Andrea Press

How to Paint Fantasy Miniatures

Reviewed By  Dave Morrissette, IPMS# 33653

MSRP: $24.99 ($19.00 on the street) ISBN: 84-96527-81-6 . 978-849652781-2 www.andrea-miniatures.com Andrea Press' latest book, "How to Paint Fantasy Miniatures", delves into some of Andreas newest line of kits, it's fantasy line. There are four primary sections, each illustrated with excellent photos. The book is soft cover with 64 pages of pictures and detail. Part One deals with the history of fantasy miniatures and its birth via Games Workshop who created the miniatures for gamers. There is a chronicle of the history of the type and the increase in detail and quality until the history reaches the current state with superb 54mm and 28mm figures being released regularly. Part Two is an introduction to the basics of all figure painting such as preparing the figure, blending colors, painting flesh and doing metallic looks. All of these apply not only to fantasy figures but to all others as well. Part Three goes into more advanced techniques such as NMM (painting non-metallic metal), freehand designs, adding terrain, directional lighting techniques and painting animal coats. These topics are more advanced but are handled in a way to make the reader want to try their hand, and the kits selected to demonstrate the techniques on are of a wide range. The last section is entitled "Master Pieces" and is a step by step build and paint of four different figures, one bust and three full. There are detail and technique shots for doing eyes, rendering metal, masking and airbrushing. In the end, it is difficult to believe that these figures as less than 3 inches tall. With excellent photos and quick tips, I really commend the Andrea Press writers and editors for making a reasonably priced introduction to fantasy miniatures. Recommended to all miniature builders and a must for those (like me) in love with fantasy characters. My thanks to John Noack and Andrea Press for the chance to review this book.

Information, images, and all other items placed electronically on this site are the intellectual property of IPMS/USA ®.