow and a green too.
A pale flesh tone (I am used to Elf Flesh).
Bleached bone.
Metal, perhaps one dark and one bright.
And also what used to be called Snakebite Leather...
Having just types that out, I guess I don't need many. The joys of blending!
But yeah, Bleached Bone and Snakebite Leather... If anyone knows what the Vallejo or the modern Citadel equivalents are, I wanna know!

Cote d arms paints are the original citadel paints rebranded if any use

Googling now!

[Charlie_]

Aha!

Very interesting!

https://www.hiveworldterra.co.uk/Article/view_CoatDArmsConversionChart.html

http://www.blackhat.co.uk/online_shop/index.php?cPath=21&osCsid=vuknsnf554dsf9hqt1ljvdfjk2

[Momotaro]

The new Citadel paints range contains a lot of useful colours.  The Base reds have very good coverage, as do the Base white and yellow.  There are some nice browns in there as well - XV-88 and Zandri Dust.

Weirdly, their range of blues, previously excellent, now looks a bit odd - chalky and white-ish.

I agree with the names though - "Inspector Mournfang-Brown of Scotland Yard to see you, My Lord..."

[Momotaro]

I find that Contacta with the tube applicator dries up, so the brush is more reliable.

Quick poke with a piece of wire does the trick.

What was the question again? 

[Charlie_]

Google works wonders again.

http://www.dakkadakka.com/wiki/en/Paint_Range_Compatibility_Chart

Including old Citadel, new Citadel, Coat D'arms and Vallejo.

So looks like for bleached bone, I want Vallejo Bonewhite or Coat D'arms Bone.

[SotF]

For paints, I'd actually suggest going with Army Painter or Reaper kits to start out with.

The only GW thing that I would really suggest acquiring if you come across one is one of the grass mats that they made before discontinuing it to go with the realm of battle because it's a very nice, portable, heavy duty, piece of kit that ends up being one of the most useful things to play on for just about any scale or size game up to a 6'x4' play area.

[janner]

I generally use Citadel paints, but have given up on their white - both versions are poorly produced - and have switched to Vallejo for that. Some of the Army Painter metallics also cover better than Citadel.

[Captain Blood]

Charlie_

I use mainly GW Citadel paints (the current generation) and Vallejo. They're both pretty reliably matt, with high pigmentation, and can be thinned and mixed easily.
Personally, I can't use Coat D'Arms - I find most of the colours dry shiny, and I hate painting with shiny paints (unless they're supposed to be shiny - i.e. metallic)

The best bone colour I've found is GW Ushabti Bone - this is a whisker darker than the old Bleached Bone, but much the same tonally.

I've always used Revell Contacta liquid polystyrene cement with the needle dispenser for my Perry plastics. It's absolutely perfect for the job.

[Charlie_]

Thanks for all the tips guys.

I've gone and ordered a few modelling bits and pieces following recommendations here, so will be ready to start assembling when I take the plunge and order the Perry kits!

The paints can wait til later. But I've gone through all the citadel paints I have right now, and a lot of them (ie the ones I haven't used much) are honestly as good as new. So I will only really need to get a few, and using the above chart I posted I can find decide between the modern Citadel or Vallejo equivalent of the ones I'm used to, and get them all through one order from Wayland Games. And as I won't need as many as I first thought, I can afford to get a few extras. Perhaps I will get both Citadel Ushabti Bone and Vallejo Bonewhite and see which I like best?

I'm hearing a few people say Army Painter for metallics? Perhaps I will do that.

I've been enjoying putting my painting skills back in practice on some old metal Citadel wood elves (the late 80s range). Perhaps I'll post up a few pictures in the next few days!