Miniature paint schemes reference

Many years ago, I wrote reminders in a little lined book. This contained the proportions of each paint I had used to create a specific colour and notes on what painting techniques achieved a particular result.

I can afford to buy more paints now, so I rarely mix a colour from scratch, therefore I don't need to keep a record of that, but what colours and techniques I have used for specific models and results is still handy. This page will become a reminder of those and an index to other more detailed articles.

I'll refer back here, as I used to with my little book. It will be handy when creating additions to an army or just to produce something similar.

Power armour - green

Base: Russian green (71.017) airbrush.

Wash: black

Dry brush edge highlights: Goblin green (72.030)

Gecko skin - blue scales

Base: Royal Blue (70.809)

Wash: Sepia (73.300)

Dry brush: Sky blue (70.961)

Saurian skin - greenish yellow scales

Base: Beasty brown (72.043)

Wash: Black

Dry brush: Gold yellow (72.007)

Reptile - green scales

Base: Olive green (71.007) airbrush

Dry brush: Goblin green (72.030)

Green reptile skin and steel plate

Steel plate

Base: Silver metallic.

Wash: Black.

Dry brush: Silver or silver highlight.

Reptile - green with brownish scales

Base: Olive green (71.007) airbrush

Dry brush: Beasty brown (72.043)

Cast Iron

Base: Gunmetal metallic.

Dry brush: Silver metallic.

Cast Iron and Dark Bronze

In addition to the cast iron, the above photo shows:

Dark Bronze

Base: Bronze metallic (70.998).

Wash: Ancient copper shade (Vallejo 77.144 from the true metallic metal set.)

Dry brush: Bronze metallic.

Reptile - green with reddish scales

Base: Olive green (71.007) airbrush

Dry brush: Gory red (72.011)

Dry brush edge highlight: Orange fire (72.008)

Red reptile skin

Washes

See the separate page.

Dry Brushing

For edge highlighting, see the separate page.

Bases

See the separate page for how I prefer to base my armies.

Gold Visors

See the separate page for how I have done gold visors.

Paints

I nearly exclusively use acrylics. Oil based paints irritate my sinuses, so with all the jobs I do I try to select water based paints. From a modelling perspective, I like the very fast drying time of acrylic paints. Although, obviously that makes blending colours more difficult than with oils.

I mainly use paints from the various Vallejo acrylic ranges. Model Colour, Game Colour, Game Air and Model Air.

Unless otherwise stated, the part numbers listed refer to Vallejo paints.

I also have a very small number of AK Interactive paints. I find the pigments in these dry a little thicker, which gives them good coverage but are more prone to hide fine details. I bear that in mind when using them. I'm unlikely to replace them when they run out.

Years ago I used Citadel paints, but I have not tried them recently.

I'm sure there are plenty of other good paint ranges, but as I like the Vallejo that I have, there is no point in me trying alternatives.

Primer

See the separate page for a review of primers.

Clear Coat

See the separate page for matt clear coat reviews.

Brushes

See the separate page for a review of the brushes I have tried.

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I wash a lot

When painting a miniature army I use whatever techniques get the desired effect as efficiently as possible. I've tried building up layers of highlights or glazing with thinned out colour, but these take quite a while. I find that the popular contract painting technique is great for bright gaudy characters, but that is rarely the result I am after.

I like a lived in look. For me I get that by applying a wash. I use this in different ways depending on what result and what colour I am working with. I thought it was time I wrote myself a reminder.

Applying washes

Thinning

I usually use Vallejo washes. I have a range of colours but I nearly always end up using black or sepia. The big pots I have can be used for dipping. They are slightly thick so I thin them for some uses.

After mixing the pigment, usually by shaking the pot, I find it has lots of bubbles. To avoid picking those up on the brush and transferring them to the model, I use a pipette to decant some into a divot in a plastic pallet.

100% wash

I use this when I am applying directly into crevices in a well defined model where there is a good chance of avoiding getting it in the wrong places.

25% water to wash

This lets the wash flow but has just enough adherence to leave some pigment in the crevices.

I use this to accentuate contract, particularly where a model has fine engraved markings.

