The minis will not be a sea of unpainted gray

[Tai-Pan]

I started by doing very basic paint jobs with a dip. Something like one color each for skin, weapon, clothing, armor. Then a dark floor varnish watered down to a watery consistency. The figure with a very basic paint job gets dipped in the varnish and then shaken to remove excess wash. If it's too dark in places, I touch them with a brush to soak a little wash up. The wash does a lot for shadowing and adds a battleworn look to the figures and the varnish gives it a harder coating that protects the paint, which can chip or rub off with use.

[wriggz]

Originally Posted by Tai-Pan

I started by doing very basic paint jobs with a dip. Something like one color each for skin, weapon, clothing, armor. Then a dark floor varnish watered down to a watery consistency. The figure with a very basic paint job gets dipped in the varnish and then shaken to remove excess wash. If it's too dark in places, I touch them with a brush to soak a little wash up. The wash does a lot for shadowing and adds a battleworn look to the figures and the varnish gives it a harder coating that protects the paint, which can chip or rub off with use.

Army painter makes a "friendlier" dip than floor varnish. I recommend applying the wash with a cheep brush for more control and less mess, but the results are solid.