When I started painting minis and when model paints finally became available, the most commonly used option was enamel. It wasn’t the most friendly material: it was smelly, it dried slowly, it could re-activate the layers under and correcting mistakes with it was also difficult. Some of the more experienced miniature painters had used oil paints, but that seemed to be even more challenging, so I have never considered oil paints as an option. Acrylic paints made everything a lot easier, and when they appeared, I was convinced that enamels were gone for good.
Apparently, I was wrong: I have seen more and more articles recently, where enamels and oil paints were used, tutorials where pigments were applied, and I also found a growing range of these products, but they still seemed to be over my league. When I bought the “Painting Wargame Tanks” book of Ammo by Mig Jimenez, I was shocked to see that they recommend these techniques for wargaming tanks. Since the book explained everything in detail, and it made this method look so easy, I soon ended up with a set of pigments and enamels. When I gathered my courage and applied it on my Valentine Mk IX, I was pleased with the result and decided that I would write more about this topic.
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