50% water to wash

This leave more of an uneven dull mark all over the surface, rather than dark crevices.

I use this on brighter colours and large surface areas. It's more for a dirty look and a hint at shadow.

Before and after

Application

When applying washes, I rarely cover the entire model, I direct the wash just to where I want it then push it about. I find it essential to pull and push the wash about with a brush to get it to settle where I want it and avoid too many unsightly tide marks.

I'm not usually being too careful because the whole point is to get a random natural result that I would find difficult to emulate if I was using other techniques.

For a relatively dark result, I'll apply the wash lightly all over the area and heavily in the crevices.

For bright colours I apply the wash carefully only in the recesses and folds. Red I can use a thin sepia or black wash, yellow I use a sepia wash. Blue I have been disappointed with. I am still working on a good technique for this. At the moment I have reverted to glazing rather than using a wash.

For metallics, especially bright ones, like silver and gold, I give them a complete wash all over the area where the metallic paint is. This dulls them down a bit and gets shadows in the folds and crevices where otherwise they tend to appear flat.

Dry Brush

In nearly all applications on miniatures, I use dry brushing after washing.

Reinstate the colour - I use the original base colour as a dry brush all over the surfaces. This quickly disguises tide marks and brightens the model.

Edge highlighting - usually I use a very light shade of the original colour or a very light grey or even white. Just picking up the edges. This is often after reinstating the colour, as noted above.

Conclusion

It's difficult to describe these techniques. The explanations mean something to me but they may not translate well into anything that could be used to direct others. That was not the point. There are plenty of excellent tutorials on YouTube. This is just a reminder for me.

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Dry brush for edge highlights

I'm sure there are lots of reasons to use dry brushing. It's a technique I like to use for highlighting texture on fur and hair and for edge highlighting.

I can remember the first time I successfully used dry brushing. That was for fur, well over 30 years ago. It was on a troop of Ork Wargs. I was so pleased with the results. It is when my painting results changed from "just colour on tin lead" to "these look nice."

I have had good results with metallic colours. Silver dry brushed on to black and copper dry brushed on to brown. I now think I have the technique sorted for edge highlighting with dry brushing.

The edges of the containers and barrels are highlighted

I've written these notes as a reminder to myself.

Edge Highlight Colour

I find that I need to use a lighter brighter colour than I expect.

Edge and curved surface highlighting

Light grey on black, white on light grey, very pale green on dark green etc. If in doubt, regardless of the base colour, I might use light grey or white.

I like my models to have a lived in look. I often use a black or sepia wash and then add highlights. A similar technique to edge highlighting can be used to add a little brightness to curved surfaces such as shoulder pauldrons and the pipes in the above picture.

Brush

I've tried specialist dry brushing brushes, but I find those too large for miniatures and their round shape make them difficult to direct the brush to the specific edge that I want to hit.

What I do use and my favourite is a makeup brush designed for eyeshadow. They have soft flat bristles about 8 to 10mm wide.

These are great for most edge highlighting, from small scatter terrain down to delicate miniatures. Being flat I have two choices of direction. The wider is good for long edges and by dragging the brush with the narrow face forward the brushes can get into fairly small spaces. In that rotated position they have a long enough stoke to deposit sufficient paint.

In tight spots where I need to avoid getting paint on adjacent surfaces, I use a 3mm angled shader brush. Again a flat bristle brush. This gives me lots of control and I can be very specific about which edge is highlighted.

Paint Loading

This I find a bit trial and error every time.

For cleaning I use a sponge with just a finger or two dipped in water to dampen it. I also use this to slightly dampen the bristles before I start loading the paint.

Most of the time I use undiluted paint for dry brushing. I find that if the paint is watered down, it smears rather than it catching the edges.

I like to get paint on all sides of the tip of the brush and then wipe nearly all of it off on a cotton cloth. If I can see paint depositing on the cloth, there's usually still too much paint on the brush. That's not a perfect guide, just a starting point.

My first stoke will be very light to see how easily the paint applies and either add or remove paint, as I feel. It varies by colour. Some paints work with very little effort and others need constant care to get the amount of paint on the brush just right.

