Painting Wargaming Figures

A great book for absolute beginners; those who have been painting a while but have yet to settle on a painting system that feels right; or (like me) had plateaued somewhat on skill improvement and have stared with envy at other people's painting ability. It is a comprehensive guide to painting your own wonderful looking miniature almost like those you see behind display glass or in magazine battle reports. The ones that had me convinced there was a better way to paint than my own self taught approach. And Javier Gomez shows you how! The author details different methods (and combinations of methods) to use at all stages of the painting process from undercoating a new model fresh off the sprue to varnishing a completely painted model and everything in between. Using quality photographs, and step by step instructions this guide shows you how to paint like the experts. Being a largely independent work, this book is not tied down to any one brand of paints (though the author has a personal preference) and the colour charts with each walkthrough need only a little imagination (and your mixing palette) to match to your own paints. The book is also filled with little asides and tips that add another pleasure to reading it. For instance, why plastic instead of ceramic for mixing palettes or why round brushes instead of flat for certain jobs. This book does not tell you how to paint a particular company's models, but instead how to paint any of them. I can see this being my new constant companion at my hobby station with regular re-reads of specific chapters before particular painting sessions. Very top drawer.

After all the rave reviews and looking elsewhere to see more inside pictures, I finally purchased it and waited eagerly. When it arrived I waisted no time in delving into what was supposed to be a magical tomb of secret painting skills, of long ago hinted at mystical mixtures to magically turn your average painting skills into fire breathing dragon slaying competence with mearly a brush stroke with the rattiest of paint brushes. As I scanned the pages I awaited to learn these secret, mind blowing skills, that I, upto now had never been a party too. After I reached the end of the book I was left feeling disappointed, disheartened, and thoroughly defeated. Why, you may ask ? Well, because there are no magic, mystical brush strokes. There are no secret mixtures to making paint flow like liquid gold from the fountain of eternal youth. Just a book showing how one (in my opinion), avarage painter paints his miniatures, and the proportions of paint he uses to achieve this. I really don't want to seem big headed, but there is nothing in this book that anyone who has been painting for any time more than say, 5 years, hasn't worked out on there own by trial and error. The whole book is beautifully printed, with some lovely painted models, shown in progression, from start to finish. Each piece has about 4 or 5 pages with several colour pictures and a small written account of what has been done in each stage, explaining the proportions of the paint used. For example ; Vallejo 781 75%, Vallejo 526 20% White 5% At each stage when highlighting or shading, the quantities are adjusted and ratios written, and a photograph shows where to paint. Anyone who has been painting for less than a few weeks will find this book the Holy Grail of miniature painting, as it shows and tells you what you will learn by your own means over time. Some of the painted models seemed on the poorer side, quality wise, and I was left with the feeling "And this guy has won awards ?" as my own miniatures have been better when I have taken as much time to paint them, as this guy has taken, but I have been painting miniatures and painting models for over 43 years. I wasn't sure if this book was of any use to me, but I decided to keep it, just on the off chance that I may want to look up something such as the best Grey's to use for a dappled horse, or where the muzzle's pink flesh ends and the hair begins. I have given it 4 stars because it is a beautifully printed book, full of colour, and a work of art in itself. It can do no harm to have it on your shelves as a reference, but it isn't an essential buy. If you have some spare cash then get it. If however, there are other books or models on your want list then get them first.

