Warhammer 40k tabletop painting

[HyX-Man]

I got a few weeks ago my first starte-set because I want ot get into TT. Currently having fun painting them (even if I suck at it for now), but not sure how I should do the bases.

The starter-pack included Space Marines and Tyranids.
Space Marines are in Macragge blue with Balthasar Gold
Tyrandis are Naggaroth night and wraithbone...

For the Tyranids, I was thinking maybe some skulls and spines on darker "dirt" with Mournfang Brown as base color. Space Marines I am totally clueless on what would look good...

Suggestions or ideas anybody?

EDIT: Main question has ben solved, now this is more a share your miniatures kind of thread. If you have something to share, feel free to share it =)

[Hobbit XIII]

For my bases I used to use kitty litter and use glue and dunk it into the litter (fresh from the bag not what has been in the kitty tray) and paint over with whatever dirt / rocky combo kind of colours might put a little bit of fake grass in there. You can even get packs that have bit of everything of rocks and dirt and grass for you to put on (from when i used them they were cheap).

Space Marines maybe a broken knife or save the space for when you build up your "bitz box" and have found something that might go with it at a later date.
A helmet or magazine or shoulder plate laying around.

Tyranids, if you want to add a little bit of horror element a severed limb on the base amongst the rocks / dirt / whatever your making the scenario setting.
The skull idea sounds good too.

Later an idea maybe to use magnets so you can chop and change bases based on the setting of the battle or campaign. - wait until doing that otherwise it might not quite work very well early on for you.

To be honest, I used to check different forums and various white dwarf magazines and use that as a guide.

[HyX-Man]

I dont really want to build an army of those factions, it is just because they were in the starterpack, it is perfect to practice the stuff.
The army I want to build up (and play with others) will be Adeptus Mechanicus, and from what I have seen, they always have that destert looking base, and for that there is alot of stuff available.

my issue is really the SM. In the Set, there is an SM arm and head too many, so I might use them, because I liked that idea. Maybe a rocky terrian for it as base maybe? I also have seen Imerial sector bases used for SM, but I personally did not like that.

for tyranids: yes, a more darker or gore approach was what I had in mind, because it is a swarm faction, and it kinda makes sense to have some skulls and spines around..

But I guess what is offered here (Germany) is kinda limited, because I only know about: Skulls, spines, grass tuffs (different variations), creepvines and crystals (different colors)... And of course differnt types of sand and dirt...

[Hobbit XIII]

Originally posted by HyX-Man:

I dont really want to build an army of those factions, it is just because they were in the starterpack, it is perfect to practice the stuff.
The army I want to build up (and play with others) will be Adeptus Mechanicus, and from what I have seen, they always have that destert looking base, and for that there is alot of stuff available.

my issue is really the SM. In the Set, there is an SM arm and head too many, so I might use them, because I liked that idea. Maybe a rocky terrian for it as base maybe? I also have seen Imerial sector bases used for SM, but I personally did not like that.

for tyranids: yes, a more darker or gore approach was what I had in mind, because it is a swarm faction, and it kinda makes sense to have some skulls and spines around..

But I guess what is offered here (Germany) is kinda limited, because I only know about: Skulls, spines, grass tuffs (different variations), creepvines and crystals (different colors)... And of course differnt types of sand and dirt...

You don't need a lot to make a base look good. If you want to make a squad really stand out then yeah go to town but if you do something simple and do it well that will look good in itself.

The bases on these miniatures from Etsy look good and they are not complex just simple.

https://i.etsystatic.com/15460384/r/il/7790ee/1883919192/il_fullxfull.1883919192_g7zw.jpg

press ctrl and - to zoom out a bit and you can see them clearly.

[Hobbit XIII]

these also have a simple design on the bases .

https://images.beastsofwar.com/2023/02/Strike-Force-Agastus-Warhammer-40000.jpg

(I won't spam you with links)

[HyX-Man]

Originally posted by Hobbit XIII:

these also have a simple design on the bases .

https://images.beastsofwar.com/2023/02/Strike-Force-Agastus-Warhammer-40000.jpg

(I won't spam you with links)

Ok, this actually looks good and the colors are more or less the same as my SM. I guess it is some kind of sand/dirt with some grass tuffs or so...
And yeah, for the beginning I wanted to go simple anyways, to slowly learn it. trying to go for some insane bases would be counter-productive as a beginner..