Technique

I lightly drag the brush over the edge I want to highlight and can usually see the layer build up as a fine line. As the paint gets used I need to apply a little more pressure on each stroke.

The more I've use the technique, the more control I've gained about where I get the colour.

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Sci-fi scatter terrain

As a diversion from army painting, I've been adding to my scenery collection.

I've designed, printed and painted a few of my own.

In addition, I've downloaded a few that fitted the aesthetic I was looking for.

The crates are my own. The comic unexploded bomb is made of two models both downloaded from Thingiverse. The larger crater by "Terrain4Print" the smaller crater with the missile by "twistedpancreasgames". My thanks to both of those designers.

The junk piles are by "ImperialTerrain", again downloaded from Thingiverse. Many thanks for the models. I scaled them down to the sizes I wanted, printed and painted.

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Modular gothic mission ruins

I was asked to print enough modular building components for a small firefight size game.

This is what I came up with.

There are a few new components and a new download for my modular scenery range.

Downloads:

CC BY-NC-SA

Download That_Modular-Sets 6-9 Gothic mission ruins

These buildings require all of the original downloads in addition to the above.

The following article has the original downloads:

https://blog.discoverthat.co.uk/2026/05/modular-scenery-buildings.html

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Fast printing PETG filament

In June 2025 Bambu Lab were out of stock of their PETG-HF (High Flow) filament, worldwide. Because of that, I was forced to try other makes. 

I should point out, that apart from the odd specialist filament, like TPU, I almost exclusively print using PETG. I frequently print functional parts and they are often for use inside cars. The UV resistance of PETG is needed to maintain its strength from prolonged exposure to sunlight and the heat resistance is needed to avoid warping.

As mentioned in an earlier article, I wanted to be able to use an alternative filament as a direct replacement for the Bambu Labs version, without the need to change any settings on my Bambu Lab H2D.

This page lists the filaments that I have tried and I'll start with the benchmark, the Bambu Labs filament:

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Bambu Lab PETG-HF

• Print settings: Automatic defaults.
• Colours tested: Black, Red, Yellow, Green, Blue, Grey and White.
• Print Result: Good. Negligible stringing, few blobs, tidy seams.
• Surface: Satin to matt.
• Spool AMS compatibility: Good (OD 200mm, ID 55mm, Width 67mm)
• Number of kg spools used: >10.
• Print fails: None.
• Eco: Very good, uses refills.
• Usage dates: May 2025 ongoing (while stocks last.) Discontinued June 2026.
• Cost: ££ when buying in bulk or ££££ for individual spools.

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Filament Choices

The main criteria for selecting the following filaments have been the cost at any point in time, and that they get substantially good reviews on Amazon.

If a spool is on special offer, I have taken advantage of that, as my next filament to try. 

These are in the order I tried them:

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Sunlu Rapid PETG

• Print settings: Same as Bambu Lab PETG-HF.
• Colours tested: Black.
• Print Result: Usually good. Negligible stringing, few blobs. Developed very untidy seams before the nozzle clogged.
• Surface: Satin to matt.
• Spool AMS compatibility: Good. (OD 195mm, ID 63mm, Width 59mm)
• Number of kg spools used: 6.
• Print fails: 1x clogged nozzle.
• Eco: Poor. Reusable plastic spool but no refills available.
• Usage dates: June 2025
• Cost: ££

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Tinmorry Rapid PETG-eco

• Print settings: Same as Bambu Lab PETG-HF.
• Colours tested: Black and Light Grey (too pale).
• Print Result: Usually good. No stringing, few blobs. Usually tidy seams but one spool of light grey was a little ragged.
• Surface: Satin to gloss.
• Spool AMS compatibility: Good (OD 197mm, ID 53mm, Width 64mm)
• Number of kg spools used: >10.
• Print fails: 1x clogged nozzle.
• Eco: Poor. Disposable plastic spool.
• Usage dates: June to August 2025
• Cost: ££

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Eryone Hyper Speed PETG

• Print settings: Same as Bambu Lab PETG-HF.
• Colours tested: Black and Grey (dark).
• Print Result: Very Good. No stringing, no blobs, tidy seams.
• Surface: Gloss.
• Spool AMS compatibility: Cardboard spool with coated edges. I used an overlay adapter.
• Number of kg spools used: 3.
• Print fails: None.
• Eco: Good. Cardboard spool.
• Usage dates: June and July 2025
• Cost: ££

