Starter Army Lists

Here are some example army lists that are based on the Ambush/Army/Mega Army sets available and also adding some suggestions for armies that don't have models from Mantic yet

The "to buy" list will be <250€ (MSRP on Mantic website) and the army lists will use PMC (preferred model count) and some minor conversions

General tips on modelling/painting

First recommendation is to get stuff local, no brand recommendation is good if it is not available when you need it, that said do not buy large sets of anything, specially colours and other hobby materials, they are only good value of you need everything inside and most of the time you don’t (starter sets with ~10 colours are usually ok, smaller basing sets as well, so called "mega paint sets" not so much)

For colours in specific one of each base colour is a good start, black, white, brown, red, yellow, blue and a silver metallic (everything can be mixed from that and they help with details not matter what method/colours one is using later) in addition to any specific colours for your army

If you are going for normal paints (Acrylic) or Inks/Washes (like army painter speedpaint or citadel contrast) does not matter much as both need some practice/learning and both need a primer. Yet I recommend to get at least one Black Wash (be it Army Painter Dark Tone or Citadel Nuln Oil) for Blacklining and one Sepia/Brown Wash (Army Painter Strong Tone) for softening details.

Primer can be anything that is labeled as dedicated primers, be it brush on/airbrush or rattle cans from the hardware store (coloured spray cans won’t work well and always test those on a piece you won’t use later, while some plastic primers are transparent, which won't work with Inks/Washes). A more advanced technique here is to use black or dark grey primer first and white primer from an angle so that it does not cover everything to add basic highlighting (dry brush white over black or a black wash over white primer have a similar effect)

Generic basing material can be found in pet shops, hardware store or at the beach. Some fine sand, coarse sand and small stones make a good mix for any terrain. Static Grass (2-3 different colours) and Tufts are an easy way to make bases look good (just don't fill the base up with a single colour). The cheapest "good" method to apply static grass are puffer bottles.

White Glue/PVA, Super Glue (Gel), Plastic Glue, Milliput and/or GreenStuff and some Acrylic Paste (hardware store or artist supply) are recommended and help with building models and bases.

For tools, one utility knife with segmented blade, a frame cutter/clipper and a model drill are recommended as is a set of small files (the local hardware store usually has everything one needs)

Also a 0,8mm drill and 0,8mm copper wire to pin models together (or on bases)

If there is no model/hobby store nearby, art or school supply is the next best and in general there are 3 different qualities available, school, student and artist grade/quality (naming differ in different countries) with artist quality is what the hobby colours and brushes are but student being good enough for larger projects like terrain or boards

Last but not Least, about Bases. This really depends on the regions as in some countries it is easier to get MDF plates already cut to the right size, while in others plastic card (in larger sheets or pre-cut) is easier to find and if nothing fits, plywood from the hardware store or school supply is a good option as well. Also Mantic offers plastic unit bases and in case of the older sets that still come with single plastic bases, glueing them together for a unit base is also an option.

Armies: