Modelling and Painting Fantasy Figures

Paul Stanley brings over forty years of wargaming and model-making experience to this guide, including time working at Games Workshop stores where he ran painting and modelling tutorials. If you want a book that covers not just painting but also the full modelling side of the hobby, from assembly to conversion, this is the one to reach for.

Why Start Here

Where “Painting Wargaming Figures” focuses specifically on painting techniques, Stanley’s book takes a wider view. It covers building, converting, and repairing figures in plastic, resin, and white metal before it even picks up a brush. This makes it especially useful if you are working with older or second-hand miniatures that need some love before they are ready to paint, or if you want to customize your figures beyond what comes in the box.

The painting instruction is solid and clearly explained. Stanley walks through dry brushing, the three-colour method, multilayering, and shading with washes, all illustrated with 274 colour photographs. He also addresses practical concerns that trip up beginners, like how to handle differences in scale between miniatures from different manufacturers and gaming systems.

His background at Games Workshop shows in the fantasy focus. The examples lean toward the kinds of figures you encounter in Warhammer and similar games: warriors, monsters, and fantastical creatures. If that is your world, you will feel right at home.

What to Expect

At 176 pages, the book balances breadth with accessibility. It covers enough ground to be useful whether you are assembling a single warband or tackling an entire army, and the modelling chapters add value that pure painting guides do not offer. If your main interest is learning to paint rather than model, “Painting Wargaming Figures” is a more focused starting point. But if you want the complete picture of the hobby, from sprue to display shelf, Stanley delivers.