How I Paint Things - Painting Epic-scale 6mm Miniatures

Painting in much smaller scales than usual might seem as though it's comparatively more difficult, but that needn't be the case at all. In fact, with such small detail to paint, you might find it even simpler than skirmish-scale miniatures! READ MORE:
First, if you're looking for the rules you could use to play games with these itty bitty figures, check out NetEpic! netepic.org/
Secondly, you'll definitely want to see one of the places you can pick up miniatures like this. I thoroughly recommend Vanguard Miniatures, which you can find here: vanguardminiat...
This was an incredibly simple method that was shown to me via Twitter, so definitely jump on and join in on the conversation there if you're looking for quick advice from super helpful people!
Thanks to Producer level Patrons Jonathon Harris, Alan Nuttall and Ben Hicks, and the other Patrons that made this video possible, as well as Exit23 Games for recording equipment that helps keep the channel ticking over! Find out more at the following links:
/ sonicsledgehammer
exit23.games
Remember you can follow/reach me at the following places:
/ sonicsledgehammer
/ sonicsledge
If you like what I'm doing and you'd like to chip in, why not check out my Patreon or Ko-Fi? How I Paint Things will never be behind a pay wall, but anything dropped in the tip jar is greatly appreciated and really helps.
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ARMY PAINTER PAINTS USED:
PRIMER:
Leather Brown
Strong Tone
Army Green
Monster Brown
Angel Green
Matt Black
Banshee Brown
Gunmetal
Dark Tone

[@stompieandsuzie]

Instead of glue, try one drop of melted candle wax (from a little tea light). Cheap and cheerful too mate. It'll hold the figures well, but will be easy enough to get them off by a gentle push to their base, or cutting them free with a blade. That was a tip, from me to you this time! lol

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

Now that's cunning! I ended up dropping one of these guys in the paint on my palette trying to knife them off...

[@andsmorris7225]

That’s a really neat idea thanks stompieandsuzie will give that a try 👍

[@dennishogan5696]

thats amazing i will keep this in mind thank you

[@CullodenPaintingStudio]

Lovely work. Nothing compares to a few hundred 6mm minis lined up to fight. Ancients at this scale are a sight to behold!

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

I think I might well have to agree! I'm coming around on 6mm as a scale... :D

[@richardlynch77]

I cut my wargaming teeth on Epic 40K 25ish years ago. a few months ago I got the minis out of storage, I only ever gave a basecoat to them. Looks like I have another project on the list now :) Lovely tips, thanks for this.

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

Yes! Definitely time to crack out the little brushes and get to the itty bitties... :D

[@markb6978]

My epic Death Korps of Krieg is probably my favorite army that I own! Took me years to collect all the Games Workshop, Forge World, third party and forumware models, but seeing the massed blue waves of infantry, tanks and flyers is worth it!

[@Mogsey1972]

Just bought some 15mm from Vanguard and I must admit that they look outstanding!

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

Glad you like them! They're great little bits of kit. I haven't got my hands on the 15mm stuff yet, but it's tempting...!

[@Mogsey1972]

@@SonicSledgehammerStudio Went and ordered some 6mm versions of the same skinners and they are incredibly detailed. Used contrast paints with a preshade and then a drybrush before adding the colours and it was far easier than I could have ever imagined!

[@PatFogarty]

Thank-you for posting the link to the rules! Somewhere in the depths of my garage lurks a 6mm epic force that I thought would never see the light of day again. Seems like a game that was just waiting for 3d printing to come along!

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

Very welcome! Epic's got its adherents from years long ago and it's great to see suppliers like Vanguard out there still helping it all tick along. :D

[@7bootzy]

Oh my God, Epic! This is incredible! MORE, MORE, MORE

[@stevenwestfall7638]

So glad you made this video. Getting into Epic 40K and this is going to help a lot. Got Orks and Steel Legion from Vanguard to get painted up.