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Deeplee Rapid PETG

• Print settings: Same as Bambu Lab PETG-HF.
• Colours tested: Black and Grey.
• Print Result: Good. Negligible stringing, no blobs, tidy seams.
• Surface: Satin to gloss.
• Spool AMS compatibility: Cardboard spool with coated edges. Too wide to use my usual adapter. With care the inner core fits perfectly in a Bambu Lab reusable spool.
• Number of kg spools used: >10
• Print fails: None.
• Eco: Good. Cardboard spool.
• Usage Dates: July 2025 to February 2026
• Cost: ££

Tip: When disassembling the spool, I take the end of the filament out of the notch and put it back in the notch. This is to make sure it is free to release when needed. I have found that the end of the filament is often too tight a fit in the notch in the cardboard tube and sometimes the AMS is unable to pull it out. When that happens the printer stops with a filament warning.

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Overture Refill PETG (High Speed for Bambu Lab)

• Print settings: Same as Bambu Lab PETG-HF.
• Colours tested: Black and Grey.
• Print Result: Good. Negligible stringing, no blobs, tidy seams.
• Surface: Satin to gloss.
• Spool AMS compatibility: Refill fits in a Bambu Lab reusable spool.
• Number of kg spools used: <1
• Print fails: None.
• Eco: Very good. Cardboard core refill.
• Usage dates: June 2026 ongoing
• Cost: ££

Note: The first roll I used was a very tight fit in the Bambu Lab spool. It did fit but I was unable to pull the plastic wraps out. With the wraps cut short either side, it worked without issue . The next roll fitted perfectly and the wraps came out easily.

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Subjective Views

The results above are my opinions after a relatively limited number of hours printing with each filament. This is not an organised review or test, this is just a reminder to myself of how well filaments have performed for me.

I have printed everything at Bambu Labs defaults for speed and temperature. I have not attempted to establish the fastest speed a filament can print at. I want to be able to print reliably, repeatably and with minimal tinkering.

My only changes have been to affect the strength appropriate to the component I am printing. Things like wall thicknesses and infill densities.

AMS Compatibility

Being easy to use in the Bambu Lab AMS 2 Pro and AMS HT is important for me. In my results above, I am referring to those two AMS's. I have no access to any other AMS's to try them with.

The spools in the AMS's run in a guide. This limits the width the spool can be to about 68mm. There is less than 3mm between the guide and the nearest side of the AMS HT. Although this is not a problem for the spools on their own, it causes me an issue using the adapter that I fit to hold the NFC tags. There is a little more room in the AMS 2 Pro, but not much in some slots.

Cardboard Spools

Cardboard spools are not recommended by Bambu Labs for use in their AMS's. As the cardboard wears on the rollers, the dust formed is not conducive to the operation of the AMS over time. Some cardboard spools are manufactured with coated edges to avoid this concern.

Some spool cores conveniently fit the Bambu Labs or other reusable plastic spools. This works well, although I have had some issues where the end of the filament gets stuck between the spool and cardboard core. I try to ensure the end is free when assembling the spool.

For those cardboard spools where the core does not fit in a reusable spool, my preferred solution is to use an overlay spool that sandwiches the entire cardboard spool. The running edge is then plastic. As long as the cardboard spool has an overall thickness of 60mm or less and an overall diameter of 200mm or less, the result fits in the AMS.

Conclusion

All the filaments that I have tried, so far, are good and can be used as direct alternatives to Bambu Lab PETG-HF.

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First published: 29 June 2025

This page is updated from time to time when I try new filament. Usually when Bambu Labs are out of stock.

From June 2026 I will be buying more alternative filament.

There is a note on Bambu Lab's store saying that they have discontinued PETG-HF. Their alternative is a slower printing Basic PETG, not an improvement for my requirements, so I will not be trying that.