[bad_fur_day1]

Good luck. Also if you want to improve your painting very quickly I'd recommend checking out the warhammer youtube channel painting videos.

[Basho]

the traditional and simplistic approach would be to flock them in a manner of your choosing, such as gluing sand onto them, and then painting them in a color you expect fits most playing tables (such as grassy green or concrete grey).

it is simple, looks decent, but also might be a bit boring.
so thats more of a "for your consideration" if you are new to the whole thing, but you might want to take it from there so to speak.

[HyX-Man]

Originally posted by bad_fur_day1:

Good luck. Also if you want to improve your painting very quickly I'd recommend checking out the warhammer youtube channel painting videos.

I will check it out, thanks. It is official channel called Warhammer or is it a different one? Because I have seen alot of painting channels and most of them seem to be focused for advanced skills, like the shading, sun reflection or mixing colors for a smoother transition...

Originally posted by Basho:

the traditional and simplistic approach would be to flock them in a manner of your choosing, such as gluing sand onto them, and then painting them in a color you expect fits most playing tables (such as grassy green or concrete grey).

it is simple, looks decent, but also might be a bit boring.
so thats more of a "for your consideration" if you are new to the whole thing, but you might want to take it from there so to speak.

Like I mentioned, the SM and Tyranids are for practice (because I am not really interested in them), and my main Army will be AdMech. And for them I have a clear vision and will also make my entire "setup" evolve around them.

[bad_fur_day1]

Originally posted by HyX-Man:

Originally posted by bad_fur_day1:

Good luck. Also if you want to improve your painting very quickly I'd recommend checking out the warhammer youtube channel painting videos.

I will check it out, thanks. It is official channel called Warhammer or is it a different one? Because I have seen alot of painting channels and most of them seem to be focused for advanced skills, like the shading, sun reflection or mixing colors for a smoother transition...

Yeah the official warhammer channel on youtube, there's beginner all the way to advanced, even specifically going over each faction, so like how to paint an ultramarine or tyranid. They give really useful tips we didn't have those back in the day.

Water down your paints a little so as to not obscure the model detail (Beginner mistake), simply paint the base colours, then fix up the little mistakes you make. Then add washes over the top to add shading. And you'll get really good results easy. It's not as hard as it seems.

[bad_fur_day1]

Here you go, beginner ultramarine. Easy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKumrvcfKLA

[HyX-Man]

Thanks, will check it out later... I watched a beginner video, and they mentioned the Wetpallat, which i used. But I make a totall different mistake and had issues with that, because I used a base coating and then startit with the color base coating. and as you can expect, some details got lost due to too many paint.
Which is also why I am not too worried about how those units look. I just wished I had started way earlier. I remember calling Warhammer a Starcraft rip-off for ages, because I had no idea it was the other way around. Could have started with all that in the 90s, and would be a pro by now :D

[bad_fur_day1]

Yeah I'd say a wet palete is a little more intermediate, I've never used one. Mostly if you apply thin layers of paint and keep it neat, then apply washes / follow the techniques in the videos closely you'll get much better.

[HyX-Man]

Originally posted by bad_fur_day1:

Yeah I'd say a wet palete is a little more intermediate, I've never used one. Mostly if you apply thin layers of paint and keep it neat, then apply washes / follow the techniques in the videos closely you'll get much better.

I personally like the wet palete. Not sure if it is a beginner thing, but sometimes the paint is very uneven on the brush, and with the wet palete, I don't have that issue.
And I haven't found a good type of brush yet. They seem to be ruined pretty fast...

Edit: I just watched it, and holy **** did I make mistakes :D

[bad_fur_day1]

Originally posted by HyX-Man:

Edit: I just watched it, and holy **** did I make mistakes :D

Ya.

Pretty simple once you know how. Oh the brushes you want to keep the bristles from getting clogged up with paint right down in where it comes out of the handle, or they'll fray, lots of swishing it in water and getting the gunk out they'll last much longer.
Says in the video to try and keep paint mostly on the tips of the brushes. Use the wet palette if it helps you.

[HyX-Man]

Yeah, but the bursh that was in the pack was already seperated at the top, and no matter what I tried, they would not stay together. in other word my first major mistake was to use that brush at all