The models. Yes, that's right, those grey lumps of rubbery plastic. The detail is not so great on some of them (the faces of the elf and the dark cultist stand out as the worst offenders), but they are representative. However, being that I am an avid miniature gamer, I set out to make them even more recognizable on the board by painting them up, trying to stay true to the card art colour-wise. I'm quite pleased with how they turned out, so why haven't I heard of anyone else painting theirs? Come on people! The models are here, I challenge you to paint yours and post the results ASAP!

Thumbnail leads to full size image from my personal gallery, slow connections beware!

Wow, they look fantastic! When I first got the game the first thing my friend asked about was the figures.. We were both disappointed to find out they were just plastic molds. He had talked about painting them, maybe this will serve as inspiration.

Hi,

So far I've painted the figures as we have played with them (not all but more frequent ones). I must say the quality of the figures varies a lot. The Dark Cultist is a bummer, the Wizard, Merchant, Sage & Troll are quite nice. The Toad is my favorite though. Of the ones that I haven't yet painted, the Dwarf looks like a quite a good figure. Forgot to put reaper in here, well he doesn't look that special... The Sage came out really well, even though the picture here isn't so good.

Anyways, playing with painted figures is the way to go. Of course having painted about a 1000 Warhammers gives something of a routine to these..

reddz said:

Gentlegamer said:

You know... I thought about offering that service :P But realistically I'll have to decline, sorry. Perhaps if you have a Games Workshop store or other FLG store with minature gamers locally you can find someone to do it, and save shipping costs at the same time.

Reddz and Kalle - that is fantastic work!

I've been wanting to post painted examples in the minis section at Talisman Island and have been sent a few examples which you can see - http://www.talismanisland.com/mini_4retalisman.htm - you will also notice that I have none online for The Reaper as yet! I would normally wait until I've had my own ones done and showcase those, but I think it's nicer to see examples from others.

My ultimate aim is to have contributors artwork for each of the figures, even going back and replacing some of the 2nd and 3rd Edition artwork. Even having one of each "shape" of Toad from the Revised 4th Edition.

If you (or in fact anyone who is planning on painting!) would like to have a couple of your minis featured then can you contact me directly and we can get things moving!

Basically, I'll need close up shots, with no flash and plenty of light against a plain background so that the figures can be cropped out easily.

Those look really good.

But, how the hell do you paint them when they are so small? I've never painted mini's before. Some tips please would be nice?

Yes, please, TIPS !!!! I am no painter of models like this but think the ones shown in the photos are great. Couple of questions :

1. What type and thickness of brush is used ?

2. What types of paints are used and what colours ?

Basically, anyone got an "Idiots guide to painting Talisman minitures"

Thanks in advance

@talismanisland: as proud of these as I am, I do not feel that mine are "showcase" worthy in comparison to the ones on your site or even against Kalle's small collection (I love the shading and blending techniques, something that in all my years of Warhammer I still have not learned to do myself...)

@akuma and mmille: Painting models is very easy... well at least easier than painting on a canvas, as the detail on the models can do most of the work for you. I mostly use a 000 brush (GW Fine Detail Brush or equivalent) as well as a #3 for base coats and broad coverage and a small 1/4" fan brush for "over brushing" and "dry brushing". Explaining techniques on this board would take far too long, and there are several websites that give tutorials on model painting technique, but nothing can compare to experience. I suggest finding a minature gaming club in your area (Games Workshop or otherwise) and ask for a painting lesson. Games Workshop in particular here as they will even give you a basic model and let you learn with their brushes and paints. The paints are acrylics, and the Creamcoat or other craft store brand should be good enough but hobby/minature gaming stores sell higher end specific paints (Citadel, Ral Partha, Reaper, etc...) that are more suited to painting minatures. Just do some searches on google for things like "how to paint minatures" or "over brushing and dry brushing" or what not, maybe even check out some of the articles on www.games-workshop.com in their hobby section.

Hi,

There's a lot of miniature gaming sites for for example Games Workshop's games, that can give You excellent painting tips.

I've painted a lot of Warhammer and 40k armies, I'm more of an 'army painter' than a maker of center pieces. I have usually got good points for painting in tournaments.

The key thing in painting miniatures is to utilize the models three dimensions. You are not painting porcelain or on a canvas. So, the miniature is small, but the sculptor has already put in the details. These FFG's models aren't nowhere near the quality of 'real' miniatures from GW, Racham, etc, but good enough for a nice result. There are different simple methods to get a reasonably good results in a limited time. I spray the models first with a white spray. Then when painting, I use very dark and highly diluted paint with water. The effect when painted on three dimensional, white figure, is that the thin color makes the recesses seem dark and the raised details light, for example in a cape or chainmail. When painting a red cape, I use red, tint it with black, then add lot of water. There are specialized miniature paints from Citadel (GW) and Vallejo that You should use.

The brush doesn't need to be thin, the precision is not really an issue. When the colors have dried, You can then highlight parts by drybrushing (very dry brush, light color, the color touches only the raised details), add washes (darker, even thinner color) to emphasize the recesses etc. I usually paint for example the skin first on darker tones, and the use lighter colors as 'make-up'. Citadel even produces really good ready-made washes that are just fantastic.

Of course there are many techniques in miniature painting, but painting good lookin miniatures is more about having eye for colors than having a really steady hand and a thin brush.

And, a painted miniature looks so much better than grey plastic, even if it is Your first work. Just give it a go !

Okay, we were obviously writing the painting guide the same time with reddz...

Hope somebody gets the inspiration to start painting. I have three sons, and we spend a lot of time painting and playing with various miniature and board games. My six year old youngest one starts to be a real good painter, and as he's also an excellent tactician, I'm sure the time of our hegemony in Finnish warhammer scene is approaching (as a player the boys hopefully beat me soon...). The 9 and 12 years old guys are just amazing painters.

reddz said:

I am sure that I'm not alone when I say that they are much better than you imagine! I'd love to feature them on the site. You sound like me in that you are overly critical of your own work.

I'm in awe, since I have no talent for this.  And Reddz, you work is very good, so don't be bashful.

All the painted figures in this topic look really nice.

When I was last playing this game with some friends they were telling me about how much I should paint the figures but I've always felt my skills were never that great and would not do the game any justice.  There was a reason why I played as Necrons in Warhammer 40k when I played that game.

But seeing this topic makes me want to paint so I might have to rethink my stance.

@talismanisland: Hmmm... then for shits and giggles I will see what magic I can do with my camera and what lights I have in my house (I've never been able to take good pics of my models, but here's to trying!)

@everyone else: Thanks a bunch, and don't be scared to try painting your minis! Even just simple base coats of prodomonent colours will help them stand out on the board and make the game more enjoyable to play. Details can wait!

I look forward to it!