319 replies to this topic

[Miar]

The idea of these is great but on the other end I really don't want to get these. The problem is I will have a ton of paint coming already from the Bones kickstarter and it will be in dropper bottles which I prefer. I don't need or want more paint. I'm also not that interested in metal right now. I have lots of Bones coming and if I do pick up any minis it will be more Bones so I can see how the handle for myself (waiting until March is painful). I'd really like to see being able to order a learn to paint pamphlet that goes with some of the Bones Reaper currently has (that would use colors in the paint set 1 that's on the kickstarter- though I will be getting 2 also and probably 3 as well). I'd certainly order some bones and a learn to paint pamphlets to go with them. Ogre, Gnoll, Bugbear, Dwarf, Minotaur, Troll, Werewolf would all be great.

I also wonder how many other new or novice painters there are who will be coming from the Kickstarter who would be interested in something like this.

[Hellcow]

There is a ton of articles and advice on this very site on how to paint. Check out the 'Painting Tips & Advice' stickied topics for a starter course. No need to order some pamphlet when all the info is available, for free, right on these boards.

[Miar]

Oh, I have been going through a ton of stuff. People's comments on the paint kits though have been very positive. I like the way it sounds like there structured as well.

[Goblyn]

buy the paint kits

[Niranth]

Metal minis are not much different than Bones. If the painting tutorial sets will make you more comfortable, go for it. Having extra paint isn't really a bad thing. Also, it will give you a hands-on experience which is invaluable. Some other options beyond the forum include checking out local game stores to find a mentor, checking out YouTube and DVDs.

[Serenity]

I think putting together a Learn to Paint kit or just a guide for use with Bones figures is a nice idea. Maybe Reaper has something like that in the works, but even if they don't, the current kits are good values for beginners and intermediates learning new techniques. Everything you learn about painting will transfer over to Bones plastic, just without any priming necessary.

You can get some very good instructional videos, including those found on YouTube for free. Or you can pay for some nice ones from Miniature Mentor, Dark Sword, Hot Lead, and CMoN, among others. I have a couple of the DVD sets and they're really good, especially if you don't have friends who paint, or a local con or FLGS with experienced painters. The Dark Sword DVD set by Jen Haley and Anne Foerster and the Hot Lead DVD set are both great starting points, and both use primarily Reaper MSPs.

[Robby]

I'm a pretty novice painter (dabbed a dozen years ago and sucked), but got pulled in by the Kickstarter, and have a metric ton of minis ($500+ pledged) coming sometime next year. I also wanted to get a headstart, and most importantly, get to a decent standard before the KS minis got here.

I did the first two Reaper Learn-to-Paint kits and it has been _really_ useful. I look at work I did prior, and the work I've done now, and its night-and-day. Even the last couple of minis I painted (not from the kits) compared to the ones from the kits and I can see a huge difference.

I just started painting my first Bones (the Ogre Chieftain), and really, I've noticed very little difference between the metal minis and Bones. I didn't have to prime the Bones mini, for one. :) The only painting difference I've distinctly noticed so far was the raw plastic doesn't like ink washes very much - it pooled and clumped a lot more than on primed metal. (This was only an issue on a portion of the mini I was test ink-washing before doing any other painting.)

Also, the paint that came in the LTP kits were in dropper bottles, not pots. I've seen other people mention or question that, but mine came in dropper bottles.

[Miar]

Hmm, looking at the paint kits again it does look that there are more dropper bottles than I thought. I'd still rather spend my limited funds on Bones rather than paint though given I will be getting paints in the Kickstarter. There are a number of bones I want that not in the Kickstarter so I don't mind spending some money there.

I do understand the learn to paint kits are very good if you want the paint and it is not terrible that they are metal but....

For me this just seems like a no-brainer. Reaper has the new Bones line. The Bones sell extremely well, and are especially good for beginner painters (durable for table top, cheaper, no need to prime). They do a Kickstarter which both promotes the Bones and will put a huge number of them out there. It also from what I have seen on boards at boardgame geek, Pazio and other places that the Kickstarter is attracting a lot more new painters. The new Bones will not be here to March or so, paints will be here sooner and people are chopping at the bit. Given this it would make sense to offer their learn to paint materials with Bones and with and without paint for all there new customers who are getting into the hobby with Bones.

