My First Time Painting a Warhammer Figure on a Budget: The Honest Truth
My First Time Painting a Warhammer Figure on a Budget: The Honest Truth
Meta Description: Think you need a fortune to start Warhammer? Think again! Follow my journey painting my first Citadel miniature using only cheap craft paints and a dream. Spoiler: It's possible!
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There it was. My first Warhammer Space Marine. I’d spent more on this single plastic figure than I had on entire armies of dollar-store toys. It sat on my desk, grey and intimidating, silently judging my cheap Apple Barrel paints and my single, slightly frayed brush.
I was terrified. Everything online said I needed Citadel paints, Washes, Layer paints, technical paints, and a $20 brush. My total budget for the month was… well, about $20.
But I’m The Thrifty Painter. My mission is to prove the hobby is about passion, not price tags. So, I took a deep breath, embraced the jitters, and dove in. Here’s exactly how it went.
The "Holy Cow, This is Expensive" Reality Check
Let’s not sugarcoat it. Warhammer is a premium hobby. That first purchase of a single miniature or a starter set is a rite of passage. I felt the pressure to make it perfect, to justify the cost. But perfection is the enemy of progress. My goal wasn’t to win a golden demon; it was to get paint on plastic and learn.
My Ultra-Budget Toolkit
The Model: One Assault Intercessor (the one from the magazine starter kit)
Paints: Apple Barrel Craft Paints (Royal Blue, Pure Red, White, Black, and a metallic silver)
Brushes: A single Princeton Select size 2 round brush
Palette: A white ceramic plate
Other: Water cup, paper towels, and my DIY wet palette for keeping paints wet.
Total extra cost: $0.
The Step-by-Step Budget Paint Job
1. The "Why Is It So Watery?!" Phase (Basecoating)
I thinned my Royal Blue paint with water to that coveted skim-milk consistency. The first coat looked terrible—streaky and transparent. I panicked. But I remembered the rule: two thin coats. I let it dry completely and applied a second. Like magic, it turned into a smooth, solid field of blue. Lesson learned: patience is more important than a fancy paint pot.
2. The "Please Don't Shake" Phase (Details)
This was the hardest part. Painting the tiny red details on the gun casing and the eagle crest with a craft paint required a steady hand and the very tip of my brush. I had to go back with blue a few times to clean up mistakes. It was frustrating but incredibly satisfying when it worked.
3. The "Magic in a Bottle" Phase (The Wash)
I didn’t have Nuln Oil. So, I made my own wash by diluting black craft paint with a lot of water until it was like dirty water. I carefully applied it into the recesses of the armor, around the bolts, and under the arms. The transformation was unbelievable. Suddenly, my flat blue model had shadows, depth, and definition. This is the biggest bang-for-your-buck technique in existence.
4. The "It's Alive!" Phase (Drybrushing)
For highlights, I used the drybrush technique. I dipped my brush in a light blue (I mixed my base blue with white), wiped almost all of it off on a paper towel, and then lightly brushed it over the raised edges of the armor. The edges of the pauldrons, the knuckles on the gloves—it all started to pop.
The Final Result: Thrifty Painter Verdict
I sat back and looked at my Space Marine. Is it perfect? Absolutely not. You can see brush strokes if you look closely. The red isn’t as vibrant as a Citadel Mephiston Red. But from a normal viewing distance? He looks like a Warhammer figure.
The details are crisp, the colors are blocked in cleanly, and the wash and drybrush did the heavy lifting to create contrast. Most importantly, he’s mine. I painted him. I learned more from this one model using limited supplies than I would have following a complex guide with 15 specialized paints.
What I Learned: Your Budget Doesn't Define Your Hobby
Technique Trumps Tools: Learning to thin your paint and apply a wash is infinitely more valuable than owning every shade of blue.
Embrace the Mistakes: This is your first model, not your last. Every mistake is a lesson.
The Community is Your Best Resource: The real joy of Warhammer isn’t in the products; it’s in sharing your work and encouraging others, no matter their budget.
If you’re staring at a grey plastic model and a thin wallet, I’m here to tell you: Go for it. Your journey is valid. Now get out there and paint!
What was your first miniature? Share your stories and pictures in the comments below! Let’s celebrate every step of the journey.
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