Beginner Miniature Painting: The Starter Kit Guide
By Mara Linfield . 10 min read . Updated June 2026
Starting miniature painting feels expensive because the hobby shows you an enormous catalog of products before it shows you what you actually need. Most of those products are useful eventually. Almost none of them belong in a first purchase. This guide keeps it honest: here is what to buy first, why, and what to ignore until you have a few miniatures behind you. A Vallejo Game Color 16-Bottle Starter Set , a Army Painter Wargamer Regiment Brush Set , a Citadel Chaos Black Spray Primer , and an Army Painter Wet Palette Starter Set is the core of a kit that will carry you through your first months of painting without gaps. Add a Daylight Company Slimline 3 Hobby Lamp before your first session if you work in artificial light.
The short answer
Start with a 16-bottle dropper-bottle paint set, a seven-piece synthetic brush set, a grey or black rattle-can primer, and a wet palette. Add a daylight lamp before your first session if you paint indoors. This kit covers every technique a beginner will encounter and costs under $100 if you buy mid-range across each category.
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Primer comes first, not paints
Before paint touches a miniature, it needs to be primed. Primer is the adhesive layer between plastic or metal and acrylic paint. Without it, paint beads on smooth plastic, chips off metal, and does not bond to resin. It is not optional.
For beginners without an airbrush, Citadel Chaos Black Spray Primer is the most documented rattle-can primer in the hobby. Every painting tutorial you will find online assumes one of a handful of primers, and Chaos Black is at the top of that list. If you plan to paint bright colour schemes or use contrast-style paints, Army Painter Color Primer Matt White Spray gives a white base that makes those colours much more vibrant.
Prime in a well-ventilated area at room temperature between 15 and 25 degrees Celsius. Shake the can for two full minutes before starting. Hold it about 25 centimetres from the miniature and use short, sweeping passes rather than trying to cover everything in one burst. Two thin passes with drying time between them beats one thick coat every time.
Citadel Chaos Black Spray Primer
The most-documented rattle-can primer in the hobby, a black basecoat and primer in one that works out of the can on any primed-plastic or metal miniature.
Army Painter Color Primer Matt White Spray
White rattle-can primer that bonds to plastic and metal and provides a bright base for contrast paints, bright colour schemes, and bone tones.
Choosing your starter paint set
The two most beginner-friendly paint ranges are Vallejo Game Color and Army Painter Warpaints Fanatic, both in dropper-bottle format. Dropper bottles let you squeeze exact amounts onto the palette without the paint skinning over in an open pot. This matters more than most beginners realise: paint that dries in the pot wastes money and forces inconsistent mixing.
The Vallejo Game Color 16-Bottle Starter Set covers all the primary colour groups you need for your first palette: reds, blues, greens, browns, blacks, whites, and a few key flesh and metal tones. It does not include dedicated washes or shades, so buy the Citadel Shade Paint Set (8 Pots) alongside it. Agrax Earthshade and Nuln Oil from that set are the two most-used paints in the hobby regardless of what brand you base coat with.
If you are already in the Games Workshop miniature ecosystem and want to follow official painting guides exactly, the Citadel Base Paint Set (11 Pots) is the alternative. The formulas are designed around Citadel miniatures and the tutorials on the Warhammer Community site reference them by name. The downside is flip-top pots that dry out faster and cost more per milliliter.
Beginners should avoid contrast and speedpaint sets as a primary palette. They are excellent tools once you understand how standard acrylic works, but they require a different primer base and different application technique. Add Citadel Contrast Starter Set (6 Pots) or the Army Painter Speedpaint 2.0 Mega Set once you are comfortable with thinning and layering.
Vallejo Game Color 16-Bottle Starter Set
The most practical beginner palette in the hobby: 16 dropper-bottle acrylics covering every major colour group, formulated for plastic and metal miniatures.