[@BansheeSquadron]

Great video, very informative. Just ordered some 6mm US vietnam infantry to proxy as Rebel Marines from Rogue One. This will help a lot with the painting process. :)

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

I hadn't realised there'd be 6mm Vietnam stuff out there, but it makes perfect sense now that I think about it. I'll definitely have to go looking.

[@angrypantz87]

Very nice! I need to finish off some of my epic stuff. One day GW will go back to it so that we can play mass battle games.

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

If they go ahead and make new plastic boys in 8mm so they fit with the titans I'm gonna scream!

[@S_R231]

@@SonicSledgehammerStudio just 3D print them

[@irishmarine3]

No need for them to go back to it - the community has upkept Epic better than GW ever could have

[@winters1mgsfan]

Thank you so much! I just started painting my first GHQ Modern Micro Armour 6mm infantry, and I had no idea where to begin! I literally took the concepts from this video wholesale, and the models came out pretty good for a first try!

[@MrSphinchee]

Love that you are using more Army Painter paints.

[@Gilean80]

Hopefully the rebooted Old World will be a 6mm/15mm type of scale - it works really well for historicals and is a lot of fun to hobby with.

[@ps4streamingHD]

You can use blu-tack instead of glue. It works great even with 28mm figures.

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

I'd had a shot at using the blu-tack but it seemed to take forever with the little metal bases on these guys. I regularly use it to stick my 28mm stuff to the spraying stick, but I'll just have to suck it up and use smaller pieces for the little fellas in the future!

[@ulgulu7433]

super happy you did this, still enjoy playing epic/net epic and have vangaurd mini's to paint.

[@evidentside]

Great episode. Getting my mojo back recently with a dive back into 6mm epic. Ork army from 25+ years ago, getting much love. These vanguard minis look great, nice time saving technique 👌

[@EclecticAtrium-fr2js]

For 15 mm minis I've used the sticky tacky stuff. The kind you can stick posters and such to the wall whilst getting back the full security deposit when you move.

[@Lessons_from_the_front]

When painting Napoleonics I make sure to use a very small dot of epoxy, applied with a cocktail stick. That makes it very easy to remove with a sharp knife later and avoids the pinging effect seen in the video. Wood glue would also be very effective as it will not strongly adhere to the metal or plastic but will hold it sufficiently for painting.

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

Good call. Something I'll definitely have to take with me going forward! I've got a bunch of Franco-Prussian war Bavarians I need to be painting in 6mm; they'll get the right treatment this time, I think. :D

[@andsmorris7225]

Thanks for the 6mm video really enjoyed that and vanguard do some great stuff 👍🙂👍

[@joeokabayashi8669]

Another very helpful video; thank you!

[@DaneSaysStuff]

Before I start watching: OH BOY OH BOY!!! 6MM MINIS!!!!!

[@glorfindel777]

Excellent ! Thanks for showing this technique - the finished result really pops. This was particularly interesting for me as I recently painted an army of these for a friend. The one major change was to divide the troops up and paint all the guys with the same pose rather than one of each type. This repetition made the job slightly easier. Anyway, loved the video - made the technique really clear.

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

Painting identical figures hadn't occurred to me to speed up the process, but it makes perfect sense. Something I'll have to try with the next run of them!

[@thespfgirl]

Superb tutorial, thank you!

[@benlindridge2657]

" its not about size, its about how much you drybrush"

[@Gabbiano88]

Super cool gonna have to pick up some of these guys

[@03dashk64]

Yeeeees please more 6mm. This is great

[@OrrgunUK]

They’re so DINKY! I love them

[@andrewbeasley]

Great to see some love for the smaller figs - 10mm painting then 15mm painting soon please... I use UHU glue as it pops off easier as it’s a rubbery style glue even when dry. I would also add a spot of colour for the face as it helps reinforce the body shape (no -I only do beards and eyes on alternate Sundays in Lent) else I find the figures look like their jackets run into their helmets 😢 How about a few mini Sci-Fi tanks / Land Ironclads rather than humanoids (T’au Battlesuits if you want to more known figures).