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Less is more painting miniatures

I did not have enough time to complete any complex models ready for the game today, so I opted to paint a unit of Prime Strikers from Puppetswar Miniatures. As it happens, I ended up using a different army, so they didn't get to the table, but they were ready.

Very Quick Process

The order was significant in making sure there was minimal time wasted.

• Prime with black from a rattle can - this had been done weeks ago
• Airbrush army dull green all over
• Dark grey paint in the folds behind the knees and between the legs
• Black wash all over
• Dry overnight
  
  
• Dry brush in light green to highlight some of the edges - using an 8mm flat makeup brush
• Paint the eye lenses in yellow - using a 00 short bristle sable brush (W&N s7 miniature)
• Tidy up the yellow - edge in black wherever I had gone over with the yellow
• Paint the belt buckle grey
• Paint all the weapons black
• Dry brush the edges of the weapons in light grey - using a 3mm wide flat angled shader brush
• Base using grass flock which sticks to thickly applied brown paint
• Paint the edge of the base in black
• Dry overnight
  
  
• Clear matt spray varnish

I am very pleased with the finished result even though very few of the details have been painted in. This is a very good example of "less is more."

I don't know exactly how long it took for this unit of 11 troops, but I spent a few hours on each of two days and 15 mins to varnish this morning.

Where a model has well defined edges, I prefer the subtle result from dry brushing rather than my attempts at hand painting edge highlight lines. I will use individually painted edge highlighting where the alternative would not work.

Some models by their design are complicated and time consuming, no matter what paint scheme is selected.

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Fume extraction

Despite deliberately having an extract fan through the wall above the area that I have my 3D printers, the smell of isopropyl alcohol (IPA) persists for longer than I would like after I have finished cleaning up resin prints.

To try to reduce that, I have designed and built an extraction hood that I can position directly over the source of the IPA.

It's based on a long wall mounted monitor arm and 100mm (4") flexible ducting. Both ends and the hose clamp are printed.

I do not know yet if it will resolve the issue, but I am pleased with how it has all gone together. It folds out of the way and I can position it to where I want.

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Bits in the garage

I made a couple of minor changes in the garage to make things more convenient.

I added a bike maintenance stand to the exiting bike rack. The clamp was the one I used in my old shed, up to a couple of years ago. 

It fitted in the key clamp tubing and I added an interlocking joint so that it holds in two positions. One for use and one out of the way. The idea came about last weekend because I had a quick task to do that was more convenient on a stand, but setting up the portable stand took almost as long as doing the job.

This arrangement makes quick jobs that little bit easier.

The other bit of tidying up I did was to add a vertical rack for long lengths of steel bar.

I would have preferred a horizontal rack, but that would be harder to fit in.

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Paint brush review for miniatures

I have recently had trouble with a couple of brand new sable hair brushes from very well respected brands. They split into a fork, almost immediately that I started using them.

I'd recently watched a video about how these brushes were made and I realise that a significant part of the manufacturing process is the quality control at the end to weed out those that are just not going to stay in shape. That's the reason for buying a more expensive sable hair brush rather than a more budget version.

This is mainly a review of sable brushes for painting miniature plastic figures using acrylic paint. Most of my painting with these brushes is on resin 3D printed 28mm to 32mm figures.

Criteria

My main requirements for a brush for miniature painting is that it has a tip that stays in a sharp point while holding enough paint to work with. The feel, often referred to as spring of the bristles, is also a significant factor.

I have plenty of budget brushes which work well but they frequently need care during use to maintain the point. The spring varies but none of the synthetic bristles have quite the feel of a sable hair brush.

The Brushes

Based on other people's recommendations, I've bought a number of different brand's sable hair brushes from their series most commonly used for miniature painting. I've ended up with a few different types because my experience of them is not as consistent as the reviews would imply.

For me, they all have a better feel to the spring of the bristles than a synthetic brush. My main issue with synthetic brushes is that they invariably end up with a curl at the end. Some sooner than others.

Brushes come in different lengths and style of bristles, flat, round, long, standard, short and a host of speciality variations. For miniature painting, like most people, I find it is the standard length round bristle brush that gets used the most. There is also a shorter length that appears to have evolved specifically for miniature painting.

