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Painting Splatisphere Miniatures

For a beginner, painting miniatures can be a little daunting. There's all that miniscule detail, there's these large fingers and this tiny little brush, and there's a whole universe of tricks and techniques to be learned... but if we break it all down into steps, it's actually a lot easier than it looks.

The aim of this tutorial is to take you through each step of the process, with the end result being a gaming-quality miniature. From there, you can build on the basic skills over time, and find a painting style and technique that suits you. Everyone paints differently, and techniques that work great for one person may not work at all for somebody else, so we'll aim to keep things simple for now and stick with the very basics that you'll need to get started.

To get started, you first need to prepare your miniature.

What you will need:

  • Hobby Knife
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  • Superglue
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  • Modeling putty or Plasticine
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The mould line can be removed by simply shaving along the line with the edge of the hobby knife blade, keeping the blade roughly perpendicular to the surface of the model. Keep the pressure fairly light and the knife will naturally follow the contours of the miniature, removing the mould line without taking detail off the model as well. You may need to use the blade to cut the excess metal away from recessed areas. Again, very little pressure is needed here as the flash will cut away easily.
   

Next you need to attach the miniature to its base. Check that the tab under the miniature's feet fits easily into the slot on the base. If doesn't matter if it is a little loose, but if you have to force it in you will warp the base, and the model won't stand flat on the table. If this is the case, you can shave a little of the side of the tab with your hobby knife.

Once that's done, squeeze a little superglue onto each side of the tab, and onto any part of the miniature's feet that sits flat on the base. Don't over-do it: It only takes a tiny drop of superglue, and too much will actually give a weaker bond. Slot the tab into the base, and hold the miniature in place until the glue grabs hold. This will usually take about 10 seconds. (If you let go and the model promptly falls over, you haven't given the glue time to set. Quickly sit it back in place and give it a little longer. If the glue dries before you get it back in position, you will need to scrape off the dried glue and apply some more.)
   

At this point, it's a good idea to wash the miniature to remove any greasy residue from the casting process. Use soapy water (dishwashing liquid works fine) and give it a good swirl around, or a light scrub with an old toothbrush, and then just lay it out on some paper towel to dry.

To make the base a little more presentable you can smooth over the gap with Modeling putty. Push a small blob into the slot, and smooth it down flat with the side of your hobby knife blade. If you don't have Modeling putty, Plasticine works just as well, but will need sealing by squeezing a little super-glue over it once you have it smooth.

You can then add detail to the base if you want to, by applying sand or flock to the top of the base, glued in place with superglue or PVA glue. This isn't essential, but the miniature will look better with a base textured to match the game-board.

Next: Basic Painting