[@mwnciboo]

A tiny dab of wash on a flesh point often makes the model.

[@lutrueson9000]

beautiful minis bud !

[@loupiscanis9449]

Thank you

[@stephendavinson4441]

6mm abit to small for my tired eyes but an cracking alternative video for scales smaller than 28mm. 👍

[@killercann93]

nicely done as always bud love the snow base makes em pop just a lil more, side note am holding out hope one day GW will give us plastic krieg XD

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

While we're dreaming, I'd like a puppy... 🤣

[@fuzztsimmers3415]

when i glue a modes i always use card board cause if the glue is stickier the paper cover rips and i can trim them with my knife or leave it if it is over hanging under the base edges

[@Jonas_Fox]

Thanks for showing your process. I downloaded some epic Orks and had no idea where to start. I'd love to see your take on any One Page Rules models since I have piles of unpainted armies waiting for the tabletop :P .

[@SimonTrimby]

I still have a loft full of original Epic 40K from the 90s. Don't think my eyesight is up to painting that scale anymore though.

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

Aah, that's the trick! You don't have to paint half the detail. ;D I was dead surprised how quickly I could turn these guys out. That being said, though, a quick splatter of Contrast over white would probably make for some extremely convincing jackets and equipment at this scale.

[@kalin1993]

6:30 and this, dear minifans, is why some of use use double sided tape for everything. I can't tell you how many legs i've broken like this...

[@johnkelley9877]

They look great Sonic! I know you have a painting guide on 15mm figures but I was wondering if this method would work on the 15mm figures also.I am very impressed with how good they turned out considering the scale. I was wanting to know how to paint in this small of a scale and you answered a lot of questions with this tutorial. Will you try this on 6mm armor too? Thanks for sharing this.

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

I've seen something similar work very well for 15mm figures, too. You'd use this to essentially get the basic colours down, then go back with a couple of little highlights later - especially across helmets and the tops of sleeves which are likely to be seen first.

[@johnkelley9877]

@@SonicSledgehammerStudio Thanks, that helps a lot. I will try this on my next 15mm figures.

[@torros1839]

@@johnkelley9877 from experience I can tell you it does

[@user-ro1cs5hp5e]

Sonic, I care about my eyes lol :P .D I will prefer to pay a professional painter rather than hurt my eyes! but hey thanks for taking ur time and the health of ur eyes in making this video :D

[@asadpanthersfan6257]

I'm getting eye strain just watching this.

[@mwnciboo]

As Epic goes by bases, I like to crowd more models on - It always looks wrong when 5 Genestealers or Imperial Guard, face off vs 5 Marines...I like having 6/7 models per base depending on army and it looks aesthetically better but makes no odds to the dice per base.

[@kevhooper8971]

Any chance you’ll be revisiting this kinda thing when the new Legions Imperialis lands?

[@Yellonet]

Drill the barrels!!

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

Let me send these to CERN so I can get them to mark the drill points with holes accurate to the nearest picometer!

[@walterwhite6643]

you should try 3mm next lol

[@Parasite98]

Do you maybe have the STL file for that holder?

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

'Somewhere on Thingiverse' is the best I can do, I'm afraid, but there's plenty of them up there!

[@MuddyBoy61]

Which grass did you used in the british soldiers?

[@pjsines4705]

Paint up a 6mm vehicle or two!!

[@campbella2796]

Any alternatives to official epic 40K as regards rules?

[@theorkinquisitor]

How would u do a tank in this scale

[@richardhenderson7006]

Bro, are you from New Zealand?

[@Mogsey1972]

Right, time to try the 3mm?

[@ModellingforAdvantage]

Pause, get my other glasses!

[@bayoucity1]

A knife has solved so may problems for me...

[@stevesandford1437]

No real interest in 6mm to be honest... (Sometimes I just Tune In to hear THE NICE TEACHER talk...) xx SF