It is the normal dimension bristles that I use for getting most of the paint on a miniature. I find the shorter versions are better suited to small details because they do not hold enough paint for larger areas. When I do this it is typically with a size 00 Winsor and Newton Series 7 miniature. There are a lot of small details on miniatures, so I do use this brush a lot and I am very pleased with it. The series 7 miniature is not to be confused with the series 7 (not-miniature) that the rest of this testing refers to.

Brush Care

I won't go into detail on this subject, but all the brushes have been well looked after. In use, I try to avoid getting paint beyond the belly. This minimises the paint that gets in to the ferrule which over time, in my experience, is the ultimate demise of most brushes.

Testing

As an initial test, I decided to try out the same paint task with all of the respected brands brushes that I owned in a size zero. Not a long test, a few details on two figures with each brush.

I've then gone on to use them over time and revisited this article to add additional notes.

The Results

To set the record straight at the start, all of these brushes have a good feel when used. They are just not as consistent as I would like when it comes to holding their points.

All of the split hairs shown could be reshaped and the brush was then usable again until the next time. Some split again sooner than others.

Da Vinci Maestro series 10

• Bristles: Sable
• Initial experience: Stray hairs almost immediately.
• Extended use: I was pleased with this brush and found myself selecting it for getting the initial layers on to a miniature where they had lots of detail to work round. Perhaps not my first choice, but I'd buy series 10's again.

Da Vinci Maestro series 10

This series has a very slightly shorter bristle than the others I tested. A good compromise size between the very small miniature brushes that hold too little paint and the standard size. It might suit those wanting only one brush.

Artis Opus series S

• Bristles: Sable
• Initial experience: Good point but a stray hair after a short while. Easily sorted.
• Extended use: I found this brush competent and was my go to brush for medium details. It's point split only if I had been using it for a prolonged period and far less than the others I'm using. I like them so much that I've bought more of the series S brushes. 

Artis Opus series S

Winsor and Newton series 7

• Bristles: Sable
• Initial experience: A stray hair and split into a fork after using for a short while.
• Extended use: This brush was probably my most disappointing. Winsor and Newton have a good reputation. I now have several series 7 brushes and they all split dramatically and far too frequently. I now only use them for painting larger areas. I'm unlikely to buy any more series 7 brushes.

Winsor and Newton series 7

As mentioned earlier, the "series 7" and the "series 7 miniature" are two different product ranges. I still like the series 7 miniature for my very detailed work.

Raphael series 8404

• Bristles: Sable
• Initial experience: Nice point but split into a slight fork after being used for a short while.
• Extended use: With the brush I'm testing I have found that it splits into a fork more often than the other brushes I'm using. It is also the largest size 0 brush of those that I am testing. I find I select this brush less often than the others, that's probably because of the size. With other choices that I prefer, I am unlikely to buy any more of the 8404's.

Raphael series 8404

After I had used this a few times, when dry, the bristles on this 8404 brush separated. It does not hold it's point while being stored. The point forms again when wet.

My biggest complaint with the Raphael brushes that I received, was the sticker. 

Sticker on the Raphael brushes

The sticker was difficult to remove and I could only get rid of the residue with WD40.

I bought these from the same stockist and at the same time as other brushes, only the Raphael had the stickers on.

Rosemary and Co series 401

• Bristles: Sable blend.
• Initial experience: This is the only brush in the test which included some synthetic hairs in the mix. Guess what, the end curled! It also developed a fork.
• Extended use: It's a nice brush to use. I have to work round the curl but that can sometime be in my favour. I don't use it for the ultimate detail but it does everything else well. That said, I can't see myself buying any more series 401 brushes.

Rosemary and Co series 401

Rosemary and Co series 401

When dry the bristles on all the series 401's, that I have, separate and do not hold their point. The point forms again when wet.

Conclusion

My expectations are too great!

All of them needed to be cleaned and reshaped from time to time while in use. Some more than others. Despite the limitations I encountered,  my observation is that sable hair brushes form and retain their point with less irritations compared to brushes with other types of bristle and release the paint with a comfortable spring.

Based on the individual brushes that I have, I will mainly be using brushes from the Artis Opus series S range in the future.

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