With YouTube and websites these days I don’t often think about buying books for things like tutorials etc, but for some reason I just threw this in my basket one day just to see if it would lead to anything... Oh boy! This was an eye opener! To have such clear informative information first hand that you can keep and refer to whilst painting is invaluable! The guides show everything for faces to bases! Great great wargaming book on painting miniatures! Highly recommend! I’ve even gone and found other great resources from this also! Books are the future haha

A very useful, thoughtful, and well produced guide to figure painting. The approach is interesting - a series of chapters deal with the application of different colours - sections on black, white, red, green, blue, brown etc. Core parts of the process are clearly described and illustrated with examples. Key aspect is the mixing of colours rather than the Foundry three colour 'system' - although the end product in terms of the end 'look' is pretty much the same - black linings, vivid shading. Additional chapters deal with 'themes' - flesh, horses, flags, shields, bases etc. So it adds up to a pretty comprehensive coverage of figure painting - primarily for 28mm scale although there are brief sections on smaller and larger scales. One - probably unavoidable drawback - is that the colour references for the examples refer to one make of paint, the Spanish company Vallejo, so the painting guides for the figures can only be broad indications unless the painter uses these paints. Nevertheless, having returned to painting figures in retirement after a gap of 25 years I found it very useful and an interesting addition or alternative to the excellent Wargames Foundry publications. I prefer a rather more subtle style of end product but the principles here can easily be adapted. I'm sure youngsters - or oldsters - starting off would find it invaluable and easy to follow and apply the principles. I'm not sure that experienced painters will learn too much from the book but it's a good book and the author comes across as a very nice guy.

Not bad with some decent photos and explanations, but a bit outdated with so many tutorials to be found on YouTube.

I have recently gotten into painting napoleonics after reading a few historical books, being reintroduced to the old show Sharpe and taking to a friend of mine. I got the recommendation to get this book from the war gaming community page on Facebook and I am glad did! Javier goes through techniques in easy to follow detail with wit and clarity. Can’t recommend it enough

A disappointing Guide to painting war game figures, unusually organised by colour, however well illustrated and lots of techniques

Colourful (essential to the subject) and staged illustrations with instructional and interesting text. Clearly an expert in his field. Uses Vallejo paints as the standard

Parfait pour tout les débutants. Permet d'avoir un bon rendu et rapidement avec des techniques simples comme celle 3 couleurs..

Uno dei pochissimi libri che insegna la tecnica per dipingere soldatini di 28mm, scritto da uno spagnolo ("El Mercenario") ben conosciuto nel mondo delle miniature militari, un professionista del suo genere. Recentissimo, organizzato in maniera splendida, con capitoli dedicati singolarmente ai colori principali, alle (semplici ma efficaci) tecniche di imbasettamento, pieno di esempi con foto a colori in ogni pagina "step by step". Interessantissimo il capitolo dedicato alla colorazione dei cavalli, con indicazione dei colori da utilizzare per ogni singola razza, per ottenere il massimo realismo. Di veramente facile apprendimento, alla portata di chiunque voglia cimentarsi con passione e un minimo di costanza, con indicazioni di ogni colore utilizzato, casa produttrice e codice (tutti di comune reperibilità). In un inglese, semplice, immediato, veramente un libro indispensabile per gli appassionati , indicato sia a chi è alle prime armi e vuole partire col piede giusto sia a chi come me si cimenta da anni ma che necessitava delle indicazioni giuste !

What a great book! At first I was skeptical, but I ordered it at Christmas. Turns out the book is well written, with a gorgeous full color illustration throughout and presents honest opinion and advice from a true artist. The writing style is conversational, and concise. The directions are clear and accompanied by photos. Whether a newcomer to the hobby or an old hand, both could benefit from the advice and examples laid out in this book. It's a must have for the miniature painter.

Bien organizado por temas (colores, caballos, barnices, etc.). La larga experiencia del autor se nota en los consejos, no sólo para principiantes, sino para pintores más experimentados, que siempre aprenderán algo. Excelente para técnicas básicas o para tener a mano si ya tienes experiencia pero tienes dudas sobre algún tema y no quieres perder tiempo buscando tutoriales online (como es mi caso). Además, el precio es muy razonable, otras guías oficiales de ciertas marcas cuestan mucho más. Javier, si lees esto, soy un despistado y no relacionaba El Mercenario contigo.

Bought for my husband and he is very happy with the product. New to painting miniature models and finds this book very informative and helpful