[zoroaster100]

I thought the Learn to Paint Kits were a good deal. With most of the current Kits you get a bunch of full Reaper Master Paint bottles of a lot of the most useful colors (especially usefulfor painting human type minis), plus primer and brush on sealant, you get two nice metal minis with each Kit. The paints that come in each kit vary slightly as they are selected for the minis that come with the set. I think maybe the Kits used to come with paint samples instead of dropper bottles for some of the colors, but most come with the full paint bottles. By the way, I was much happier with Learn to Paint Kits 1 through 3 than with Learn to Paint Kit 4 because 4 had only a couple of full paint bottles and the rest were paint samples, whereas 1 through 3 came with full bottles only, and plenty of them.

@Miar, I hear what you are saying but the biggest benefit of the Kits are that you get the exact minis that they pamphlet uses to teach you to paint, as well as the exact paint colors you need to follow the instructions. If you are just getting the pamphlet and are then going to wing it by replacing the suggested colors, and using a different mini, then you might as well just learn to paint with the online tutorials available for free on various sites including this one.

I do think Reaper should consider making new Learn to Paint kits with Bones miniatures instead of metal so they can be a bit cheaper since they could save on the difference between the metal mini and the Bones mini.

[Miar]

@Miar, I hear what you are saying but the biggest benefit of the Kits are that you get the exact minis that they pamphlet uses to teach you to paint, as well as the exact paint colors you need to follow the instructions. If you are just getting the pamphlet and are then going to wing it by replacing the suggested colors, and using a different mini, then you might as well just learn to paint with the online tutorials available for free on various sites including this one.

Hmm, Yes I understood this and thought I had made that clear in my first post but I have a feeling my style of writing is not that clear .

I had said 'bones and a learn to paint pamphlets to go with them' and 'that would use colors in the paint set 1'. I assume the people that did the kickstarter are mostly going to fall into the either 'have been painting miniatures for a long time and don't need a paint kit' or 'starting and will be getting the paint option in the kickstarter because it's a good deal'. If they pick which ever current bones fit the best and did paint kits (for those who needed everything) and offered the pamphlet by itself as well it would be ideal. They would just need to base the pamphlet on a couple of the paints in paint set 1. I would certainly order whichever Bone it was and then pay another 3, 4 or 5$ for the pamphlet. If I needed a particular size brush I would order that as well.

If they don't do this I understand but it would seem (which I could be completely wrong about) and easy thing to do.

[ObsidianCrane]

From reading the threads down in the Show Off forum where people have been posting their efforts using the Learn To Paint sets the one thing to keep in mind is that the numbering of the sets is now off.

You want to go 1,2,4,5,3 as the order your progress through them. (This is explained in detail by Buglips in this thread: Learn to Paint Kit No. 2 )

[buglips*the*goblin]

From reading the threads down in the Show Off forum where people have been posting their efforts using the Learn To Paint sets the one thing to keep in mind is that the numbering of the sets is now off.

You want to go 1,2,4,5,3 as the order your progress through them. (This is explained in detail by Buglips in this thread: Learn to Paint Kit No. 2 )

I mentioned the idea of a renumbering to a more logical order to Bryan, as well.

[Reaperbryan]

They were numbered in the order they came out, which was not necessarily the order of learning. Changing numbers at this time would be... difficult.

We are going to change the format of the LTPKs when the KS Bones are available, and the LTPKs will include Bones figures instead of metal, a new guidebook utilizing both the new figures and several years of experience at working with beginners to make it clearer and easier to use. Possibilities of including a DVD or Flash Drive with painting videos have been discussed, and are still open here.

[Miar]

Nice to hear things are being worked on. Doesn't sound like anything soon but I didn't really expect that given that things do take time. I may in fact end up order one of the learn to paints but it would me not ordering more bones.

[Reaperbryan]

We have a lot of ideas, and typically within these halls, that means arguing over which ideas are better.

I vote mine.