Citadel Shade Paint Set (8 Pots)
Eight of the most-used Citadel shade washes in one set, including Agrax Earthshade and Nuln Oil, which are staples in almost every painter's kit.
Citadel Base Paint Set (11 Pots)
Games Workshop's high-pigment base range bundled in an 11-pot starter set, designed to cover plastic in one or two coats straight over primer.
Brushes: start synthetic, upgrade one brush to sable
The Army Painter Wargamer Regiment Brush Set is the best beginner brush set because it covers every size you need in one purchase and the synthetic bristles are forgiving for painters still learning brush pressure and loading technique. Sable brushes reward good habits but punish bad ones by losing their point faster. Learn on synthetic, then upgrade.
The one exception is the The Masters Brush Cleaner and Preserver . Buy this with your first brushes regardless of which set you choose. Letting paint dry in the ferrule, the metal collar where the bristles meet the handle, is how brushes are destroyed. Work the cleaner into your brushes at the end of every session, rinse completely, and reshape the point before it dries.
When you are ready to upgrade one brush to sable, the Raphael 8404 Kolinsky Sable Brush Size 1 in size 1 is the community consensus pick. It holds a needle point that handles both broader basecoating and fine line work, which means a single brush carries most of your painting work. A quality size 1 with a fine point is more versatile than a collection of tiny detail brushes.
Army Painter Wargamer Regiment Brush Set
Seven-piece synthetic brush set covering the key sizes for basecoating, layering, washing, and detail work, with a dedicated drybrush.
The Masters Brush Cleaner and Preserver
Soap-based cleaner that removes dried acrylic, oil, and varnish from brush bristles and conditions the sable or synthetic fibres to restore the point.
Raphael 8404 Kolinsky Sable Brush Size 1
The hobby community's benchmark Kolinsky sable brush: a fine point that holds its tip through long sessions and snaps back cleanly between strokes.
A wet palette changes the painting experience
On a dry palette, acrylic paint starts skinning over in five minutes and dries completely in fifteen. On a wet palette, the same paint stays workable for hours. For beginners, this matters because it removes the time pressure from every step, and you can leave a partially mixed colour mid-session and return to it.
The Army Painter Wet Palette Starter Set is the right starting point before you know whether wet palette painting is for you. At under $25 with consumables included, it is the lowest-cost introduction to the technique. When you know you want to keep using one, upgrade to the Redgrass Games Everlasting Wet Palette Painter XL , which has a better-sealing lid that keeps paint fresh overnight, and the larger working surface gives you room to spread a full session palette without crowding colours.
Or make a DIY version first. A plastic container with a lid, a cut kitchen sponge, and a sheet of baking parchment costs under $5 and teaches you whether you like the format before spending anything. The limitation is that the sponge and parchment are less consistent than purpose-made materials, so the real palette is worth it once you are painting regularly.
Army Painter Wet Palette Starter Set
Budget-entry wet palette from Army Painter bundled with palette paper refills and sponge, a practical low-cost entry point to wet palette painting.
Redgrass Games Everlasting Wet Palette Painter XL
The benchmark wet palette for miniature painters, with a calibrated hydration sponge, quality semi-permeable paper, and a sealing lid that keeps paint workable for days.
Lighting is the most underrated tool on the beginner list
Most beginners paint under a warm household lamp or a ceiling light. Both distort colour significantly. A warm bulb makes blues and greens read as grey, and browns and reds bleed together. You make decisions based on how paint looks under that light and are then surprised when the miniature looks different in natural daylight.
The Daylight Company Slimline 3 Hobby Lamp runs at 5000K, which replicates natural midday light and renders paint colour accurately. This is not a luxury item for experienced painters. It is a functional tool that removes a source of error from every decision you make while painting. Most painters who switch to a daylight lamp describe it as the most impactful purchase they have made outside of paints and brushes.
If the Slimline 3 is outside your first-purchase budget, prioritise the paints, brushes, and primer first and add the lamp at the next opportunity. Paint near a window in natural light in the meantime.
