Miniature Painting Starter Kit - What You Actually Need

You need far less to start painting miniatures than the hobby's mountain of products suggests. Here is the genuine essentials list, plus the few extras that are worth buying early - and what you can safely skip for now.

The essentials

• Paints - a starter set is the cheapest way in. You want a handful of base colours, a metallic, and at least one wash. See the best paint for miniatures.
• Brushes - one decent size 1 brush, one detail brush, and a cheap old brush for drybrushing. See the best brushes for miniatures.
• Primer - a spray or brush-on primer so paint actually sticks. Black, white or grey; white or zenithal is best for contrast paints.
• A wash / shade - the single most transformational pot you'll own.
• Water pot and palette - two pots (clean and dirty) and something to thin paint on.

Worth buying early

• A wet palette - keeps paint workable and improves everything. See the wet palette guide.
• Contrast / speedpaints - a fast track to finished models. See best contrast paints.
• Brush soap - makes good brushes last years.

Skip for now

• Airbrushes, huge paint collections, expensive sable brushes, and pigment/weathering sets. They're great later, but none are needed to start - and a beginner's money is better spent on a wet palette and one good brush.

Next step

Got your kit? Read how to start painting miniatures for the step-by-step first-model walkthrough, then pick a scheme with the scheme generator.