Bare Bones Learn to Paint Kit: Basic Techniques

I have spent quite a bit of money on Reaper Miniatures stuff over the years. From their old metal minis back in the days to their paint lines, and have even been in on multiple of their kickstarters for miniatures. As to the Learning to Paint kit from Reaper, it's a great way to get into painting miniatures! I'll start with the miniatures. The miniatures included with this learn to paint kit are of a material they lovingly refer to as "Bones". This material is EXTREMELY forgiving, it doesn't break easily, and one of the best aspects of it is that if you give it a quick wash with warm water and some dish soap and let it dry, you can then paint directly onto the surface without having to prime the mini! This is absolutely fantastic because you can start off with the painting right away. There is a slight chance that the minis might be warped due to packaging, don't despair, they're easy to fix: just get some water that's boiling and make a bowl with ice water. Submerge the warped piece for several seconds in the boiling water until it's soft, bend it to the shape you want it in, then quickly put into the ice bath. This is the official way of fixing the warping directly from Reaper, and I can attest I've done it on multiple Bones material miniatures. The paint sticks exceptionally well to the Bones material, so much so that after it's painted you can bend the piece around and the paint will not crack or break off of the mini. It's by far the most forgiving material I've worked with painting miniatures, from resin to plastic to metal. As for the paints, I can say that I personally have at least 50 different Reaper miniatures paints. I picked this particular learn to paint kit up for the case and the colors in the kit, as I was in need of most of them. They have really good coverage, although normally you will need to do a few coats, especially if you thin your paints at all. Not really a problem, but worth mentioning. The color selection is good to get you started, or to supplement paints that you already have, and there is FAR more than you need for the minis included if you use small amounts at a time. I would recommend picking up a cheap plastic palette so that you can squeeze a little paint out at a time and not make a mess. Another pointer is to keep a safety pin or a needle near where you paint, as occasionally paint will dry in the nozzle of the bottle and you might need to use that to push through it. Most companies that have dropper bottles like this have similar issues with that, so it's not limited to Reaper. Lastly, the Learn to Paint guide. It's fairly basic, they really don't get into any difficult techniques, and they do a good job showing you the steps and how they achieved the looks that they show you. If you are indeed learning to paint, follow the guide, be patient, and try not to be too harsh with your first attempts, as you will more than likely not do well right off the bat. This is a great gift for someone new to the hobby, or if you're wanting to try out painting minis yourself.

Great paints, they had a booth at PAX South and I tried them out there and had to get a set. The two included paint brushes were very nice and a great size combo to cover most needs. The three included miniatures are great, highly detailed and the instruction manual is quick and easy to follow for beginner painters. I finished the skeleton yesterday and it looks almost as good as the one in the book, much better than I thought my meager painting skills would be able to accomplish. Kudos to the manual writer! I am excited to paint the other two. The case holds a ton more paints than come with it (smart). There is no red in the set which I think is an oversight, it would really make the set good to go out of the box. I mean who doesn't want some blood on their weapons now and then? I went ahead and went to their online store where you can buy singles and filled out this set with a few basic colors that were missing and a variation or two of some other colors that were included. I bought some red, orange and purple which aren't in this set, as well as some additional shades of blue, green, tan and yellow while I was at it. Still plenty of room for more colors as I need them in the box but with what is here you can mix away to get unlimited colors. The add on paints I ordered shipped that same day from their headquarters in Texas as well. Great service. One of the yellow paints in the original box didn't have the lid on all the way and didn't work out of the box. However, the paint containers are droppers and the little dropper insert at the top pops out very easily and it just took a minute to clean the small dried plug of paint that was stopping it up. Amazing deal if you are looking to get into miniature painting but you are going to want a red!

This set is perfect for learning how to paint minis. The instructions are great and really help you learn the basic techniques for mini painting. The set comes with 3 minis and step by step instructions for the minis. The paints it comes with are great quality. They’re thinner than most other paints from miniature companies. You won’t have to thin them, which is nice for beginners. The color selection is good. You’ll be missing a few colors but if you buy the other set (layer up) you’ll have pretty much every color you need. The price is pretty good. Most miniature paints cost about 3 dollars per bottle at your local game store. For 11 paints at about 30 bucks it’s a great price, considering you also get brushes, a nice case, and minis too. I would recommend you get this set if you’re learning to paint. Especially if it’s for something like Dungeons and Dragons, since the minis are for DnD or other fantasy games. If you like this set and the paints you should buy the Layer Up set (it’s the box with the blue label). With both sets you’ll have pretty much every color you’ll need (except an orange, purple, and gold)

Muy buena compra, Las pinturas son de muy buena calidad y el tutorial te lleva paso por paso, una lástima que no vendan mas sets de esta compañía.

The reason I chose this set over others was for the box itself. The foam insert in the pictures looks great for holding any future paints and figures I would want to add. Instead I received a flimsy plastic thing which cant even hold its own position within the box, never mind holding the paints, brushes or figures. They just fall out and roll around under the holder. Seriously disappointing.

this product is perfect for learning to paint miniatures. i am very impressed with it, the items included, the quality of supplies and instructions. it includes all the basics that you would need to get at a hobby store, but saves you from having to research what minis, paints and brushes you need to buy. all you have to buy after this is something you can mix paint on, something you can rinse brushes in and paper towel. youll also need something to add drops of water. i also bought the LTP 2 kit, which comes with an empty paint bottle for water, but this kit did not include one. the learn to paint guide is very easy to follow, and the minis are simple to paint. i was very impressed with the quality of the paint job, with almost no experience. including 3 minis you can practice on is genius, as i painted one and it looked awesome, then i tried to make it look better with some drybrushing and i ruined it. im kind of sad, but i took a pic before i ruined the paintjob, and its not like i messed up a mini im going to use, plus i learned a lesson about drybrushing, which is what its for. the included minis arent exactly as pictured in the guide, so you may have to improve a few colors etc. for example my orc has a horn on his back and 2 swords, where the one in the booklet had a shield and no horn, so i had to decide what to paint the horn. the minis are very flexible and not the best quality mold, but are more than adequate to learn on. i had a lot of fun with this, and each mini took me a few hours to paint. the case it comes with can easily hold your brushes and many paints. my friends were fairly impressed with my first attempts at painting with this kit. the paint included should last a very long time as you need only a drop or two for each miniature you paint.

This is an awesome starting point. Easy instruction to follow, and all in a compact carry case that allows room for more paints as your collection grows.

Far to expensive, metallic paints are really poor. The rest of the colours are outstanding, the dropper bottles are 10 levels above any other I've used. Paint brushes are the best starter brushes I've used. Miniatures that come with this are fine. All in all an good beginners kit.