(Part 3) Top products from r/ImperialAssaultTMG

Here is my list I will put links when I can.

Citadel Shades- also known as washes. I would suggest Nuln Oil as your black wash and Reikland Fleshshade as a brown wash. Example you would black wash the probe droids but I would suggest the brown wash for the wookie.
I find these washes great for new painters because you don’t have to do anything to them. Use them right out of the pot.
http://www.games-workshop.com/en-AU/Citadel-Shade


Also the Citadel base paints that have the metal look to them like lead belcher are excellent for doing highlights on metal surfaces like the blasters or the droids.

For all my normal colors I only use the 1$ acrylic paint from normal craft stores. They work just as well as long as you water them down. You pay more for the special miniature paints and Side by side I did not see the difference in my Minis.

For primer I use white for most things even stuff that will be dark. It is much easier to make something darker. It is harder to lighten up it back up. The washes especially the black wash will darken up the mini as well so it is important for the colors to be brighter than you think they will needed to be.
Some talked about having to do more than one coat and for about half my colors I normally do two coats but the white gives me the freedom to just do one coat if I want it to look lighter. Example I have to paint a mini one time that was wearing jeans. I only applied one coat of blue paint then used the black wash over it. This gave the jeans this faded look and was done much easier than having to do the lighter highlights by hand.

For brushes a size 0 1 and 2 would be a good start. For washing I use a side 3-4 as well since that makes it quicker.

Varnishes there is only one to use Testors Dull coat
http://www.amazon.com/Testor-Corp-1260-Spray-Testors/dp/B0035LOUMU

Ok here are items that are just really nice to have that you may not have thought about

You will need something to put the models on while you are painting them. I use corks and you can get those at a local craft store then you pick your brushes up. You don’t want to be holding on the mini while painting as your figures will pull even some of the dry paint off with enough handling.
Best way to attach them to the corks is poster tack. It is reusable and holds them very secure.
http://www.amazon.com/Elmers-Poster-Reusable-Adhesive-E1531/dp/B000BKQDB4/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1420900105&sr=8-3&keywords=poster+tac

For priming I have seen a lot of people use a box to prime the minis and I have done this but I find it sometimes hard to get primer over the bottom of the minis. My solution to that is a yard stick. You are going to get paint all over it so make sure it is not one you ever plan on using as a yard stick again. Use the poster tack to minis to the stick. This allows me to flip the minis over completely to be able to get primer even in the hard to reach spots. I can spray about 12 minis at one time.


Edit wanted to add some examples of my work. These are the first minis I ever painted.
http://s750.photobucket.com/user/mrush007/slideshow/Zombicide%20First%20Batch

Here's a few quick tips.

Never leave your brushes standing in a water pot. The bristles will bend and fray very quickly (like less than a minute).

Never let the paint get on or around the metal ferrule part of the brush. That's the bit where the bristles join the handle. Paint is hard to get out of there, and when it dries, it can push out, bend or cut the bristles.
Try to keep the paint to only half of the bristle length.

Wash often and thoroughly. Don't let paint dry in the bristles. Keep it wet, or wash out and get more paint. As above, keep the paint volume minimal. You can load the brush up a bit more if it's a more watery paint like a wash or glaze.

Further to above, you can use brush cleaner or conditioner. It helps get the paint off a bit better than water and can help hold the shape for longer. Can also help remove dried up paint.
I've recently started using Masters Brush Cleaner (https://www.amazon.com/General-Pencil-Company-Masters-Preserver/dp/B001TNR7VM). Comes in heaps of sizes, will last for AGES and it's amazing how much extra paint it gets out of the brush.

Try not use detail and high quality brushes for "rough" painting or drybrushing. That sort of motion can damage and bend the thin bristles. Use a specific drybrush or a cheap $2 one for that.

Generally more expensive brushes are better, but there is a limit to that. I jumped over to Winsor & Newton Series 7 brushes and it made a big difference to my painting, however, they still get damaged and they won't last forever either. Obviously, good care will make them last longer but I've been pretty bad at that lately.
For a new painter some of the Army Painter or GW range is a pretty good start. Once you get better and learn to care for the brushes properly, then grab yourself some more expensive stuff.

If you look on the back of the box it will have a small icon with the sleeve color and amount required. My work blocks the FFG site so i can't get you a great example but the listing on amazon shows it on the second picture. You can buy the sleeves right off the FFG site

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https://www.amazon.com/Fantasy-Flight-Games-Star-Wars/dp/1616619902/ref=sr_1_3?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1537284727&sr=1-3&keywords=imperial+assault

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As to the larger hero cards I got a set of these ultra pro sleeves, they fit nicely into the bottom 2 sleeves and jsut had to be trimmed down to length

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https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N5JMCT0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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I only play campaign and wanted the cards to last so I sleeved them to be sure drinks don't spill and ruin them

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I also can't highly enough recommend this insert enough to oragnize your box, its so awesome:

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https://www.meeplerealty.com/product/imperial-command-post/

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there is a youtube review of it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ky4S-Kj6x5k&t=443s (and another insert as well)

I got something similar to this at the dollar store. The one on Amazon there is a bit small the ones at the dollar store are large enough to be a perfect fit so that the large cards lay flat and small cards go on edge. I cut some dividers out of cardboard (u shape to stand up on their own) to separate class cards from equipment cards etc. Works perfectly, also great for holding 2 magic the gathering decks and is water proof.

>Not as good as others

Do not sell yourself short, they look good. Table ready for sure! I highly recommend hitting the ones you do not want gloss with Frosted Glass matte finish. I was skeptical at first but love the way it looks.

I use something like these:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Connect-Business-Name-Holder-Cards/dp/B0031YFELM/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1465210997&sr=8-10&keywords=business+card+holder

At the moment they're in two cases, one for Group Limited (e.g. brawler, Hunter etc.) and one for generics.

Works great for me and really easy to flip to the ones I want

You may have to shop around for thickness, but something like: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002BXXAJM/

You line the edge near the door so that it will be flush against this when it's closed. This will create a barrier that prevents dust from getting past the cracks into the display case. You are obviously giving up a little bit of visual flair for dust proofing since brush seal isn't exactly pretty looking.

I use this binder.

After getting a binder, I found that keeping deployment cards and mission cards in a binder was useful. But a lot of stuff (like agenda or command cards) are much easier to handle with just ziplock baggies.

I laminate most of my character sheets, reference cards, summary pages and so forth

Corner Rounder
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000WWIPEE?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00

Laminator ( bought it last year at $17)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007VBXB48?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00

Laminating Pouches
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0010JEJPC?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00

Edit: This helps as well
Trimmer
http://www.amazon.com/Fiskars-Titanium-SureCut-Trimmer-01-005454/dp/B003SLC3IU/ref=sr_1_3?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1450980581&sr=1-3&keywords=trimmer

I just ordered some more of these which I use for Armada - I did a dry fit and I think I can cram all the tiles and big models into the deep one and everything else into the other.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001G1CUK0

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00005QWYF

2 pocket pages! https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B003FZDFI6/r


There are 3 pocket pages that have 4x6 pockets, but I disliked that they were not all the same direction. Also, bonus, two sided means my 16 page pockets have the class cards for the figures (with 2 double pockets).

I use this binder. It has pockets that can handle all the paperwork, manuals, character sheets, etc.

I use these for the small map pieces They go in the binder.

I use these for larger map pieces. They also go in the binder.

All dice, tokens, and cards go in this box.

I ordered the box inserts for all the boxes from these guys. That covers all the minis except for the largest stuff (AT-STs), which got a case from them instead.

https://www.amazon.com/Acrylicos-Vallejo-VAL-70103-Wargames-Basic/dp/B000PHCTR0/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1505335319&sr=8-12&keywords=vallejo+paints+basic+set

8 piece basic