Daylight Company Slimline 3 Hobby Lamp
Calibrated 5000K natural-daylight LED lamp on an adjustable arm, purpose-built for hobby and craft work where accurate colour rendition matters.
Assembly tools before the first miniature
If your miniatures come on a sprue and require assembly, you need a cutting mat and a pair of sprue cutters before you open the box. The Dahle A3 Self-Healing Cutting Mat protects your desk and gives a stable working surface. The Xuron 9180 Micro-Shear Flush Cutter make clean flush cuts that remove sprue gates without white stress marks on the plastic.
Mould lines, the thin ridges left by the casting process, should be removed before priming. The Swann Morton No. 3 Handle with 10A Blades (5 Pack) with a curved 10A blade scrapes mould lines cleanly with a light drawing motion. Work at an angle along the line rather than across it. Mould lines that go into primer and paint are still visible on the finished miniature and look amateur even on an otherwise well-painted piece.
Dahle A3 Self-Healing Cutting Mat
A3-format self-healing PVC mat with printed grid lines for straight cuts and assembly alignment, the standard bench protector for hobby workspaces.
Xuron 9180 Micro-Shear Flush Cutter
Single-bevel flush cutter that removes sprue gates cleanly with no white stress marks, the precision upgrade over standard hobby clippers.
Swann Morton No. 3 Handle with 10A Blades (5 Pack)
Surgical-grade scalpel handle with a curved 10A blade profile that controls flash and mould line removal better than a standard straight hobby knife.
Featured in this guide
Vallejo Game Color 16-Bottle Starter Set
The most practical beginner palette in the hobby: 16 dropper-bottle acrylics covering every major colour group, formulated for plastic and metal miniatures.
Army Painter Wargamer Regiment Brush Set
Seven-piece synthetic brush set covering the key sizes for basecoating, layering, washing, and detail work, with a dedicated drybrush.
Citadel Chaos Black Spray Primer
The most-documented rattle-can primer in the hobby, a black basecoat and primer in one that works out of the can on any primed-plastic or metal miniature.
Army Painter Wet Palette Starter Set
Budget-entry wet palette from Army Painter bundled with palette paper refills and sponge, a practical low-cost entry point to wet palette painting.
Daylight Company Slimline 3 Hobby Lamp
Calibrated 5000K natural-daylight LED lamp on an adjustable arm, purpose-built for hobby and craft work where accurate colour rendition matters.
Citadel Shade Paint Set (8 Pots)
Eight of the most-used Citadel shade washes in one set, including Agrax Earthshade and Nuln Oil, which are staples in almost every painter's kit.
The Masters Brush Cleaner and Preserver
Soap-based cleaner that removes dried acrylic, oil, and varnish from brush bristles and conditions the sable or synthetic fibres to restore the point.
Keep reading
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FAQ
Frequently asked questions
How much does a complete beginner miniature painting kit cost?+
A practical starter kit covering paints, brushes, primer, and a wet palette runs between $70 and $100 if you buy one set in each category. Adding a daylight lamp brings the total to $150 to $200. You do not need everything at once: primer, a paint set, and a single brush set are enough to start, and you can add the wet palette and lamp after your first miniature.
Should I buy a complete starter set or individual items?+
A paint set and a brush set make sense as bundles because they give you a spread of colours and sizes in one purchase at a better price than buying individually. Beyond those two, buy items individually based on what you actually need. Starter bundles that include everything often include cheap compressor kits or tools you will not use, and the quality varies significantly.
Do I need to thin my paint before I start?+
Yes. Paint straight from the pot is usually too thick for smooth, detail-preserving coverage. Add one or two drops of clean water to a small amount on your palette and mix until it reaches a milky consistency that flows off the brush without beading. Under-thinned paint is the most common mistake beginners make, and it obscures the detail that makes miniatures look good.