Hey boys,
I think I might be in a little over my head with this one. I just purchased Verlindens ruined Normandy house (ceramic), and I dont have a clue on how to start to paint it. I've never tried painting one before, so do I prime it first? What kind of paint works best? And whats the best method to paint/weather? I do not have an airbrush, so keep that in mind.
Ive got a great dio going, so I don't want to ruin it by putting in a sub-par building that my kid could paint better.. Please help!!
Thanks, Ziggy.

Ok, Ziggy, what part of Texas are you from, and welcome to Armorama!!!!!!!!!!

Since you don't own an airbrush, my opinion, I would use some Vallejo acrylic paints.

I usually don't prime my ceramic building, but you may choose to do so. You can use any kind of primer.

Irving, Texas

Well, Hobby Maker did have Vallejo's, but there close now. Closest place to get them is down her in Austin at King's Hobby. You can call them and they will ship.

C'mon boys, I know your all Vets at this, so how about throwing a private a bone here..I'll even take the "Hazing" that I know will ultimately come.
I;m stuck on this, and need legit help..

Ziggy

With no airbrush, a good idea is buy some aerosol cans and spray it. I use an auto primer that shrinks nicely, highlighting all the details. Then mist spray an appropriate base colour. Then brush paint the details with your normal paint method.
Brush painting a big area with expensive paints is initself expensive and tedious. Aerosols make light work of it.

Ceramics are known for sucking the paint right up. You should first seal it with a Dullcote before you prime it.

Welcome... Before you prime I would recommend you go over the building carefully filling airbubbles and fixing other undesired defects, you can use drywall mud, or mix up some thin plaster. Either of these are great as fillers.

What I like to prime my buildings with is acrylic house paint. I thin it down with an acrylic thinner, or water will even do. I say thinned as if you use it straight it will fill in details. This method is cheap and effective to seal the plaster/ceramic. This should fit the bill, as I paint all my buildings with a brush. I do have an airbrush now, but I use to paint all my buildings this way. I would suggest buying a quart of interior flat with a tannish color. I use a tan that way I can use it to prime my bases for the groundwork. That was a Shep Paine idea.

After priming then you can use any type acrylic paint you want. I have seen guys successfully use everything from cheaper (Price wise) hobby paint to the really expensive stuff which in my opinion is not necessary for buildings, or groundwork. After the base is laid and I am satisfied with my building, then I begin with the detailing using hobby paints or model acrylics. For weathering I use a combo of washes, pastels, or pigment powders.

There are many resources for dio building and I would recommend at some point aquiring a few books for reference and idea building. Hard copies are always great to have. The web is also great and there is a ton of stuff right here at Armorama. There are also a lot of very talented people here as well. Some of the people I would recommend for assistance is Jackhammer, minuteman and myself for starters... but there are many, many, talented people to help. If you need any assistance please feel free to PM me anytime.

Paul